About Electric Tea Kettles
The process of brewing tea has been refined over several millennium, with origins of tea being consumed as a beverage as early as the 10th century B.C. Up until recently, the water needed for proper tea brewing needed to be heated to a temperature just below boiling over a fire in some version of a metal or cast iron dish. Over the past few hundred years, stovetops have made the process of boiling water much more convenient, however there was still room for improvement.
Electric tea kettles have revolutionized western tea making in the past few decades because of their convenience and safety features. As opposed to stovetop kettles which require an external source of heat to bring the water to temperature, electric tea kettles have their own heating element inside the kettle to give users the ability to boil water anywhere there is a power source.
Benefits Of An Electric Tea Kettle
By far the most impressive benefit of an electric tea kettle is it’s efficiency. Whereas it can take a stovetop kettle up to 10 minutes to boil water, an electric tea kettle of the same capacity can cut that time down in less than half. This decrease in prep time makes tea much more enjoyable for people with busy lifestyles, or those without the patience to watch water boil.
However there are several other benefits exclusive to electric tea kettles that make them a superior heating element. As far as safety is concerned, electric kettles eliminate many of the hazards of working with high temperatures. First, generally the containers are insulated so that they will not burn to the touch. While many stovetop kettles have large handles for safe handling, there is still the potential of touching the pot accidentally. Electric tea kettles also have the benefit of having automatic shut offs when the water reaches temperature. Traditional kettles run the very real risk of evaporating all of the water if left unattended, damaging the pot.
With all of the safety and convenience benefits, you may be wondering if the taste of the tea itself is compromised by using a modern electric tea kettle. In fact, the opposite is true. Any high quality electric tea kettle, like breville electric kettles, will have an adjustable thermostat which can be dialed in for the perfect brewing temperature. For example, whites, yellow, and green teas should be brewed at a water temp of 150-175 degrees. Using boiling water would cause your tea to have a bitter taste. In fact, the better quality tea leaf you use, the lower the temperature of water is required.
Alternative Uses For Electric Tea Kettles
Sometimes the best electric tea kettle uses are for products besides tea. For example, a hot cup of instant soup can be made in a fraction of the time with a braun electric tea kettle as opposed to a stovetop kettle. By using the built in thermostat you can select the perfect temperature for your baby formula instead of risking scalding your infants mouth. Of course, electric tea kettles are also perfect for making instant coffee, hot chocolate, or any other beverage which requires perfectly boiled water.