New Electric Tea Kettles/Makers

Maybe I’m missing it—wouldn’t be a first—but I searched Steepster for ratings/recommendations/discussion on electric tea makers, and I’m only finding posts from 4-6 years ago. Any recent feedback on the latest electric tea kettles/makers?

Breville One-Touch Tea Maker vs. Krupps, Ivation, Mr. Coffee? This is for HOT tea only. I don’t need it for iced tea. Mostly I want a tea maker with specific temperature settings, and something that won’t over-steep, will do it automatically, and that will keep the tea warm for an hour or so.

16 Replies
Dustin said

From what I have seen, there are only a few models that make tea and they have been out for some time now. There were a couple design concept ideas, but nothing that became a product.

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I recently did a review on the Bonavita and Cusinart variable temperature kettles, which are the popular ones.

http://oolongowl.com/bonavita-variable-temperature-gooseneck-kettle-1-liter-teaware-review/

http://oolongowl.com/cuisinart-cpk-17-perfectemp-variable-temperature-kettle-review/

Other than that, there’s been some kickstarters for new kettles (moreso induction style) but nothing I’ve seen easily available to buy now.

I am fumbling around learning and blogging about my brand new fascination with tea. seriously, I was mixing celestial seasonings tea bags like a chemistry nerd just two weeks ago and knew nothing about anything. Now I am trying all sorts of blends and types of teas! (and still don’t know anything really. lol but its FUN!) This post encouraged me to buy the Cuisinart. It will be arriving today. I am so excited!

Rasseru said

it makes so much difference. Still in the UK not many people know the correct temperature to brew tea. Everybody here is doing it well wrong.

The first time I tried white or green tea at the correct temperature my jaw was hanging open in disbelief.

Then the first time I had a good silver needle or good oolong brewed correctly someone had to scrape my tongue up from the floor :D

Rasseru said

I must say that cuisineart one is better than my bosch ‘keep warm’ function. The bosch (styleline? i think) turns off the keep warm if you use it. not made for gongfu
(i know its just the press of a button, but they could have made it a toggle switch just as easily ) :/

and my older model cuisineart doesnt have this feature. Am jealous!

Brewing your tea at the correct temperature makes a huge difference! I have always loved tea but when I was in college I would make green tea with boiling water and couldn’t figure out why it would always taste so bitter…turns out different types of tea need to be brewed at different temperatures :)

I have the Cuisinart kettle. I’ve had it for 3 years now, I think…but it still works like it’s brand new.

I bought my mom a Breville Glass Variable Temp Kettle for Christmas: http://www.teavana.com/us/en/teaware/breville-tea-makers/breville-glass-variable-temp-kettle-011044029.html?&srule=Featured&start=0&sz=12&cgid=breville-tea-makers

I personally have not used it but she seems to love it.

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AllanK said

I use the Cuisinart Variable Temperature Kettle and it works well. I’m on my second kettle however as I used the first so much the lid wore out.

Rasseru said

did it get stuck? ive got one and the lid is stuck, might be a problem with the design. its lasted a few years

AllanK said

Yeah it got stuck and had to be pried open each time you used the kettle.

Rasseru said

Three different people same design flaw over two different models (mine is the one with only 100c/85c button and +/- buttons)

Dr Jim said

I love my Cuisinart. I figure I’ve used it at least 10,000 times and while it is showing some corrosion around the welds it still works fine.

AllanK said

10,000 times, that must be twelve cups of tea a day.

Dr Jim said

I don’t use the stay-warm setting, so when I do gong-fu, which is just about every day, I do around 6 steeps. Add in a couple of cups of black tea in the morning and a couple of decafs in the evening and I figure I average around 12. Of course the gong-fu are 2 oz cups, and the Black/oolong 6 oz, so I only drink about 30 oz per day.

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Uniquity said

I think if you want the device to make tea for you, the Breville One Touch is pretty much the way to go. If you’re willing to do the brewing, a variable temp kettle and some form of brewing device (teapot, gaiwan, yixing, mug, infuser, etc) can be a lot cheaper.

I prefer to avoid specialized devices so I went the cheapo variable temp kettle route years ago, and love it. If you’ve got more space/funds/opportunity to use it, another route may be better for you. Hard for anyone else to say.

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I’ve never tried one that makes the tea for you. I would expect that to be problematic unless you make only one type of tea and also to clean. But not having tried one…

Like Uniquity, I prefer just having a good variable temp and hold water kettle (mine is the Pino Digital Kettle Pro) so I can always have the right temperature water for whatever tea I am enjoying. By only heating good quality water, I haven’t noticed any accumulation of minerals or had any other reason to feel like it needed cleaning.

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Fay said

I’ve had the Breville One Touch for about a year now. It’s pricey but probably one of the best investments I’ve ever made. Would definitely recommend!

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