Janet > wrote:

> 190 F is well below the boiling point of water (212F), so such hot
> water dispensers are no good for making tea.

They are actually not at all bad for making some kinds of tea, not even
all that bad for most kinds of black tea. Water should not be actually
boiling, as in rolling boil - for any kind of tea. The optimal stage for
most black teas is the so-called "white boiling," the one immediately
preceding the rolling boil - and one at which the temperature is still
below the boiling point of 100°C. You can actually see that stage if
you boil water in a transparent vessel. You can also hear it - it is
the loudest stage - that is when you are supposed to take your kettle
off the fire (or switch it off) at once, not waiting for the stage to
end or even to proceed.

I've been posting about this for decades; here are a couple of examples:
> or
<https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/rec.food.cooking/_xoFpRfNNys/nhJzdrGbpMYJ>
> or
<https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/rec.food.cooking/c56FOPnwxPk/kU_bJ76UftgJ>

Of course, all of this only matters if one really does care about one's
tea, using tea and water of the highest quality. If one adds sugar,
milk or anything else, the above doesn't matter much at all. Often
enough I drink tea with lemon; I use boiling water to make it.

Victor

On 8/10/2013 1:36 PM, Pete C. wrote:

> Search "hot water dispenser" on the 'Depo, Lowe's, etc. sites and see
> the nice built in hot water dispenser models that will give you 190F
> water any time you want and take essentially no counter space.

I'm familiar with those, but it will cost me a lot more to have that
installed than just use an electric kettle. What a silly argument.

--
CAPSLOCK–Preventing Login Since 1980.

On Sat, 10 Aug 2013 12:36:55 -0500, "Pete C." >
wrote:

>
>Cheryl wrote:
>>
>> On 8/10/2013 9:45 AM, Kalmia wrote:
>> > On Saturday, August 10, 2013 2:55:43 AM UTC-4, Cheryl wrote:
>> >> Well, more of an appliance. An electric water kettle. I've been wanting
>> >>
>> >> one and used a couple of BBB gift cards to gift myself. It boils water
>> >>
>> >> so fast (about 2 mins) I'm amazed, because the heating element is fairly
>> >>
>> >> small. I've been enjoying hot tea again in the morning since I gave up
>> >>
>> >> coffee a while ago.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> It's this model:
>> >>
>> >> http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/prod...?sku=40656649&
>> >
>> >
>> > a. Made in China?
>> >
>> > b . Have you tested it against just a pan of water on the stove or in the mike?
>> >
>> > Is time so precious that an extra minute will matter much?
>> >
>> Yes, actually. But it isn't about a minute. It's a full kettle for
>> whatever I need scalding hot water for. I think it's a good idea to have.
>>
>
>Search "hot water dispenser" on the 'Depo, Lowe's, etc. sites and see
>the nice built in hot water dispenser models that will give you 190F
>water any time you want and take essentially no counter space.

Those things are a costly way to have hot water, they work like a
typical tank type hot water heater absd have a poor recovery rate...
it's wasteful to maintain hot water 24/7 even if not used, and 190ºF
is not hot enough for properly brewing tea... you must be used to
resto pish vasser. An electric tea kettle works like a tankless
on-demand water heater, and it gives you boiling water, 212ºF.

On Sat, 10 Aug 2013 18:59:39 GMT, "l not -l" > wrote:

>
>On 10-Aug-2013, "Pete C." > wrote:
>
>> Search "hot water dispenser" on the 'Depo, Lowe's, etc. sites and see
>> the nice built in hot water dispenser models that will give you 190F
>> water any time you want and take essentially no counter space.
>
>Perhaps they are better now; but, what a waste of money and effort mine
>were. I owned 3 during twenty of the past 35 years; all were Kenmore,
>manufactured by and identical to the, then top-rated, In-sink-a-rator
>brand. All three were repaired multiple times (replaced thermal
>switches a couple of times, tank seam leak once) before ultimate failure
>of the heating element.
>
>I no longer buy and maintain worthless gewgaws, gimcracks and doodads
>that "save time and efffort". My life is improved by no longer having a
>hot water dispenser, ice cube maker or garbage disposal. The amount of
>time and effort saved is not by installing these things but by getting
>rid of them.

I concur. Some monkeys will buy every POS advertized on TV.

On Sat, 10 Aug 2013 11:04:59 -0400, Cheryl >
wrote:

>On 8/10/2013 9:45 AM, Kalmia wrote:
>> On Saturday, August 10, 2013 2:55:43 AM UTC-4, Cheryl wrote:
>>> Well, more of an appliance. An electric water kettle. I've been wanting
>>>
>>> one and used a couple of BBB gift cards to gift myself. It boils water
>>>
>>> so fast (about 2 mins) I'm amazed, because the heating element is fairly
>>>
>>> small. I've been enjoying hot tea again in the morning since I gave up
>>>
>>> coffee a while ago.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> It's this model:
>>>
>>> http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/prod...?sku=40656649&
>>
>>
>> a. Made in China?
>>
>> b . Have you tested it against just a pan of water on the stove or in the mike?
>>
>> Is time so precious that an extra minute will matter much?
>>
>Yes, actually. But it isn't about a minute. It's a full kettle for
>whatever I need scalding hot water for. I think it's a good idea to have.

The most advantageous feature of electric tea kettles is that they are
thermostastically controlled, they bring water exactly to the boil
with no guesswork (no nuker timer to futz with) and shut off... so if
you happen to walk away to do something else and become distracted you
don't burn a pot on the stovetop. And a microwave is good for
rewarming a hot beverage but it's the most inaccurate method to boil a
mug of water and is highly unsafe... eventually one will meet up with
a mug of water that nucleates and sends one to the burn unit. A
thermostatically controlled electric tea kettle produces the desired
amount of water brought precisely to the boil in a short amount of
time, and safely.

