Reddit reviews T-fal BF6138 Balanced Living 4-Cup 1750-Watt Electric Kettle with Variable Temperature and Auto Shut Off, 1-Liter, Black

I have this electric kettle and it will boil a full pot in 3 minutes or less.

True, but a 120 volt/1750 watt kettle that heats a liter of room temperature water to a boil in 90 seconds ain't shabby.
http://www.amazon.com/T-fal-BF6138US-Balanced-1750-Watt-Temperature/dp/B0086UJQN8/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1410558896&sr=1-1

I am an unashamed Sleepytime tea addict...it's a must every night before bed. Yes, it's a mix, but chamomile is the main note. I got one of these and one of these for his recent Happ-Tea Birthday with a bunch of quality loose leaf black teas. He decided he just likes his Red Rose English Breakfast tea bags, so I get to play around with the tea steeper. I quit caffeine, so I haven't tried those, but I've tried Tranquil Dreams so far which I really liked. I think I might get a just straight up chamomile and lavender blend next go around.

Long live tea!! :-D

I use the Nissan Tea Thermos to steep and store hot tea at work. I also added a good electric kettle and my favorite tea to make the work day fly.

This was my starter kettle, the variable temp is not the best, nor is it accurate, but it works great to boil.

you even have money left over for an in-mug infuser.

Gas burners can have different levels of heat output. Get the model number of your stove and lookup the burner output in the specifications section of the owners manual.

The design of the pot base and how it's positioned over the gas burner can have a big impact on its efficiency and effectiveness to absorb and transfer the heat. A burner that's too small may not output enough heat to boil water quickly when the pot is also too big and ends up distributing the heat too well, causing a lot of the heat to be released invisibly through evaporation and air cooling of the side of the pot.

Imagine how a single candle flame might be enough heat to easily and quickly boil water in a small glass test tube, but it might only slightly warm up a large cast iron pan. The heat output is the same, but the heating effect on the liquid depends on how concentrated that heat can become.

The concentration and amount of heat are related but different things. If you want to quickly boil several gallons of water, you'll need a lot of heat and an efficient way of transferring it. You might find it worthwhile to buy an electric water kettle that's specifically designed to boil water quickly (and with auto shutoff). However, you should learn about the capacity of the electric circuits in your kitchen, as well as how those circuits are wired to the outlets. Most circuits in the USA are 120 volts with a 15 or 20 amp breaker. Most kitchen appliances are designed to stay within the current limits without tripping the breaker. They do this by limiting their power use to share the power in a circuit better, but at the sacrifice of not being faster or better by using the max amount of power they can.

Therefore, a lot of electric kettles use from 800 to 1,500 watts. If you look for a "quick boil" feature, these kettles use 1,750-1,800 watts. Some also have double-wall insulation, stainless-steel or glass, and other features that affect the speed of boiling, keeping it hot, and cleaning it.

I have a couple of these TFal electric kettles. They're close to the max power, the temp is adjustable, the kettle is cordless to the base (which has the cord), it has auto shutoff, and it's easy to clean with a bit of vinegar and a sponge, since the top opens up enough to reach inside to access the stainless steel heating element.

You can also get a good stovetop kettle, but you should match it to the burner sizes you have.

I have [this one,] (http://www.amazon.com/T-fal-Balanced-1750-Watt-Electric-Temperature/dp/B0086UJQN8/ref=sr_1_2?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1416434273&sr=1-2&keywords=electric+kettle) and I love it and it will turn cold water into hot water faster than you can say "OMG that was fast!"

It's also cute, if you're into that sort of thing.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0086UJQN8/ref=od_aui_detailpages01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Hmm I see. It looks nice.. But would it be any better than this, or this? I agree, the variable direct temp control is nice, but in terms of cost.. I dunno.

