Lesser of Two Evils?

So, experiment- maybe you'll come out using the coffee water for green tea, and the filtered tap for your blacks. Toci

Yep. Agreed. Give them a try. I used to do both when that was all the choice available to me (although it was a water cooler with a hot option) I ended up managing to smuggle in a "HotShot" which fully boils up to 16oz. of water in about a minute, no temp control beyond stopping short or letting it rest a bit but it served the purpose well.

FWIW, microwaving fresh spring water has never been easily identifiable as "flat" to me when done a cupful at a time and not a larger quantity heated, and reheated.

- Dominic

If you need boiling water (e.g., for black tea), then microwave it but WATCH IT! Stop it as soon as the tiniest bubbles appear. I know a watched pot never boils, but a watched microwave goes from "no bubbles" to "nuclear" in a flash. Once you learn how long it takes to heat the water in a particular cup in a particular microwave, you can set it to that time and not have to watch it the whole time.

Alan

I think you are ok as long as there is something non-metallic in there as a nucleation site, like a plastic fork or whatever.. Could be wrong on that, I don't microwave water much.

just use an old, scratched mug/glass with a mouth as wide as the sides. Plenty of nucleation sites.

I was down in Bavaria last week and all that was available [apart from my Saturn V kerosene stove - out of the question in a hotel room] was a coffee machine. Well, it didn´t go much over 85 deg C, my blacks/reds ended up lala, BUT the tap water down there, simply delicious mountain spring H2O. Can ´t wait to prepare my first decent pot of Darjeeling in my new appartment.

Being someone who literally hates all kinds of microwave appliances and food/drinks prepared that way I´d head for a kettle asap and til then use the sidestream from the coffee-maker to prepare whatever feels OK with that temperature range.

Just my 2 drops, Karsten

I have never understood why Americans (in general) have been so slow to embrace the automatic electric kettle. During my Unilever Research days my team spent a few months trying to make a decent cup of tea using a range of microwave ovens, waters and containers. Commercial confidentiality and a fast failing memory preclude my giving details but suffice to say the microwave method was never included on the pack instructions (in the UK at least).

Nigel at Teacraft

Can't speak for all Americans, but my own reluctance is due to not wanting yet another electric appliance. Food processor, Kitchenaid mixer, toaster, blender, coffee machine and grinder, its just another appliance that can break. And don't tell me to get rid of my coffee pot. ;-)

Plus, there is an allure for me to get back to the basics somewhat, so my first purchase was a plain old tea kettle e.g., used on the stove. It wasn't until last weekend I broke down and bought one of those spiffy variable-temperature kettles, and that's for work.

Well, this American would have a hard time switching jobs if the new one didn't allow him to use his electric kettle in the office. I suspect the reason most Americans don't use electric kettles is simply that they aren't much interested in tea.

/Lew

That pretty much sums it up... which is why I shy away from the large electric kettles and go for the smaller heating units since it is faster to heat smaller quantities and elements faster. The HotShot, and a Procter/Silex 1L kettle (which is a pitcher with a fixed immersion heater in it) for the most part when at work. 1.8KW may be the theoretical max but it tends to be more like 1.5KW MAX and

I also had to have a fairly small and quiet unit to get away with it on my desk and with whiny co-workers.

- Dominic

Hello Dominic, and all, I must agree with you on the hot shot. Your water, spring,drinking, tap whatever you like, in a fast reliable, in my book, little appliance that heats water to boiling very fast. Also, after changing the water bottles at work and seeing mucousy film in the reservoir ugh! (too many persons using possibly unsanitary methods for changing or cleaning the water cooloer/heater), I must either take my own hot water, or use a small apparatus for my little tea moments. Or sadly not drinking nice fesh brewed tea at work. So, the Hot Shot works very nice, and electric kettle too but at a much higher cost. I found mine at a local office supply place pretty inexpensively. At least with these (kettles or HS ) you know what you are getting. Jenn

I actually bought the hot shot at a previous job where they used a communal one in the coffee area, but the disgusting thing was that people filled their water into it using their mugs. Office mugs never (rarely) get more than a quick rinse or wipe, and on top of that the office hotshot was never cleaned. I got flak for bringing in my own (fire hazard, power, etc.) but I explained there was no way in hell I was drinking anything from that. I got labeled a germaphobe. I also noticed the slimy black fungus growing under the water fountain (source of cold "filtered" water) and promptly began bringing gallon jugs of spring water.

There is a safe cleaning regiment for water coolers involving diluted bleach, and they certainly do not follow any of that at my new place of employment... so it's back to the hotshot and spring water for me.

- Dominic