Is there a UK teasmade that will work in the U.S.?

October 25, 2009 10:56 PM

Is there a UK teasmade that will work in the U.S.?

I've suddenly been intrigued by teasmades and I was semi-interested in getting one as a gift for a person in the U.S. I have read various webpages about using UK appliances in the U.S. (including this AskMefi thread) and it sounds like I'd be out of luck in (easily) getting this item to work within the U.S.

The specific one I was looking at is the new Swan STM100 Teasmade model. The only specs I can find indicate a wattage of 780-850W. It's made in China so perhaps they also make a U.S. version, but I doubt it.

posted by 1001 questions to Technology (3 answers total)

Apparently, Swan has a Facebook page. They claim to have made a distribution deal for the US, but unfortunately that was just on October 15th. It probably won't be here for at least another couple of months (Christmas), and I bet it will cost a fortune at, say, Williams-Sonoma.
posted by fujiko at 11:26 PM on October 25, 2009

You could probably buy the new model online and have it shipped, but you would have to check the power specs carefully on the model and then look for a compatible power converter, which can also get pricey and, in all honesty, I've been (probably) paranoid about frying my electronics with a converter (see the discussion on frequency in this link).

Another option is using a new coffee-maker with a timer/alarm on it exclusively for tea. This has worked well for me in the past. Sorry, can't help with an actual teasmade.
posted by neewom at 1:07 AM on October 26, 2009

not UK, but the Adagio TriniTEA does most of that. i don't understand why they didn't make it with a timer on it. but with a simple wall timer, you've got brewed tea when you wake up, and you can adjust the steeping time.
posted by rmd1023 at 4:49 AM on October 26, 2009