Reviewing Kettles for Tea
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ก.ค. 2024
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This is an in depth tea kettle review and gets a bit geeky. We promise that more tea videos are on their way but so many people asked for a kettle review so here you go.
Don goes in depth to find the best variable temperature kettle for your Gong Fu tea brewing.
To watch some videos about the importance of water temperature:
White Tea: • Brewing White Tea - Th...
Green Tea: • How to Brew Green Tea ...
Apologies to Smarter - the name of their kettle is the Smarter iKettle 2.0 not the iSmarter Kettle!
Russell Hobbs Retro Red: uk.russellhobbs.com/russell-ho...
Smarter iKettle: smarter.am/ikettle/
Sage Tea Maker: www.sageappliances.co.uk/the-...
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So this is an in depth and geeky review. More TEA videos are coming for those craving tea.
Mei Leaf YES! Thanks for your good work!! :)
I could watch a thousand of your videos in a row! Thank you for bringing proper tea videos to us!
Mei Leaf well speaking of tea kettles, was wondering how you felt bout the portable infusers on Amazon it any of the products they have on there meant for tea. Do you think the satellite tea tray is the best in terms of portability?
Any recommendations for kettles in Taiwan, please?
The Sage/ Breville is one awesome tea pot, I've had mine for years and LOVE everything about it. When it finally stops for me I will replace it with the same, I love it.
haha Perfect. I am headed out to get a new kettle for gong fu tomorrow. Your video timing and subject could not be more perfect. Thanks for all your hard work and care in these vids, They have all been very helpful in my study of tea.
Thank you Don! As a product reviewer I am sure it must be difficult to know what we all want to hear or not. You did a marvelous job for what I was looking for. Your content was very organized and that was helpful as well. Keep up the good work!
Great video. For me, the most important feature on a kettle is temperature control. I recently bought an Eletrolux Expressionist and I'm very happy with it.
"Im not going to bother watching this"
.... 8 minutes into the video :
"...DANGIT"
Yey!!! I've been waiting for this video!!! Thank you, Don!!!
My favorite is a philips kettle I bought off taobao designed for boiling water for baby formula. When you get close to your selected temperature, it slows down and takes its sweet time. It keeps the maximum amount of dissolved oxygen, you can see tons of little bubbles in suspension. Makes an awesome brew
Hey Don! Really nice video (as usual). All your videos are really interesting and informative, I definitely always learn a thing or two about proper brewing technique, tea culture and tea in general. It's a shame you don't have more views, you sure as hell deserve them! Keep up the good work and people will come around eventually. Greetings from Germany!
Thanks Bojan.
Ordered the Bonavita Electric Kettle yesterday. It has a keep warm function and it's possible to manually set temperatures in one degree increments. Also, it has a really nice spout. Looking forward to trying it out.
Thank you for the review. Would love to see more reviews on kettles. I would also like to know how loud the kettles are when they are heating. I appreciate all the videos.
Great reviews to watch. Love you advice on tea in general. Keep up the good work. Thanks!
Thanks Don I enjoy the videos!
I use a Vollrath Mirage Pro induction hob, with a stainless steel pot and a glass lid. works great.
Thanks, Don,
for another useful and informative review, as usual. We are all benefiting from your passion, competence and time, thanks!!!!
I use two SEKO chinese kettles, very similar to yours, and I love them.
I bring water (almost) to a boil and then wait for it to cool down: in some traditions -mainly for hygienic reasons, I presume-, water should be boiled first and allowed to cool down.
I pour boiling water from the kettle to a second serving cup (not the one that I will use for the brew), where I allow it to cool:
I don't like to handle large volumes of piping hot water: it is not easy to control the little quantity of water that I want to pour in the gaiwan, so I prefer to move the hot water to the (second) serving cup, and manage that little quantity.
I made a table with water temperatures evolution with time, using that cup, and I learnt how much time it needs to go down to 85 or 80 degrees. More or less! it is not so important, in my view, to control THE degree! it is more important to have a gut feeling for the right temperature that will be needed for that tea, in that condition (unfurling some type of leaves may require a bit hotter water, but not too much; the second brew, usually, a bit cooler; and for the last brews, I usually increase the temperature a bit, in order to steep the last flavors).
