How to automate your morning cup of tea

Adding some smart home magic to your morning cup of tea is (almost) as easy as just buying a smart plug.

I'm of the opinion that everyone should get a medal for just waking up in the morning. If you can wake up, get ready, and make a cup of tea, you're practically a hero in my book. If you'd like to make things just a bit easier for yourself by adding some automatic magic to your morning routine, you can do that with a smart plug.

iDevices Switch

The iDevices Switch from — you guessed it — iDevices is one of my favorite Wi-Fi-connected switches.

Not only does it feature a customizable night light (it's got an LED strip running across the front that can be changed to loads of different colors), but it's also smart about taking up space. See, the problem with these internet-connected devices is they have to be big enough to contain all the necessary smarts. But that can mean a huge, honking wall sore. The iDevices Switch puts the plug on the side, so there's less jutting out of the front of the device. It's clever!

Assuming you've got an electric kettle (which is far superior to the ones you put on the stove), you're going to want to fill it with water the night before and set it to your desired settings (different teas call for different brewing temperatures). Once you've got your iDevices switch set up and connected to your home Wi-Fi network, you can create an automation that'll power that puppy on right before you wake up. You can wake, walk into the kitchen to find your kettle boiling your water, grab a mug and a tea bag, and make that tea magic happen!

How to create automations in the iOS Home app

You can also use it to monitor energy usage so you'll be able to keep track of how much your morning, afternoon, and evening cup of tea is costing you. The switch works with Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant, so as long as you're in range for a "Hey Siri" or "Alexa/Computer/Amazon/Echo" command, you've got control!

See at Amazon

How have you incorporated smart home tech into your morning routine?

Have you added a smart plug to your coffee maker? Put your toaster on a schedule? Automated your morning lighting? Give us a shout in the comments with your favorite morning smart home project!

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