Anyone have the UtiliTEA kettle?

[yukondoit]

Anyone have the UtiliTEA kettle?
http://www.adagio.com/teaware/utiliTEA_ ... a94c7aa760

I'm thinking about getting one. It's kind of pricey compared to other water boilers, and I don't drink much green tea but I do drink a lot of green oolong. Any thoughts/complaints/praise for this machine?

** I know there is another post titled Utilitea, but it is about availability, not about use!

[Victoria]

I have it, I love it, I use it for green oolongs.

Pros:
It is nice that it detaches from the base.
It heats up fast.
Auto shut off is good.
Looks nice.
Not Plastic/poly.

Cons:
You can't get you hand inside to clean - well not very comfortably.

I rarely use anything but the highest setting.

[Chip]

I would buy it, again!

Nice style and function. For the price and features it is a good price. I just saw a cheapo Bodum today made of plastic and no variable temp for 40 bucks at Wegman's ... no thanx.

[thejamus]

I just bought one and have had it in my clutches for about a week now. Thus far, it's incredible. It cleans up really well, looks nice with the rest of my wares, and heats water very quickly. Less than four minutes with 30 ounces of cold water to a rolling boil.

I was extremely impressed with how smooth the pour is. I figured it might be a little sloppy considering the spout is pretty small. Sure enough, it pours like a champ too!

The variable temperature controls don't tell you the temp, and to be honest, I haven't messed around with that at all yet; I just keep it turned all the way up. I'm told the other settings work great for lighter teas; you just have to experiment with a thermometer for find that sweet spot.

Highly recommended!

[murrius]

Grrrrrrr.... Adagio won't ship these to Canada

In my view this is the best kettle for the money for anyone who brews teas with lower than boiling temp water.

[yukondoit]

Why don't you just find someone to buy it for you and then ship it to you? There's a kind of tea I love that is only available in Canada, and I found someone on eBay to buy it and ship it to me.

[chamekke]

murrius, I think that "UtiliTEA" is simply the name that Adagio sells this kettle under. Other vendors do offer it.

I found what I think is the same kettle being sold by an eBayer in Toronto named honestgabe. (There may be others, but this is the one I was able to find.) And he ships within Canada, of course.

He's not selling any of these just at the moment, but here's one that he sold back in November:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0273129936

Here's what it looks like. Seems to be the stock photo for this type of kettle, doesn't it?


Note: The URL for this eBayer's photo shows that it's actually on a site called niftea.com. Niftea is also offering the same kettle here. And judging from what Niftea says on their Shipping and Returns page, they DO ship to Canada. So you might try inquiring with them!

[Bubba_tea]

Do these kettles maintain the temp you select or just heat to the temp and shutoff? And... do you know if the kamjove induction pots, like http://www.birdpick.com/850585.html maintain the temp constantly?

[Oni]

This is my tea kettle, it is made in Spain it is Ufesa, so maybe some European members can buy it



This is another of their product

[tenuki]

+1 on utilitea kettle. I've a a couple different ones and it's the only one I would buy again if/when it finally breaks.

[murrius]

Thanks yukondoit and chamekke for your suggestions. I've bid on a utilitea that honestgabe has on ebay currently.

[chamekke]

Do these kettles maintain the temp you select or just heat to the temp and shutoff? And... do you know if the kamjove induction pots, like http://www.birdpick.com/850585.html maintain the temp constantly?

I don't think anyone ever answered this question, so...

These kettles heat to the specified temperature, and then shut off automatically. If you're not going to pour the water right away, you'll need to depress the switch underneath the handle to make the water go back up to the desired temperature.

Having said that - this kettle does retain heat pretty well!

[Chip]

Also, the temp "accuracy" diminishes with the less water you use. It is most accurate for a "full" kettle.

And yes, they retain heat very well. For most greens, I can set to boil and keep resteeping up to 4 times if I keep the session moving, which for Japanese greens I tend to do.

I have probably used mine several thousand times, but noticed recently that sometimes it fails to shut off, keeps on boiling away. So, I cannot leave it now unattended if I turn it on (which I guess I should not do anyway).

[chamekke]

The instructions I received also said that you shouldn't leave the base plugged in when the kettle is not in use.

???

I have to say, on this point I'm content to live dangerously. I've left it plugged in every single night, and so far nothing haaaa---AAARGGH!