In my experience, you develop that feeling by touching the cup and by experimenting, and by using extensively the thermometer, for some initial months. Moving boiling water from the kettle to a cold cup reduces temperatures of around 10 degrees, and you can switch to another cold cup again, before actually using it in the gaiwan: in each step it will be losing around 10 degrees.
There is a Japanese accessory, that I found in Tokyo, which is a large flat bowl with a kyusu-style handle, made of porous clay, which is used to cool down (quickly!) the water. I use it and it is very effective to quickly bring down water to 60 degrees or less.
A last note: reboiling is not a good procedure, in terms of precipitated matter. I presume the same may be true for reheating, but I am not sure. Boiling helps precipitation, and reboiling will add more and more sediments inside the kettle and in the water used for brewing.
I still love the little gooseneck kettle you use in many vids----- :)
Thanks for sharing all your knowledge, Don!
Thank you so much for the video. It was very informative. Please do more kettle reviews!
Thank you for such an informative vid. I never realized there was so much to compare about tea kettles. And yesssss..please do more vids like this. I learned so much. But ya know something? I adore that little kettle from China out of all of them...lol. I just love that old world look it has! And when u showed the water pouring from it I was sold. The flowing water was beautiful. And that extra ability to siphon water from a bottle into the kettle is great. Thanks so much....I'm sold on that little guy...the camjo. I know that's incorrect spelling. Happy tea time.
Enjoyed your reviews of these kettles. I think the smart one seems cool. And yes I’d like to see more tea kettle reviews especially the variable temperature ones.
Definitely saving up for the sage. It's exactly what I'm searching for. It literally is the only one I could find like it
I love the little red kettle, but heat+plastic is kind of a deal breaker for me!
Yup it's crazy how prevalent plastic is in our food and drink ware in the US, after it's provably hormonally affecting
You need to understand chemistry better before saying stuff like this.
Thanks for yet another great video!
Bonavita variable temperature kettles (two types of spouts, gooseneck and regular) have been a staple in the specialty coffee scene for a long while now. They keep warm, have memory for temperatures, are 1degree adjustable, is well build, has no plastic touching the water and relatively cheap for €65~99 1L, and €79~150 1,7L. (current prices on Amazon)
Brewista has since a little while been making almost identical kettles which are great too and has the same features and price.
Yep, we tried to get those guys to lend us a kettle but they were pretty bad at communicating so we had to leave them out unfortunately.
Bad support is an important point too!
I didn't like the lid of Bonavita, so bought "Brewista SmartPour Variable Temperature Gooseneck Cupping Kettle - 1.2L" instead. We like it very much, and bought another one with different spout. :)
My lid broke, two times. I would avoid this Bonavita kettle like the plague. For the price (costs a fortune!) you would expect a better quality lid that doesnt break after light use.
Jason Dainter I've been using a couple of them in a professional setting and have yet to break one. Just to share both sides
Shame you aren't a car reviewer. I think you'd be a great one! I really enjoyed your video. It is THAT informative. Thanks.
Glad I watched this.. it's made me realize that I don't want any of these, except I really like the cute little kamy one! so, thank you, you've saved me some money, cheers
Great comparison! Here in the U.S. the Sage is sold as the Breville One-Touch. It's been my main kettle for years and while I've been happy with it, it's definitely a bit hefty for gongfu pouring. I recently picked up a Zojirushi water heater and have started using that for casual sessions that don't require the accuracy needed when reviewing tea.
Zojirushi's are not accurate?
Mostly when it comes to pour. I also like to have more temperature control when it's something I have to write about. My Zoji doesn't quite get to 100 degrees :)
Hey check this out thebrooklynprofessionalkitchen.com/pages/giveaway
How is your breville kettle going? Just got into Tea's planning to order one. @teaformeplease
@@batman.._ Still going strong. They're a real work horse.
