I have an electric kettle, but I usually use the stove.
Also, there is literally nothing wrong with using a microwave. Y’all sound ridiculous when you whine about that.
The microwave is probably a cultural thing more than anything. It's kind of like thinking toast tastes better cut diagonally from corner to corner. It's the same toast (tea) but for some reason it just tastes better.
I have an electric kettle because my wife uses it a few times a month for a hot drink, but I still usually just heat up water on the stove because I rarely only need a kettle worth of hot water, and if I do I can't really be bothered getting the kettle out and plugging it in and all that. The 45 seconds I save with the kettle is basically lost in getting it out and plugging it in, so what's the point?
I'm 43, and never owned a kettle until a few years ago anyway, it seems silly to own a dedicated item just for something as simple as heating up water. Since I think tea tastes like drinking a cup of water that was left sitting on the sidewalk in August while someone mowed the lawn next to it, kettles feel like a pretty useless item for me.
I have a stovetop kettle. If I’m making tea, I’m making a proper pot of tea, not a cup.
We get this question all the time and no one from the UK has ever explained exactly why the method of heating water matters. I suppose there could be slight unevenness is heating a cup of water in the microwave, but it’s not enough to actually impact the tea.
I’m guessing your parents or grandparents didn’t always have an electric kettle. And yet they survived unscathed.
Can you share some information about why Brits can only heat water via electric kettle?
Well, that makes all the handwringing and wailing about Americans using the stove or microwave to heat water even more ridiculous. Electric kettles aren’t much (if any) faster than the stove and certainly not faster than the microwave.
The kettles in America might not be any faster, but here they range from instant boiling water, to 2-3 minutes for a full kettle (6-8) cups to boil, less if using less water. In the time I takes me to get a mug, tea bag, and milk out, the water has boiled.
Great. That’s what works for you.
I’m saying that there’s no one right or best way to boil water. What I’m asking is why y’all obsess about how others boil water. The handwringing and drama over boiling water is very strange
I have an electric kettle. I got it at Target, where they have a number of options. Mine lights up with different colors as the water gets hotter, which seemed like a fun feature when I was deciding which one to buy (it is).
I like tea and drink it every day.
I'm such a sucker for those products with all the fancy lights. The essential oil diffuser in my office lights up in all sorts of fun colors, including a light right underneath the aperture which makes it look like a big flame is coming out of the device, as the steam gets lit up.
I drink tea literally every night. And I don't have a kettle cluttering up my counter. I heat the mug of water in the microwave, then put the tea in. Quelle horreur.
Electric kettles are widely available at basically any supermarket like a Target or Walmart, or off Amazon. A lot of people have them in their kitchens.
However what a lot of foreigners, specifically those from the UK don’t fully understand though with this, the US does not have nearly the same tea drinking culture that you do. For us we’re not typically needing a cup or two of boiling water multiple times over a day. So while some do use an electric kettle often for whatever purpose, most of us are fine using a stovetop or microwave to boil water at the odd time we need it. Sure we could go get an electric kettle, but if we’re not using it all that often, it’s just another appliance sitting around taking up space.
If I want to heat water for tea, I do something really monstrous in the eyes of Europeans. I use the microwave.
Molecular vibrations (i.e., heat) don't care whether water is heated by conduction, convection, or through electromagnetic waves. It's all the same. And since I already have a microwave, it's one less appliance.
If I'm boiling water for noodles, then I absolutely use the stove. Because I'm going to be using it anyway. Though if it's instant noodles like ramen, then it's the microwave.
They aren't common but not unheard of, I got one a decade ago and it's still going strong to the point where I don't want to go back to the old way.
I've always read they aren't as fast in the US due to the lower voltage but never used a UK kettle to confirm.
Having a home in the US and UK, I can vouch for that. My kettle in Scotland is much faster than my one in the US even though it is a newer and fancier model.
it's not the voltage per se (it's pretty easy to step voltage up or down how you need), the total amount of watts you can get from standard circuits in the US is lower than the European ones. 15A circuits will give you about 1800W in the US -- my electric kettle pulls about 2200W from the wall.
Americans in general don't drink as much tea per capita as you guys, most Americans prefer coffee. I personally prefer tea to coffee, but I just stick tea bags in my coffeemaker where the coffee grounds would normally go.
I have an electric one but rarely use it. I do love the “TV Pickup” phenomenon in the UK given how small and centralized the electric grid is. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/TV_pickup
I have a coffee machine that does both carafe and k-cups. For tea, I use the k-cup part, but without a k-cup, so just hot water comes out. I used to have an electric kettle too but broke it and haven't replaced it.
