# Is an electric kettle an OK way to make tea? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 22, 2017, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-an-electric-kettle-an-ok-way-to-make-tea/782729 "2017-03-22T01:24:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-an-electric-kettle-an-ok-way-to-make-tea/782729/41 "2017-03-22T23:54:24Z")
I used to have that kettle! It’s a good one. I only had to replace it because my roommate (a total klutz) put it on the stove with the oven on and melted the bottom. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-an-electric-kettle-an-ok-way-to-make-tea/782729/42 "2017-03-23T00:30:09Z")
> [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](#): > > I used to have that kettle! It’s a good one. I only had to replace it because my roommate (a total klutz) put it on the stove with the oven on and melted the bottom. Cool, thankas. $6 brand new seemed reasonable. I would not have expected to get that price at a thrift store. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-an-electric-kettle-an-ok-way-to-make-tea/782729/43 "2017-03-23T16:16:39Z")
> [@Anny\_Middon](#): > > When you get your teapot, get a cozy for it too. > > There are fabric handmade ones and fitted ones. I don’t think it matters which you get (although some teapots with fitted cozies are pretty pricy). > > The cozy will however help keep your tea hot for a while. I inherited the pot with fitted cozy that I use, and it keeps the tea hot for most of an hour. Well, not super hot, but hot enough for my tastes. What about one of these? [http://www.displays2go.com/P-21989/Insulated-Carafe-for-Hot-or-Cold-Beverages?st=Category&sid=843](http://www.displays2go.com/P-21989/Insulated-Carafe-for-Hot-or-Cold-Beverages?st=Category&sid=843) ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-an-electric-kettle-an-ok-way-to-make-tea/782729/44 "2017-03-23T17:22:20Z")
Unless you have a sink in your classroom, I really think the fewer, easier things you have to wash the better. That’s why I vote for skipping the tea pot and making tea a mug at a time. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-an-electric-kettle-an-ok-way-to-make-tea/782729/45 "2017-03-23T17:45:28Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > ‘Put the kettle on’ is a phrase you’ll hear whenever someone steps through the door. I once asked on a travel messageboard what the first thing was that everyone did when they got home from a trip (knowing that 99.999999999% of people in Britain and Ireland would put the kettle on, but wondering what everyone else did). The first reply was from someone in America who said “I look for cat vomit”. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-an-electric-kettle-an-ok-way-to-make-tea/782729/46 "2017-03-23T19:34:48Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > I once asked on a travel messageboard what the first thing was that everyone did when they got home from a trip (knowing that 99.999999999% of people in Britain and Ireland would put the kettle on, but wondering what everyone else did). The first reply was from someone in America who said “I look for cat vomit”. Hee. Most memorably, I came home from a trip to a broken furnace and a very cold apartment. My answer that day was, “slip and fall on a patch of ice in the kitchen”. :smack: > [@SanVito](#): > > ‘Put the kettle on’ is a phrase you’ll hear whenever someone steps through the door. I like watching the British shows when someone says “you wanna cuppa?” It seems so homey. ---
**Author:** ![Drummond\_Bays](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8edcca/32.png) [@Drummond\_Bays](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drummond_Bays)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-an-electric-kettle-an-ok-way-to-make-tea/782729/47 "2017-03-23T19:54:52Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > I once asked on a travel messageboard what the first thing was that everyone did when they got home from a trip (knowing that 99.999999999% of people in Britain and Ireland would put the kettle on, but wondering what everyone else did). The first reply was from someone in America who said “I look for cat vomit”. /Hijack Poo. /Hijack 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-an-electric-kettle-an-ok-way-to-make-tea/782729/48 "2017-03-23T20:16:19Z")
No-one in our (English) household ever drinks tea, and I only occasionally drink coffee (and I will never make one just for me). Nevertheless, we have always had an electric kettle, and keep teabags in stock for visitors (personally I think people should bring their own if they’re that bothered but now we need babysitters, it’s best to appease them). I too have never heard of anyone putting tea in the kettle. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2017, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-an-electric-kettle-an-ok-way-to-make-tea/782729/49 "2017-03-24T14:51:35Z")
[Bodum](https://www.amazon.ca/Bodum-Yo-Yo-Strainer-12-Ounce-Black/dp/B006UV7Z1K/ref=pd_sbs_79_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=TJ9JAARNR9KMYWZY3KK1) also makes a nice infuser for tea. I’ll add to the chorus that making tea in the kettle is a bad idea. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-an-electric-kettle-an-ok-way-to-make-tea/782729/50 "2017-03-26T00:57:26Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > The first reply was from someone in America who said “I look for cat vomit”. Could mean they try to find a Budweiser. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-an-electric-kettle-an-ok-way-to-make-tea/782729/51 "2017-03-26T01:26:31Z")
