I nearly burned down my office twice with the cheap electric kettle from Wally World. I finally went out and bought the automatic shut-off. The extra $40 bucks was worth the peace of mind wondering after I drove off if I flipped the switch after that last cup. I have never regretted buying the UtiliTea. Like SS says, you do get what you pay for especially in this instance.kymidwife wrote:I own 2 electric kettles... one is a protor silex that cost 9.99 at walmart or target, i forget which. The other is a Breville stainless cordless electric kettle purchased at starbuck's by my nephew who works there... I think it was ~60.00.
Aug 26th, '08, 15:09
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Re: Alternatives to Adagio kettle
I still can't believe anyone called the UtiliTEA 'obscenely overpriced.' I am no expert on Adagio Tea's, but I will cheer-lead this product, and rightly so. Best $49 I ever spent...Charles Hutchinson wrote:Adagio's kettle, while great, is obscenely overpriced.
The other stainless steel options from reputable manufacturers (Breville, Braun, Chef's Choice, etc) are in the $50-$100 range.
Unless you go with an all-plastic model that is going to make your water taste like plastic... Or as mentioned, some no-name import from Chinatown that isn't UL-rated and may burn your house down

Aug 26th, '08, 21:50
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Re: Alternatives to Adagio kettle
I have a Bodum all plastic model and I hate it.joelbct wrote: Unless you go with an all-plastic model that is going to make your water taste like plastic...
Is BPA really the terrible thing that everyone says it is? I mean i don't really know much about it but i've been hearing about it all over this thread...CeruleanBlue wrote: Then, I asked Adagio what the plastic viewing window was made out of, and it's polycarbonate (and BPA is used in the production of polycarbonate).So, now I am on the lookout for something else, which is very unfortunate as I LOVED the size of the UtiliTEA.
Oh bummer, I didn't realize this... Well, the window is very small....PolyhymnianMuse wrote:CeruleanBlue wrote: Then, I asked Adagio what the plastic viewing window was made out of, and it's polycarbonate (and BPA is used in the production of polycarbonate).So, now I am on the lookout for something else, which is very unfortunate as I LOVED the size of the UtiliTEA.
BTW orguz, that site is interesting, but some of the suggestions on the list of top 10 things they want us to do to detoxify ourselves is a bit much... avoid canned food? Avoid Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS)? Good luck with that...
Aug 26th, '08, 23:22
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Hasn't burned down my house yet. I was a bit put off when I found the optional grounding wire, though.joelbct wrote:...some no-name import from Chinatown that isn't UL-rated and may burn your house down

Call me a skeptic (mostly based on the fact that there has never been a confirmed report of human illness resulting from BPA consumption, at least to my knowledge), but I don't buy into the scare. I'm sure if you were exposed to tons of the stuff *something* would happen, but I wouldn't bet on anything happening to you if you're just getting it from a leeching kettle or water bottle.PolyhymnianMuse wrote:Is BPA really the terrible thing that everyone says it is? I mean i don't really know much about it but i've been hearing about it all over this thread...
Not saying I agree or disagree with the BPA scare, but there probably wasn't a confirmed case of human illness caused by smoking cigarettes until sometime in this century, but that doesn't mean they used to be healthy-scruffmcgruff wrote:Call me a skeptic (mostly based on the fact that there has never been a confirmed report of human illness resulting from BPA consumption, at least to my knowledge), but I don't buy into the scare.
Aug 27th, '08, 14:52
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True, but our ability to find these things is much better now, thanks to improvements in medical technologies, media, communications, etc., than it was in previous centuries. It may very well be that there are cases that have not yet been found, but it's not something you can just take for granted without proof.
I used to use Nalgenes to mix various solutions that eventually went through NMR and Mass Spec analysis...IIRC, there weren't any 'extras' in my solutions even after a few weeks of lingering in lab drawers. 'Course, I wasn't an expert at reading the results, but my profs never noticed anything amiss. Just saying.
sorry for not replying so soon. In canada this bpa was mentioned everywhere in the news. companies were diposing baby bottles and foodware items which contained bpa i don't think you can find nalgene bottles anymore all you see are stainless steel waterbottles on the street. i stay away from kettles made from plastics they make water taste like sh.....aving creamjoelbct wrote:Oh bummer, I didn't realize this... Well, the window is very small....PolyhymnianMuse wrote:CeruleanBlue wrote: Then, I asked Adagio what the plastic viewing window was made out of, and it's polycarbonate (and BPA is used in the production of polycarbonate).So, now I am on the lookout for something else, which is very unfortunate as I LOVED the size of the UtiliTEA.
BTW orguz, that site is interesting, but some of the suggestions on the list of top 10 things they want us to do to detoxify ourselves is a bit much... avoid canned food? Avoid Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS)? Good luck with that...
ohhh well will you share more please........I love my utiliTEA kettle but have email CS a couple weeks still with no response from them yet about it.. the dial no matter which setting between the green & brown all seem to boil the water the same temp.. I've only had for the summer is this normal? Doesn't seem right to me... Am very interested in this new one your referring to.. please do tell more info? when?Chip wrote:Adagio is working on a kettle with actual temperature settings I believe.
I have found my UtiliTea to be a very good value. I have compared it side by side to units costing 10 bucks more and 10 bucks less. I think it is very fairly priced and certainly not "obscenely priced." Of course, if they want to make it cheaper, I will not complain.
Welcome to the forum, btw.
I compared this kettle to many others, shopped around and very reasonably priced and thats why I choose it.. so comparable as many others...
Do you know that Adagio is very competitive with all their products if you do the research you'll find out and I always come back and order from them. I think Adagio is even better!!
Aug 28th, '08, 13:32
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I would try to contact Adagio again.soapy wrote:ohhh well will you share more please........I love my utiliTEA kettle but have email CS a couple weeks still with no response from them yet about it.. the dial no matter which setting between the green & brown all seem to boil the water the same temp.. I've only had for the summer is this normal? Doesn't seem right to me... Am very interested in this new one your referring to.. please do tell more info? when?Chip wrote:Adagio is working on a kettle with actual temperature settings I believe. I have found my UtiliTea to be a very good value.
Mine seems to work fine, but have never tested it with a thermometer. One thing that seems to throw the sensors off, if you use minimum amount of water. The sensor seems to need near filling to work properly.
TBH, I rarely use any setting other than the hottest setting even for greens since I use the boiling water to preheat my pot and cups.
I only know they are working on the advanced kettle according to Michael from Adagio.
Regarding the "plastic" discussion, which I know too little about.
Plastics in today's society are impossible to avoid. At least in the USA. Even if one chooses to not use any plastics in the consumption of food, what about during production of foods. Ingredients used by manufacturers are often also stored in plastics, etc.
Plastics are involved in saving many lives in ways it would be difficult to impossible replace. Still, I have reduced the use of plastics in general since it is also impossible to test all plastics. Reducing possible exposure seems prudent, but I am not OCD about this, yet. One can only try to minimize exposure.