You’ve heard that a watched pot never boils, but did you know that the same principle applies to tea kettles? Are you finding that the temperature of your water is overpowering your tea leaves, sapping out all of the flavor? Don’t have the memory capacity to remember the specific brewing instructions for the more than 1,500 types of tea? Thankfully, courtesy of a company called 42tea, you no longer have to worry about such problems.
The 42tea smart sensor and companion app promise to take all of the guesswork out of brewing the perfect cuppa. Simply tell it which variety of tea you want to brew, and it will tell you the exact water temperature, ratio of tea and water, and brew time to get those leaves steeped to perfection. It even helps get the temperature right. Simply drop the small sensor cube into your boiling kettle, and it will alert you via a notification when the water is at the perfect temp.
More Smart Brew Gadgets: The Voltaire smart coffee grinder aims to bring Starbucks-level coffee to your kitchen
The app will even start to fine tune its recommendations based on your personal preferences. If you like your tea sweeter, it will shorten the brew time accordingly. Like it a little stronger? It will turn up the heat and prompt you to steep for just a bit longer.
What’s more, the app also acts as a tea sommelier, tracking which types of tea you frequently brew. Once it gets a handle on your tastes, it starts recommending other types for you to try out.
The cube is expected to last three years, if used five to 10 times per week, according to Engadget. At which point, you can buy replacement batteries from the company.
Rounding out the selection is a smart tea caddy with a reprogrammable Near Field Communication chip in it. Just put up to 50 grams of your favorite tea in the caddy, program the NFC chip so it knows what variety it’s holding, and next time you go to brew, just drop the cube on the lid and the app will load up the recipe.
The product successfully surpassed its $15,000 goal on Kickstarter, raising $15,358 at the end of September, and should be on sale by the end of this year. It will cost $55 when it launches, and you can pre-order now.
Outdoor security cameras are not always practical if you live in an apartment or rental. Drilling into an exterior wall may be off-limits, while pointing a regular indoor camera through a window can create another problem once reflections start showing up after dark.
Baseus is trying to solve both issues with the new PrimeSentinel W1, a $69.99 security camera designed specifically to monitor the outdoors through glass. It mounts directly to a window without drilling and uses a 4K Starlight sensor with an F1.0 aperture for full-color monitoring during the day and at night.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
Technology evolves every day, transforming how we live and work. Our devices are becoming more than tools we use. They are increasingly capable companions that help streamline day-to-day routines and spark creative ideas. If you have been waiting for the right moment to upgrade your tech setup, the Discover Samsung Shopping Event offers an opportunity to explore what connected, AI-powered living can look like.
With AI progressing so fast, it's only a matter of time before we start getting AI companions like the ones we used to see in movies like R2-D2, Wall-E, or Baymax. Now, Singapore-based OKA Technology has unveiled Mori, a cute little AI companion that looks less like a conventional home robot and more like someone turned the Pokémon Foongus into a table lamp.
Mori isn't meant to clean your house or control your smart home, but to serve as what OKA calls a "Nature Companion." It uses subtle movements, warm lighting, nature-inspired sounds, and small reactions to make its presence around the house feel calming rather than distracting. Mori can sit quietly while you read, sway along to music, welcome you when you enter a room, or encourage you to slow down for a moment without requiring a screen or a conversation.