This just arrived in the mail. So excited! It’s waaaay smaller than my cheapo walmart 1.7 liter kettle- can’t wait to try it!
I’m drinking the first cup now! I chose a farmer’s market lychee white tea that I absolutely hated the first time I tried it. Now, with the appropriate temperature water, I can actually taste the flavoring (though it is at least a two and a half year old tea…), which is kind of like canned lychee. Still not the best, but drinkable now!
Operation is a total cinch!
The kettle is a bit louder than my walmart special, and the clicking noise of the heating element turning on and off is not nearly so loud or obnoxious as the reviewers claimed it to be. The kettle seemed louder when less full. Maybe I can get some decibel readings for you guys from my phone.
I haven’t read any mention of the pour of the kettle. It is a very nice arc, which can be controlled reasonably well, for both speed and distance. It’s no gooseneck, but not a drop is spilled or rolls down the side, a feat that I much appreciate seeing as this kettle is destined for office use, inevitably around electronics. My old splashy kettle will not be missed!
The kettle is rather squat, wider at the bottom, so the top fills up quicker- pay attention when filling! The handle sticks out rather far; even though the footprint is smaller, the handle causes it to take up more space than my old kettle. I do appreciate that it can face any way on the base- no more awkward lifting for me!
The handle does not get hot, but the stainless steel exterior certainly does. You do not want to be bumping this one accidentally! Conveniently, when lifted off the base, the bottom of the kettle is well insulated that you can support the kettle with a second hand- helpful if it is at full capacity and your arm is tired from playing ukulele!
Overall, I’m sure that I’m going to be supremely happy with this kettle! Can’t wait to properly brew a green, haha!
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Bio
I started drinking something other than Sleepytime in my first year of grad school, 2011. Enabled by a few decent local tea shops in a big city, I amassed a small cupboard of teas that I now find harsh and bad (haha, I’m getting in too deep!). With my move back to the US and subsequent geographic isolation from tea shops, I recently discovered the world of online tea vendors.
My cupboard is slowly growing but still small. Regardless I am interested in swaps, if you find something in my collection that you would like to try, ask away! I just can’t guarantee yet that I have a lot of it!
I’m very into Jade oolongs and anything that has a floral character (especially jasmine, rose, violet, and lychee scented things!). Most green teas, excepting the extremely bitter, are good in my book, and again I seek sweeter, fresher, greener types, though nutty/savory teas have their place (as long as they don’t tip over into salty!). I then to shy away from smokey or overly roasted teas and for this reason and the fact that I am not a fan of chocolate, everyone’s favorite blacks and wuyi oolongs tend to fall flat for me. White teas are alright but I don’t tend to reach for them unless they are floral scented. I rarely drink herbals, chamomile and I do not get along, but a basic vanilla rooibos, or some flavored green rooibos’ can be interesting.
In general, it could be said that I tend toward floral and sweet oolong, sheng (as well as moonlight whites and yabaos), matcha, and green teas.
As of now my rating system follows the school grading scale in terms of how well the tea performs and how well I like it (100-90 A, 89-80 B, etc.). Anything above 90 will eventually end up in my cupboard, though it’s fine to keep a B student around for daily drinkers!
Location
Athens, Ohio
