# Do you own a electric kettle/hot water dispenser?



## Teanobi (Jun 28, 2005)

Hello everyone, I have owned a Zojirushi hot water dispenser for years and just got another a couple of days back.  I love the thing and was thinking of carrying them at my store as well.  I just am wondering how many people own a electric kettle or something similar?


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## Michael in FtW (Jun 28, 2005)

A hot water dispenser for "almost boiling water on tap" would be nice ... but not on my "top 10" list of things I need for my dream  kitchen. Actually, since I live in an apartment with a tiny kitchen - #1 on my list would be a bigger kitchen. 

I know that electric tea kettles have been very propuar in the UK/Europe for years (assuming you can trust the countertop appliances in the background on 30-40 year old BBC comedy shows) ... and I wouldn't mind having one ... but again ... my kitchen is too tiny to have the counter space for one.

Considering that the hot water tap is going to require energy to keep the water hot all the time, even when I'm not using it, and the electric kettle only uses energy when I need it ... I can stand waiting a couple of minutes for the energy savings.


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## pdswife (Jun 28, 2005)

I have a hot water dispenser.  
We keep it plugged in during the winter and unplug it in the warmer months.
LOVE IT!  I could live with out it but... I sure don't want to.


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## Ishbel (Jun 28, 2005)

Like 99.999999 per cent of British households, we have an electric kettle.  I've had electric kettles all my adult life - and my mum had them too when I was growing up, so they've been around for a long while here!   The idea of 'nearly' boiling water (as Michael describes) wouldn't be good enough for real British style teas..   water has to be freshly boiled!


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## Alix (Jun 28, 2005)

I have had a few minor disasters involving kettles. So now I have one with an auto shut off and I LOVE IT! I didn't realize that they made dispensers for HOT water. I've only seen the ones for cold water. I don't know whether I would use one or not, as I use my kettle for everything. Sounds like a cool idea though.


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## Ishbel (Jun 28, 2005)

Like you, I realised the value of the auto-off on a kettle many years ago...  Saved me from many a steam-filled kitchen with a kettle with a burnt-out element!


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## buckytom (Jun 28, 2005)

i have a cheapo plastic one on my desk at work for making tea, and water for instant soups. it is off limits to anything but water. my old one was destroyed by someone heating some oily sauces or soups in it that discolored the plastic and left a funky taste. so i got them back by putting a few drops of laxative and letting it dry...


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## Ishbel (Jun 28, 2005)

Heheheeeeee - is your middle name Machiavelli?


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## Barbara L (Jun 28, 2005)

I have an electric tea kettle, and I really like it.  Mine is a cheapy model that I won for taking a survey, but it works great.  When it wears out, I will definitely look into getting one with auto shutoff.  

 Barbara


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## htc (Jun 28, 2005)

I have one, it's the kind that you find at the Asian store, I don't know if it's the kettle style like everyone else has...


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## msalper (Jun 28, 2005)

It was very usefull, helpfull. Once you know it, you can't give up. One week ago, it was broken and I understand how much it is important. I like nescafe and I can carry it with me. Ready hot water.


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## amber (Jun 28, 2005)

Yes I have an electric kettle.  I'd never seen one until I met my hubby is who is originally from England.  We found ours at Walmart for $30.


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## Paint (Jul 2, 2005)

Ishbel said:
			
		

> Like 99.999999 per cent of British households, we have an electric kettle. I've had electric kettles all my adult life - and my mum had them too when I was growing up, so they've been around for a long while here! The idea of 'nearly' boiling water (as Michael describes) wouldn't be good enough for real British style teas.. water has to be freshly boiled!



Absolutely Ishbel!!! I cringe to the bottom of my toes whenever we order a cup of tea at a cafe over here and they use 'nearly' boiling water from a water dispenser instead of proper boiling water...then they just put the hottish water in a mug and give you that, along with the teabag - so by the time you've paid and got to your table the water has really cooled down and is useless for making tea LOL! (Even worse is when they give you a teabag and an empty mug and point you in the direction of a plastic insulated carafe of hot water which has been sitting on a side table for several hours...)

It took us a while trawling over town to find one, and we had to pay $$$ for it, but an electric kettle was No. 1 on our list of things to buy the very day we moved over here  We take it on vacation with us, as there is never anything to make tea with in a hotel room....and I also have one of those little plug-in electric elements that you stick right into a mug of water to boil the water - it takes a while to boil, but as long as I get a decent cuppa I don't mind the wait.

Paint.


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## buckytom (Jul 2, 2005)

paint, off topic, but did you ever find a good butcher and fish monger?


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## Paint (Jul 2, 2005)

Hi BuckyTom, I just got back from vacation last night and was reading the local village monthly paper and found that the farmers market here sells fresh fish, apparently frozen within 1 hour of being caught, so that might be worth a try.  I'm also going to spend a day visiting some of those gourmet food stores/deli's next week and see what they are like - thankyou!! 

Paint.


