Samuel Rowbottom patented an Automatic Tea Making Apparatus in 1891 that used steam to push boiling water into a teapot.

Samuel Rowbottom’s 1891 patent describes a device combining a clockwork alarm, a gas burner with pilot light, and a steam-driven water transfer system to brew tea automatically. Though it was never mass-produced, this invention introduced a key technical principle still found in teasmades today.