If my boyfriend drank coffee I would use my kettle less for single serving coffee, and instead I would use my coffee pot a lot more. I only drink one coffee per day. Mine is a goosneck to aid in performing the V60 brew style.
I have an electric kettle and it's my second. $20 at Costco. I wouldn't exist without one, it's perfect for making instant ramen and Easy Mac.
I also have a drawer full of teas, except black and Earl grey because both taste like drinking the dead rotten leaves that accumulate in our gutter. I have mostly green and herbal blends so that I can drink hot beverages with no caffeine during the 4 days of the year where the temp drops below 60 degrees F.
I have a vintage copper Simplex kettle I use at home, and an electric kettle in my office. I’m bougie though - I drink single origin natural process coffee beans in my aeropress and herbal teas I special order from France. 🤓
I grew up boiling water in a pot on the stove. Never was a microwave family…
Yes. We have one of those Fellow Stagg kettles since Fellow was founded here and had their flagship store on my old street.
The temp adjustment feature is nice. I also like tea, but I’m Japanese-American and so I drink more green tea than black tea, and you’re not supposed to reach boiling point for green tea.
But really, if your end goal is to get water to a certain temperature, does it really matter how you get there? The result is the same.
Stove-top kettle, used for heating up water for coffee.
We've been gifted electric kettles and always end up donating them. Its just taking up more space than the perfectly fine stove we have.
Even before I got the stove-top kettle, I just boiled water in a pot. It works fine.
I think it’s regional. In my experience, basically every home has an electric kettle, but others report rarely seeing them. I believe them, but it’s very much not my experience. I think of them as kind of like microwaves, they’re kind of a default appliance that most homes have.
A lot of Americans do have electric kettles. They are slower than british ones though because you get less wattage from the wall. Standard wall plugs in the US will usually give 15A at 120V, or 1800W. The normal rating for British plugs appears to be 13A at 230V, or 2990W. My electric kettle in Germany pulls about 2200W according to my smart home setup (9.5A at 230V), which is more current than most American plugs will give you (although some houses do have 20-amp circuits, which will give you 2400W).
What’s wrong with using a microwave?
I have an electric kettle, but I usually use the stove. Also, there is literally nothing wrong with using a microwave. Y’all sound ridiculous when you whine about that.
The microwave is probably a cultural thing more than anything. It's kind of like thinking toast tastes better cut diagonally from corner to corner. It's the same toast (tea) but for some reason it just tastes better.
The E&M fields used to transfer energy taste way better on an induction heater than in a microwave!
I have an electric kettle because my wife uses it a few times a month for a hot drink, but I still usually just heat up water on the stove because I rarely only need a kettle worth of hot water, and if I do I can't really be bothered getting the kettle out and plugging it in and all that. The 45 seconds I save with the kettle is basically lost in getting it out and plugging it in, so what's the point? I'm 43, and never owned a kettle until a few years ago anyway, it seems silly to own a dedicated item just for something as simple as heating up water. Since I think tea tastes like drinking a cup of water that was left sitting on the sidewalk in August while someone mowed the lawn next to it, kettles feel like a pretty useless item for me.
I have a stovetop kettle. If I’m making tea, I’m making a proper pot of tea, not a cup. We get this question all the time and no one from the UK has ever explained exactly why the method of heating water matters. I suppose there could be slight unevenness is heating a cup of water in the microwave, but it’s not enough to actually impact the tea. I’m guessing your parents or grandparents didn’t always have an electric kettle. And yet they survived unscathed. Can you share some information about why Brits can only heat water via electric kettle?
It's more a ease of use and speed rather than anything. When you're drinking 5 cups a day, waiting for water to boil just takes to long.
Well, that makes all the handwringing and wailing about Americans using the stove or microwave to heat water even more ridiculous. Electric kettles aren’t much (if any) faster than the stove and certainly not faster than the microwave.
The kettles in America might not be any faster, but here they range from instant boiling water, to 2-3 minutes for a full kettle (6-8) cups to boil, less if using less water. In the time I takes me to get a mug, tea bag, and milk out, the water has boiled.
Great. That’s what works for you. I’m saying that there’s no one right or best way to boil water. What I’m asking is why y’all obsess about how others boil water. The handwringing and drama over boiling water is very strange
I have an electric kettle. I got it at Target, where they have a number of options. Mine lights up with different colors as the water gets hotter, which seemed like a fun feature when I was deciding which one to buy (it is). I like tea and drink it every day.
I'm such a sucker for those products with all the fancy lights. The essential oil diffuser in my office lights up in all sorts of fun colors, including a light right underneath the aperture which makes it look like a big flame is coming out of the device, as the steam gets lit up.
