About this project
Inspired by the traditional methods of tea steeping and flow-brewing, Qi Aerista is based on our revolutionary patented circulative infusion system that can optimally manage the 4 key tea brewing elements.
Qi Aerista comes with 6 different preset brewing modes for Floral, Green, Oolong, Black and Milk tea for your strong brew tea, plus Cold Brewing for all tea types.
We have been working with in-house and external tea experts over the past years to determine the optimal brewing programs for these tea types:
Check out how Qi Aerista brews Hong Kong-style milk tea via our strong brew feature in this demonstration video.
Let's see how Qi Aerista cold brews black tea in 10 minutes!
Turning Qi Aerista into your smart tea making companion with our app for tea lovers.
Our app includes the following unique features:
Behind Qi Aerista is a team of passionate folks that care about tea and the tea experiences that we can offer to tea lovers.
Qi Aerista is built using safe and commonly-used materials such as heat-resistant borosilicate glass, stainless steel, BPA-free plastics and food-grade silicone rubber.
No plastic part is in constant contact with water inside the pot during normal use.
Here are the final product dimensions of Qi Aerista. Note that the base of the prototypes seen in photos and videos have a larger diameter of 220mm / 8.7in. The new and smaller base is currently under development and is targeted to be ready by the end of 2016.
We are offering the following rewards and bundles:
Everyday we're grateful to see all the sharing of Qi Aerista generated by our backers. To thank our amazing supporters, we are excited to announce the launch of our Referral Program.
Here's how it works. Share our campaign and earn 10% cash ($$) for every pledge amount you help raise. Register below, we will give you a unique tracking link to share.
Click here to see more information on our referral program.
We compared Qi Aerista with other tea makers in the market and we believe that Qi Aerista is your ultimate tea making solution!
Over the past year we have reached out to the tea community with Qi Aerista and have received a lot of praise and support.
See what tea professionals & tea lovers have to say about Qi Aerista at our public appearances around the world in 2016.
The Qi Aerista project formally started in 2013, based on an idea conceived by our founder Rick on an innovative brewing mechanism. Originally he wanted to solve his childhood pet peeve of preventing his favourite tea from being over-steeped.
Since then, he along with the Qi Aerista team came up with the core designs of Qi Aerista. The project has gone through several years of research, various stages of prototyping with numerous iterations and product testing in between.
Building a great product requires tremendous skills, effort and dedication. But most importantly, we need your support to help realize our vision of brewing the perfect cup of tea for everyone, including people new to tea.
To propel our Qi Aerista project into mass production and market launch phase, we need your help. After a successful Kickstarter campaign, the raised funds will help account for the costs of:
- DFM (Design for manufacturing) process of the finalized product design
- Tooling, manufacturing & quality control
- Sourcing material and components
- Testing & safety certification (e.g. IEC, CCC, CE, UL)
- Handling and logistics
We are a team of dedicated professionals in R&D, design, tea knowledge and marketing. With our passionate love for tea and innovation, our goal is of introducing more people to the wonderful world of tea and make every tea lover's tea experience more enjoyable.
Some of the companies we have worked for:
Risks and challenges
If our project is successfully funded with the generous support offered by the greater Kickstarter community, we will maintain regular and close correspondence with our Qi Aerista supporters through Facebook, Twitter, and other social media channels to update everyone on what's happening with the Qi Aerista project.
Whenever obstacles arise (e.g. design revisions, manufacturing delays, lengthy certification processes, shipment issues), we will communicate the situation with those affected as soon as possible in order to resolve the challenges in a mutually satisfied way.
Learn about accountability on KickstarterFAQ
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You can use your own loose leaf tea or tea bags. For small pieces of tea like fannings and dust grade, we strongly suggest placing them in tea filtered bag before brewing them in your Qi Aerista. You are welcome to put your favourite spices when you want to brew your chai. However, we suggest to run a brewing cycle (e.g. 2-3 mins) with just water first after each brew of strong flavored tea. If that does not satisfy you, then add a little vinegar to run the brew with water.
