Today’s gratitude Saturday is devoted to my beloved electric tea kettle.

Though this was not my original plan, due to my famous devil may care attitude, I decided to toss our all the planning sheets and just see where my mood took me…

I wrote about my electric kettle during the week, and many were intrigued about this item. Here’s the back story: About three years ago I joined a tea society, led my a tea specialist (yes- there is such a thing) Our guru said that different teas need to be steeped at different temperatures.

What?

Water doesn’t get boiled to evaporation and then poured over little bags?

Madness I say…

But…

I have come to learn that black teas should be between 208 and 212 Fahrenheit (212 is boiling point in America, or perhaps May 15 will be the new boiling point if restrictions continue to be in place). Herbal teas should be steeped at a temperature between 175 F and 185 F. Some teas it might be even lower…

Ahhhh

Even I can learn new tricks…

And the water at the right temperature and proper steeping times do make a better cup of tea…

My kettle is not particularly expensive- I bought it on Amazon about  three years ago and I think it was lowest price point of items rated 4 stars or better, and maybe around 30$ (With the exception of my million dollar mixer, I am all about reasonably priced appliances) The key is it needs to have a temperature gauge, otherwise there’s no point in splurging.

70 thoughts on “Vierzehn- Gratitude”

    1. I’ve always wanted to be fascinating, but there is a Disney villainess side to frightening that has a certain appeal….

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  4. Thanks to my informed youngest daughter I was aware of this temperature thing with tea. However I still just fill my regular old kettle, pop it on the stove on high, wait for the whistle and steam, poor the water into the cup over the bag…and then typically walk away and forget I left tea sitting on the kitchen counter. I drink a lot of lukewarm tea 😉

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  6. A physician friend of my husband is from India, the producer of much great tea.
    When he comes over, he teaches us much about the fine art of tea preparation, and tea enjoyment.
    Thanks for sharing. 🤗

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      1. Yes, it is a beautiful, soothing ritual. So many cultures around the world appreciate tea drinking.
        Newfoundlanders are great tea drinkers, because we are a former British Colony.
        Folks from Ontario tend to drink more coffee.🤗

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      3. Yes, you are very fortunate. We have a little tea shop just 300 steps from our house. (yes, I counted them🤗). I like to go there, and the other tea shops in town. A great variety of teas are available, served in beautiful cups and saucers.
        Alas, they are not open this summer. And with the lockdown, no one has been stopping by for tea. Better times are ahead…🤗

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      4. I have favorite mugs for tea, though I’ve seriously considered Geri g a royal dalton cup and saucer set that I saw because I just love it. I would live to have a real tea shop near my house

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      5. That sounds beautiful !
        We also sometimes have garden parties, where tea is served outside. We had a large one last year, when the Queen’s representative in NL came to visit.
        The ladies wore hats…🤗 Life here is much like it was in 1920, only with Internet and cell phones…

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  8. Does it whistle or hum when the water reaches the correct temperature? I am, unfortunately, guilty of several incidents of teapot abuse, putting the kettle on and thinking I’ll have a cup of tea, going back to my desk to work, and boiling it dry/burning it up. 😦

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  10. That’s what it does! Lol. I’d seen them around but never really thought what it did other than maybe brew. The temperature gauges are useful. I usually have to time and guesstimate to try to get the right temperatures…. now I’ll have to think about the kettle more seriously 🤣

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  13. I have a similar one but it doesn’t have that fancy pour spout. I keep it in the studio so I can have a cuppa while I’m creating. I did notice that some teas shouldn’t steep as long as others but I didn’t realize temperature made a difference too! Thanks. Happy Saturday!

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  14. What an education! Now throw into the mix decaffeinated black teas. Perhaps special temps for those as well? Perhaps even differentiated into pre-decaffeinated and do it yourself? This is either a great subject to explore during the pandemic or one to toss out as non-essential. 😉

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  16. The top shelf of my pantry is full of various flavors of tea. A Scottish lady gave me this advice: always warm the pot (or cup) first before steeping your tea. A surprising little tidbit that I’ve found useful. I do enjoy a cup of tea, mainly black though I like green tea as well. My pantry is full because daughter likes to keep me supplied with various “healthy” teas.

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    1. Warming the pot is very important. When I’m doing a good tea I throw hot water in the pot for a few minutes. And if you use milk, warm the milk

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  17. Didn’t know they had them with a gauge! I bought one awhile ago (blame it on British television, they are always putting the kettle on) so that I could cut down on using the gas stove to heat up water(not very efficient). I love it while making coffee in the morning because well I like to be scalded! When we do have tea it is usually black tea, I don’t really like herbals. Like green ice tea though and I use the sun for that. I will be looking for a gauge one next time.

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  18. Does the inside get all calcified? Why do I feel like I remember seeing that on the inside of kettles as a kid..maybe I’m getting mixed up with something else. Temperature gauge is the bomb..👍

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  19. I laughed that May 15th may be our new boiling point. An electric kettle would be fun to have. We had one when we lived in England, bit I don’t remember that it showed the temperature. That was 40 years ago.

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    1. To mark this time in my life I split time into two week fragments, and each section I use a different language to mark the days. I started Portuguese today

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      2. Well, the first three, French Spanish and Italian I did at one point know how to count in. Then German because it was the first country I thought of. And now Portugal…

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  24. Fascinating! Himself watched a load of vlogs on the subject of coffee-making before buying his current filter system. They had a similar looking kettle and spoke of the importance of exact temperatures. Unfortunately for him, I’d just bought a rather expensive kettle, so he’s having to wait for it to die … and it’s not showing any signs of doing so at all 😀

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