Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2014/08/30/weekend_review_smart_kettles_and_boiling_taps/
Boiling point: Tech and the perfect cuppa
Smart ways to let off steam
Posted in Personal Tech, 30th August 2014 08:02 GMT
Review Last week, coffee drinkers were treated to some alternative brewing techniques. So, is there any special gadgetry for those with a taste for tea? Jennifer Newton discovers there’s more to letting off steam than meets the eye.
Smart: perhaps one of the most overused words in the modern lexicon is now being bandied about in the world of kitchen gadgets. While most of us are used to the idea of that moniker being applied to connected appliances in the home, it seems that, in the process of domestication, "smart" has been dumbed down a little.
Some kettle manufacturers have used their smarts and are getting in on the act. The claims of cleverness aren’t entirely hollow either, as there are some rather nice touches that add sophistication and elegance to that most British of activities: making a cup of tea.
The boiling tap is a smart option too and has recently come down in price (more on this below), but first up for cost-effective must-have tech appeal are some of the hottest kettles for both the terminal slob and the domestic god.
Bubble chambers and boil treatments
The perfect cuppa requires boiling water at 100°C, as any Englishman abroad will attest: sometimes one has to send cup after cup of tepid tea back to the hotel kitchen. Seasoned tea drinkers will also know that green tea should be brewed at 80°C, Oolong at 90°C and instant coffee at 95°C. Who knew or cared 20 years ago?
The perfect cuppa: always a case for heated debate
Essentially, temperature control is the "new" feature to look for – along with a keep-warm function of 20 minutes or more. All of the models listed below have this addition apart from the Kitchen Aid Artisan. Depending on overall capacity, the higher wattage kettles will, in theory, boil water faster, with 3kW classed as rapid boil.
Kettles learn to play it cool
If you plan on being smart in the practical sense of the word, then a push-button lid makes for easy filling and going cordless with a multi-directional base works out well for households with a mix of right- and left-handed folk.
Bosch Styline TWK8633GB
The Bosch Styline has four temperature settings (70°, 80°, 90° and 100°C) with an accompanying LED indicator for that range. At £55, it’s a reasonable price and the black, blokey exterior design makes it look like a pint of Guinness. That said, when it comes to taste, that slightly plasticky build fails to "wow", even though it is robust.
By contrast, the white and brushed steel version does look good and both have cool touch housing. As with the AEG and the Sage, you get a rude bleep alarm to tell you when the kettle has boiled. You’d have thought Bosch could have provided a choice of whistles or a Tea for Two ringtone instead. Maybe that's lined up for next year's smart craze.
Sage the Smart Kettle
Whatever you might think of Heston Blumenthal’s culinary combinations, his association with Sage and its Smart Kettle is certainly a lot less challenging than some of his dishes. Here you get a choice of five temperature options from 80° to 100˚C in 5° increments. Drink names like White Tea 80°C appear next to each button – simple, but, er, smart.
Keep warm lasts for 20 minutes and it ticks boxes for a swivel base, pop-up lid and 3kW fast boil too. As far as taste goes, perhaps Blumenthal was taking some Sage advice as you can’t go wrong with the brushed stainless steel design.
AEG EWA7800
Part of the AEG Series 7 range of appliances, this kettle, which only came out this month, is making a bit of a splash. Its five-temperature range is akin to the Sage Smart kettle, however, there’s just a single button to click through them.
A bright LCD display shows the temperature of the water in real time and there’s a keep-warm button too. A neat feature is the OneCup Turbo function to boil water for a mug of tea (200ml) in less than 60 seconds. Pricey but paw-print proof, which is something to be considered in this stainless steel world.
iKettle
You couldn’t do a smart kettle round-up without mentioning the iKettle, available from Firebox. Arguably the techiest kettle on the planet, it uses Wi-Fi and its temperature range of 65˚, 80˚, 90˚ and 100˚C can be adjusted from the companion app for Android, iOS and WinPho.
But seriously folks, who needs to activate a kettle by app? Ok, we can all think of a few couch potatoes who might appreciate it, but the novelty will surely wear off when they realise they’ll have to get up to fill it first. You’re not completely stumped if your phone battery dies as there are preset temperature controls in the base along with a keep-warm feature.
Kitchen Aid Artisan
If you’re looking for a modern classic, the Kitchen Aid Artisan is as good as it gets. Forget apps and LCDs, this colourful and curvaceous design has natty manual lever in the base (think tractors and lawn mowers) for changing the six temperature settings from 50˚ to 100˚C.
The pièce de résistance is the old-school temperature gauge on the side. All it needs is a whistle and its retro credentials would be complete.
Piping hot
If you don’t care for multiple hot temp settings and simplicity or minimalism is the order of the day, a boiling water tap is a good investment. No longer perceived as just for those with buckets of money, it has in recent times become mainstream and once installed, it soon feels like a necessity in a busy household.
Typically these taps feature filtered cold and hot water heated to boiling point. Being filtered, they’re also favoured by those living in high limescale areas and fed up with crusty white particles clogging a kettle.
Quooker Fusion
Just launched, the Quooker Fusion will set you back £1,150 but currently with free installation. The all-in-one unit is a combined hot and cold mixer tap, including a 100°C boiling water tap. Quooker states that only its tap in the UK market reaches the ultimate 100°C.
Water purification relies on a HiTAC (high temperature activated carbon) filter, similar to those used in Brita water jugs, however, it's designed to last for several years. The taps are available in two styles, Nordic Round or the more modern Nordic Square with chrome or brushed chrome finishes.
More info Quooker
Zip HydroTap
At £3,000 the Hydrotap is a considerable investment, but dispenses boiling water or chilled still or sparkling water instantly. It’s the chef-y choice in restaurant kitchens, especially where pasta is always on the go. It's also supposedly healthier due to the 0.2 micron water filter cartridges incorporated into the HydroTap and boiling tap set at a temperature up to 98°C.
Zip calls this tap "smarter" due to low running costs and power-saving technology. Assuming a cost of 10p per kW with sleep mode operating 10 hours in 24, estimated energy cost is less than 8p per day. Installation requires little disruption – it can be fitted under the kitchen sink – but the water supply must be potable (drinkable).
More info Zip
Triflow Quadro
El Reg first saw the Triflow Quadro System in a visit to 100% Design show back in 2010, but this was the £7k TF-KTQ 808 designer incarnation. Triflow has a number of cheaper filtered taps, but its Quadro System is what sets it apart from the Quooker and Zip models.
The Quadro tap isn’t a separate feature but an all-in-one configuration that has mains water in addition to filtered cold and hot water heated to 98˚C. The latter relies on a non-pressurised heater tank and like the Zip has 0.2 micron particle filtering. At £2,760, the TF-KTQ831H-CP is the cheapest complete Triflow Quadro system and if you don’t fancy a kitchen littered with taps it’s an elegant, or you might say, a smart combination. ®
More info Triflow