[Carolyn Tillie]

I'm an old-fashioned girl -- I've been boiling water for tea on my stove top for 40+ years now.

But in my recent travels, I have discovered to my wonderment and awe, the joy of the electric tea kettle which produces boiled water in literally a minute or two. Here in Lyon, I have been using a brand named Aslotel which apparently only provides products to hotels. I've seen at the BF's mother's house, a Braun which supplies hot water in a pump pot and I believe it takes a bit longer to provide the hot water.

Well I'm in the market and perusing Amazon, am curious if anyone has any specific recommendations. I mean, all this time, I have had to wait upwards of ten minutes for my lame-ass electric stove to bring a pot of water to a boil! I had no idea technology had come so far and I want in on it...

[hollywood]

But it takes 10 minutes to achieve satori.

[splinky]

I'm an old-fashioned girl -- I've been boiling water for tea on my stove top for 40+ years now.

But in my recent travels, I have discovered to my wonderment and awe, the joy of the electric tea kettle which produces boiled water in literally a minute or two. Here in Lyon, I have been using a brand named Aslotel which apparently only provides products to hotels. I've seen at the BF's mother's house, a Braun which supplies hot water in a pump pot and I believe it takes a bit longer to provide the hot water.

Well I'm in the market and perusing Amazon, am curious if anyone has any specific recommendations. I mean, all this time, I have had to wait upwards of ten minutes for my lame-ass electric stove to bring a pot of water to a boil! I had no idea technology had come so far and I want in on it...

for many years i used a russell hobbs but now i have a zojirushi which keeps the water at the perfect temperature for your fave hot beverage. mine has 3 temp settings.

zojirushi water boiler

[mcj]

Splinky's boiler reminded me of the one my aunt has (in Germany), but it's wall-mounted. It has a fill valve on top, fed from the cold-water pipe and a valve below to dispense the hot water. I recall that it was quite quick, but didn't time it. That was about 16 years ago and I haven't seen anything like it since. Naturally, I don't recall the manufacturer's name.

Perhaps Behemoth has seen something similar there?

[SRD]

The only people over here who still use their stove tops to boil kettles are those whose stoves are always on, like AGAs, wood burners etc. Everyone uses an electric one. Joys of the National Grid I suppose. Ours is a Morphy Richards with double insulation (so it can be kept next to other things without damaging them when it gets hot and to keep the water inside hot for longer) and a 'keep warm' button that maintains temperature in the kettle so boiling doesn't take as long as bringing up from cold. Not that I use that as I prefer to use freshly drawn water for each pot of tea I make.
I do have a stove top coffee maker thingy though.

[SamanthaF]

I'd say that 90% of UK households have electric kettles. I have a quick boil jobby - takes about 2 mins.

I was suprised to have an electric kettle in my serviced apartment in NYC last year - I've always used the coffee maker to heat water in the US before.

[flyfish]

I'd say that 90% of UK households have electric kettles. I have a quick boil jobby - takes about 2 mins.

Same here in Canada - electric kettles are ubiquitous.

[TheMatt]

I think electric kettles are fairly common in the US as well. Pretty much everyone I knew in grad school had one, and many people I work with now have one in their offices. I include myself in that, I have a Black and Decker model that I think has long gone away. I do recommend the type that have a "base" you plug the kettle on to like this one. I don't know that model, but that design usually means you don't have an exposed element inside the carafe. In fact, reading the reviews, that model seems to get hot on the outside, which is probably not what you want.

One word of warning about dispensing pots like the Zojirushi. Those are really only useful around sea level, much like those pod-style coffee makers. I really wanted to get one when I was in Boulder, but after reading the description, I figured I couldn't. At high altitudes the pot would continuously boil at high temperatures and burn out quite quickly I imagine.

[omnivorette]

Timely thread....we need a new one for upstate.

[H. du Bois]

I do recommend the type that have a "base" you plug the kettle on to like this one.

Agree absolutely. I would recommend the kind with an automatic shutoff mechanism when it boils. A friend has one of those (I don't remember which brand), and they're great. The manual kind put you at risk of boiling dry if you get distracted and forget to keep an eye on it. I'd worry about the potential fire hazard of the latter.

[ghostrider]

I think electric kettles are fairly common in the US as well. Pretty much everyone I knew in grad school had one, and many people I work with now have one in their offices. I include myself in that, I have a Black and Decker model that I think has long gone away. I do recommend the type that have a "base" you plug the kettle on to like this one.

I don't get it. From a review of the model linked:

I was astounded at how fast this thing heats water, maybe 5 minutes for a mostly full pot from tap-cold to full rolling boil.

My gas stove does that. What's the point of these things for home use? Is this an inaccurate comment?

For non-stove locations, or maybe if you have an electric stove, an electric kettle makes some sense.

Though I see some reviews of that Zojirushi from alleged tea fanatics who like it, even at home, because it keeps water hot for hours. Sacrilege! They aren't addressing the de-oxygenation factor - for optimal flavor, you want freshly boiled water & you want to boil it for not more than a minute, preferably not more than a couple of seconds.

Color me skeptical.

[omnivorette]

It's faster than 5 minutes. It's so fast. And doesn't take up stove space. But upstate we have an electric stovetop so up there it makes a difference. In the city I don't need it - strong gas burner boils in our kettle very fast too.

[ghostrider]

But upstate we have an electric stovetop so up there it makes a difference.

That I can see. When we used to stay at the in-laws' house the electric burners drove me nuts.

[omnivorette]

I think it also depends on how much counter space you have, how many burners you have, etc.

[Carolyn Tillie]

I think electric kettles are fairly common in the US as well. Pretty much

I was astounded at how fast this thing heats water, maybe 5 minutes for a mostly full pot from tap-cold to full rolling boil.

My gas stove does that. What's the point of these things for home use? Is this an inaccurate comment?

For non-stove locations, or maybe if you have an electric stove, an electric kettle makes some sense.

Though I see some reviews of that Zojirushi from alleged tea fanatics who like it, even at home, because it keeps water hot for hours. Sacrilege! They aren't addressing the de-oxygenation factor - for optimal flavor, you want freshly boiled water & you want to boil it for not more than a minute, preferably not more than a couple of seconds.

Color me skeptical.

I've got a REALLY cheap electric rental stove and I frequently wait 15 to 20 minutes for water to boil. Seriously. I agree with the sacrilege factor which is why I kinda like the insta-boils when I do want hot water. But the Zojirushi is attractive for the advent of white teas, etc...

Still debating.