Last Updated on November 22, 2021 by
Can electric kettle be used for making tea? Your electric kettle can bring water to a boil. If you attempt to brew your tea with it, you will have the flavor altered. But this cannot always be the case.
Electric kettles are built to boil your water and not to brew your tea leaves. Unless the manufacturer specifies support for tea brewing, making tea in your electric kettle will not come out well. Besides, tea can damage the kettle.
Instead of making tea with your electric kettle, boil water with it and pour it into your teacup. Add your leaf tea and allow it to steep for up to 5 minutes. Sieve it and tea is ready.
Is Electric Kettle Good for Tea?
An electric kettle not designed for tea is not good for tea making. Some manufacturers do not build electric kettles to boil sediment of organic substances, so you get an undesirable result.
If you habitually use your electric kettle to brew tea, you have to clean it often. However, this could mean degrading the kettle faster. You can even damage the heating pad or any electrical components on the bottom.
As mentioned earlier, it is only advisable to boil water in your electric kettle or use a specialty electric tea kettle.
An electric kettle is not good for tea for the following reasons:
Stains
If your electric kettle is not built with suitable tea brewing materials, it will react to the leaves. It also causes stains inside your electric kettle that make it difficult to clean. You will have to descale your kettle very often.
Improper steeping temperatures.
For your loose-leaf tea, you need lower steeping temperatures, about 165-175 degrees Fahrenheit. Otherwise, the tender leaves will become astringent and bitter.
It is advisable to allow your boiled water to cool to the desired temperature before you steep.
How Does an Electric Kettle Work?
An electric kettle runs on a heating element, a resistor, that resists electricity flow. When electricity gets into the resistor, it is converted into heat.
The heat produced in your electric kettle heats the water in it to boil.
We also have the thermostat, which uses a variable resistor, and controls the heating element. If you set your boiling temperature higher, the resistance becomes lower
The thermostat has a small current that controls the transistor, an electronic switch that controls the heating element.
If the resistance decreases, it increases the current flowing through the thermostat. This causes the transistor to surge the current the heating element receives to heat water.
However, if the resistance rises in the thermostat, the current flowing through it is reduced. This also means less current gets to the heating element, and so water and heating elements remain cooler.
What is the Best Electric Kettle for Tea?
We have mentioned that some electric kettles are designed to boil water only. Nevertheless, some manufacturers have tweaked certain electric kettle models to brew your tea.
Do not use your existing electric kettle for making tea. Get in touch with the manufacturer or refer to your owner’s manual.
If yours does not support tea brewing, get any of the replacement best electric kettles for tea below:
Cuisinart JK-17
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Cuisinart built the JK-17 to multitask, including boiling water and making your tea. It is a versatile electric kettle that will not only boil your water but get your hot beverage ready.
It lets you brew your pots of coffee, heat water for tea or cocoa, and even for your instant soup.
Some of the intriguing features below make the JK-17 the households’ choice:
- Build. Its heating element is concealed to keep it from mineral build-up, so it handles your tea exceptionally well. Cuisinart stylishly uses a sleek stainless steel finish on the JK-17 to add beauty to your contemporary kitchen.
- Boiling speed. It runs on 1500 watts of power capable of boiling 1.7 liters of water quickly. You only need to push a button for ultra-fast water heating.
- Handle. Designed not to slip so you do not splash your tea. The handle also stays cool regardless of the boiling temperatures it reaches.
- Cleaning. Perhaps, the selling point of Cuisinart’s JK-17 is its ability to self-clean. It also uses a detachable and cleanable scale filter.
- Filling convenience. You can conveniently fill your electric kettle with the ‘Open’ button and then raise the lid. [easyazon_link identifier=”B00MVWGQZI” locale=”US” tag=”realkal-20″]Click here to see on Amazon[/easyazon_link]
ZWILLING 53101-501
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ZWILLING’s 53101-501 is another electric kettle that packs the features of an electric tea kettle. It lets you boil water for tea and also brew your tea with it.
