Conservative-looking tea kettle
 

I live in Los Angeles. Is there a retail store that carries the old
school, conservative-looking tea pots. The whistling kind that is a basic
stainless-steel cylinder, rounded at the top, with a conservative handle
and spout. Not those quasi-futuristic thingamajigs at Target and Crate
and Barrel, etc... I've searched high and low, and the best I found was a
pot at Linens n Things with a copper bottom that makes water taste funny
cuz apparently the copper soaks into the water (it's copper on the inside
bottom as well as the outside bottom).

It's so weird what happened to tea pots over the last coupla decades.
They look like something kids would buy.

Meph

Conservative-looking tea kettle
 

"Mephistopheles Jones" > wrote in message
n.com...
> I live in Los Angeles. Is there a retail store that carries the old
> school, conservative-looking tea pots. The whistling kind that is a basic
> stainless-steel cylinder, rounded at the top, with a conservative handle
> and spout. Not those quasi-futuristic thingamajigs at Target and Crate
> and Barrel, etc... I've searched high and low, and the best I found was a
> pot at Linens n Things with a copper bottom that makes water taste funny
> cuz apparently the copper soaks into the water (it's copper on the inside
> bottom as well as the outside bottom).
>
> It's so weird what happened to tea pots over the last coupla decades.
> They look like something kids would buy.

I think the microwave has replaced the tea kettle. If you only need a
couple of cups of boiling water, it is faster in the microwave and requires
no supervision. If you forget that you put the water in the microwave, you
won't burn the house down like you will with a forgotten kettle.

"Mephistopheles Jones" > wrote in message
n.com...
> I live in Los Angeles. Is there a retail store that carries the old
> school, conservative-looking tea pots. The whistling kind that is a basic
> stainless-steel cylinder, rounded at the top, with a conservative handle
> and spout. Not those quasi-futuristic thingamajigs at Target and Crate
> and Barrel, etc... I've searched high and low, and the best I found was a
> pot at Linens n Things with a copper bottom that makes water taste funny
> cuz apparently the copper soaks into the water (it's copper on the inside
> bottom as well as the outside bottom).
>
> It's so weird what happened to tea pots over the last coupla decades.
> They look like something kids would buy.
>
> Meph
>

Doesn't help you, but a local potter makes teapots that look like our dear
president Shrub - about as conservative as you can ask for. It's got 2
really big handles too.


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.

Conservative-looking tea kettle
 

"Mephistopheles Jones" > wrote in message
n.com...
> I live in Los Angeles. Is there a retail store that carries the old
> school, conservative-looking tea pots. The whistling kind that is a basic
> stainless-steel cylinder, rounded at the top, with a conservative handle
> and spout. Not those quasi-futuristic thingamajigs at Target and Crate
> and Barrel, etc... I've searched high and low, and the best I found was a
> pot at Linens n Things with a copper bottom that makes water taste funny
> cuz apparently the copper soaks into the water (it's copper on the inside
> bottom as well as the outside bottom).
>
> It's so weird what happened to tea pots over the last coupla decades.
> They look like something kids would buy.
>
> Meph
>

Doesn't help you, but a local potter makes teapots that look like our dear
president Shrub - about as conservative as you can ask for. It's got 2
really big handles too.


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.

Conservative-looking tea kettle
 

"Mephistopheles Jones"
> I live in Los Angeles. Is there a retail store that carries the old
> school, conservative-looking tea pots. The whistling kind that is a basic
> stainless-steel cylinder, rounded at the top, with a conservative handle
> and spout. Not those quasi-futuristic thingamajigs at Target and Crate
> and Barrel, etc... I've searched high and low, and the best I found was a
> pot at Linens n Things with a copper bottom that makes water taste funny
> cuz apparently the copper soaks into the water (it's copper on the inside
> bottom as well as the outside bottom).
>
> It's so weird what happened to tea pots over the last coupla decades.
> They look like something kids would buy.
>
> Meph

I think you are confusing people. I take it you're looking for a
conventional tea kettle in which to boil water. Your reference to tea pot
makes people think you're looking for a vessel (teapot) in which to brew
tea, then serve.

I use a Corning tea kettle, with a loud whistle. It also has a copper
bottom, but I haven't noticed any change in the taste of the water.