All the tea pots in the background
Yes, more kettle reviews. The kettle I have wanted for a long time has been the Breville version of Sage kettle you reviewed - simply for waking up to a pot of tea (I have yet to obtain one). My last two kettles have been very heavy. One was a porcelain kettle - crazy heavy without the water. I have fallen for the kamjove. It appears small and to the point. Teatime is supposed to be a slower time. 4 minutes is faster that the kettle I have now that clocks 1 minute per cup boiled and it is a 7 cup kettle.
Great video don :))
I have the Russell Hobbs Illumina Kettle 20160 it was very cheap like either £30 - 40 but has served me very well for over 15 months of "excessive" use haha and stainless steal.
Hey Don. Learning so much from you and appreciate the time you take to explain things so clearly and passionately. My question for you is: Have you ever helped a tea lover/enthusiast overcome caffeine sensitivity? I have been in love with tea for many years and worked at a tea shop as well. However, I have had a difficult time drinking tea more than twice a day (morn, afternoon) and in very small amounts (literally 2-4 sips). I have issues with headaches and moodiness if I don't drink enough or drink to much. Ultimately I would love to be drinking without worry and tasting teas I buy at different times of day. Any advice? Thank you!
i've got that Red one! i love it!
For me, the kamjove is the winner. I like that it looks like a teapot. The pour is important to me - it pours like one of my good porcelain teapots. I like the long power cord and I love that you can put a water jug there and it will pump water in. It can't be any noisier than the one I have now - that will also spurt hot water if filled too full. I am in the market for a new kettle anyway and thankful for this video.
I love the Sage, known as The Tea Maker by Breville in the U.S. The Breville does have a better base than the Sage. It's all clad in stainless steel, to match the base of the kettle. I really enjoy the convenience of setting it up and letting it do the bulk of the work.
Great review and very helpful ❤
Great review also about the plastic!! well done!
I like the idea of communicating with my kettle:)
I used a little plastic water boiler with no controls for over a year after a move. It probably costs $10 from a CVS, but I got it for free from a friend. It didn’t even have a power switch, so I had to plug it in to turn it on/off. Since it just went full blast till it boiled, every morning I would place a hand held probe into it and wait til it reached my desired temperature. After so many months I actually got to the point where I could guess the temperature by the sound the water made alone, plus or minus 5 C.
Flash forward, and I was given a Cuisinart Perfectemp kettle last year, on par with the ones you show. I’ve used it several times a day since, and love it to pieces. I’ll say though, I’ve never seen a kettle boil faster than that junky plastic one, and “hearing temperature” is a pretty neat party trick to learn.
I would love to see more kettle reviews. xoxo from Arizona USA.
Thank for the very informative and entertaining video. After watching your video I realized that I need a good electric tea kettle to heat the water. Thanks to your video I knew what features to look for. Those features were variable temperature control, ability to pour accurately, a stay warm feature, glass construction and a good water capacity. OXO ON cordless glass adjustable temperature electric kettle. It has variable temperature control anywhere from 170f to 212f the kettle maintains the selected temperature for 30 minutes and then shuts off. Unlike many other variable temperature kettles which first brings the water to 212f and then drops down to and holds your selected temperature the OXO ON brings the water to your specific selected temperature and then holds it there for 30 minutes without having to go up to a full boil first. I tested the water temperature for accuracy and found the kettle to be accurate within 1 degree. The kettle holds 1.7 liters and it took less then 5 minutes to bring the water to 176f when I brewed my green tea. The kettle has a minimalist look and the controls are very intuitive. There is only 1 button and a temperature dial. Simply press the button and turn the dial to your desired temperature and press the button again. When the water reaches your selected temperature the kettle beeps. After 30 minutes the kettle beeps again and automatically turns off. If you are not done brewing simply press the button again and the kettle goes back to your last temperature setting. I found the kettle to pour without overflowing at the spout and I was able to control the accuracy of the pour as well. It comes with a 2 year warranty and I was able to buy it on Amazon for under $70.00.
+uncle stu thank you for the recommendation
More kettle reviews, please. Would love you to review cast iron tea ware as well. :)
Excellent video. When you said hold the water by mistake I actually found that rather funny 😆.
