Can't decide on a tea kettle

[thirtysixbelow]

It seems like no matter how much I look there is always something I don't like.

• A pure stainless steel kettle might make the water taste bad
• Some stainless steel kettles have plastic indicators and parts (plastic=bad)
• Glass kettles might break causing a big boiling water accident
• Induction kettles might pose a health risk
• Cast iron kettles can rust, increase iron intake, and cost a lot

...

I just want a kettle that won't affect the taste of the water or cause any potential health or safety risks. Most of the health risks might be a little nit picky, but if I'm using this thing every single day even a small risk can add up over time. I think the best thing for me would be an electric kettle with no plastic parts that doesn't affect water taste, or something I can put on the stove (ceramic?). Anyone else as paranoid as me and found something they like

[exquisite]

- glass kettles (Pyrex or borosilicate) should not affect taste of water, at least not to the degree a stainless steel fast(violently) boiling 3Kw machine does. And they are not as breakable as they seem.
- ceramic kettles are pretty good, the problem is that they do change the taste of water (especially if unglazed on the interior) and that might be good or less good , depending on the water you are using and the teas you are preparing. One thing with ceramic is to find one that can be used on electric stove or use only on low flame gas stove or go for dedicated alcohol stove
(best I found so far would be http://www.dometic.com/enuk/Europe/Unit ... taid=71772 )


Either way, before you make expensive purchases you have to decide :
- what teas will you be preparing mostly
- what type of water will you use
- what type of stove will you be using (gas, electric, alcohol)


Cheers!

[Oni]

If you drink japanese and chinese greens invest in a tetsubin, preferably activated iron, handmade ones, like the ones Hojo or Artisticnippon, or Horaido sell. If you drink oolong invest in a ceramic kettle, that works for puerh too. If you need a fast kettle for the times when you are in a hurry, buy a glass induction kettle, with stainlless steel bottom.

[tingjunkie]

Most of my tea friends and I all use stainless electric kettles, and we don't find a negative effect on taste, and we are pretty damn serious about our tea. Some stainless kettles require a few boils of baking soda before they are ready for use though.

[exquisite]

Most of my tea friends and I all use stainless electric kettles, and we don't find a negative effect on taste, and we are pretty damn serious about our tea. Some stainless kettles require a few boils of baking soda before they are ready for use though.

Don´t wanna start a dispute, but I would say that the "our tea" part (and also the water type part ) would be the first criteria in deciding whether to go for metal or for ceramic when looking for an advanced kettle. If we can have those specified maybe we can take further considerations into account.

Cheers!

[debunix]

Broke two pretty glass tea kettles before I gave up on those; bought a nice simplex kettle, was quite pleased with it, but after a while, liked the adjustable temperature feature on my Pino digital kettle (all stainless interior contacting the water) that I bought one just like it for home use.

But then, I'm happy with my tap water for tea, so what do I know?

[thirtysixbelow]

Thanks for all the replies. Here is some more information if it will help.
I drink all types of teas, but mostly Japanese greens.
I use filtered tap water (britta/pur filters)
My stove is gas, but I live in an apartment so that could change soon.

I guess I need something that is versatile for now, but maybe slightly geared towards green tea since I drink that the most. I'm thinking a quality electric stainless steel kettle that doesn't have any plastic parts and doesn't make my water taste bad would be the easiest solution. Or maybe I could go back to a basic stovetop kettle. Any suggestions for specific models?

[debunix]

Pino digital kettle pro is very nice. Have had mine less than a year, so can't yet comment on durability, but no problems yet, except one of them wants me to push & hold a a fraction of a second longer to reset things.

And yes, all stainless interior touching the water.

[TomVerlain]

I had a delonghi kettle which died atfer a few years of heavy service, and just bought this. The plastic is BPA free. I use it in my office where people make tea bag tea and oatmeal etc using it. I use if for puer and occaisonal other loose teas. It has three temp settings, and a digital read out of the temperature. It has a keep warm feature and most importantly, the color changes as the water changes in tempature. You can also easily see how much water is in it. Was $39.00 on amazon. Saeco 1167

There is no plastic odor or taste I can tell. It is cordless, meaning the black bottom has the cord and the kettle sits in it. Lift it off to pour. Auto shut off. So far, I like it. At home I have a kamjove induction. I would love to get another kamjove, but 110v models are hard to come by. Ideally, an induction base with a glass kettle. That would be my next choice, but that is too difficult for folks at work to deal with, so this is a good all around choice. And I needed it next day, so amazon ships overnight.

[Leafbox Pete]

I recently picked up a good stainless steel electric kettle from target. It's red and shaped like a suave, modern teapot. I admit that it was nice to see that Target finally had a decent electric kettle in the store. A year ago, they only had lousy ones. Upside, it also boils water really fast.

As for using a teapot, I've been using various sizes of glass French Presses for brewing up the tea. I then serve the tea in a glass teapot. The glass teapot we have is over 15 years old - never broken, never chipped and isn't pyrex. The branding has since rubbed off, but I do know that it was purchased by my wife in Harrod's in London. These days it is pretty much irreplacable.

The point is, don't be afraid of glass tea ware. I have five lively kids in my house and we've had good luck with it. Glass is a great way to enjoy tea because you get to look at it.