Electric kettles with a water reservoir

September 11, 2008 8:10 AM

I'm looking for an electric kettle with a water reservoir. Has anyone recommendations they'd like to share?

I'd like to keep one in my office, and I'm quite far away from a water source, so a reservoir seems like a better idea than a normal electric kettle.

I've found these two via Google, but if anyone has experience of others I'd like to hear about those too:

Tefal Quick Cup (Amazon link as the product site plays annoying music at you)

This so-called "superkettle", which keeps water at boiling point all day


The Tefal one gets poor Amazon reviews but mostly from angry tea-drinkers as far as I can see. I want to make instant coffee and only instant coffee with this thing (yes, I know I'm a heathen). Perhaps it works okay for coffee? Anyone know if the filters need replaced often?

The super kettle seems like a reasonable notion, but I don't quite like leaving it on all-day. Does the water get over-boiled and flat-tasting?

I'm in the UK, and my area has moderately soft water.

posted by Tapioca to shopping (11 comments total)

A person in my office simply uses a normal kettle.

That is, fill it to the maximum marker first thing in the morning, boil the whole lot, use a cup full. Then when you next want a drink, boil it again and pour out another cup of water, and so on.

Most mugs are in the region of 250ml and a basic kettle offers about 1700ml max - in other words, six or seven cups per fill of the kettle.

Would this be suitable for your needs?
posted by Mike1024 at 8:25 AM on September 11, 2008

At risk of not answering your question as asked, I'd think an ordinary electric kettle plus a water jug might be an acceptable approach.
posted by Zed_Lopez at 8:25 AM on September 11, 2008

I have the 'superkettle' type thing. It's made by Zojirushi and was about $120. They are expensive, unless you get some cheaper chinese brand. It's very good except that white and green teas dont' taste very good to me. I think it's because it heats water slowly, but for coffee or black teas it's going to be perfect. Another thing you could do is get a Zojirushi vacuum bottle and a cheap kettle and put boiling water in the vacuum bottle - kettle can be around $20 and vac. bottle around $15 so the whole setup is cheaper.
posted by rainy at 8:50 AM on September 11, 2008

Mike1024, I don't like the taste of re-boiled water, so I'd rather not go that route.

Zed_Lopez, I do like this plan as it is simple and cheap. Unfortunately (most?) kettles cannot boil only one mug full at a time. I'll end up with extra boiling water I need to discard. That's why I like the reservoir idea - only boil what I need. Perhaps I just need to buy a bigger mug.
posted by Tapioca at 8:56 AM on September 11, 2008

Get one with an automatic shut-off switch (says the lady who has personally destroyed two kettles by leaving them there to boil themselves dry).
posted by arnicae at 9:30 AM on September 11, 2008

I don't like the taste of re-boiled water, so I'd rather not go that route.

You should be wary of 'instant boiling water' systems then - a lot of them work by boiling water in an insulated container, and periodically reboiling it as it starts to get cold; and when you get water from them you get whatever is in the container.

I don't know if they all work like this, but I've heard people complaining about getting reboiled or sub-boiling-temperature water which makes for inferior tea.

Unfortunately (most?) kettles cannot boil only one mug full at a time.

Most 'concealed element' kettles can.

You need enough water to completely cover the heating element, but in concealed element kettles the element is usually a flat plate at the bottom of the kettle, which you can cover with a single cup of water.
posted by Mike1024 at 9:32 AM on September 11, 2008

The kettle I linked to boils a minimum of 2 cups at a time (i.e., that's the recommended minimum to avoid damaging the kettle.) With a large mug, that's not much wasted.
posted by Zed_Lopez at 9:33 AM on September 11, 2008

Thanks Mike1024, I'll make a note of the key words 'concealed element' for further searches. Looks like it could be the simplest option to buy one of these, and a large mug (to hold the two cups full of water I'll boil at a time).

I might yet try out one of the insta-boil kettles (the Tefal one linked above or this one I just found called an Ecokettle). Though probably will buy from somewhere with a no questions returns policy, in case it turns out to be not so good.

Thanks, arnicae. I've never come across one without the auto-shutoff but I'll watch out for it.
posted by Tapioca at 10:11 AM on September 11, 2008

This Zojirushi Electric Dispensing Pot is my absolute favorite appliance of all time.
posted by tinatiga at 10:24 AM on September 11, 2008

Bodum electric kettle plus water jug is perfect for you. I can't link to it (damn you iPhone) but a quick search will show it for $20. The kettle is perfect for a single serving kinda guy.
posted by SeizeTheDay at 11:10 AM on September 11, 2008

Let me chime in and say the Zojirushi units are excellent. I have a 4 liter model I have used daily for a few years. The model I have is insulated and uses about 15 watts to keep the water at 195 all the time. 195 is good for black tea. You can also set the water to be 180 (required for green tea) and maybe one other setting, I forget.
You have to descale them once in awhile; you can get the descaling powder from Amazon.

I love not having to wait for water to heat up in the morning when I am making tea.
posted by jockc at 12:41 PM on September 11, 2008