I personally use an Epica kettle which is similar in design to the IKettle. It has 6 standard temperatures to which it brews. Like the IKettle though its pouring leaves a lot to be desired. But it's a sturdy workhorse with 1.75 L capacity and for the price which is about $45 I find it works perfect even for Gong Fu sessions.
I love the Yixing pots on top of your cabinet. ;)
Great video!
Testing pots for another video!
That's going to be a good one! I've sometimes had a hard time deciphering whether or not the yixing pots I've bought are truly handmade, given that the Chinese women I've talked to understand little English and tell me it's handmade and try to close a sale. But I also know how to check for some things that tell me that it's handmade.
Thanks Don!
We use an "aquagrad" kettle, it's nice, a little bit noisy.
It would be nice a video on kettle manteinance in my opinion.
Thanks for all your videos, so usefull and inspiring!
p.s. first cheap flight to London and we will come to your teahouse ;)
The Sage tea maker looks 100% identical to the Breville Tea Maker that I have. I loved it and it worked great and got a LOT of use both for just boiling water as well as for steeping tea in the basket. My only reason for no longer using it is because I have a nickel allergy and stainless steel has enough nickel to give my skin a reaction. My only problem with most electric kettles is the stainless steel used to make them. But if the Sage is made by the same company as Breville, I'd highly recommend it. Was very convenient
I have two of the Sage - just labeled Gastroback. Great device for western brewing! I am using it everyday for about 6 years now.
Too sad that the times can not be set to GongFu times. 😉 The steps are 30s.
Agree!
Thanks For The Information.
Thank you for the video Don! Kickstarter recently funded the "maybe" perfect tea kettle, called "Stagg EKG". Might come to market in the late autumn 2017.
Nice but volume is a bit small.
I've had a "Kitchen Aid" temperature controlled tea Kettles it does everything all your demo kettles do its £79.99 keep warm and only a very tiny bit of plastic on the lid, it does blip for various functions but I personally I got used to it quickly, after ages researching water filter this NoN Electric water filter is well worth you looking into it the "UltraStream" it's mega.
For me, any plastic = no sale. I don't understand why manufacturers are insisting to put small bits of plastic in contact with water everywhere, even when the kettle body is stainless steel: plastic windows to see the water inside, water level markers, handle joint, lid (steam will reach 100℃, condensation will form and then drip back), sealing between glass and metal, pouring mechanism, etc. I'm not so excessively paranoid about small plastic bits, but I just cannot stand the carelessness of the design which places all those bits of plastic that could have been easily avoided. I've done quite a bit of research to find a suitable kettle to buy, but with the no-plastic criteria the selection was massively reduced from hundreds to just a handful of models, which had some other issues reported so I eventually gave up on that. For now I'll keep using a £15 100% stainless steel pot to boil water for my tea, until some kettle manufacturer manages to come up with a decent model which is clever enough to just look like the simple and cheap 100% stainless steel pot on the water side.
Try NutriChef Electric Tea Kettle Steeper
Time to put on the tinfoil hat.
I got the Miroco digital kettle on Amazon for $50USD. It has 100% stainless steel inside. Even a stainless spout. No plastic contacts water. The temperature control is a little glitchey, but works most of the time.
I'm on the market to get one right now and the best one so far seems to be the smart one from xiaomi (or viomi): no plastic in contact with water and adjustable temp
Well, kettles are much more energy efficient than a pot on the stove, and plastic is fine.
People today forget what an amazing piece of chemical engineering plastics are and how many lives they've saved…
Yes more tea please 😊😁
As an American who grew up hating tea, because my mother forced me to drink her Lipton tea when I had colds, getting the Sage/Breville kettle has really started me on the tea path. Without it, I would have had to purchase a bunch of tea ware up front if I wanted to try loose leaf teas, which I wasn’t likely to do. The Sage allowed me to start brewing loose leaf teas right off the bat. When I discovered how good loose leaf tea could be, THEN I went on TH-cam and found your channel. I’ve since purchased a gaiwan, and yes, I’ve pre-ordered the Gong Fu Guru 2! For longtime tea drinkers, I would agree that the Sage/Breville kettle is probably not worth the price, but it’s a nice jumping off point for newbies.
