I was surprised too! I could actually taste my tea and it tasted really good with that plastic kettle.impromptuandy wrote:The Bonavita is great. I used the non-variable one for several years. But if the water heated in the glass kettle makes your tea tasteless, it sounds like you need to change/experiment with different waters? Certainly a stainless steel kettle isn't going to improve the taste of your water.
You didn't have this problem with the plastic kettle?
armormaniac wrote:I was surprised too! I could actually taste my tea and it tasted really good with that plastic kettle.impromptuandy wrote:The Bonavita is great. I used the non-variable one for several years. But if the water heated in the glass kettle makes your tea tasteless, it sounds like you need to change/experiment with different waters? Certainly a stainless steel kettle isn't going to improve the taste of your water.
You didn't have this problem with the plastic kettle?
The only thing that changed was the kettle, I know all my tea didn't go bad in the same day and i'm using the exact same water.
Granted it's from the tap but because we have a private well we don't get all the chlorine and stuff from city water.
What kind of water would be good for tea? I can't afford any kind of expensive spring water.theredbaron wrote:armormaniac wrote:I was surprised too! I could actually taste my tea and it tasted really good with that plastic kettle.impromptuandy wrote:The Bonavita is great. I used the non-variable one for several years. But if the water heated in the glass kettle makes your tea tasteless, it sounds like you need to change/experiment with different waters? Certainly a stainless steel kettle isn't going to improve the taste of your water.
You didn't have this problem with the plastic kettle?
The only thing that changed was the kettle, I know all my tea didn't go bad in the same day and i'm using the exact same water.
Granted it's from the tap but because we have a private well we don't get all the chlorine and stuff from city water.
Chlorine is not the only thing that makes water unsuitable for tea. If your water is too hard then it is also unsuitable for tea.
That's interesting. The only reason I can think of for that is if scale had built up on the plastic kettle and improved the taste of the water. (Isn't that one of the ideas behind tetsubins? Maybe we should replace them all with plastic kettles.armormaniac wrote:I was surprised too! I could actually taste my tea and it tasted really good with that plastic kettle.
The only thing that changed was the kettle, I know all my tea didn't go bad in the same day and i'm using the exact same water.
Granted it's from the tap but because we have a private well we don't get all the chlorine and stuff from city water.
)I never thought of those circumstances, I think I'll go ahead and keep the glass kettle. If I were to return it Amazon would only give me a fraction back.impromptuandy wrote:That's interesting. The only reason I can think of for that is if scale had built up on the plastic kettle and improved the taste of the water. (Isn't that one of the ideas behind tetsubins? Maybe we should replace them all with plastic kettles.armormaniac wrote:I was surprised too! I could actually taste my tea and it tasted really good with that plastic kettle.
The only thing that changed was the kettle, I know all my tea didn't go bad in the same day and i'm using the exact same water.
Granted it's from the tap but because we have a private well we don't get all the chlorine and stuff from city water.
As far as the hardness of the water goes -- if you were getting good results before, I don't see how it could be an issue. You definitely need some minerals to make good tasting tea, especially for pu-erh/roasted oolongs. I use Crystal Geyser brand spring water with mainly pu-erh and yancha with very good results, and I regularly get some pretty heavy calcium buildup on my glass kettle. Greener things take well to water with less minerals (while this makes yancha in particular... unpalatable).
There are of course more factors that could've affected how your teas tasted. Maybe something you ate, or the weather, etc. You could've even gotten used to the plastic from the kettle, and your body doesn't "like" that it's gone.
Getting a bit off track though. Seems like an opportunity to experiment before getting a new kettle just yet. (Unless you've already returned the Ovente?) But the Bonavita is good.
armormaniac wrote:What kind of water would be good for tea? I can't afford any kind of expensive spring water.theredbaron wrote:armormaniac wrote:I was surprised too! I could actually taste my tea and it tasted really good with that plastic kettle.impromptuandy wrote:The Bonavita is great. I used the non-variable one for several years. But if the water heated in the glass kettle makes your tea tasteless, it sounds like you need to change/experiment with different waters? Certainly a stainless steel kettle isn't going to improve the taste of your water.
You didn't have this problem with the plastic kettle?
The only thing that changed was the kettle, I know all my tea didn't go bad in the same day and i'm using the exact same water.
Granted it's from the tap but because we have a private well we don't get all the chlorine and stuff from city water.
Chlorine is not the only thing that makes water unsuitable for tea. If your water is too hard then it is also unsuitable for tea.
Given how much of tea is water, improving your water is actually a very cost effective way to improve your tea.armormaniac wrote: What kind of water would be good for tea? I can't afford any kind of expensive spring water.
