Discovering your favorite tea is only half the battle. To enjoy this delightful beverage at its best, you also need the right equipment.
Heating water in a microwave is one of the fastest ways to make hot tea, but it’s not necessarily the best.
The radio waves in a microwave oven can actually “superheat” water, taking it beyond the boiling point. This can destroy the delicate flavor of tea. Also, steeping green tea and white tea may require lower temperatures, something that’s hard to achieve using the microwave.
So, to get the most out of your tea, you need a tea kettle to heat the water. Tea kettles are vessels used to heat water only. The pot that you steep the tea in is called a tea pot, and you generally don’t put tea pots on the stove like you do with kettles.
There are many types of kettles available. How do you know which one to pick? Is it worth it to spend more for an expensive model, or will a cheap kettle meet your needs equally well?
To help you decide, we’ve assembled this tea kettle buying guide. Read on to learn more about how to choose a tea kettle!
Stovetop Versus Electric Kettles
The first big question to consider is this: do you want a stovetop or an electric model?
- Advantages of Stovetop Kettles
The more old-fashioned stove-top models are still a great choice, especially if, like me, you already have more kitchen gadgets than electrical outlets. They are attractive, easy to use, and don’t require a plug.
For many people, heating water over the stove for tea is an important part of their tea-making ritual. And – stovetop kettles generally cost less than electric kettles.
- Advantages of Electric Kettles
The advantage of an electric kettle is that it heats water faster and uses less energy.
Also, some electric kettles have built in water filters, to remove hard water deposits from your water. Electric kettles are great for students living in dorm rooms, where there isn’t a stove available to heat a late-night cup of tea.
If you drink green tea or white tea, some electric kettles have a temperature-control feature that stops heating the water before it hits the boiling point, so you don’t have to worry about getting your water too hot.
Source: amazing-green-tea.com
