It's a machine that does for tea, what Keurig did for coffee. Lawrence couple Hungwei and Annie Lin brewed up the idea about 18 months ago.
After moving here from China, they spent years brewing and selling coffee but realized there seemed to be a market for something else.
"People always asking me tea questions, so it hits me, people don't know how to make tea," said Annie Lin.
So the couple set out to build a machine that would make it for them.
The prototype took a while to perfect, with a little help from her husband's Ph.D. in food science.
"The tea came out awesome, so that's when we said, 'OK, we did it,'" said Annie Lin.
A year and a half later, they're making hundreds of the machines at a factory in China and selling them in grocery stores all around the KC metro.
They hope the machine, called Yanni's Delta Tea Maker, encourages people to drink more green tea with its endless health benefits.
"Boost your immune system and it can help you lose weight if you're drinking four or five cups a day," said Annie Lin.
The couple claims Yanni's Delta Tea Maker is eco-friendly because it uses tea bags and not little cups.
It sells for only $30 to $40.
If all goes well, the couple hopes to sell their machine nationwide, hoping to find their American dream at the bottom of a cup.
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Justin Wilfon can be reached at justin.wilfon@kshb.com.
