What kettle do you use?

Ethan Kurland
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Sat Sep 17, 2022 8:21 pm

Konrud, You might read threads about electric kettles here. You will see Bonavita variable temperature kettles discussed & others. Then you go to websites perhaps because manufacturers may now produce kettles for European current that did not before. 1 L is much easier to handle (as Baiso advises). I used a 1.7 bonavita for a couple of years but returned to the 1 L.

To admirers of Skagg, I wonder why you prefer it to Bonavita which is about 1/2 of Skagg's price for BV's ordinary stainless-steel version. (The fancy styles are about the price of Skagg.)

What I want that I will probably never have, is for my kettle to speak when I turn it on, saying "Stay at the table until you have finished drinking a cup." (Sometimes I leave heated water that does not get used, prepared tea that did not get drunk, etc. having gone to a computer or whatever for 15 seconds that turns into an hour. What a waste...... etc! Cheers
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Pants404
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Sat Sep 17, 2022 8:51 pm

I mainly use a Stagg. It is nice having temperature control which works very well on this kettle. The negatives are that it can boil out if you let it get too low without paying attention, and the gooseneck is very slow to pour. The slow pour is really noticeable when using a pot over 100ml and it can take a while to fill the thing. Their Corvo might be a nice alternative that doesn't have this issue.

Alternatively when I am in the mood I will use a tetsubin on an induction plate.
As has been mentioned if you want cooler water you can pour Into a yuzamashi, or other bowl, before filling the pot.
There is an amount of care and intuition when using a tetsubin which makes it entirely different to a modern kettle. I have never let the water get low in mine, funnily enough, unlike my Stagg.
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debunix
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Sat Sep 17, 2022 10:30 pm

I like the Stagg for the ease of use of the controls--starting, setting temps, and how the temperature is held for a while after bringing water to temp and that it stays hot for the next infusion unless I turn it off. I've only had it for one year, so too early to report on its longevity, but my Bonavitas did not last so well in addition to having less user-friendly controls.

I posted this review of Bonavita on Amazon:
debunix wrote:
Sat Dec 28, 2019 9:51 pm

I love the overall design--easy to use. The preset temps are good starting points and make it easier to run through a series of hotter infusions during a green tea session (where I start with cooler water and infuse multiple times with hotter water each time).

Update Feb 2018

Quality control and longevity are the reasons why it is a 3 instead of a 4 or 5 star review.

I checked my purchase history and I've bought three Bonavita 1L gooseneck variable temp kettles (BV382510V), in 2013, 2015, and 2017.

The 2013 pot developed a fault where it stopped heating entirely in 2017, after almost 4 years of daily use, before and after work on most weekdays, and for 3-5 individual teas on weekends. Each session may involve touching the keypads at least once for heating water for 3-8 infusion per tea, and with the green teas, resetting temp with nearly every infusion--a lot of use.

The 2015 pot is in a satellite office where I prepare 2-4 teas/day a few days a month--not such heavy use. Out of the box it has the ‘hi-err’ problem which is well documented here. I could worked around that, so I didn’t replace it right away, but I see now there is a manufacturer replacement program that may deal with that.

But this week I’m starting to see a different glitch in my 2017 pot, one that gets 2-4 sessions/day heavy use—seems like it is having trouble recognizing that the pot is connected to the base. I can’t see any buildup of debris around the connections between base and pot, so again I’m thinking maybe fault with the electrics developing.

One pot glitching after less than 4 years, one almost out of the box, and one more after just under a year, from 3 purchased, seems a bit much.
Konrud
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Sun Sep 18, 2022 5:10 am

Ethan Kurland wrote:
Sat Sep 17, 2022 8:21 pm
Konrud, You might read threads about electric kettles here. You will see Bonavita variable temperature kettles discussed & others. Then you go to websites perhaps because manufacturers may now produce kettles for European current that did not before. 1 L is much easier to handle (as Baiso advises). I used a 1.7 bonavita for a couple of years but returned to the 1 L.

To admirers of Skagg, I wonder why you prefer it to Bonavita which is about 1/2 of Skagg's price for BV's ordinary stainless-steel version. (The fancy styles are about the price of Skagg.)

