“Don’t need one.”
“Too expansive.”
“Too much hassle.”
“Just boil a regular kettle, let the water cool down, and you have the same temperature.”

These are the standard excuses for not investing in a kettle with variable temperature control.

Do you need a toaster, juicer, or microwave?
Not really. You can roast your bread in the oven, squeeze your fruits by hand and heat food in a pot.

What makes all the above devices essential is that they do the job quicker, more convenient and with much better results.

The same goes for a programmable water kettle.

5 Excellent Reasons To Own a variable Kettle

1. Preserve, bring out and emphasize the quality of your products.

It includes coffee, tea, infusions, instant soups or noodles, baby food or anything that doesn’t need boiling water.

Tea is an ideal example.
Different tea types require different brewing temperatures (for more info about Tea & Water, see post here).

What is the point in buying premium quality green, white or black Darjeeling teas leaves when they are scolded with boiling water and lose their complex flavor and therefore undo the very reason you bought them in the first place?

Boiling water also destroys vitamin C (not only in teas) and reduces the health benefits you should derive from every cup of tea (or lemon water).

The same principles apply to making good aromatic coffee. If the temperature is not right, you can buy the most expansive beans, play Mozart to them all day and still not get the expected result.
All because of the wrong water temperature.

What if you don’t care about tea and coffee?

2. Lower water temperatures mean lower energy bills.

It’s a very valid reason to care, and it applies to everybody.
The less energy you need to heat the water, the less you pay.
You will amortize the additional purchase cost of a variable temperature kettle with the savings in the following months and years.

Kettles consume a considerable amount of electricity (read more about the power consumption here) and have significant savings potential.

3. Water quality

There is another reason why you don’t want always to boil the water.
When the kettle comes to a rolling boil, it usually takes 10 to 20 seconds before the shut-off mechanisms kicks in.
Enough time to boil away the oxygen and leave you with flat water. This already stale water will result in flat tea, coffee or whatever drink you are making.

Always fill the kettle with fresh cold water to ensure it is properly aerated. The oxygen in the water brings out the taste and aroma of tea or coffee. It is also why wine, tea, or coffee tasters slurp the drinks – they want to aerate the samples even further to get the full range of flavors.

It makes a significant difference whether you brew a green tea with water that just reached 176°F/80°C or with water that boiled first for 20 seconds and then cooled down to the same temperature.

4. Makes your life easier.

Setting the right water temperature will save you time.
Once the programmed heat is reached, the kettle shuts itself off, and you can use it at your leisure.
It allows you to leave the kitchen, do something else and come back to the kettle when it’s at the right temperature.

5. They look cool and trendy.

If you don’t believe me, please get one, put it on the kitchen counter and ask your friends over for a nice cup of tea.
It might help to place the kettle in the middle of the table…

Nowadays, a temperature controlled kettle is as much a lifestyle product as a watch or phone. There are plenty of high-end producers (Cuisinart, Oxo, or Smeg) which would not exist if there was no market for it.

Especially the glass kettles (like Brevo and Oxo) can have a soothing and calming effect. Watching the water slowly getting hot until a rolling boil is somewhat therapeutic.
It is the same scene every time, but it is better than nothing.

You could add a little boat and watch it bobbing and getting gradually into rougher waters until it might sink into the boiling kettle ocean.

Here are some equally practical suggestions to make your kettle even cooler:

• Apply racing stripes.
• Knit a fancy tea cosy and enter it into a fashion show.
• Give it a name like Blue Lagune, Tank, Max Power or Humphrey.
• Invent/construct a generator that uses the steam of the kettle to produce electricity.
• Do kettle-sleepovers with your friends and neighbors.
• Use the outside of the kettle as a message board.
• Become a member of the Steam&Kettle Association. You can rise through the ranks from a humble “nose whistler” to the mighty “Chief Steamer”.

Whatever you do – Love your Kettle.

The Kettle Whistler