There is a review of electric kettles. I think some are variable temp kettles but it’s not one of the sort criteria. There’s a comment elsewhere that variable temp kettles are generally overpriced and unreliable so not recommended. I accept that, but I need one. I drink loose leaf longjing green tea. It requires 80º for best flavour. I’ve been using a thermometer to get it right but it’s awkward. Also, in the Chinese style, the pot is topped up with 80º water throughout the day so you really need a kettle that can maintain that temperature.
Does someone have such a kettle that they can recommend? I don’t really care about the price provided it’s not ridiculous.
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There are benefits of boiling water for tea as well. It can remove some of the volatile compounds in water which can taint the taste of the tea.
There are other options for getting boiling water less than boiling. This website provides one option:
Having lived in China and drunk much tea when there, the locals aren’t overly concerned about using 80°C water. Tea ceremonies start with boiled water, which is cooled slightly during the ceremony. Locals often use a ‘cha bei’ (teacup or container) which is filled with green tea leaves at the start of the day and refilled with boiling water through out the day to make cuppas.
It is also interesting to note as a part of their tea culture, many quickly steep tea leaves in boiling to remove impurities which affect the taste of the tea (also called washing the leaves). When living in China I was surprised as ‘western’ tea culture is to add water to tea leaves (with some adding sugar and/or milk) then drinking. I thought the washing would remove flavour, but it softens the flavour and removes some of the bitterness.
Anyway, I wouldn’t be so worried about water temperature.
If you still want a variable temperature kettle, in the Choice review select compare all, then look at comments and other features. The review provides information on those which have such features and what Choice thought of it.
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Can’t help with the question, but there’s another useful way: I know that by adding cold water to boiling water, in the right proportion, we can instantly make it any temperature we like .
For example I manage my lukewarm water in baking recipes by adding cold to boiling water 50:50 which lowers the temperature to about 40-45 degrees.
Worth a try?
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Their method of getting the right temperature sounds like it would work. However, I take issue with this statement:
taking the water to 100°C removes some of the minerals in the water and results in a cleaner water that will taste fresher.
No, it doesn’t. Any minerals present stay in the water (and end up depositing inside the kettle as scale), so boiling just increases the concentration of minerals (by removing some of the water as steam).
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Sound like an interesting website but I get: ‘Taken the shop off line, back asap…’
Looking forward to it 
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If you just cancel that message (Esc or the X button) you can read the article. You just can’t buy anything. 
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I think so to. Heating to 100°C will remove some of the volatile taints in the water, but will have little effect on minerals. There might be minor deposition in a heating element, but, this is unlikely to be of consequence as some will also be dissolved back into the water. Higher temperature also increases ability of water to hold minerals in solution. They come out of solution when hot water is high in minerals is cooled and minerals are unable to remain in solution. A good example of this is hot bore water which is allowed to cool causing mineral crystals to form on surfaces which are cool. A very questionable statement they made.
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I’ve read that boiling water removes dissolved oxygen from the water removing the taste of freshness. Taking water out of a hot water system would be an extreme case. My wife always uses boiling water for her English Breakfast tea but refuse to take boiling water from my coffee machine because it comes from a boiler.
However, in defence of boiling water, if in an area with possibly dodgy water, such as tank, bore or creek water, I would boil it regardless. Luckily, most of us live in cities where we have the luxury of safely drinking straight tap water.
There are many myths about why boiled water shouldn’t be used. Many of these myths aren’t based on science, but a belief that one has. This blogger has tried to address the dissolved oxygen myth:
There are also myths that boiled water ‘burns’ tea leaves (and likewise with coffee). This myth could stack up if tea (and coffee) wasn’t heated to similar temperatures…noting that tea leaves are heated to the same temperature, if not more, to make the tea. Burning of tea/coffee with boiling water is also a myth.
There are many myths about tea and coffee making. It possibly stems from what water is boiled, it exhibits boiling which must mean the water is vastly different to unboiled water. Water is water no matter it’s temperature. Where differences lie is in the contaminants which may exist in the water (salts. metals, microbes etc). These can taint water taste and tea made from the water. Heating water to lower temperatures will have little effect, possibly other than pathogens is heat is applied to a long enough period to kill the pathogens.
In some countries, including China, boiling of water for a period is required to ensure that water is sterilised of pathogens. It doesn’t remove other contaminants but can make water safe to drink when other contaminants are low/levels deemed to be acceptable.
Silly confusion about the meaning of “mineral”. Driving off dissolved chlorine may well give you better tea but it isn’t a mineral by my understanding. Boiling water will remove other dissolved gases (nitrogen, oxygen) too. Whether this has any detectable influence on the tea I don’t know but strong chlorine sure does.
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As I understand it, the reason there is an English tradition of adding milk first before the boiling water, is that before refrigeration and pasteurisation, fresh milk could be a bit dodgy if left too long. Adding boiling water to the milk provided a bit of sterilization. I say an “English tradition” because adding milk to tea was not normally in Europe.
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While we are on traditions and practices, I understand that in making Moroccan mint tea, the tea is either poured from a height or poured back and forth from glass to glass, so as to aerate or oxygenate the tea before drinking.
There are several different explanations for ‘milk first’ or ‘milk last’.
The one I’ve heard most often is that it’s because of the fine bone china tea cups used by the aristocracy (and others who could afford such crockery). These could crack if boiling water was poured into them (or people feared this would happen; bone china is actually pretty tough stuff in my experience).
So the aristocracy / well-to-do put the milk first, and it became the posh way to do things.
Another reason: cold milk poured into very hot tea will scald, and this changes the taste. Hot tea into milk has less effect on the taste. This matters if the tea is a delicate-tasting one. Railway tea, maybe not so much.
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In Moroccan tradition, principally the height at which the beverage is poured indicates the conviviality of the welcome reserved for guests. The higher the tea is poured, the more guests are considered honoured and appreciated.
Foam also created by pouring signifies freshness. It is also aerates the tea which is believed to enhance the taste.
It is also possibly done to cool the tea before drinking since boiled water is used in the pot.
Customs or traditions should also not he confused with scientific facts. Many customs are myths, ‘old wives tales’ are good example.
Or to cool it, or to show off, hard to say.
Really not sure why that would be. Boil some water, pour it into a container, and put in the thermometer. One of those cooking ones with a stick and a dial.
It should show close to 100° and then just wait a few minutes until it shows 80° and then use.
Don’t see how hard that is.
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Burning of tea/coffee with boiling water is also a myth.
This has some merits though in terms of coffee. I grew up when we still made coffee in a pot with a bag.
If this coffee was re-heated to drinking temp. it was drinkable.
If you accidentally boiled it the coffee tasted like muck. It was usually tried with a sip (I may have gotten away with it) and then thrown out.
There may not be any scientific proof of the change but it happens. If you are in doubt, try it (although I do not recommend it - it really is quite disgusting).
I do not know if this applies to freshly made coffee but people usually err on the side of caution.
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I have a Kitchen Aid kettle with variable temperature control. I can set it to ‘boil’ to temps between 50C and 100C in 10degree increments. It can also hold the temp if you want it to do that.
I think what you are talking about is more like the Breville tea maker - a glass kettle style thing.
The Breville variable temp kettle is great. Had one for a few years and it’s still going strong.
