An apparatus for brewing tea in accordance with an aspect of the invention includes a brew chamber that holds water. An infuser disposed in the chamber holds tea leaves and allows the water to contact the tea leaves. A heater heats the water in the brew chamber. A control sets a tea characteristic of the tea leaves. The tea characteristic can include one or both of tea format (loose or bagged) and tea type. The control can also set tea strength. A control circuit communicates with the heater. The control circuit controls power to the heater to heat the water to a steep temperature and then controls power to the heater to maintain the steep temperature for a steep time. The control circuit determines the steep temperature and the steep time based on the set tea characteristic or characteristics. It can further determine steep time based on the set tea strength. The tea leaves steep in the heated water until the expiration of the steep time to produce a brewed tea.