Glad to hear that you changed your mind!
First, I found your videos while researching tea kettles and I absolutely love your videos. I really enjoy those tastings and have learned quite a bit. I am also willing to give green tea a try again. My question is relating to the Sage / Breville. I learned that you wash your leaves with the hot water when you are making your teas. How would this be done using the Sage / Breville?
You have to take a look of the OXO Good Grips® Adjustable Temperature Electric Gooseneck Stainless Steel Kettle, is like the Bonavita, but according to the Amazon reviews seems to be a little bit better.....
Great video!
Dom, can you pleas do a video on cast iron teaware? Like tea pots for heating up water and things like that? 😊
Yep I am planning this one.
I'm a big fan of glass kettles!
Well first of all great review , a small note regarding the( Sage ) or called the breville everywhere else , it an amazing kettle for those of us busy artisan tea drinkers .
Its great but i think you where mentioning plastic and the Sage does have have a ring of exposed silicone around the base of it which is exposed to the heated water . I notice a taste difference when brewing a light green teas . But it was ok brewing darker oolongs or red , black tea . Say all that , the programmability is amazing so much so that i have two of them (in canada $299.00 )one the the town and another at the beach house.
I was just thinking about a video on different ways to boil the water and keep the water hot (kettle, thermos, iron pots, etc.) and how this affects the tea experience and/or taste.
Very useful, thanks
Yay... First one :) love the videos. Keep it up. Tea is life time journey. We can always learn new things.
My stovetop kettle takes 8 minutes to get to boiling point. It may be a long wait for just boiling water but it forces you to be patient which I think is great when you are preparing tea to relax or wind down.
You should do this same review but with the new ones that are out now. The cuisinart vs the brevile eletric kettle
Can you do gong fu brewing with herbs? Also would you recommend using my yixing clay teapot for herbal teas (no actual tea plant)?
Any info on kettles, metal or clay or anything that can be used on open flame to heat the water such as over a propane camping burner or similar? Maybe also a video how to have a Gong fu session using open flame?
I really liked the Russel Hobbs one but can I cut out the plastic inside it without causing damage? Thanks in advance!
I like the russell hobbs kettle but it has plastic inside, So I wrote to the company and asked if that plastic is BPA free, and they said yes. So what do you think, if the plastic is BPA free as they say, would you chose it?
Next time in London my First stop Will be in Camden!
I have seen you are using a thermos in other videos that has a press button and a beautiful smooth water pour. Having difficulties to find a thermos with a good pour for gong fu brewing. Can you please recommend a couple? Am not being able to find any reviews on this subject.
I think it would be fair to include some filter/drip coffee kettles since they have the appropriate nozzle.
The iKettle sounds interesting, but I know they've had security flaws in their software before, so that makes me hesitant.
I currently have a Black & Decker kettle, with the most annoying beep, and the temperature controls are too fiddly, but I think it will never die, so I don't feel like I should replace it :D
This is a very useful video, we actually need a new kettle!. Which is noisiest when boiling/near boiling? We're open plan from the living room to the kitchen, and our present kettle is easily the noisiest we've ever had, or indeed heard anywhere, and we actually regret getting it because of this issue.
None of them were particularly noisy but out of the 3 I think that the Russell Hobbs was the loudest at boiling (but fastes too so maybe that's why) and the others were similar.
I love t pick up box water cause that great for tea.
great vid, very useful. 9:41 that was very funny haha
Steam inside will potentially leach from any plastic present internally, yes ?
Sage is the best, always top quality products.
