Others say...

"It is amazing, but is it worth the money?"

I am a recently disabled adult that cannot get enough of a good cup of tea. So seeing this I thought it would make a nice birthday present for me, and make life a little easier around the kitchen. It performs as it says it will.

It looks bulky but is surprisingly lightweight and easy to handle. The whole unit spins on a lazy-susan device making it east to direct the steam vent away from kitchen surfaces.

You will need a water pitcher of some kind to fill this easily. I have a medium sized one sand simply filly the pitcher twice to fill this device once. The handle on top, removable lid, and notched corner makes emptying and cleaning a breeze.

The temperature features are splendid and accurate, there are three:
205 for noodles/ramen etc, herbal infusions, or pu-er.
195 for most black teas. Darjeeling or delicate blacks like Illam valley are at this temperature as well, let the water sit a few minutes in the pot if you have a very delicate tea.
175 for green or white teas. A few of the more delicate whites fill the tea pot first, then add the leaves. By filling your teapot dry first, this allows the water to lose 5-10F by just warming the pot. Often enough to make a better flavored tea.

On a given day I can go from pu-er tsocha right from boiling, and set the temp to 195. Make a pot of bold assam in the afternoon, set the temp to 175. Now, after dinner it is set for making jasmine tea for dessert. All with a minimal energy usage and cost.

I have found it a good idea to refill it 1-2 times then empty the remains, give it a brush inside with a towel, and then let it completely dry. My scale buildup was reduced quite a bit this way.

For a fully able person this unit -is- a bit of a luxury. A simple electric teapot with temperature control would do you just fine for a fraction of the initial cost. This will make cost up over time by the thermos nature though, just a fyi.

Have a chain tea drinker in your life though or thoughts for limited commercial use (like a small teahouse), or like tea but have a very full life and time schedule? This would make a great gift for you or even a small splurge to treat yourself.

"timmy"
I love it. Look great. Work great, after shut off 10 hours vacuum insulated, the water still hot (not burning hot, but still hot enough to make a cup of tea). Will keep the water hotter if the pot have higher level of water. Very easy to use and well made. It will automatic reheat the water after the vacuum insulated time run out (keep warm 6 to 10 hours).

"The Zojirushi DSC40 is a great product!"
I've been using the Zojirushi DSC40 for almost 3 weeks now. The quality and build of this water broiler/warmer is superb. So easy to use and yet very high tech! My wife loves it. My mom now wants one for her place.

The vacuum temperature (no electricity) option works great! It will keep the water termperature at 150 degree for eight hours. If you want it hotter, just press the "REBOIL" button and you will have 212 degree hot water in approximately 7 minutes. Oh and when it does boil water, it's design to emit steam slowly or as less as possible so as to avoid having too much water build up on your cabinet above the unit.

Although the 4 liter capacity is a bit small for our family use, it's really no hassle at all to add more water when it's low. Come to think of it, the 4 liter is perfect because it's not too heavy to move it back and forth from the sink to the outlet when it's full of water.

This unit is definitely worth the high price. You won't regret it.

"An excellent tea tool for the frequent drinker"
If you're looking for hot-water on tap for tea, hot cereals, instant soups, ramen, etc - this is a very convenient item.

I drink green teas heavily, and bought it based on the strength of reviews and the Zojirushi brand reputation. I was not disappointed.

I fill it up from the tap, move it to the counter and plug it in. It usually boils in around an hour, and then settles back down to the (adjustable) setpoint in another 1.5 ~ 2 hours. Although I haven't taken a thermometer to its output to verify consistency, I've had great results from the teas I use, so the variations can't be too wild.

As is common with Japanese consumer products the controls are well thought out. It has an unlock button to prevent you shooting water onto the floor or something else accidentally, and the double action lever to open the top makes it hard to have your hand in the way & get a steam burn as you open it.

The water level is clearly visible via a clear tube with a patterned background, and the 4L capacity suits my tea usage for somewhere between 4 and 7 days, depending on just how much I happen to feel like having.

I especially recommend it if you're a Macha tea fan, as it makes the process remarkably fast and easy, simply scoop your tea into a bowl, add some water straight from the Zojirushi, whisk and enjoy.

The only design annoyance I've seen is that the power plug relies on magnets to hold itself in the socket. This is itself a good idea, except most of the body is metal. So if you position the dispenser such that you 're trying to plug it up from behind and can't see where the plug should be exactly, the magnet sticks to the body anywhere you put it until you can feel around for the socket. A fairly minor annoyance, but one that could have been fixed by making the body out of plastic further around the plug socket.

Very solid overall product.

"A very good product "
If you just want to plug something in and then get immediate hot water at the touch of a button, then this product does everything you would probably want it to do and does it well, while looking good. Easy to set water temps, timer (ok, here, you could complain that its not a clock but rather a timer from the time of setting but i just leave mine going all the time anyways and the vacuum seal keeps it from using too much energy while maintaining 175F all day), and even a button so that the water doesnt pour too fast. Overall very good quality, good capacity.