Dora

Conservative-looking tea kettle
 

"Mephistopheles Jones"
> I live in Los Angeles. Is there a retail store that carries the old
> school, conservative-looking tea pots. The whistling kind that is a basic
> stainless-steel cylinder, rounded at the top, with a conservative handle
> and spout. Not those quasi-futuristic thingamajigs at Target and Crate
> and Barrel, etc... I've searched high and low, and the best I found was a
> pot at Linens n Things with a copper bottom that makes water taste funny
> cuz apparently the copper soaks into the water (it's copper on the inside
> bottom as well as the outside bottom).
>
> It's so weird what happened to tea pots over the last coupla decades.
> They look like something kids would buy.
>
> Meph

I think you are confusing people. I take it you're looking for a
conventional tea kettle in which to boil water. Your reference to tea pot
makes people think you're looking for a vessel (teapot) in which to brew
tea, then serve.

I use a Corning tea kettle, with a loud whistle. It also has a copper
bottom, but I haven't noticed any change in the taste of the water.

Dora

Conservative-looking tea kettle
 

On Wed, 11 Aug 2004 13:13:25 -0400, limey wrote:

> I think you are confusing people. I take it you're looking for a
> conventional tea kettle in which to boil water. Your reference to tea pot
> makes people think you're looking for a vessel (teapot) in which to brew
> tea, then serve.
>
> I use a Corning tea kettle, with a loud whistle. It also has a copper
> bottom, but I haven't noticed any change in the taste of the water.
>

I didn't notice a change in taste either until I let the water cool down
in the tea kettle and drank it. When I made tea using the water, I didn't
notice it because the tea masked the taste. I also didn't notice it when
drinking the hot water. You may want to test the water when it has cooled.

Nevertheless, I think using copper on the inside bottom is bad design.
It's hard to see any corrosion w/o using a flashlight, and untreated
copper in air is very, very corrosive. I guess people who use copper
cookware need to polish it often, but you can't really polish the inside
of a tea kettle.

I'll ask the original question in the tea newsgroup.

Meph

On Wed, 11 Aug 2004 13:13:25 -0400, limey wrote:

> I think you are confusing people. I take it you're looking for a
> conventional tea kettle in which to boil water. Your reference to tea pot
> makes people think you're looking for a vessel (teapot) in which to brew
> tea, then serve.
>
> I use a Corning tea kettle, with a loud whistle. It also has a copper
> bottom, but I haven't noticed any change in the taste of the water.
>

I didn't notice a change in taste either until I let the water cool down
in the tea kettle and drank it. When I made tea using the water, I didn't
notice it because the tea masked the taste. I also didn't notice it when
drinking the hot water. You may want to test the water when it has cooled.

Nevertheless, I think using copper on the inside bottom is bad design.
It's hard to see any corrosion w/o using a flashlight, and untreated
copper in air is very, very corrosive. I guess people who use copper
cookware need to polish it often, but you can't really polish the inside
of a tea kettle.

I'll ask the original question in the tea newsgroup.

Meph

Conservative-looking tea kettle
 

Mephistopheles Jones > wrote in
n.com:

> On Wed, 11 Aug 2004 13:13:25 -0400, limey wrote:
>
>> I think you are confusing people. I take it you're looking for a
>> conventional tea kettle in which to boil water. Your reference to
>> tea pot makes people think you're looking for a vessel (teapot) in
>> which to brew tea, then serve.
>>
>> I use a Corning tea kettle, with a loud whistle. It also has a
>> copper bottom, but I haven't noticed any change in the taste of the
>> water.
>>
>
> I didn't notice a change in taste either until I let the water cool
> down in the tea kettle and drank it. When I made tea using the water,
> I didn't notice it because the tea masked the taste. I also didn't
> notice it when drinking the hot water. You may want to test the water
> when it has cooled.

Water that has been boiled and then cooled always tastes different than
freshly drawn water. Water that has been boiled a long time, or that has
been kept hot for a long time and then cooled will taste even stranger.
This is not a phenomena of the kettle. All of the naturally occurring
gasses that are normally present in freshly drawn water are driven off
through length boiling or the holding of hot water. Minerals are often
concentrated due of evaporation of the boiling process.