Old video, I know, but I recently snagged a Rozmoz electric tea kettle from Amazon for Prime Day for about $40! Variable temperature and stainless steel everywhere except for outside of the base, pot handle, and the lid handle, so the parts where water comes into contact with are completely safe from plastic (or more like silicon, I think, too lazy to check). Has a gooseneck spout, which makes it easier to pour tea into my mug, TBH, and heats up fairly quickly, I think. Doesn't hold a lot of water (0.8 L), but that's ideal for me, since I can just dump a 0.5 L water bottle into it, which is enough for my tea, but that might be an issue for some folks. I hate how loud it is, though, but I get why it has to be... I just wish it didn't sound like a darn fire alarm! I live in an apartment, FFS, I don't want neighbors freaking out and thinking a neighbor fucked up their cooking, lol
I got a Bodum kettle on sale with different temperature settings (60°C / 70°C / 80°C / 90°C / 100°C) It is amazing! But I really wish it had 5°C steps.
I have a question, you said the pouring of the water is important, I’ve tried looking in your other videos as to why this is but i couldn’t find it so, why is the pouring of the water and the flow important? I know it’s important for when making coffee but with tea I’m lost. Thank you!
It looks so special，the mouth of this kettle look so small and long. we have been using the kettle look like this, eh, it is convenient for me to boil water and brew a cup of tea.👍
What kettle would be best to get so i can boast about it when friends come over?
I'm looking for one with no plastic parts that comes in contact with hot water ? Are there any yet in June of 2019 ?
Are the red cup measure marks ( 6:58 ) plastic or silicone? They look a bit like silicone (which I think is slightly less bad than plastic...?), but it's hard to tell.
Why no look at the corvo ekg? I think goosenecks are not best for gong fu cha, because you loose some heat and especially for pu er and dark oolong it can‘t be too much heat. What do you think about this?
Why do I keep hearing "Ice Martyr" instead of iSmarter? Sounds like a kettle with attitude. :)
Are any of the kettles insulated or does the exterior get really hot? Its something I don't like about mine.
By chance do you (or anyone) know where I can get the (now) traditional Chinese gongfu tea kettle and stove (one which sits a pot where cups are boiled) that usually sits next to the tea tray? Didn't buy one in China, thinking I could get one on Amazon on returning to the States--and now can't find one. I'm hoping that this is simply because I don't know what to call it!
One positive for the Smarter kettle is that if you forget to turn it off and you are going to be gone all day, you can use your phone to turn it off whilst you are on your journey. xoxo from Arizona USA.
What do you think about a Iwatchu tetsubin?
How about metal vs glass? Does metal and potential rust affect taste?
I really like the old time style of the kamjove? and it's features appeal to me! Where can I get something similar???
www.amazon.com/Kamjove-Electric-Stainless-Kettle-Automatic/dp/B07RGZL1H7/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=kamjove+electric+tea+kettle&qid=1628966172&s=home-garden&sr=1-4
Looking forward to coming to Mei leaf this saturday. Really want to buy the connoisseur kit and a everyday green tea. Any recommendations Don? thank you for all your wisdom. This channel has made me into a tea truth searcher!
Hey Sadril. Welcome! We love Imperial Green as our go to Green tea - it is a high quality tea so I wouldn't call it an everyday Green but it is so good for the price. Our most affordable Green is called Mountain Green with is a good Chun Mee.
Mei Leaf thank you. Keep up the good work. I never thought I would be so interested in tea. The funny thing is when I want to relax and distress I watch your videos, weird right ? 😁. Not only are your videos informative but calming aswell!!
Thanks Sadril, we get quite a few comments that people don't understand why but they are drawn to these tea videos. I can't claim to understand either but I am happy that you are enjoying and finding useful information and relaxing with our stuff. If you come in on Saturday, try to come after 2pm and Celine can help you pick out a tea.
Thank you sir will do🖒
Can you order the cam Jove kettle?
I have the very same Russel & Hobbs kettle. I really like it's retro appearance and it fits very well into my red&white kitchen. However, for precise tea brewing it's absolutely useless. The temperature gauge does not give you an accurate reading, the moment the needle hits 70 it's already 78, the moment it hits 90 it's already boiling. I was bitterly disappointed about it, because I'm a teahead and now I need to pure the water out into a separate mug and measure the temperature again for brewing my tea just as I had to do with my previews kettles which didn't have the temperature gauge at all. So, all in all a waste of my money.
