SIMPLICITEA IN THE NEWS

SimpliciTea Aims to Modernize Tea Service for Operators

March 11, 2026 – Appliance Innovation is expanding the reach of its Automated Fresh-Brew SimpliciTea platform, a new tea system designed to solve long-standing challenges with traditional batch brewing. Developed in partnership with convenience-store chain QuikTrip, the touchscreen-enabled machines brew tea for each cup on demand, helping operators avoid the waste and quality issues that occur when tea sits too long in urns. The system also allows customers to customize sweetness, flavor, strength, and temperature—bringing a new level of flexibility to a beverage category that has historically offered limited options.

With the global tea market continuing to grow, Appliance Innovation sees SimpliciTea as a way for convenience stores, restaurants, and other foodservice operators to capture rising consumer demand. The platform’s automated brewing and weekly self-cleaning cycles help reduce labor demands while keeping tea fresh for days rather than hours, creating a more efficient and scalable way to serve a wider variety of tea-based beverages.

Beverage Innovation Is Driving a New Wave of Restaurant Technology

March 9, 2026 – Appliance Innovation is expanding availability of its Automated Fresh Brew SimpliciTea platform, bringing the automated tea system to convenience and grocery retailers nationwide after its initial rollout with QuikTrip. Designed for high-traffic beverage areas, the compact platform brews premium hot and cold tea on demand while automating cleaning and portion control. The result is a faster, lower-touch system that helps operators reduce waste, manage labor pressures, and turn tea into a more profitable beverage category.

Available in multiple sizes—including the compact SimpliciTea 1500 and the larger QTea model—the system allows retailers to offer a wider variety of fresh teas without the drawbacks of traditional batch brewing. By supporting customizable recipes and trending beverage options, SimpliciTea helps stores expand their drink lineup, appeal to health-conscious consumers, and drive incremental beverage sales from a small footprint.

Beverage Innovation Is Driving a New Wave of Restaurant Technology

March 3, 2026 – Phil McKee, the inventor behind the TurboChef oven, is now focusing on beverages as restaurants race to meet growing demand for customizable drinks. After decades of developing cooking equipment, McKee’s company, Appliance Innovation, shifted its attention to the beverage station following requests from major convenience-store chains seeking more efficient ways to serve complex, made-to-order drinks.

One result is SimpliciTea, an automated brewing system developed with QuikTrip to keep tea fresher longer while reducing waste and labor. The company is also testing a compact coffee platform called COFU with 7-Eleven. At the same time, equipment manufacturers like Middleby are rolling out flexible beverage technologies—such as FizzBot and Gravity dispensers—that allow restaurants to easily introduce new drink flavors and limited-time offerings. Together, these innovations highlight how beverage programs are becoming a major driver of traffic, revenue, and technology investment across foodservice.

The Beverage Boom Is Reshaping Restaurant Equipment

February 27, 2026 – Phil McKee, the inventor behind the TurboChef oven, is now turning his attention from kitchens to drink stations as restaurants race to keep up with the booming beverage market. Driven by consumer demand for customizable drinks—from dirty sodas to specialty coffees—operators are seeking equipment that can handle complex, made-to-order beverages without adding labor. McKee’s company, Appliance Innovation, developed SimpliciTea after convenience-store chain QuikTrip asked for a better way to keep tea fresh and reduce waste. The automated system brews tea concentrate, rapidly chills it to preserve freshness, and dispenses drinks to order with customizable flavors and sweeteners.

The push toward automation extends beyond tea. Appliance Innovation is also testing a compact coffee platform called COFU with 7-Eleven, while equipment giant Middleby is rolling out new beverage technologies like the FizzBot and Gravity dispensers that allow restaurants to easily introduce new drink options. Together, these innovations reflect a broader shift across foodservice: as beverages become a bigger driver of traffic and revenue, the technology behind the drink station is evolving just as quickly as the menu.

SimpliciTea Automates Fresh Tea for QSR Operators

February 17, 2026 – Appliance Innovation, led by TurboChef inventor Phil McKee, is bringing automation to the tea category with SimpliciTea, a fresh-brewing system designed for high-volume quick-service restaurants. The platform prepares hot or cold tea on demand, offers customizable flavors and sweetener levels, and features automated self-cleaning to reduce staff workload.

Built for speed and compact footprints, the award-winning SimpliciTea 1500 helps operators replace traditional batch brewing with a more efficient, lower-waste solution—while opening the door to premium tea offerings and new beverage revenue opportunities.