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Most of your cup of tea consists of water, therefore, choosing the right kind of water is a key step to brew a perfect cup of tea. Avoid choosing water that is high in mineral contents as you may find unwanted metallic flavour in your tea. Also, if the water’s mineral content is too high it will leave scale deposits in your pot. Absolutely purified water is also not recommended as it will make the tea flat and dull. As a result, we advise using clean drinking water that has either low or balanced mineral content.
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We recommend using at least one heaped teaspoon (about 3 grams) for every 8oz (250ml approx.) of water.
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Yes, once the infuser is removed from Qi Aerista, it will turn into variable temperature kettle mode. Via our app, you can set the temperature to boiling or to other temperatures between 20C to 100C (68F to 212F) you like.
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We recommend using Qi Aerista to make the base tea, then mix with milk and other ingredients (e.g. sugar) in an external container (e.g. mug). We don't recommend directly adding milk inside your Qi Aerista.
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Qi Aerista is only available on Kickstarter for the moment.
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You can check out our step-by-step guide in our blog: http://ow.ly/rs1J306b3j7. You can also refer to the FAQ on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/help/faq/backer+questions.
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You will receive a Qi Aerista (glass body pot & a base), measuring spoon, user manual. The App is downloaded separately.
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Qi Aerista will be made by reputable Hong Kong manufacturing company with manufacturing facilities in mainland China with many years of experience in similar small appliances.
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By backing Qi Aerista on this page, you will benefit from Kickstarter policy regarding perks cancellation and refund policy. For more information, please refer to this link: https://www.kickstarter.com/help/faq/backer+questions.
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The beauty of our innovation is that it does not use a water pump or mechanical agitator to create the necessary water flow for an effective brewing process
Even though there is quite a bit of science and engineering behind how our patented brewing mechanism, it is relatively simple in construction. Since part of our design is still patent-pending, we won’t reveal any more technical information about it until we get closer to our actual shipping date. Thanks for understanding.
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Currently, we do not offer replacement for the glass pot.
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Similar to the other WIFI device within around 50 meters depending on the home's interior design.
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We are offering two versions: 220V+UK plug and 110V+US plug. So if you live in a place that uses neither of these plug types, then you will need an earthed adaptor that can safely support 1000W (e.g. 10A current for 220V).
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Yes. Qi Aerista comes with 1-year limited warranty from the date of delivery that would cover the repairs, replacement or refund of our product due to a defect in product material or its workmanship within the warranty period. Terms and conditions apply, including the product should be used in a manner that is consistent with the user manual. Details of the warranty claim arrangement with our agents and partners in your local jurisdiction will be provided at the time of shipping.
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You can link the app to Qi Aerista through a direct wifi connection (i.e. no wifi network needed). Basically look up the list of wifi networks to connect to (say Qi-Aerista-123 in SSID) on your smartphone and enter the corresponding password to connect. The exact procedures will be outlined when our product is ready to ship next June.
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International shipping dates may vary. For shipping to Hong Kong, add HKD80 (USD10 approx.). For shipping to other countries, including mainland China, add HKD155 (USD20 approx.).
Note that you will solely be liable for any tax or import duties that you may be required to pay upon importing your reward into your country.
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Yes. Qi Aerista ships anywhere in the world.
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The shipping fee will be added to your pledge amount based on the shipping address you choose and you’ll be charged once our campaign goal is reached.
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Your shipping address will be confirmed right before we are ready to ship. So no worries if you have a change in shipping address in the meantime.
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After the completion of our campaign, you will be asked to fill out a backer survey for the fulfillment of the rewards. You can then fill out your email address and the digital recipe book will be sent to you afterwards.
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Please contact rick.ha@qi-aerista.com for English media and joe.rao@qi-aerista.com for Chinese media.
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If you’ve read through these FAQs and still have questions, you can contact us at support@qi-aerista.com and we’ll try to respond as fast as possible!
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