A gooseneck for a college aeropress? Seriously?
this should do just fine for now; it makes hot water, and it works. I use a similar one for myself in my dorm room. That being said, it's quite cheap, and if you can swing the extra money for variable temp, go for it. If you can spend more than that, I would recommend upgrading your grinder next, then maybe you could think about a gooseneck (though I really don't see the point unless you decide to get into pour over.)

Edit: Also, when it comes to money, remember that these are all one time investments, but you will also be consistently spending a decent amount of money on beans, and that should be factored into your budget.

Looks like you're shopping a bit higher end but I wanted to list this one for budget shoppers: amazon link

I got one as a "spare" kettle at work and it heats like a champ. Fast and does have variable temperature, though you need to do some experimentation to figure out exactly what "low" and "high" mean for your particular unit. I tend to leave mine in the middle for my black teas and low for green.

The T-Fal kettles are great. I have the larger one, but I'll recommend the smaller one to you.

You won't find a 1750 W heating element in many kettles, it's pretty powerful!

I've owned and used this variable temp electric kettle for about three years at work, and six months ago bought another one for home. No problems whatsoever with it!

From what I read they said to lower the heat of the water if you're getting sour flavors. Here's the kettle I'm using.

I just bought this one by T-Fal. It's 1300w and can bring cold tap water to a full boil in about 2 minutes. I absolutely love it. It's a heavyweight plastic. You can get it on Amazon or if you have a Sears nearby, buy it at the kiosk in-store and they match Amazon's price and ship it to your house free.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0086UJQN8/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1406664901&sr=8-1&pi=SL75

For Christmas though, I just received this electric kettle. It's a nuisance in a one bedroom apartment to have extra appliances taking up kitchen space, but it does work a little faster than boiling on the stove. And you have a temperature gauge, basically far left for white tea, middle for green, and far right for black.

WOW, you guys rock with this mass of suggestions and tips!

I think I've come to a conclusion on my Kuerig-crushing morning joe solution.

Aeropress, Hario Skim grinder, and a T-Fal kettle.

Went with the T-Fal because it just looks to be a better made device than the other one for minimal cost increase, not as a matter of difference in my coffee product.
http://www.amazon.com/T-fal-Balanced-1750-Watt-Electric-Temperature/dp/B0086UJQN8/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1415310283&sr=1-2&keywords=Electric+kettle

Thanks again folks, keep calm and coffee on.

Many Aeropress recipes use water temps well below boiling, maybe this t-fal variable temp would be better.


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0086UJQN8/ref=psdch_289753_t1_B0086UJQN8

Timer/temp

Kind of like this but digital instead of analog.

I use this and it works great for me. I only drink black and green, but there are three settings, the middle being for oloong or white. Works great so far. Bonus it is quite small for a non-traditional brewing spot like an office or a personal room.

I used a 1L T-Fal electric kettle. It's very cheap, pretty small, and it's made of food grade plastic. It was still working after about a year of use, when I upgraded to a better kettle. https://www.amazon.com/T-fal-Balanced-1750-Watt-Electric-Temperature/dp/B0086UJQN8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468020408&sr=8-1&keywords=tfal+kettle

I read a while ago that kettles aren't as commonplace in the US as they are in the UK, for that reason I am demanding you get one

I've had this model for years: https://www.amazon.com/T-fal-Balanced-1750-Watt-Electric-Temperature/dp/B0086UJQN8/ It is made largely of plastic, but we like it in our house so much that when my roommate broke it (knocked it off the counter, it landed weird and the side cracked) she bought the same one as a replacement. If the current one breaks and it's still for sale, I'd buy it again in a heartbeat. It's currently $31 and has 3 temp settings - white, green and black. I haven't tested how accurate the different temps are since green tea brewed at the green setting tastes good and black tea brewed at the black tea setting tastes good!

For anyone looking for a cheap variable temperature kettle, I have this one and it's been great for the past couples of use everyday.

I set the little dial to about 1/4 of the way to get the temperature between 195-200. The only issue is you have to fill it up to the liter mark, if you put in less it'll boil and more will not get high enough.