Tea Kettles and Teapots...which one?

[deadalchemist]

I'm not new to tea by any means, but a lot of my brewing methods are pretty novice. Awhile back I talked about a gaiwan I considered getting and wow, I really fell in love with that. But it's too much effort if I want to make a lot of tea, like for guests. So I told myself I wanted a teapot. Upon looking for one, I realized...that doesn't heat on the stovetop does it? So here's my question, and I thought there's no one better than to ask you guys: kettle's are heated on the stove, and then the water is transferred to the teapot for infusion, correct? I'm so lost. At first I thought all I needed was a teapot, but I guess I need a tea kettle, correct? For large amounts of tea, what teaware do I need and what really is the brewing process for that? Any info would be helpful, but thanks in advance to everybody!

[Warden Andy]

Yes, kettles are for heating the water, and the teapot is for infusing. If you look hard enough (or just look on Adagio) you could find a teapot with an infusor. All you do is throw in about a teaspoon per cup, and brew for the regular western brewing times.

If you're not using a kettle, how are you heating your water?

[teaspoon]

Ok, kettle vs. pot question first... To heat the water on the stove, yes you will need a tea kettle. Or skip the stove and get an electric tea kettle. Either way, you can't heat the water in the teapot. Well, I suppose you could if the teapot is microwave safe and you just put it in the microwave, but barring that, you do need either a stovetop or an electric kettle. As far as I know.

What teaware do you need? Well that kinda depends on how much is a large amount of tea. You'll pretty much want a teapot with the cup capacity of however many guests you anticipate having. For example, if you're going to have three guests, plus yourself, I'd go with a 32 oz. pot, and 8 oz. teacups. Alternatively, you could use a couple of smaller pots, which would be cool too in that you could have different types of tea available. But I digress... Some teapots come with their own infusers, which personally I think is to be preferred. Makes life much easier. In the absence of such infusers, you can either use the teasac teabags like adagio has, or your own infuser if it fits in the pot and has enough capacity. I've also found that the ingenuiTEA works with teapots.

By brewing process, I'm going to guess you mean how much tea to use for the pot? Still use 1 tsp per cup (8-12 oz) of water. A lot of people also say to add 1 tsp for the pot. So for a 32 oz. teapot, you'd use 5 tsp of tea. So you get your tea leaves all measured out and in your infuser/teabags/ingenuiTEA. Boil the water in whatever kettle you've chosen. Pour said boiling water over the infuser/teabags in the teapot, because you can brew the tea directly in the pot even though you can't boil the water in it, or into the ingenuiTEA. From there you know what to do. You probably knew what I typed here anyway, but just in case.

That's just how I do it. Other people may have other routines, like putting the leaves in after the water, or not using an infuser, or something else, but that's the info I can give. Sorry if the post was a little long winded, or if I said anything you already know (which I probably did, seeing as how you're already a tea drinker).

~tsp

[deadalchemist]

Thanks to both of you, that was very helpful. I started my search on Adagio where I realized, oops, tea pots dont go on the stove. In answer to how I boil my water: well, a pot on the stove sometimes, and other times in a pyrex glass in the microwave. I despise the microwave which was another reason I really wanted to find an alternative method to that and my pot on the stove...that resulted in burnt hands too often. I like my tea traditional, and the microwave version just put me in a bad mood. Granted, boiled water is boiled water no matter how it's done...but in a microwave for tea? I'm sure you can see my gripe. For me it defeats the purpose; I like the ritual involved. So thanks again; I'll soon be looking further into kettles and stuff for a possible purchase.

[teaspoon]

Teahee, I totally know what you mean about the microwave. Plus, I never know really how long to put it in to boil it, so I would have to keep putting it back in. That was freshman year of college, before I got a Sunbeam HotShot for my room

~tsp

[karia]

Thanks to both of you, that was very helpful. I started my search on Adagio where I realized, oops, tea pots dont go on the stove. In answer to how I boil my water: well, a pot on the stove sometimes, and other times in a pyrex glass in the microwave. I despise the microwave which was another reason I really wanted to find an alternative method to that and my pot on the stove...that resulted in burnt hands too often. I like my tea traditional, and the microwave version just put me in a bad mood. Granted, boiled water is boiled water no matter how it's done...but in a microwave for tea? I'm sure you can see my gripe. For me it defeats the purpose; I like the ritual involved. So thanks again; I'll soon be looking further into kettles and stuff for a possible purchase.

this is what i use:

Zojirushi CD-LCC30 Micom 3.0-Liter Electric Dispensing Pot
http://www.amazon.com/Zojirushi-CD-LCC3 ... 27?ie=UTF8

it retails for like $200, but amazon has it for $134 and there are usually $25 of for spending $125 on the home and garden store so it can be had for $109. ok that said. it is worth easily 3 times that much.

1-you can select from three temps of water (208, 195 & 175) plus boiling (212), so your water is always perfect for each type of tea.
2-you can preset for it heat the water to your temp for 7 hours in the future so when you wake in the morning you have freshly boiled water at just the right temp.
3-its big so you can use it for many guests. but its scaleable so each person can have whatever size, temp and kind of tea they want in a flash.
4-it is not a cheap product like one gets from sunbeam or other such, this is made to last for years with daily use. i used one in japan what was about 5 years old and worked great, so it is an investment in a LONG time for always perfect water.
5-its completely safe to have on 24/7 as mine is. so if you want herbal tea at 4am, your water is hot and waiting for you.

[Jim.]

this is what i use:

Zojirushi CD-LCC30 Micom 3.0-Liter Electric Dispensing Pot
http://www.amazon.com/Zojirushi-CD-LCC3 ... 27?ie=UTF8

it retails for like $200, but amazon has it for $134 and there are usually $25 of for spending $125 on the home and garden store so it can be had for $109. ok that said. it is worth easily 3 times that much.

1-you can select from three temps of water (208, 195 & 175) plus boiling (212), so your water is always perfect for each type of tea.
2-you can preset for it heat the water to your temp for 7 hours in the future so when you wake in the morning you have freshly boiled water at just the right temp.
3-its big so you can use it for many guests. but its scaleable so each person can have whatever size, temp and kind of tea they want in a flash.
4-it is not a cheap product like one gets from sunbeam or other such, this is made to last for years with daily use. i used one in japan what was about 5 years old and worked great, so it is an investment in a LONG time for always perfect water.
5-its completely safe to have on 24/7 as mine is. so if you want herbal tea at 4am, your water is hot and waiting for you.

Wow...that thing is amazing.

[keelyn]

If you can spend the money, get the zojirushi. If not, I highly recommend the electric kettle from Upton tea. They have a variable and a slightly cheaper fixed version. I have the variable version but I find that it's easiest to just boil the water at the highest setting and let it cool down.

My kettle is my favorite thing in the kitchen right now. It's so much faster than heating on the stove. I swear it boils water faster than i can even decide what to drink!

[Jasmine Green]

I also have the Upton electric kettle and LOVE it! I have a Chatsford 4 cup teapot with a mesh infuser that makes brewing a breeze. Chatsfords come in 6 cup size also if you wanted something for guests.