Electrolux Silver Generation Project

Team: CTRL (Siow Hansheng, Donson Chan, Tay Xin Yi, Phoebe Gan)

School: Temasek Polytechnic

Tea Device: helping the silver generation get the most from traditional Chinese tea making

Summary

Tea Device is a tea table system that makes the nuanced process of making traditional Chinese tea much easier by eliminating the need to constantly retrieve water. It also boils water to exactly the right temperature. Designed for use in the living room, it allows the person making tea to involve friends in the process.

Objective

Chinese tea making is an enjoyable past time for those over sixty, but involves many steps and the frequent retrieving of hot water from the kitchen. CTRL’s objective was designing a tea device for those in the silver generation who practice traditional Chinese tea making. It will aid the tea making process and complement the user’s lifestyle.

The Problem

Eve Cheng, 61, is a sociable person. She loves having friends over for Chinese tea. She relishes the tea making process, and is very particular about getting it right.

The water must be mineral water or distilled. Different types of tea require different water temperatures, requiring Eve to boil water to exactly the right temperature. A lot of water is needed, so when her friends are over Eve is constantly running back and forth to the kitchen. Much water is spilled, and Eve must daub this up with paper towels.

Eve is so busy dealing with the tea it is hard to enjoy her company.

The solution: Tea Device

The Tea Device is a tea table designed for the living room, which contains everything one needs for making traditional Chinese tea. The top surface is made of woven bamboo, which allows for the easy drainage of water. When the tea is cold, guests can pour it away through the bamboo. The issue of spillage is eliminated.

Most important, Tea Device allows the user to perform the entire tea making ritual without going to the kitchen. The user can enjoy the tea making process and her friends’ company at the same time.

Benefits for the silver generation

Decreased strength and mobility make it harder (and more dangerous) for members of the silver generation to carry boiling fluids. Tea Device eliminates the need to visit the kitchen when making tea. It’s induction cook top is also much safer than a traditional gas hob.

• Hot water dispenser: Tea Device can hold, and boil, four liters of water – more than enough for one tea session. The central control panel allows water temperatures to be adjusted with great precision.
• Detachable hot water flask: Tea device has a hot water flask that can be detached, so the user can easily pour more hot water into a teapot.
• Woven bamboo surface for easy drainage: The table top surface is made of woven bamboo, which serves to drain water. A tray below directs excess water into plastic bottles for disposal or recycling. Most important, the woven surface allows users to pour hot water over the teapot freely – essential for Chinese tea making. Cold tea can be poured away on the table top, and spillage is no longer a problem. The woven surface can be removed for easy cleaning.
• Induction plate: A small induction plate keeps a teapot at a precise heat. When the plate’s temperature hits the pre-defined setting it emits blue light, reminding users the induction plate is on. Induction is also very safe.
• Tea leaf storage: A special compartment allows users to store up to four types of tea.

Eve (the target consumer) and Tea Device

Every morning Eve strolls to the garden and plays Tai Ji with her friends, followed by breakfast at the neighborhood coffee shop.

After breakfast she invites her friends back for tea in her living room. Tea Device has made these sessions much more enjoyable for Eve. No longer must she run back and forth to the kitchen for water. Everything she needs is at her finger tips, and she delights in demonstrating her tea making skills – and getting her friends involved in the process.

Tea Device helps Eve enjoy her two great passions at once: tea making, and her friends.