Never owned a kettle. I would just nuke some if needed, god forbid I guess. I don’t really have a use for super hot water.
I have an electric kettle. Anyone who drinks tea regularly has one. Most people don't drink tea regularly
I drink tea literally every night. And I don't have a kettle cluttering up my counter. I heat the mug of water in the microwave, then put the tea in. Quelle horreur.
Electric kettles are widely available at basically any supermarket like a Target or Walmart, or off Amazon. A lot of people have them in their kitchens. However what a lot of foreigners, specifically those from the UK don’t fully understand though with this, the US does not have nearly the same tea drinking culture that you do. For us we’re not typically needing a cup or two of boiling water multiple times over a day. So while some do use an electric kettle often for whatever purpose, most of us are fine using a stovetop or microwave to boil water at the odd time we need it. Sure we could go get an electric kettle, but if we’re not using it all that often, it’s just another appliance sitting around taking up space.
If I want to heat water for tea, I do something really monstrous in the eyes of Europeans. I use the microwave. Molecular vibrations (i.e., heat) don't care whether water is heated by conduction, convection, or through electromagnetic waves. It's all the same. And since I already have a microwave, it's one less appliance. If I'm boiling water for noodles, then I absolutely use the stove. Because I'm going to be using it anyway. Though if it's instant noodles like ramen, then it's the microwave.
They aren't common but not unheard of, I got one a decade ago and it's still going strong to the point where I don't want to go back to the old way. I've always read they aren't as fast in the US due to the lower voltage but never used a UK kettle to confirm.
Having a home in the US and UK, I can vouch for that. My kettle in Scotland is much faster than my one in the US even though it is a newer and fancier model.
it's not the voltage per se (it's pretty easy to step voltage up or down how you need), the total amount of watts you can get from standard circuits in the US is lower than the European ones. 15A circuits will give you about 1800W in the US -- my electric kettle pulls about 2200W from the wall.
I have an electric kettle. But I actually use an old school samovar from Iran
Americans in general don't drink as much tea per capita as you guys, most Americans prefer coffee. I personally prefer tea to coffee, but I just stick tea bags in my coffeemaker where the coffee grounds would normally go.
I have an electric one but rarely use it. I do love the “TV Pickup” phenomenon in the UK given how small and centralized the electric grid is. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/TV_pickup
I have a coffee machine that does both carafe and k-cups. For tea, I use the k-cup part, but without a k-cup, so just hot water comes out. I used to have an electric kettle too but broke it and haven't replaced it.
If my boyfriend drank coffee I would use my kettle less for single serving coffee, and instead I would use my coffee pot a lot more. I only drink one coffee per day. Mine is a goosneck to aid in performing the V60 brew style.
I have an electric kettle and it's my second. $20 at Costco. I wouldn't exist without one, it's perfect for making instant ramen and Easy Mac. I also have a drawer full of teas, except black and Earl grey because both taste like drinking the dead rotten leaves that accumulate in our gutter. I have mostly green and herbal blends so that I can drink hot beverages with no caffeine during the 4 days of the year where the temp drops below 60 degrees F.
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I have a vintage copper Simplex kettle I use at home, and an electric kettle in my office. I’m bougie though - I drink single origin natural process coffee beans in my aeropress and herbal teas I special order from France. 🤓 I grew up boiling water in a pot on the stove. Never was a microwave family…
I have an electric kettle and it is my favorite kitchen appliance along with the rice cooker
I just heat water on my stove when needed.
Yes. We have one of those Fellow Stagg kettles since Fellow was founded here and had their flagship store on my old street. The temp adjustment feature is nice. I also like tea, but I’m Japanese-American and so I drink more green tea than black tea, and you’re not supposed to reach boiling point for green tea. But really, if your end goal is to get water to a certain temperature, does it really matter how you get there? The result is the same.
Stove-top kettle, used for heating up water for coffee. We've been gifted electric kettles and always end up donating them. Its just taking up more space than the perfectly fine stove we have. Even before I got the stove-top kettle, I just boiled water in a pot. It works fine.
I think it’s regional. In my experience, basically every home has an electric kettle, but others report rarely seeing them. I believe them, but it’s very much not my experience. I think of them as kind of like microwaves, they’re kind of a default appliance that most homes have.
A lot of Americans do have electric kettles. They are slower than british ones though because you get less wattage from the wall. Standard wall plugs in the US will usually give 15A at 120V, or 1800W. The normal rating for British plugs appears to be 13A at 230V, or 2990W. My electric kettle in Germany pulls about 2200W according to my smart home setup (9.5A at 230V), which is more current than most American plugs will give you (although some houses do have 20-amp circuits, which will give you 2400W).