Alternatives to Adagio kettle

[Sydney]

I wouldn't mind a good kettle upgrade, either.

[Chip]

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.

[kymidwife]

If you find a high quality stainless electric kettle for a low price, I wanna hear about it!

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.

OK, so they both boil water... and neither have a variable temperature setting. They both boil water very quickly. The cheap one is much smaller in capacity and will boil dry, never cuts off. The nicer one kicks off power automatically a few seconds after the water reaches a boil. The biggest difference other than asthethic appearance on my kitchen counter is how long the water stays hot after it shuts off. The Breville keeps temperatures super hot for at least a couple of hours, so reboils happen very quickly. There doesn't seem to be much insulation in the proctor silex economy version.

Don't know if that helps or not... but I am not displeased with the price or the performance of my Breville pot. That being said, I'd have bought a utilitea if I didn't already have the breville.

Sarah

[Mary R]

Yeah, Michael mentioned a Utilitea upgrade not so long ago, but there's not yet any word on when such a creature might drop.

As far as a quality kettle with temperature control goes...as you've found, there's not a wide selection. Among the ones that are available, though, Adagio's price is pretty conservative. Zoji's can get into the $200 range, the Breville BKE820XL goes for $150, the T-Fal BF6520004 Vitesse and Toastess TJK-314 retail for $69.99, and the Phillips HD4678 doesn't appear to be readily sold in the US anymore. Upton Tea Imports does carry one for $49.95, and their cheapest shipping option is $4.

[joelbct]

I don't think it's overpriced at all... 50 bux? For something you use every day? Mine was about the best $50 I've ever spent.

A quick look on Amazon/Pricegrabber turns up: a Breville going for $80, Chef's Choice models going for 50-70, an ugly plastic Braun for 50... an impractical looking Krups for 60... a Bonjour for 80... a Hamilton Beach for 40, msrp 70...

Plus the UtiliTEA has the variable temp control, and hardly any plastic/rubber touching the water... almost every other electric kettle on the US market has significant plastic or rubber in contact with the hot water.

[Wesli]

ZooooOOOOOOjirushi!

[Space Samurai]

I wouldn't call it overpriced.

Boiling water seems pretty simple, but it has been my experience with electric kettles that you get what you pay for.

[Carnelian]

ZooooOOOOOOjirushi!

I think you missed the part where Charles wants to spend less than the cost of the Utilitea.

Anyways, I used to have a string of cheaper electric kettles and they just weren't worth the money I spent on them. They all were boil only, so I often pulled out the stovetop kettle and the thermometer when I wanted green tea, and eventually the stovetop kettle was just used for everything. Then I got the Utilitea, tested mine for where the individual temperatures fell, and soon confirmed that it was worth every penny.

[lastcoyote]

i'm currently using this kettle at the moment:



well good! unfortunately no longer seems to be available. you actually select the temperature on a digital display. goes from 50c to boiling in 5c increments.

i really would like a proper chinese kettle specifically for gongfu sessions though. i like the kamjove ones available on dragon tea house but heard that the kamjove might not be the best quality...anyone able to direct me to something similar available to the UK?

[sygyzy]

i'm currently using this kettle at the moment:

well good! unfortunately no longer seems to be available. you actually select the temperature on a digital display. goes from 50c to boiling in 5c increments.

i really would like a proper chinese kettle specifically for gongfu sessions though. i like the kamjove ones available on dragon tea house but heard that the kamjove might not be the best quality...anyone able to direct me to something similar available to the UK?

I'd like to know if you've ever measured the temperatures to see if the section works. I have a T-Fal electric kettle and anything from halfway to full creates the same temp. Anything less than that makes water of about 180F. There's no real granularity. I cannot do 168F if I wanted. Or 201F.

[lastcoyote]

I'd like to know if you've ever measured the temperatures to see if the section works. I have a T-Fal electric kettle and anything from halfway to full creates the same temp. Anything less than that makes water of about 180F. There's no real granularity. I cannot do 168F if I wanted. Or 201F.

to be honest i'm scared to measure to see if it's actually doing what it's suppose to

though it does seem pretty accurate. it has a 'keep warm' feature that kicks in pretty regularly when it drops down 5c
the strange and annoying thing is that it doesn't do 95c it goes from 90c - boiling. i can only presume it's down to it being too hard for it to distinguish the difference at such a high temp.

what does everyone use for measuring water temp by the way?
also anyone point me to a good chinese style kettle for my gongfu sessions?

[Sydney]

what does everyone use for measuring water temp by the way?

I use the Taylor Connoisseur Series Tea Thermometer & Timer #516

Even with it's quirks, it's been an important part of my daily tea experience.

[chamekke]

Adagio doesn't ship the utiliTEA kettle outside the contiguous United States.

But - I found a Canadian seller on eBay who is selling what looks like the same kettle, and at a similar price.

In case there are any Canadians (or other non-Americans) who are longing for one of these kettles!