Swan Teasmade STM100N
I was thrilled to take delivery of the new Swan Teasmade last week and I have now given it a thorough workout!
It is always exciting to review a new model, and I always wait with baited breath to see whether the manufacturers have made any worthwhile strides, but from this point of view the STM100N left me feeling a little deflated.
Until now teawakers bearing the Teasmade trademark have always been manufactured in Britain – either in England or in Ireland – so I am truly sorry to see that Littlewoods have moved their manufacturing to China. Perhaps this explains why the Swan Teasmade has more in common with the Micromark Tea Express than it does with its predecessor, the Swan D01 Teasmade.
However, I have to admit that this new design is very attractive. It has a modern look without straying too far from traditional styling. In our household there are a lot of older teenagers and young adults who generally prefer not to acknowledge my strange hobby! Retro styled teawakers are too cheesy for them, and somehow many modern designs simply don’t appeal. Unusually this particular model has made them sit up and take notice. “Oooo, a new Teasmade”, “”That looks nice”, “Can I have one in my room?”, all comments rarely heard before in our house, despite the fact that I have well over 150 teawakers to choose from.
Yes, as far as looks go, this Teasmade scores highly. We like the sleek lines, the subtle mix of white and brushed chrome, the clear round buttons, the soft blue clock face and the satisfying use of numbers on the face. This is a stylish model, and easy to use too.
There are two obvious new design features. The first is the lip on the teapot lid. Goodness it’s small! I can’t help wondering how quickly this will chip off. The second new feature, however, is an excellent idea. When you lift the lid to reveal the water reservoir the body of the Teasmade is neatly organised to form a funnel. It is now really easy to fill the reservoir. No more struggling to aim for the opening – no more drips on the bestseller at your bedside.
Of course there are always things that can be improved, and I hope that Swan will not pass by the next golden opportunity to correct the annoyances of previous models.
1) The clock face is so bright that it lights up the room and we are obliged to shield it with the aforementioned bestseller – please could we have a dimmer, or an off switch, on the clock face?
2) Why won’t manufactures realise that the noise of a Teasmade erupting is enough to wake the dead. There is no need to add a beeping alarm clock or a flashing light. This model has both, with no option to select one or the other, or to turn them both off. Frankly it’s laughable – haven’t the designers actually used a teasmade themselves?
3) It’s lovely to have a light on the Teasmade, but what is the point of a light if you can’t get rid of your bedside lamp? The Teasmade takes up quite a lot of space on the bedside table and it would be easy to reclaim this space if the Teasmade’s light was bright enough to read by.
4) Time and again, manufacturers miss out that vital ingredient – a radio. As far as I’m concerned it’s unthinkable to keep the radio as an afterthought. Please could we have one on every new model?
I fervently hope that these issues will be addressed in future. In the meantime I would certainly buy this teawaker in preference to any other on the market at present. It is unlikely to have the long lifespan of its predecessor, the Swan D01 Teasmade, but maybe Swan are finally looking ahead to the day when Teasmades once again top the charts for Christmas presents, wedding lists and retirement gifts, and maybe the STM101N (or whatever they plan to call it) will be the perfect teasmade I have been waiting for.
You can buy the Swan Teasmade from John Lewis.