Following the recommended principles for brewing tea, cold water should
be brought quickly to a rolling boil and used immediately while the water
is freshest. There would be no reason to drink it cold.

Why would you be drinking the cooled boiled water anyway?

> Nevertheless, I think using copper on the inside bottom is bad design.
> It's hard to see any corrosion w/o using a flashlight, and untreated
> copper in air is very, very corrosive. I guess people who use copper
> cookware need to polish it often, but you can't really polish the
> inside of a tea kettle.

My mother used a solid copper kettle for years, and I can't say that
there was ever anything unusual about the water. I should also say that
the exterior was kept polished, and water was always kept in the kettle.
Before heating, the stale water was emptied, the kettle rinsed, then
refilled.

> I'll ask the original question in the tea newsgroup.
>
> Meph

Methinks your agonizing over little or nothing.

--
Wayne in Phoenix

*If there's a nit to pick, some nitwit will pick it.
*A mind is a terrible thing to lose.

Mephistopheles Jones > wrote in
n.com:

> On Wed, 11 Aug 2004 13:13:25 -0400, limey wrote:
>
>> I think you are confusing people. I take it you're looking for a
>> conventional tea kettle in which to boil water. Your reference to
>> tea pot makes people think you're looking for a vessel (teapot) in
>> which to brew tea, then serve.
>>
>> I use a Corning tea kettle, with a loud whistle. It also has a
>> copper bottom, but I haven't noticed any change in the taste of the
>> water.
>>
>
> I didn't notice a change in taste either until I let the water cool
> down in the tea kettle and drank it. When I made tea using the water,
> I didn't notice it because the tea masked the taste. I also didn't
> notice it when drinking the hot water. You may want to test the water
> when it has cooled.

Water that has been boiled and then cooled always tastes different than
freshly drawn water. Water that has been boiled a long time, or that has
been kept hot for a long time and then cooled will taste even stranger.
This is not a phenomena of the kettle. All of the naturally occurring
gasses that are normally present in freshly drawn water are driven off
through length boiling or the holding of hot water. Minerals are often
concentrated due of evaporation of the boiling process.

Following the recommended principles for brewing tea, cold water should
be brought quickly to a rolling boil and used immediately while the water
is freshest. There would be no reason to drink it cold.

Why would you be drinking the cooled boiled water anyway?

> Nevertheless, I think using copper on the inside bottom is bad design.
> It's hard to see any corrosion w/o using a flashlight, and untreated
> copper in air is very, very corrosive. I guess people who use copper
> cookware need to polish it often, but you can't really polish the
> inside of a tea kettle.

My mother used a solid copper kettle for years, and I can't say that
there was ever anything unusual about the water. I should also say that
the exterior was kept polished, and water was always kept in the kettle.
Before heating, the stale water was emptied, the kettle rinsed, then
refilled.

> I'll ask the original question in the tea newsgroup.
>
> Meph

Methinks your agonizing over little or nothing.

--
Wayne in Phoenix

*If there's a nit to pick, some nitwit will pick it.
*A mind is a terrible thing to lose.

Conservative-looking tea kettle
 

"Mephistopheles Jones" wrote>

limey wrote:
> > I think you are confusing people. I take it you're looking for a
> > conventional tea kettle in which to boil water. Your reference to tea
pot
> > makes people think you're looking for a vessel (teapot) in which to brew
> > tea, then serve.
> >
> > I use a Corning tea kettle, with a loud whistle. It also has a copper
> > bottom, but I haven't noticed any change in the taste of the water.
> >
>
> I didn't notice a change in taste either until I let the water cool down
> in the tea kettle and drank it. When I made tea using the water, I didn't
> notice it because the tea masked the taste. I also didn't notice it when
> drinking the hot water. You may want to test the water when it has
cooled.

Why on earth would I want to drink water which has boiled and cooled in the
kettle?
>
> Nevertheless, I think using copper on the inside bottom is bad design.
> It's hard to see any corrosion w/o using a flashlight, and untreated
> copper in air is very, very corrosive. I guess people who use copper
> cookware need to polish it often, but you can't really polish the inside
> of a tea kettle.

