TeaTimer Tells the Tea Time
Tea kettle-shaped ePaper timer records when you made tea.
With tea, as well as other heat-dependent drinks – even something semi-liquid like soup or stew – there is a window of time where it is best imbibed. The question then becomes when did you actually brew your tea?
This could be a challenge if you wander off to check something, only to return at an indeterminate time later. TeaTimer presents a solution to this problem as a 3D-printed, teapot-shaped device with an ePaper display to show the brew time.
To use it, you simply press the teapot lid, which acts as a button interface to turn on an RP2040-powered Badger 2040 board. The Badger then holds power on via its voltage regulator and checks the time using an RTC unit connected inside the teapot. The ePaper screen is then updated with the time, and it turns itself off again when the job is done to save power.
In normal operation, there’s just one screen, showing the time that your tea (or, theoretically, whatever else) was brewed. If the Badger is hooked up to USB power, you can press the up button to access the debug screens, where you can then adjust the time on the RTC unit.
The device is programmed to account for BST (British Summer Time). If it’s used elsewhere, your results may vary, and/or you'll need to change the programming around! Code, print files, and a short clip of it in action are available on GitHub.
