To all our wonderful supporters of Qi Aerista!

We are glad to resume our bi-weekly publishing schedule for our Qi Aerista project update. 

In the past 2 weeks we saw:  

- Tooling in progress  

- Completion of firmware/wi-fi connectivity development and migration to integration testing

- Alpha version of app available for internal testing  

- Finalization of Qi Aerista artisan tea delivery service  

Manufacturing Update

Brewer Hardware

We are moving along according to our revised manufacturing schedule. Our main manufacturer is working with different tooling and component suppliers to finish tooling fabrication around mid Nov. and prepare for trial production in early Dec. 

The first batch of 30 production-version glass shells have arrived at our manufacturer's factory and we are undergoing various tests including aesthetics and heat shock resistance. Sample base panels have also be sent to our manufacturer for scratch-resistance testing.

PCBA  

We are working with our partners to undergo integration testing of PCBA and app to verify the various app-related functions including real-time tracking of brewing process, remote control, customization of brewing parameters, and tea database integration.

Firmware testing of the first batch of production-version PCBA has also been completed. Our second batch of PCBA is under fabrication to correct the uncovered issues, mostly minor. These PCBA samples will be installed in our first batch of off-tool brewer production samples, which are expected to be ready in early Dec.

App

We have received the first alpha release of our app from our development partners. In-depth debugging is underway, which also includes language translation between English and Chinese to clean up the UI.    

We expect our beta version to be released during the first week of Nov. Once ready, we would invite volunteers from our backer community to be our beta testers to help us improve our app.

Artisan Teas By Qi Aerista

Our artisan tea delivery service is in the final stages of preparation, including packaging, logistics and website management. Our vision is to deliver fresh Chinese tea directly to you from plantations across China, the home of tea. Our app will serve as an important guide to help you better appreciate our tea offerings and enhance your tea experience with or without using our brewer.

We are grateful to those in our wonderful backer community who have volunteered to help us evaluate our tea service in the prelaunch stages. We expect our first test packages to be sent out next week.   

Live Session with New Qi Aerista

Currently our newest prototype is on a road trip at our main manufacturer's premises for production evaluation. Once back to our office, likely by the end of next week, we will set up a live video streaming session to formally introduce our new brewer and other project developments. Please stay tuned for any scheduling updates.

Over the next 2 weeks we will see:  

- Tooling in progress  

- Completion of integration testing between app and PCBA   

- Beta version of our app available for volunteer testing  

- Soft launch of Qi Aerista artisan tea delivery service  

- Schedule a new Kickstarter/Facebook live session to introduce our new Qi Aerista

We would like to end this project update with a sneak peek of this video. Hope it will wow you.