UtiliTEA Questions!

[BumbleBeeJBG]

Hello everyone! Long time lurker, first time poster. This place is a great source of information for many things: tea.

I have a few questions about the UtiliTEA product. I'm just gonna go ahead and list them.

1) How much faster/slower is it getting water to temperature then your average kettle on the stove?
2) How hard is it to get the exact temperature you want? I try and get as scientific as possible with my temperatures.
3) Any other general impressions?

Thanks in advance for your replies!

[forkyfork]

I'm sure people can probably give you better answers, but for the time being, I'll answer some - as I'm a proud Utilitea owner.


1) Don't know, since this is my first kettle. Seems pretty fast to me.
2) It depends. For greens, it's a little tricky. As long as you put it somewhere on the green part, you'll usually get around 180. I always use a thermoter to make sure. But, for the boiling water.. that's easy - just turn it all the way to the right and you are good to go.
3) I love my Utilitea and use it daily. Keep in mind, though, that have to boil a minimum of 2 cups at a time. This kinda sucks, as I am usually just drinking tea for one :'( .. - Also, there's no alarm or sound when the UtiliTEA is done. The clicker just clicks up .. and that's that. Sometimes I don't hear it if I'm far away. But the water stays very warm inside for a long time.

[BumbleBeeJBG]

Thanks! Another question I have is does this thing take into account that you're going to be pouring the water? What I mean is when you pour water you're bringing the temperature down, how does this thing account for that drop in temperature?

[Mary R]

You have to boil a minimum of two cups at a time? That's news to me. I don't do any less than about 10 oz or so at a time...but that's much less than 2 cups. I often use a thermometer to double check the utilitea's accuracy and haven't noticed any ill-effects.

[Wesli]

"Become one with your thermometer."

[joelbct]

The UtiliTEA is much faster than a stovetop kettle. It has vastly improved my quality of life and I'm serious!

As for accuracy, just the fact that it has a temperature control at all is very nice. I still double check w/ a thermometer, but I am usu. able to get it to within 5 degrees of where I want just using the temp. control.

For future models, a digital thermometer option would be nice, but you would still have to factor in the cooling that takes place when you pour into a teapot or brewing vessel, so it is still just something one has to fiddle with and get used to.

Plus, it might double or triple the cost of the kettle- I am not aware of any tea kettle out there with a digital thermostat.

In any case, I am very picky about gadgets, and tea, and the UtiliTEA def. gets my seal of approval.

[Wesli]

I am not aware of any tea kettle out there with a digital thermostat.

Zojirushi. But you are right, it is by no means a tea kettle.

[Wesli]

[BumbleBeeJBG]

Thanks for your replies all, seemed like a solid product, I just wanted to be sure. I use a thermometer already now, I'm just trying to make my life a bit easier...

On a related note, someone brought up the issue of pouring and how it impacts cooling. Most of my teas I know what temps to pour it at just out of experience in trial and error, but if I get a new tea I like to follow what it says because I figure they know their product and it's a good starting point. Anyways, my question is, when people list a temp to infuse at, let's say, 185 degrees, do they mean pour it when it's 185 degrees or do they mean it should steep at 185?

Fukamushi, tell me more about this Zojirushi

[skywarrior]

Hello everyone! Long time lurker, first time poster. This place is a great source of information for many things: tea.

I have a few questions about the UtiliTEA product. I'm just gonna go ahead and list them.

1) How much faster/slower is it getting water to temperature then your average kettle on the stove?
2) How hard is it to get the exact temperature you want? I try and get as scientific as possible with my temperatures.
3) Any other general impressions?

Thanks in advance for your replies!

Welcome!

1. It seems a lot faster to me than heating up water on the stove.

2. Buy a digital cooking thermometer for about $3 and take the temperature at different levels. It's remarkably consistent, (the utilitea).

3. Other general impressions: It's awesome. I really like it. When I bought it, I wondered if this was really something worth the money, but the answer is yes, it's worth it. Just the shut off feature is worth the price right there.

[Salsero]

Scruff and I both have a similar variable temp kettle that we got from Upton and we both love ours. I've switched to a Zojirushi for the last few months, which is also a good choice but pricier and bigger.

[joelbct]

Nice Zojirushi, FD-

But cool as it is, no, it's not exactly a kettle... I had been in the market for a 360, cordless, stainless-steel, liftable/pour-able, hidden-heating-element-able kettle...

Again, tho, I love the UT, it is a wonderful product thus far, but yah, a digi thermostat option might be cool. Not sure how many tea-geeks would actually pay for that option, but I would be among them....

[Wesli]

Why thank you.

JBG,
The Zojirushi is the ultimate maker of tea water...
On second thought, I don't want to do a sales pitch.
To sum it up, without my Zojirushi I just might die. This is the single most important tool in my arsenal. Boils my water, dechlorinates it, keeps it hot all day, and has a timer so that I can wake up to a heavenly beeping that tells me, "It's tea time!"

[Chip]

I have both the UtiliTEA ans the Upton version, one for home and one for work. Both work great, but the utiliTEA is definately cooler and seems better made.

And way way faster than stove top.