I'm sure the Corning-Revere would appreciate hearing about this, since they
have been in business selling copper-bottomed pots and kettles for many
years. I'd be interested in their reply.

> I'll ask the original question in the tea newsgroup.

> Meph

I'd stop worrying.

Dora

"Mephistopheles Jones" wrote>

limey wrote:
> > I think you are confusing people. I take it you're looking for a
> > conventional tea kettle in which to boil water. Your reference to tea
pot
> > makes people think you're looking for a vessel (teapot) in which to brew
> > tea, then serve.
> >
> > I use a Corning tea kettle, with a loud whistle. It also has a copper
> > bottom, but I haven't noticed any change in the taste of the water.
> >
>
> I didn't notice a change in taste either until I let the water cool down
> in the tea kettle and drank it. When I made tea using the water, I didn't
> notice it because the tea masked the taste. I also didn't notice it when
> drinking the hot water. You may want to test the water when it has
cooled.

Why on earth would I want to drink water which has boiled and cooled in the
kettle?
>
> Nevertheless, I think using copper on the inside bottom is bad design.
> It's hard to see any corrosion w/o using a flashlight, and untreated
> copper in air is very, very corrosive. I guess people who use copper
> cookware need to polish it often, but you can't really polish the inside
> of a tea kettle.

I'm sure the Corning-Revere would appreciate hearing about this, since they
have been in business selling copper-bottomed pots and kettles for many
years. I'd be interested in their reply.

> I'll ask the original question in the tea newsgroup.

> Meph

I'd stop worrying.

Dora

On Fri, 13 Aug 2004 15:21:33 -0400, limey wrote:

> Why on earth would I want to drink water which has boiled and cooled in the
> kettle?

To make sure it is not contaminated. I guess I should have said "the
water tastes like copper" instead of "the water tastes different". Looks
like it's gonna take an expose on the 11 o'clock news to convince you that
this is even remotely possible. I read the pseudo-science in the other
post. Cooled water doesn't taste THAT different. Especially water that
was boiled in a stainless-steel pot. Another note to that other poster--
I'm not "agonizing", I 'm just looking to see if anyone has found a
nice-looking tea kettle made of non-corrosive material.

Meph

Conservative-looking tea kettle
 

I'm not sure what you mean by conservative, but I love my stainless
steel teapot from Ikea with blue plastic accents and handle. Plus it's
only $20, but very solid.



Mephistopheles Jones > wrote in message in.com>...
> I live in Los Angeles. Is there a retail store that carries the old
> school, conservative-looking tea pots. The whistling kind that is a basic
> stainless-steel cylinder, rounded at the top, with a conservative handle
> and spout. Not those quasi-futuristic thingamajigs at Target and Crate
> and Barrel, etc... I've searched high and low, and the best I found was a
> pot at Linens n Things with a copper bottom that makes water taste funny
> cuz apparently the copper soaks into the water (it's copper on the inside
> bottom as well as the outside bottom).
>
> It's so weird what happened to tea pots over the last coupla decades.
> They look like something kids would buy.
>
> Meph

I'm not sure what you mean by conservative, but I love my stainless
steel teapot from Ikea with blue plastic accents and handle. Plus it's
only $20, but very solid.



Mephistopheles Jones > wrote in message in.com>...
> I live in Los Angeles. Is there a retail store that carries the old
> school, conservative-looking tea pots. The whistling kind that is a basic
> stainless-steel cylinder, rounded at the top, with a conservative handle
> and spout. Not those quasi-futuristic thingamajigs at Target and Crate
> and Barrel, etc... I've searched high and low, and the best I found was a
> pot at Linens n Things with a copper bottom that makes water taste funny
> cuz apparently the copper soaks into the water (it's copper on the inside
> bottom as well as the outside bottom).
>
> It's so weird what happened to tea pots over the last coupla decades.
> They look like something kids would buy.
>
> Meph

"Sam" > wrote in message
m...
> I'm not sure what you mean by conservative,

Haven't you seen the conservative line of tea kettles at Wal-Mart? They
have one that looks like Bill Bennett packaged with a deck of cards and
color coordinated dice. The Jerry Falwall holds two gallons of hot water and
includes a bible shaped trivet.

