Do you need one?
You need a variable temperature kettle if you use your kettle to make hot drinks and here’s why.
Kettles boil water and the temperature reached is 100 degrees centigrade. And that’s fine because that’s what a kettle is supposed to do. What’s not so good is if you use that hot water to make tea or coffee. These drinks require hot water, not boiling water. See the history of the electric kettle here
Introducing the Temperature Control Kettle
The great thing with the variable kettles shown here is that you not only select the temperature you want the water to reach but they also have a function to keep the water at that temperature for fifteen to thirty minutes, depending on the model chosen.
Also, these kettles will still boil water to the normal 100 degrees, if that’s what you need. So they still behave like standard kettles, nothing has been taken away.
It seems that everything you buy nowadays has an app to control it, set it up or provide access to the manual. Well kettles are no exception and some models now have an app that you can download to your cell phone to control the kettle. If that’s what you would like.
Benefits of a Temperature Kettle
One of the main benefits of a variable temperature kettle is that you can set it quite precisely to the temperature you want. The main target for this will be teas and coffees, as already mentioned. Traditionally, you just pour boiling water into a cup to make instant coffee or instant tea. But boiling water is just too hot. It actually scolds the tea or the coffee and the flavor will be affected.
By using water of the correct temperature you get a hot drink made at the optimum temperature, which will deliver maximum flavor. Something that a lot of people wouldn’t have experienced before. And it’s good for you too, especially teas, which have delicate medicinal compounds within their leaves, especially white teas, which are probably the most therapeutic. You’ll get the most from your tea when it’s brewed at the correct temperature but make sure that the tea outs also of good quality.
The Lucky Guess Approach
So what’s the alternative to a variable kettle? Well you can guess it, then turn the kettle off just before it boils. Very hit and miss.
Alternatively you can buy a thermometer, specially designed for food and liquids (no mercury). But again this is also a bit hit and miss. You would boil the water, test it now and again but if you overshoot you have to leave the water to cool. But we all have better things to do than wait for the water to cool, and invariably the water temperature under shoots when you next take a reading.
Don’t Forget the Teapot or the Cup
When you’re making a hot drink you should always make allowances for the cold cup. This will drop the temperature of the hot water by a few degrees. So your first task is to fill the cup (or cups) with water, leave it a few seconds, pour this water away, then make the drink. It only takes a few seconds and it makes all the difference.
Because most of these models have a heater that keeps the water at the temperature you set. You get to warn the cups without losing heat from the water that’s still in the kettle. Something that you can’t do with traditional a kettle.
Instant Coffee Benefits as well
Instant coffee should be made at a temperature between 90 and 95 degrees centigrade. Delicate white and green teas prefer around 70 to 75 degrees centigrade. Dark teas between 85 and 90 degrees is preferred. By setting the temperature correctly you will improve the flavor and retain all the benefits contained in the complex phenols and other compounds within the tree leaves.
Boiling Water at Altitude
One of the things that you may our may not be aware of is that water ”boils” at different temperatures depending on altitude. What this means is that at the base of a mountain, water boils at 100 degrees centigrade. But at the top out the mountain it boils at a temperature that’s a lot lower, depending how high you are above sea level.
Obviously a variable temperature kettle won’t help you reach 100 degrees at the top of a mountain but their thermometers will still work, whatever the altitude. What this means that you can set your kettle to 70 out 80 degrees and that’s precisely what you’ll get.
Preventing Limescale
But there’s another benefit to heating water to a temperature below 100 degrees and that’s limescale. If you live in a hard water area, as most of us do, then your water will be full of dissolved calcium and magnesium salts. And, while not harmful to us humans, it does take its toll on our plumbing systems and any appliance that uses water. Especially those that use hot water, which includes kettles.
It’s true that most kettles these days, including variable temperature ones, come with a descaler mesh of some sort. Which will help with the problem but doesn’t eliminate it completely.
The hotter the water the more limescale is released into your kettle. At boiling point, that’s when lots of limescale is “dumped” as it were. So having the ability to set the temperature lower than the boiling point will see quite an improvement.
Hard Water to Soft Water
There are devices you can have installed in you home, that will convert hard water to soft water. These devices remove any minerals in the water before it enters your water system. Which means the whole house becomes free of all those limescale deposits. You can find out more by checking out this web site water softener system. More information on Limescale can be found here.
Final Thoughts
All the models of kettles shown here, all have the key features you need. That is to set a required temperature, maintain that temperature for a duration of time. So pretty much any choice will make a wise investment. Do check any reviews first before you commit. Other than that, it’s all about which design most appeals to you. We all have different opinions on what we like our don’t like but any kettle shown here would be a fine choice.
To view the top electric kettles with temperature control on Amazon right now, click here.