I have a coffeemaker that I hate. It works fine, but it’s a huge pain to clean, and it’s way too big for my needs. I’m the only person in my household who drinks coffee, and I get jittery after more than a couple of cups, so I don’t need to make, like, a gallon at a time.
Recently, I visited a friend who had a french press and an electric kettle. It was the perfect setup - easy to make as much or as little as you want, easy to adjust the strength of the brew in either direction, easy to clean. And the kettle was super-handy for tea, instant oatmeal, and other stuff. I bought a french press at Target that I’m satisfied with, but I’m still looking for a good electric kettle. I’ve been browsing Amazon, and it seems like even the highest-rated ones have various negative comments that give me pause: rusting after a short period, getting too hot to touch (even on the handle), persistent plastic-y smell and/or taste, on-off switch in a place that’s easy to trip accidentally.
So tell me about your electric kettle that you love - but only if it’s still on the market, please. I don’t need any help longing for something I can’t have.
I’d love to, but I’m not actually that big a fan of our current one. We’ve got this one, and while it is fine and does electric kettle things, I have the following complaints:
Honestly, it’s too big. We barely ever even fill it halfway. I don’t understand why so many electric kettles are in the 1.5-2 liter size range. Who boils that much water in a kettle?
The labels on the buttons that we use often have already worn off. Not a big deal, but c’mon, we’ve only had the dumb thing since last Christmas.
The lid no longer opens all the way when you push the release button - it springs open to about 60 degree angle or so, rather than all the way. Again, annoying, but not a big deal.
There’s a bit of corrosion around the sides of the spout, which is super weird.
Anyway, yeah. Electric kettles in general are great, our particular model, you can do better.
I’ve used them for years, love them! We’ve had several makes and I don’t really have a favorite, but I do have a list of must haves:
-must be glass or stainless, plastic makes for odd flavors IMO
-must have a nice wide removable top for cleaning. The things do build up mineral scale over time, and while vinegar washes work it’s nice to be able to get in there and scrub a bit.
-must have an auto-off feature because I’m easily distracted
-prefer a separate base that stays plugged in so that filling and cleaning is easier, also nice for taking a newly boiled pot over to the stove to top up something simmering or another room to warm up tea etc.
-if it has a spout filter, a removable one is much easier to clean.
I love my kettle. You can pick a temperature and it will heat the water only as hot as you like it. That way my husband, who doesn’t like things very hot, can drink his tea right when he makes it.
I did however buy it in Canada, and I can’t seem to find it on the Canadian Tire website anymore, but Cuisinart does sell something similar.
Our “electric kettle” is actually a tea brewer. You can also heat up water, but the real magic is the basket you fill with either tea bags or loose leaf tea, set the type and strength, then press go. The water is heated to the appropriate temp and the basket is lowered into the water for the appropriate time before raising back up. All automatically.
it’s pricy, but freaking awesome.
I have this one. I never used one, before someone gave it to me as a gift. It’s super basic. Fill with water, click the lever, and it boils water. Very easy to clean because of the large opening. I use it way more than I thought I would when I first received it. I love it for making coffee along with the French press when I’m the only one who wants coffee.
After you get your kettle, I suggest you look at pour-over method as opposed to french press (easier clean-up and will last longer). I’ve never ordered from this site but I’ve included to show what I moved to from the FP: http://www.fantes.com/coffee-manualdrip.html#stainless
If the OP is graduating from an electric coffee maker, he doesn’t need to jump right into the deep end of snooty coffee culture. Give him some time. A french press is fine. Pour over coffee makers are also way more work, which, depending on how lazy you are, can be a factor.
I have an Adagio UtiliTEA. Does different temperatures (handy since you want to make coffee), holds a decent amount, is pretty quiet, and I’ve never noticed any weird smell from it.
It’s a thing that sits on the counter and keeps water hot all day (or whenever you have it plugged in). Apparently they’re very popular in Japan where people drink a lot of tea. They’re quite well-insulated, so they don’t draw much power.
I second this recommendation. We’ve had the Breville electric kettle for 6 years, and we probably use it about 4 times a day on average. It’s fast (powerful), it’s convenient, and durable. It’s simple as can be - fill it up, put it back on its base (which stays connected to power), turn it on. Water boils, it goes “ding” and turns off. I have no idea if it’s easy to clean because I’ve never had to clean it - there’s no scaling inside, and it only ever has water in it, so why would I need to? The light in the level indicator doesn’t work anymore, but it was never really necessary, and that’s the only thing that’s gone wrong with it.
p.s. The above-mentioned Breville is suitable if you need boiling water a few times a day. If you want hot (but not boiling) water throughout the day, a Japanese style hot-water dispenser would be better. I use use this Zojirushi 3-liter model in my office; I turn it on in the morning and I usually go through most of it by drinking green tea & herbal tea throughout the day.
Pour over coffee makers are also way more work, which, depending on how lazy you are, can be a factor.