The difference between the US and the British Isles, with respect to hot beverages, is mostly not at the high end: On either side of the Pond, if you want a really great cup of whatever drink, you can go to a place that specializes in it and get it. The difference is at the low end. In the Isles, if you buy the cheap teabags from the grocery store, or a cuppa from a greasy-spoon eatery, you’re still going to get a half-decent cup of tea (not great, maybe, but OK). Do the same in the US, though, and the result is likely to be barely drinkable\*. I’ve had some tea here that was so bitter and tannic, I’d swear it was made with oak leaves. On the other hand, every dive in America serves a reasonable cup of coffee, but the equivalent establishments Over There will do much worse (at least, so I’m told: I find all coffee vile). \*Exception: Benner tea, sold at Aldi, is the cheapest you’ll find anywhere, and is pretty decent (better than Lipton, certainly, though still short of Twinnings or Stash or the like). I don’t know what the reason is for that fluke. ---
**Author:** ![NetTrekker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nettrekker/32/2909_2.png) [@NetTrekker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NetTrekker)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-an-electric-kettle-an-ok-way-to-make-tea/782729/52 "2017-03-26T03:53:43Z")
Skip all the pretense and use the coffee maker you already have. Fill with water, drop a couple teabags in the carafe, turn it on and very soon you will have a nice pot of tea. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-an-electric-kettle-an-ok-way-to-make-tea/782729/53 "2017-03-26T21:53:08Z")
You can never get decent tea from a Communist. They believe that proper tea is theft. ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-an-electric-kettle-an-ok-way-to-make-tea/782729/54 "2017-03-26T21:57:16Z")
But an electric kettle is kind of fun, especially if you have jumpy cats. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-an-electric-kettle-an-ok-way-to-make-tea/782729/55 "2017-03-26T22:11:59Z")
> [@NetTrekker](#): > > Skip all the pretense and use the coffee maker you already have. Fill with water, drop a couple teabags in the carafe, turn it on and very soon you will have a nice pot of tea. Only if you manage to remove all traces of coffee from the carafe and the filter holder. It only takes a trace amount of residual coffee to contaminate tea to the point of being unpleasant to drink. ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-an-electric-kettle-an-ok-way-to-make-tea/782729/56 "2017-03-27T01:41:58Z")
> [@NetTrekker](#): > > Skip all the pretense and use the coffee maker you already have. Fill with water, drop a couple teabags in the carafe, turn it on and very soon you will have a nice pot of tea. Not in a thousand years. Water for tea has to be just above boiling. I bought my first coffee-maker a few months ago — I only drink a few cups a week, if that — and while adequate for something like coffee, it’s certainly not hot enough to turn tea into a brew. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-an-electric-kettle-an-ok-way-to-make-tea/782729/57 "2017-03-27T02:10:56Z")
> [@Evan\_Drake](#): > > Not in a thousand years. Water for tea has to be just above boiling. > I bought my first coffee-maker a few months ago — I only drink a few cups a week, if that — and while adequate for something like coffee, it’s certainly not hot enough to turn tea into a brew. Water can’t be “above boiling” unless it’s under pressure, though, right? Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-an-electric-kettle-an-ok-way-to-make-tea/782729/58 "2017-03-27T05:15:00Z")
_“Water as soon as it is heated ever so little above that degree of heat which is acquired by the steam of water boiling in vessels closed as in the experiments tried at the Royal Society, is immediately turned into steam, provided that it is in contact either with steam or air; this degree I shall call the boiling heat, or boiling point. It is evidently different according to the pressure of the atmosphere, or more properly to the pressure acting on the water. But 2ndly, if the water is not in contact with steam or air, it will bear a much greater heat without being changed into steam, namely that which Mr. De Luc calls the heat of ebullition.”_ The 1777 report of the Royal Society Committee [del]on making the perfect cup of tea[/del] \* Cambridge Uni papers : **[Is the steam point more fixed than the boiling point ?](http://www.sites.hps.cam.ac.uk/boiling/steampoint.htm)** Personally I just hold down the switch of the electric kettle a few seconds after it turns off. - **[Henry Cavendish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Cavendish)** was a weird bloke. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-an-electric-kettle-an-ok-way-to-make-tea/782729/59 "2017-03-27T05:58:39Z")
The water in the kettle is exposed to air, and will boil at the boiling point. Holding down the switch to keep it boiling will not make it any hotter. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-an-electric-kettle-an-ok-way-to-make-tea/782729/60 "2017-03-28T21:50:39Z")
I’ve been practicing before my electric kettle arrives. No matter how slow I pour, the tea bag rises to the top of the surface and floats. I’ve been using a spoon to weigh it down. I thought bobbing the tea bag up and down was incorrect, so I’m trying to let it soak for 5-6 minutes, then remove it entirely and drink it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-an-electric-kettle-an-ok-way-to-make-tea/782729.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-an-electric-kettle-an-ok-way-to-make-tea/782729.md?page=4)