On Sat, 10 Aug 2013 02:55:43 -0400, Cheryl >
wrote:

> Well, more of an appliance. An electric water kettle. I've been wanting
> one and used a couple of BBB gift cards to gift myself. It boils water
> so fast (about 2 mins) I'm amazed, because the heating element is fairly
> small. I've been enjoying hot tea again in the morning since I gave up
> coffee a while ago.
>
> It's this model:
> http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/prod...?sku=40656649&
>
> I guess I could have found one cheaper but I like the look of this one
> and I hope it lasts. No reviews and I hate buying things without
> customer reviews, but I took a chance.

Please give us your opinion after you've used it a while. We've
really liked electric kettles when they've been in our hotel rooms,
but it's rarely hot enough here to want one and I have 6 burners - so
I don't need one. I'm thinking about getting electric kettles for my
kids who live where it's much warmer in the summer (but no air
conditioning) and would appreciate it... especially the one that makes
French press coffee every morning. The other one has a drip coffee
maker.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On Saturday, August 10, 2013 11:03:45 AM UTC-4, sf wrote: I'm thinking about getting electric kettles for my
>
> kids who live where it's much warmer in the summer (but no air
>
> conditioning) and would appreciate it... especially the one that makes
>
> French press coffee every morning. The other one has a drip coffee
>
> maker.

I heat my French press water in a 2 cup Pyrex msrng cup in the mike. I only use the kettle when I want a lot of boiling water AND get some moisture into the air. Does the kid have ample storage room for a kettle?

On Sat, 10 Aug 2013 09:35:31 -0700 (PDT), Kalmia
> wrote:

> On Saturday, August 10, 2013 11:03:45 AM UTC-4, sf wrote: I'm thinking about getting electric kettles for my
> >
> > kids who live where it's much warmer in the summer (but no air
> >
> > conditioning) and would appreciate it... especially the one that makes
> >
> > French press coffee every morning. The other one has a drip coffee
> >
> > maker.
>
> I heat my French press water in a 2 cup Pyrex msrng cup in the mike. I only use the kettle when I want a lot of boiling water AND get some moisture into the air. Does the kid have ample storage room for a kettle?

That's why I'm holding back. TINY, tiny kitchen. Barely enough room
for two people to squeeze past each other, very little counter space
and storage is at a premium. Believe it or not, this kitchen is
bigger than the last one they had - so they aren't complaining. No
room for a microwave or even a *toaster* in their kitchen! Of course,
it goes w/o saying... no dishwasher either.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On 8/10/2013 12:35 PM, Kalmia wrote:
> On Saturday, August 10, 2013 11:03:45 AM UTC-4, sf wrote: I'm thinking about getting electric kettles for my
>>
>> kids who live where it's much warmer in the summer (but no air
>>
>> conditioning) and would appreciate it... especially the one that makes
>>
>> French press coffee every morning. The other one has a drip coffee
>>
>> maker.
>
> I heat my French press water in a 2 cup Pyrex msrng cup in the mike. I only use the kettle when I want a lot of boiling water AND get some moisture into the air. Does the kid have ample storage room for a kettle?
>
Ample room? It has a footprint of about 8" in diameter.

--
CAPSLOCK–Preventing Login Since 1980.

On Sat, 10 Aug 2013 15:57:09 -0400, Cheryl >
wrote:

> On 8/10/2013 12:35 PM, Kalmia wrote:
> > On Saturday, August 10, 2013 11:03:45 AM UTC-4, sf wrote: I'm thinking about getting electric kettles for my
> >>
> >> kids who live where it's much warmer in the summer (but no air
> >>
> >> conditioning) and would appreciate it... especially the one that makes
> >>
> >> French press coffee every morning. The other one has a drip coffee
> >>
> >> maker.
> >
> > I heat my French press water in a 2 cup Pyrex msrng cup in the mike. I only use the kettle when I want a lot of boiling water AND get some moisture into the air. Does the kid have ample storage room for a kettle?
> >
> Ample room? It has a footprint of about 8" in diameter.

I like that size, but it would be like an iceberg in their tiny
kitchen pond. Counter space is at a premium at their house. As I
said in another post, they don't have room for a microwave of any size
- not even room for a toaster.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On Sat, 10 Aug 2013 09:35:31 -0700 (PDT), Kalmia
> wrote:

>On Saturday, August 10, 2013 11:03:45 AM UTC-4, sf wrote: I'm thinking about getting electric kettles for my
>>
>> kids who live where it's much warmer in the summer (but no air
>>
>> conditioning) and would appreciate it... especially the one that makes
>>
>> French press coffee every morning. The other one has a drip coffee
>>
>> maker.

>Does the kid have ample storage room for a kettle?

My BrAun kettle is more tall than wide, has a very small foot print,
one of the few appliances that stays on my kitchen counter all the
time, gets used several times every day... even more cost/time
efficient for warming a small amount of water for wetting a cotton
ball to clean cat's ears, takes longer and wastes more energy and
water waiting for warm water from the tap.

"Cheryl" > wrote in message
eb.com...
> Well, more of an appliance. An electric water kettle. I've been wanting
> one and used a couple of BBB gift cards to gift myself. It boils water so
> fast (about 2 mins) I'm amazed, because the heating element is fairly
> small.

You either boil small amounts, have a clock made by Salvador Dali or have it
plugged in to a 240V supply!
I've yet to find such a fast kettle in N.America as the max size of the
element is only 1.5Kw whereas in the UK it's double that.
Graham