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## Ishbel (Jul 2, 2005)

Paint said:
			
		

> Absolutely Ishbel!!! I cringe to the bottom of my toes whenever we order a cup of tea at a cafe over here and they use 'nearly' boiling water from a water dispenser instead of proper boiling water...then they just put the hottish water in a mug and give you that, along with the teabag - so by the time you've paid and got to your table the water has really cooled down and is useless for making tea LOL! (Even worse is when they give you a teabag and an empty mug and point you in the direction of a plastic insulated carafe of hot water which has been sitting on a side table for several hours...)
> 
> It took us a while trawling over town to find one, and we had to pay $$$ for it, but an electric kettle was No. 1 on our list of things to buy the very day we moved over here  We take it on vacation with us, as there is never anything to make tea with in a hotel room....and I also have one of those little plug-in electric elements that you stick right into a mug of water to boil the water - it takes a while to boil, but as long as I get a decent cuppa I don't mind the wait.
> 
> Paint.


 

BLECH!  'Nearly' boiling water must be h ell to try to make tea!  I don't understand why an electric kettle is such an 'exotic' item in the US!  Here they aren't too expensive.  Mine's a Russell Hobbs which is a bit more expensive, but you can get an electric kettle for 12 pounds (I had a look at the prices in Curry's today!).


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## Paint (Jul 2, 2005)

Ishbel, the worst thing was the day we arrived here, just off the plane, totally exhausted & jetlagged, and we stopped off on our way to the hotel to visit my husband's new work partner at his house - his wife very kindly offered me a cup of tea (she had bought teabags specially for me), which I gladly accepted as I was gasping for a cuppa.....she then proceeded to put the teabag in the cup and add hot water from the tap......it was the worst cup of tea I've ever had in my life, but I had to force it down to be polite, because she had been so thoughtful LOL!

We also have the additional problem of our house being at 7,200ft above sea level - water boils at a lower temperature because of the altitude, so it REALLY has to be a good rolling boil to even have a chance of making good tea!

Paint.


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## Russell (Jul 2, 2005)

I do have one and I use it almost everyday...most of the time to make hot chocolate, but ocasionally for tea.


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## Claire (Jul 30, 2005)

I'm still at basics level ... the high tech I NEED is a whistling tea kettle ... and I mean really loud.  I bought a cutesy scandinavian (expensive) designer one, and couldn't hear its whistle if I was in the next room.  Returned it.  That whistle has to make me wake up and run.  

I agree, when it comes to tea, the water has to have really boiled.


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## Ishbel (Aug 1, 2005)

Whistling tea kettle are still readily available here - but most people nowadays just buy electric models with a cut-out switch for when it reached boiling point.


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## Sandyj (Aug 1, 2005)

Paint - finally someone who has had the same tea experiences as me! I thought I was alone in my disappointment of how tea is served in restaurants! How hard can it be to make a nice cup of tea?!!!

I have an electric kettle that switches off when the water is boiled. Couldn't live without it. It was pricey when I bought it ($60), but I've noticed lately that the prices for electric kettles have gone down quite a bit, and you can even find them in a K-Mart. They are/were much more readily available in Canada, and they were cheaper. Was driving to work one day and there was a garage sale right along the way - couldn't resist, and glad I didn't. They were selling (for $5) a brand new stainless steel electric kettle (also with auto. off switch) made by Cuisinart.  I now have a back-up.


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## Ishbel (Aug 1, 2005)

Sandy
Maybe there are more electric kettles available in Canada because so many British people still emigrate to there and they want what they know?


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## Sandyj (Aug 1, 2005)

Yes, I'm sure you're correct about many English folks in Canada, Ishbel. During a recent trip to Canada, my mom was with me, and we passed a town called St. Catherines, about 20 miles or so north of Niagara Falls. My mom mentioned how popular St. Catherine's used to be (in th late 50's) for people from the U.K. When my dad worked in Detroit in the 70's, my parents would take a drive to Windsor, Canada every couple of months to stock up on Bisto and Bird's custard powder. For me, back then, it was a thrill to get Smarties and Aero bars. I'm carrying on the tradition! While in Canada on that recent trip, I made sure to stock up on Marmite, Eno's Fruit Salts, Lyle's golden syrup and, of course, Smarties and Aero bars.


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## Piccolina (Aug 1, 2005)

There was one in our place when we moved it, but the thing is rusty on the inside so I don't use it. I rarely have the opportunity to make more than a cup at a time for myself so I usually just nuke my water in the microwave.

But for company the kettle does come out, there's something so comforting and sweetly old-fashioned about its whistle sound and the sight of steam poring from its spout.


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## lindatooo (Aug 1, 2005)

Love my "Insta Hot" Use it for all kinds of stuff - but water for Tea must be freshly boiled.


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## Sandyj (Aug 1, 2005)

*Cleaning the inside of electric kettle.*

To clean an electric kettle, pour out the water and pour in some ordinary white vinegar , making sure the element is completely submerged, and switch it on to boil. Makes the kitchen smell for a few minutes, but all the lime & icky build up comes right off. When you pour out the vinegar into the sink, it will freshen the drain.


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