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G0, G0 GADGET continued from page 49 water. After snapping the lid closed, staff can steep the tea to its desired strength with the touch of a button. Gravity will send the tea into the ves- sel for pouring. Heather Agosta of The Jasmine Pearl Tea Merchants in Portland, Ore., began using the single-serve teapot in March. "It has an excep- tionally good spout for pour- ing," Agosta says, adding that the infuser and lid lock into place while pouring to ensure everything stays securely in place. Better yet, Agosta says, the self-contained tea-brew- ing unit means she doesn't have to extract tea leaves from the teapot to avoid over- steeping. "A first steep of tea can be served and enjoyed while a second steep is brew- ing," she says. Agosta considers the single- serve teapot an excellent tool for cafés desiring an easy-to- use, durable brewing device and one "ideal for steeping teas mul- tiple times." TOWER OF POWER: Noble Coffee Roasting barista Marjorie Gosling says the Marco water tower makes it easier to multi-task behind the bar. a five-liter unit, Marco's hot water tower is fully insulated for energy efficiency. Marjorie Gosling with Noble Coffee Roasting began using the ALL ALONG THE WATER TOWER Rather than using fill priority, Marco's EcoSmart PB10, a 10-liter hot water tower, relies on an electronic temperature con- trol and temperature priority programming to ensure tempera- ture stability, thus eliminating the need for a larger boiler. The water tower features a programmable push button for portion control as well as an EcoMode option that fills and heats at half capacity during non-peak hours. Also available in PB10 in March and says the one-touch kettle fill has made it pos- sible to brew coffee "all day, everyday" at Noble Coffee's walk-up window in downtown Ashland, Ore. "Since the pre-set water vol- ume fills the kettle perfectly, I can take orders from customers, watch espresso shots pulling or be thinking ahead about what needs to be done next instead of carefully watching the hot water inch higher," says Gosling. She adds that the contemporary-looking, silver-and-black tower would be a useful tool for any barista doing manual pour-over brewing in the retail setting as well as for environmentally and economically conscious operators looking to save space without sacrificing consistent hot water temperature. TAILORED TEMPERATURE Another water-heating mechanism on the market is PINO's Digital Kettle Pro. Building off its first digital kettle, the second- generation Pro model features a thicker stainless steel body, an improved temperature controller and a capacity of six cups. In addition, the Pro model's digital components sit on the base rather than near the kettle's heat-exposing bottom. Jonathan Sims, head of Austin, Texas-based Tea Embassy, admits he's fallen hard for the product, which allows him to heat water for particular teas to their specific temperatures. The kettle 50 Fresh Cup Magazine freshcup.com