Square Peg wrote:
> On Sun, 7 Sep 2008 00:39:36 -0700 (PDT), Rainy
gmail.com>
> wrote:
>>>I'm looking for an electric kettle with these features:
>>
>>1. Boils quickly (i.e. not like Zojirushi dispensers)
>>2. Metal on the inside, no plastic (specify if it's coated with
>>anything or plain steel)
>>3. Variable temps with wide range of possible values
>>4. Not more than $50.
>>
>>It looks like Upton Tea has a winner for $38. But is it metal on the
>>inside? Is it coated? Any other problems with it? Anyone have it or a
>>similar kettle?
>
> There are literally dozens of models available. Amazon has quite a few
> and many have owner ratings. Epinions has a long list:
>
>
http://www.epinions.com/Electric_Kettles--~all-9688_brand
>
> I just completed a fairly detailed search. I ended up ordering the
> Digital Kettle Pro from Tea Treasures. It's scheduled to arrive
> tomorrow. I'll post my impressions after I have a chance to use it
> some.
>
> On 8/20, Natarajan posted a nice review, after having just received
> one. It was one of the reasons I bought one myself.
>
> In my opinion, your $50 limit makes no sense. The difference between
> $50 and $100 is only $10/year if you keep if for just 5 years. If the
> $100 model has features that make your life easier, isn't that worth
> $10/year to you? No-brainer to me.
Yes but if you follow the same logic you can say that
a $1000 kettle used over 20 years is just $4/month. That's
the kind of silly thinking that left me pennyless and
having to settle for a $50 kettle. So you see that the
answer is already part of your question?
>
>
>
> My finalists were:
>
>
> 1. Digital Kettle Pro, $90, Tea Treasures.
>
>
http://teatreasures.com/page/Tea-Supplies/PROD/Electric-Tea-Kettles/DPROKETTLE
>
> Pros:
> * Digital temp control: 104пїЅF - boiling, +/- 3 degrees.
> * Temperature hold: holds water at the temperature setting.
> * Cordless
> * Stainless steel
> * 1.5 liter (50 oz, 6 cup) capacity
> * Auto shutoff if it runs dry
> * Alarm when water reaches temperature
>
> Cons:
> * 1,000 W (less than most)
> * Expensive
> * External water guage. The website says it has an external water
> guage, but Nataranjan says it does not.
>
> For me, this was the only real contender. The digital temp setting and
> the temp hold are not available in any other product as fas as I know.
> The ability to fill it up, set the temperature, and not have to be
> right there the instant it's ready was easily worth the extra $30-40.
I already have a Zojirushi and I suspect that hold temp
feature results in less-tasty tea.
Digital temp control is no better than
analog, the real issue is how accurate the thermostat
is, the Zoji I have cost $120 and is often listed at
around $140-150, so I think it would have thermostat
as good as kettles in sub-100 range, and it's not
terribly accurate, it can read 85 and then if you unplug
and plug it in again it will read 90, very often. So,
analog would be just fine for me as long as it's
accurate and consistent, but some people in
adagio UtiliTea reviews say that it's not consistent,
i.e. same setting will sometimes produce different
temp.
I don't want to pay more than $50 because I'm not
sure I will use it at all. I think tea from electrically
heated water won't taste the same/as good. Also
the reviews say that if you use less water, same
setting will produce higher temp.
My main concern is inconsistent heating at same
setting, because then I'd rather buy a $40-50
kettle without variable temp locally and use a timer
with it.
BTW Zojirushis look very nice, and they do temp
hold by heating. They only have one model that
_in addition_ works like a thermos, so that it
spends less energy to keep water at high temp.
The real problem with Zojis is that white and
green teas don't taste very good. I think because
of electric heating and slow heating.. Actually
blacks don't taste quite the same either.
