Apparently enough people weren't smart enough to appreciate a $1000 wireless teapot that only accept proprietary tea bags. After blowing through $12 million (in a Series A round led by Translink Capital) and spending three years trying to persuade tea drinkers to ditch their dumb teapots for one that uses an algorithm that "masterfully accelerates and extracts desired sets of flavor compounds while suppressing the extraction of undesired compounds," Teforia (pronounced tay-foria) is calling it quits.
In letter similar to the one sent by Juicero's CEO to drinkers of overpriced juice, Teforia CEO expressed disappointment that people just didn't get it:
In our mission to deliver the best tea experience, we didn’t compromise on the Teforia Infuser technology, quality or the premium tea packaged within our Sips. The glass within the infusion globe and carafe are hand blown by a glass artisan, one at a time. We spent a tremendous amount of time pioneering our Sips tea container to be 90% compostable and completely recyclable. We went to these extraordinary lengths because we believe premium loose leaf tea should be delivered in the most delicate and sustainable way possible.
We believe our customers are deserving of the best. Most of you agree with us. In fact, the prestigious World Tea Expo awarded Teforia with the 2016 Best Tea Industry Innovation Award and designated Teforia as the 2017 Best Tea Brewing Device.
We achieved all of this with a most amazing team of 15 highly passionate and highly skilled professionals, with the common belief that the tea experience should be simpler, more elegant and more rewarding.
However, the reality of our business is that it would take a lot more financing and time to educate the market and we simply couldn’t raise the funds required in what is a very difficult time for hardware companies in the smart kitchen space.
Therefore, it is with heavy hearts that we are announcing that all business operations, for Teforia Company, will cease effective today. We will continue to seek a partner that can leverage Teforia technology and/or provide Sips tea sales to continue our mission of elevating the tea experience. Hopefully you will see Teforia technology in future products.
What about the people who were smart enough to buy the smart teapot but can no longer buy the proprietary tea satchels? Teforia is flipping a switch to turn it into a regular teapot:
For Teforia Leaf customers, we have pushed a new firmware update for your infuser that will change your Teforia Leaf to Teforia Leaf+, which will give you the capability to make your own tea from the Teforia App. To receive the Leaf+ firmware update, please make sure your infuser is connected to a WiFi network that has internet connectivity and leave the infuser powered overnight. Once your Leaf is updated to Leaf+, you will be able to control the infuser from the Teforia App. This is the last action we've taken to make sure ALL devices can make their own tea and function independently.
What a great idea – a teapot that "gives you the capability to make your own tea!"
P.S. I was looking at Translink Capital's portfolio. They have some real gems. Example:
A bot that nags you to weigh yourself? How delightful!