What I want that I will probably never have, is for my kettle to speak when I turn it on, saying "Stay at the table until you have finished drinking a cup." (Sometimes I leave heated water that does not get used, prepared tea that did not get drunk, etc. having gone to a computer or whatever for 15 seconds that turns into an hour. What a waste...... etc! Cheers

Thank you for your reply. I need a kettle not only for myself but for my family, thus, 1L won't be enough.
As for EU kettles production
I haven't been able to find those kettles for Europe, except for one copycat from my question message.
Konrud
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Sun Sep 18, 2022 5:13 am

LeoFox wrote:
Sat Sep 17, 2022 12:04 pm
I agree- full boiling is good for most teas except for conventional Japanese greens. And since konrud wants to focus on pu- going anything less than boiling is a waste
I don't want to restrict myself to only one type of tea, thus the question and a search for a kettle.
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teatray
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Sun Sep 18, 2022 7:33 am

Konrud wrote:
Sun Sep 18, 2022 5:10 am
I haven't been able to find those kettles for Europe, except for one copycat from my question message.
Most are available in Europe but often marketed to coffee enthusiasts. You can find Stagg, Hario (incl. electric version) on cremashop.eu. Takahiro is not available in the EU (unless you want to buy from a Japanese online shop with intl'l delivery or using a forwarder service), but there's the Kalita kettle which adheres to the same design principles, is more reasonably priced, and I've heard it's pretty good. I've shopped from cremashop before and they're fine (lots of products in stock) but often you can beat their price by looking at more shops.
Konrud
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Sun Sep 18, 2022 9:15 am

teatray wrote:
Sun Sep 18, 2022 7:33 am
Most are available in Europe but often marketed to coffee enthusiasts. You can find Stagg, Hario (incl. electric version) on cremashop.eu. Takahiro is not available in the EU (unless you want to buy from a Japanese online shop with intl'l delivery or using a forwarder service), but there's the Kalita kettle which adheres to the same design principles, is more reasonably priced, and I've heard it's pretty good. I've shopped from cremashop before and they're fine (lots of products in stock) but often you can beat their price by looking at more shops.
Great. Thank you for your reply.
I'll try to see if I can purchase it from cremashop.eu.

Is it a trusted website?
Have you bought anything from them?
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Teafortea
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Sun Sep 18, 2022 9:46 am

I use Sage tea maker. A copy paste in Europe of the breville tea maker brand I have home. It has the option that it brews tea for you, though I don’t use much other than herbals or breakfast blacks. It lasts forever! The one I have home is about 8 years old.

https://www.sageappliances.com/uk/en/pr ... tm800.html
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Balthazar
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Sun Sep 18, 2022 10:56 am

I stopped using electrical kettles around six years ago, when we moved to a place where the kitchen power outlets could not handle such voltages. But I do agree that the variable temp ones can be useful if you're brewing Japanese greens. Even if you reach the "kettle whisperer" stage where you can hear the temperatures (so to speak), having it automated can be practical if you're in a hurry and/or circumstances demand that you can not watch over your kettle while it heats up the water.

I most cold brew my sencha these days, and on the rare occasions that I don't I'll wait for the boiled water to cool when brewing Japanese greens. Although we're living in an apartment with a much better electrical system now, I haven't looked back after transitioning to stovetop kettles. One stainless steel and one tetsubin. Both possibly buy-it-for-life, which I appreciate.
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Bok
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Sun Sep 18, 2022 5:36 pm

Buy it for a life is another, more and more important plus!
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Victoria
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Sun Sep 18, 2022 10:08 pm

I just spent one year mostly heating water with a 60s pyrex pan, watching bubbles to do a temperature gauge. This was due to my not being at my west coast home, and not really wanting to purchase a new variable temp control kettle -when I already had two back at my west coast home, a 1L Stagg and 1.7L Bonavita. Anyhow, as some other steamed Japanese green tea aficionados have shared, those teas are particularly sensitive to too much heat (ruins subtlety and brings out bitterness) and so a variable temp kettle is really useful tool especially to enjoy the delicate steamed young buds of gyokuro and sencha. Yes, a Yuzamashi and tea cups can be used to cool the water, but so can I walk or ride a bike to visit friends. Anyhow, I practically had no gyokuro or sencha during the time I heated water on the stove top -no time for disappointments, too many other challenging things going on. Tetsubin are great, but on hot days I’m not into that at all. The modern practicality of a variable temp kettle helps me consistently enjoy elegant teas which require precision temperature. The Stagg is beautifully designed, very quiet, and a pleasure to use but is a slow pour, the Bonavita is a good work horse but has an expiration date of maybe 5-8 years. My 1.7L Bonavita stopped working six months ago, so I’m either going to get a new base (none available at the moment) or am also on lookout for another 1.7L variable temp kettle which I use mostly for tea tastings and on busy days due to fast pour.
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DigitalSparks
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Mon Sep 19, 2022 4:24 am

I have been using this lately, before this I had an old copper bottom Revereware kettle.
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