My piegon 1.5 ltr kettle glass is broken is it replaceable?
Hi Mei Leaf, all this talk of temperatures got me thinking: when following recommended temperatures for a given tea (using, perhaps, your very helpful PDF), in which part of the brewing process are you shooting for the recommended temperature? Should it be, for example, 80c in the kettle before pouring, or 80c as it hits the tea? With a very accurate kettle, where the temp can be chosen and held at 1 degree increments, would you overshoot slightly to compensate for heat loss as the water exits the spout etc? This probably sounds very over-involved, but since it's just as easy to set it to 83c as it is to 80c I thought I'd ask.
I actually do intentionally overshoot by a few degrees to compensate!
Great review, Don! My favourite kettle is the simple Kamjove from China. I'm not keen on the look and feel of the three other kettles - they don't seem to work well with the Gong Fu style.
One question about your brewing chart and the correct temperatures for different teas. Does this temperature refer to a) the temperature of the water heated in the kettle *before* pouring, or b) the temperature reached in the teapot *after* pouring? At the start of a Gong Fu session I always preheat the teapot. However, when I pour water for the next infusion, the pot has already cooled down significantly and the water temperature inside has dropped by around 10°C. So, it is difficult to reach 95°C in the teapot for an oolong, for example. Pouring hot water over the pot with the lid closed does not increase the temperature but perhaps helps maintain the existing temperature. Can you shed some light on what the brewing temperatures refer to?
Ideally it refers to the temperature in the pot by preheating the teaware and making the kettle reach that temperature or slightly higher. I know that in practice this can be very difficult with the subsequent infusions as you can't preheat the teaware and pouring water over the pot can help to stop the teaware pulling the heat out of the water. If the teaware is cold then a flash rinse is sometimes useful or you have to 'sacrifice' one infusion and immediately brew another while the teaware is warm enough.
Any other clever teahead suggestions out there?
Thank you Don for your explanation. What we sometimes do is place the teapot in a shallow hot water bath before the next infusion. Did you ever try this? We are a bit concerned that we risk stewing the tea inside by keeping the lid on, and also that the hot water bath might extract some flavours from the outside of the yixing? What do you think?
I just got the Dezin 1.5 liter kettle. Really unique design. Model DZ350. $22.00 WITH Tax.
Update!!! Getting a Hamilton Beach kettle. Looks like a Cuisinart!!!
Does anyone have a complete plastic-free good kettle? I only care about no plastic and the ability to hold temp.
I found the cosori Co108-nk on amazon, looks pretty good but people say it breaks easily and takes 6 minutes to heat water to boiling, which compared to these sounds crazy.
I think you could have put some more effort finding better kettles, OXO Adjustable Temperature Gooseneck Kettle looks really good all metal inside etc. And I can find more in this style, For example Fellow Stagg EKG (looks awesome), I guess they are mostly targeted for pour over coffee making but will work great for tea. I only like the Chinese one in the ones you reviewed here. Thx anyways I love this channel spreading true tea awareness! : )
For that little all-stainless kettle, there's no link in the notes below the video.....not sure what the spelling of the brand would be, sounds like he's saying:. Cam/Kam--Jo/Joe/Jove...??
Can someone help?
FYI for those of you like me who ended up with a Brewista Smart Pour, do not boil and hold the water temperature at 100 as they break. Its a serious design flaw, and after speaking to the manufacturer after mine broke I was told that this (holding water at 100) breaks the kettle, and they will be adding this to the instructions (weirdly, it was not in the instructions). Also I would add the point that the Bonavita Electric 1.7 L Gooseneck was absolutely useless also, the lid broke twice on two different kettles after light use (its a crappy plasticy hinge that easily snaps), the lid on the Brewista is better. Summary is that I have yet to find a kettle still that offers both great accuracy and holds water for at least 30 minutes. That said, (and confirmed with Don from Mei Leaf) if you're a true tea head you probably dont want to be holding water anyhow since it deoxygenates the tea, so in which case if you're willing to forget that feature the Brewista gets my vote as was very robust in all other ways.
Thanks for sharing your opinions!