"Sam" > wrote in message
m...
> I'm not sure what you mean by conservative,

Haven't you seen the conservative line of tea kettles at Wal-Mart? They
have one that looks like Bill Bennett packaged with a deck of cards and
color coordinated dice. The Jerry Falwall holds two gallons of hot water and
includes a bible shaped trivet.

"Sam" > wrote in message
m...
> I'm not sure what you mean by conservative,

Haven't you seen the conservative line of tea kettles at Wal-Mart? They
have one that looks like Bill Bennett packaged with a deck of cards and
color coordinated dice. The Jerry Falwall holds two gallons of hot water and
includes a bible shaped trivet.

> I live in Los Angeles. Is there a retail store that carries the old
> school, conservative-looking tea pots. The whistling kind that is a basic
> stainless-steel cylinder, rounded at the top, with a conservative handle
> and spout. Not those quasi-futuristic thingamajigs at Target and Crate
> and Barrel, etc...

Have you looked at Target? They sell some fancy ones that they show in
their ads, but when I bought my tea kettle a year or two ago, they had a
wide selection, including some plain ones. The Target web site has
quite a few, and some of them look "plain" to me - there are a couple of
attractive stainless steel ones.

Karen

> I live in Los Angeles. Is there a retail store that carries the old
> school, conservative-looking tea pots. The whistling kind that is a basic
> stainless-steel cylinder, rounded at the top, with a conservative handle
> and spout. Not those quasi-futuristic thingamajigs at Target and Crate
> and Barrel, etc...

Have you looked at Target? They sell some fancy ones that they show in
their ads, but when I bought my tea kettle a year or two ago, they had a
wide selection, including some plain ones. The Target web site has
quite a few, and some of them look "plain" to me - there are a couple of
attractive stainless steel ones.

Karen

Mephistopheles Jones > wrote in message in.com>...
> I live in Los Angeles. Is there a retail store that carries the old
> school, conservative-looking tea pots. The whistling kind that is a basic
> stainless-steel cylinder, rounded at the top, with a conservative handle
> and spout. Not those quasi-futuristic thingamajigs at Target and Crate
> and Barrel, etc... I've searched high and low, and the best I found was a
> pot at Linens n Things with a copper bottom that makes water taste funny
> cuz apparently the copper soaks into the water (it's copper on the inside
> bottom as well as the outside bottom).
>
> It's so weird what happened to tea pots over the last coupla decades.
> They look like something kids would buy.
>
> Meph

I can't answer about the metal ones, but there is a common GLASS one
called "whistler" that is quite nice. Of course the glass imparts no
taste, and one can see when to de-lime it, unless you use distilled
water like I do and never need to do that. I've seen whistlers at
grocery stores, and places like hardware stores that carry kitchen
things, like OSH. They work w/o the whistler top, and you can see the
water boil, which I like so I don't get a noise. But you can put the
top on after filling and get a whistle when it boils. Fairly cheap,
lasts forever unless you break it.
My $.02
betsy

Mephistopheles Jones > wrote in message in.com>...
> I live in Los Angeles. Is there a retail store that carries the old
> school, conservative-looking tea pots. The whistling kind that is a basic
> stainless-steel cylinder, rounded at the top, with a conservative handle
> and spout. Not those quasi-futuristic thingamajigs at Target and Crate
> and Barrel, etc... I've searched high and low, and the best I found was a
> pot at Linens n Things with a copper bottom that makes water taste funny
> cuz apparently the copper soaks into the water (it's copper on the inside
> bottom as well as the outside bottom).
>
> It's so weird what happened to tea pots over the last coupla decades.
> They look like something kids would buy.
>
> Meph

I can't answer about the metal ones, but there is a common GLASS one
called "whistler" that is quite nice. Of course the glass imparts no
taste, and one can see when to de-lime it, unless you use distilled
water like I do and never need to do that. I've seen whistlers at
grocery stores, and places like hardware stores that carry kitchen
things, like OSH. They work w/o the whistler top, and you can see the
water boil, which I like so I don't get a noise. But you can put the
top on after filling and get a whistle when it boils. Fairly cheap,
lasts forever unless you break it.
My $.02
betsy