The "star" rating system is kind of silly for the Zojirushi...I mean, it's not actually a tea. Nevertheless I'm giving it four stars on all counts because that's what I'd give it if there were only a single rating.

First let me say that it performs well, it's easy to clean, and it has made my life a lot easier than it was when I was heating water in the microwave. Having hot water right there "on tap" at all times is really the only way to go if you drink a lot of tea...and I do.

There are a couple of things I don't like about the Zojirushi, but they might not matter to anyone else. For one thing, the preselected temperatures are weird. I'm OK with 208° and 195°, but the next lowest temp is 175°; 180° would be ideal. The lowest temperature is 140°, which I consider to be utterly useless. I would like to see 160° or 165°.

The other thing I don't like is the timer, which gives you settings between 6 and 10 hours, in 1-hour increments. I often want shorter time increments, and occasionally (but less frequently) longer time increments.

Otherwise, I like my Zojirushi. It's a quality unit. If it had better temperature settings, I'd recommend it unreservedly.

I love Zojirushi water dispenser. Ever since i start using it couple years back, everything drinks I make is awesome. Just the perfect temperature I like. I never need to worry about burning my tea. It is easy to clean too. Planning to get the second in the future. I think it is a perfect gift item.