Speaking of energy, it is energy-efficient. You do not also feel uncomfortable handling the kettle.
- Temperature settings and selector. The 53101-501 allows you to set your desired temperature with a single touch. You can also select your preferred boiling temperature for water and even tea.
- Brewing capacity. It features up to 61/4-cup capacity so that you can brew for more people even faster.
- Hygiene and cleaning. ZWILLING cares about the user’s hygiene. Thus, the 53101-501 uses a seamless stainless-steel lining to encourage cleanliness.
- Double-walled heated insulation. With the heat-insulated double-walled body, the heat of water from the interior does not affect the outside. Therefore, you get a comfortable grip on the electric kettle.
- Keep-warm. You can leave your boiled water warm for up to 30 minutes. This is also applicable to your tea. [easyazon_link identifier=”B08NCD98HG” locale=”US” tag=”realkal-20″]Click here to see on Amazon[/easyazon_link]
How to Make Tea in Electric Kettle
If your electric kettle does not support tea-making, do not put your tea directly into the heating vessel. You have to boil the water separately and pour it into your teacup.
When boiling water reaches 180 degrees Fahrenheit, add your tea to the cup. Allow it to steep and remove them after about 5 minutes or less.
Adding your tea directly to an electric kettle that is not built for tea can damage the heating element. It also gets you to do the cleaning too often.
Again, ensure to add the tea after the water boils. Otherwise, the tea you are brewing can develop an undesirable flavor.
How Long Does an Electric Kettle Take to Boil?
Generally, an electric kettle takes about 2-3 minutes to boil. This also depends on the amount of water inside, the wattage of the heating element, and the initial water temperature.
If you reside in a high-altitude area, your water boiling temperature can be lower due to reduced air pressure. You can also refer to your user’s manual for the boiling speed to expect from your kettle.
Do Electric Kettles Use a Lot of Electricity?
Experts claim that electric kettles consume lots of energy. The minimum energy that an electric kettle consumes is estimated at 1200W.
Most electric kettles can reach 3000W and so the average power consumption of an electric kettle is 0.04 kWh.
How Does Electric Kettle Know When to Stop?
An electric kettle uses a bimetallic switch that turns it off when it is time. This switch is not set to an accurate temperature and cannot sense the temperature of the water.
A rubber runs from the top to the base of the electric kettle. As the water heats, the steam goes through the tube and touches the bimetallic switch which becomes hotter and trips.
The temperature is now detected according to the air pressure which is accurate without calibration. Your electric kettle then stops working.
Do Electric Kettles Burn Tea?
An older electric kettle without an automatic on-off switch can burn your tea. You must not allow such an electric kettle to boil unattended. Once you can tell that the tea is boiling, you unplug it so that it stops boiling.
Some electric kettles whistle when water boils. However, if the water is less than 250 mL or 0.25 liters, the whistle will sound very low to your hearing.
Most modern kettles use the automatic on-off switch that is enabled when water reaches the heating level. You can leave your tea in this class of electric kettle unattended. Of course, your tea will not burn at certain temperatures.
Since an electric kettle not built for tea will not allow you to control the temperature, consider not leaving your green tea inside the vessel. This will heat your tea above the desirable temperatures.
But if you use a specialty electric tea kettle, you can set your desired temperature so that the tea does not reach boiling temperatures.
If you are directly boiling and pouring water into your teacup, do not forget to steep it.
Never leave your older electric kettle unattended. It can cause fire after burning tea.
Final Thoughts on Can Electric Kettle Be Used for Making Tea?
Making tea in your electric kettle may be okay if your manufacturer specifies support for it. Otherwise, it can only degrade the kettle faster.
Your electric kettle will also pack gunk and you have to clean it every time.
Meanwhile, do not hesitate to get a modern replacement electric kettle for your kitchen. You can tell that yours requires a replacement in many ways.
In a Cuisinart, for example, the Wirecutter testers report that the labels on the control buttons eventually fade away.
Finally, no cleaning with your electric kettles using harsh products such as Lysol wipes to prolong the life of the components.
