Hi, I would like to assistance finding a variable kettle!
Hello tea aficionados, I have an inquiry I would like to make and I figured this was the best place to ask.
Essentially, my mother wants a variable temperature kettle that functions basically the same as the Breville OneTouch, but allows single-degree incremental settings like the Bonavita. I know this is a long-shot as it probably doesn’t exist yet, but I figured I’d ask anyway.
I initially purchased the Bonavita, but my mother hated the fact that the water didn’t rise to a full (rolling) boil. I tried to convince her that it’s not a big deal, but she refuses to accept it. So I ended up having to return it not more than a day after receiving it.
I showed her some videos of the Breville OneTouch and she likes the fact that it can rise to a full boil before shutting off, once it reaches the max temperature. But she didn’t like the fact that you could only adjust temperatures in five-degree increments.
There was a kettle I saw on Amazon which claimed to do just this (the Chef’s Choice SmartKettle), but reading the reviews yields mixed opinions such as the kettle being noisy, restrictive, and having a poor quality build. I’m not sure if I want to pull the trigger on it just yet.
If anybody knows of a kettle that could serve this purpose, I would be very thankful. Thank you very much!
The cuinsinart is great but doesn’t allow single degree increments. You can get it on Amazon for a good price.
That precise of kettle is pretty uncommon as most are preset to common temperatures used in tea.
Right now, anything more precise than that you need a sousvide /water circulator machine, which is precise to set it to any temperature you want, but is too big and crazy of a machine to make tea in as it’s for cooking more than tea. I did it, the results are great for low temp teas. http://oolongowl.com/sous-vide-tea-precision-tea-steeping/
In the end though, she really doesn’t need that many temperatures. Have her go through her teas and write down all the temps she does use and pick a kettle from there. Admittedly, I could probably live with 175, 200 and boil. I never have had a tea that called for 197 or something weird (and I have a lot of tea).
If she has issues with no visual of a rolling boil, stick a temperature probe in it to test that it’s actually 212.
These sous vide circulators seem like the kind of thing my mother would want. My only question is: Is there any way to stop the pump from circulating the water on its own? I’d prefer if the water could just boil naturally and have the water move on its own. Thanks!
no, how they work and to make the water stay all up to temperature is by circulation. Some models, like the one I use you can turn the vent to the back so there’s less movement in the water.
Something that doesn’t use circulation would be something that uses induction to heat – https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/paragon-induction-cooktop but the accuracy is pretty dicey as the pot and element would be hotter / no circulation. This might be a better match TBH, but you’ll now have a problem in getting a induction compatible kettle that fits the temperature attachment.
I was thinking an induction burner might be a good idea originally, but I didn’t see one that did single temperatures besides the one I linked above (may be out there, you’ll have to hunt)
I tried looking up some of these “induction cooktops,” but they only yield these cooktops that have temperature settings based on wattage, and the best only offer 10-degree increments. Am I searching in the wrong place for them?
I’m so far most interested in the Anova, but there are no videos to see how it functions for just boiling water to boiling point. Do you know whether setting it to the highest temperature makes it boil as usual?
highest temp it gets is 210 – it’s designed for cooking and not many foods need that high of temp. Hottest I’ve cooked something was 190 for vegetables, most my meat I cook 130 to 144.
Apparently that induction cooktop on Indiegogo you can buy without sousvide, but I’m not sure where to find it. You’ll need to hunt, I haven’t come across it – an induction kettle would be a tricky find too.
I believe this one allows you to control the temperature. I don’t know if its any good.
http://www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-KEK1522CA-Kettle-Candy-Electric/dp/B00CT9XQ7Y/ref=sr_1_21?ie=UTF8&qid=1426554520&sr=8-21&keywords=electric+kettle+temperature+control
I have a Breville One-Touch and after five years of near-daily use, I find that it doesn’t consistently shut off when it reaches boiling. Sometimes I forget about it for a while and return to find it nearly boiled dry. When I pay attention to it, I have significantly improved green/white/oolong teas compared to guessing when the stove kettle has cooled enough.
I use it to jumpstart hot water for making stock and soup because it gets 1500mL boiled in 6ish minutes, which is faster than my range can bring 4 qt up to a boil. I’ll split the water in half and get the full boil in 2/3 the time.
Would that be considered a defect in that particular kettle you own? I suppose I wouldn’t mind manually turning the kettle off when it’s starting to boil dry (I stick around in the kitchen whenever the kettle’s being operated, for safety precautions).
Maybe a case like that could help ensure that it boils for a bit longer than ordinary kettles do (before they automatically shut off). How does it function when you use the Hot Water function instead of the Tea function? Can it boil to 212F and then keep doing so for a bit longer?
I misspoke: what I have is the Variable-Temperature Tea & Coffee Kettle, Model # BKE820XL, with buttons at 175F, 185F, 195F, 200F, and 212F. Looking at pictures of the OneTouch—that’s too much space for an appliance. (I officially disclaim knowledge of this device, sorry.) I enjoy using a variety of teapots on a regular basis, depending on what I’m drinking and how much company I have, so being limited to a single boil’n’brew apparatus would be frustrating. I often start the kettle again while the first pot is steeping so that there’s a second batch of water ready after we’ve poured/emptied the first pot.
My kettle didn’t start boiling dry until Year 4, which means it’s out of warranty and I don’t know how to fix it. As it is, it’s a 1-3x/month problem so I’m not worried enough to trash it yet.
I’m an old lady and probably would have burned the house down by now leaving the kettle on.
A friend sent me a used Zojirushi and I love it. It has temps 140, 175, 195, 208, and 212. It has a steel interior and holds 3 liters…next to my bed :) It keeps the tea warm at any of those temps and just a push of a button boils again. I keep it at 208 and then just hit the Boil button.
Here is the best part, though. This boiler is large enough that I can have a piece of bamboo charcoal in it to improve the taste quality of the water for tea. Makes a big difference.
I’m glad I don’t have to lift kettles and pour hot water anymore, or worry I left the burner on.
I have the Breville One Touch and find it awesome. I’m not sure why a person would really need 1 degree increments. The 5 degree increments work fine for every thing I’ve ever needed. I’ve never had trouble with boiling dry but I really only use the steeping/brewing aspect, rarely the “just boil water option”. I would definitely recommend it for any tea drinker.
I have the Hamilton Beach Kettle (http://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach-40870-Stainless-Electric/dp/B002QXOF7I/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1426791148&sr=8-2&keywords=electric+kettle) It doesn’t have variable temperature but it does come to a rolling boil. I got this because it was cheap and I could afford it and now everyone in my house except the dogs use it.
Hmm, my Bonavita variable temp kettle does come to a rolling boil. It takes a while, and shuts off once it reaches that point, but it does get up to a full boil.
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