Electric Tea Kettle with no nasty taste?

March 2, 2008 9:31 AM

Looking for an electric tea kettle that doesn't make the water taste like metal or plastic.

Hoping to get away from the plastic taste imparted to tea water by plastic kettles, we opted for stainless steel. But now we're stuck with a nasty metal taste. We've tried a Hamilton Beach Cool Touch and a Toastess International from Target. No luck. I goog'd and found a Capresso Glass Water Kettle, but some of the Amazon reviews also make a big deal about bad taste.

Stove-tops are sadly not an option, since my husband has burned through three of them in the last year. Any recommendations for an auto-shutoff, non-nasty, electric kettle?

posted by media_itoku to food & drink (11 comments total)

have you tried boiling some vinegar in it to get the nasty smell out? I've always found that an effective way to clean kettles.
posted by bigmusic at 9:46 AM on March 2, 2008

I have this Braun stainless steel kettle, and have not ever noticed any off taste. Perhaps at least the reviews on the linked page will be of help, though I notice that the seller listed has the price two or three times higher than it should be, and you should be able to find a better price elsewhere.
posted by vers at 9:55 AM on March 2, 2008

It's possible that what you're experiencing isn't really the kettle imparting flavors, but the kettle revealing flavors that are already in the water.

I have a Braun kettle, which is plastic, with a stainless heating element. I don't much care for the flavor of the water that it produces when I fill it straight from the tap... but I'm quite happy with the results when I filter the water first, and so I've installed an under-counter water filter at my kitchen sink.
posted by deCadmus at 10:06 AM on March 2, 2008

I've used the Bodum Curl electric kettle for years, and absolutely love it. It primarily heats through ceramic, so no metallic taste, and I've never tasted plastic in the water, even on the few occasions it cools to room temperature. No funky flavours in my coffee or tea, either. Available online from Bodum or, well, all over the place ... Google "Bodum Curl" for a huge list of options.
(Only drawback--I bought mine when they made them in semi-transparent plastic, and they also had "fun" colours like orange and red and such. Seems like you're limited to black and white, now.)
posted by the luke parker fiasco at 10:08 AM on March 2, 2008

This is my beloved dorm-room kettle. It's cheap and not exactly exciting, but it's also speedy, shuts off automatically, and the water always tastes fine coming out even if it's been sitting for a while. I've had mine since November and it has filled my life with tea-y goodness ever since.
posted by Rallon at 10:10 AM on March 2, 2008

Zojirushi is a premium (Japanese, I think) brand, which offers a stainless-steel model (here), which has lots of cool features:
# Vacuum-insulated keep warm provides maximum energy efficiency
# Temperature settings include 175, 195, and 208 degrees F (will hold water at these temps)
# Temperature-control system; 6- to 8-hour timer; auto shut-off
posted by keith0718 at 11:52 AM on March 2, 2008

I have a plastic kettle made by Krups, and it has been used hard for 8 or 9 years now. Other than the first few "firings" in which the instructions said the boil the water & then pour it out without using it, I have never noticed a plasticky smell or taste to the water. Most, but not all, of the places where I've used this kettle have decent or pretty tasty tap water, though. Even if I've been away for the weekend and the water has been sitting, after running the kettle all is tasty again.
posted by janell at 12:29 PM on March 2, 2008

I love my Breville teakettle. Simple water-boiling technology from Australia, with a lovely blue light and a nice bell sound when it's ready--not an annoying electronic chirp. I've never noticed any metallic taste, either.
posted by chippie at 1:27 PM on March 2, 2008

I use the stainless steel UtiliTEA from Adagio. Used pretty much the moment it arrived in the mail and everyday since without a hint of metal taste in the water.
posted by zippity at 5:56 PM on March 2, 2008

I also have the Breville chippie has and ADORE it. I drink a lot of tea and can be obnoxiously particular about it. I've never had a problem with this kettle and use it every day.

I would second the comments about the water being funky though. When traveling in the mid-west I could not a decent cup of tea anywhere because the water was so bad when heated. No matter what I did, boiling the water would make it taste like soap.

So maybe check your water?
posted by Bibliogeek at 6:27 PM on March 2, 2008

I have two Braun pots similar to vers's (white plastic exterior, metal [aluminum?] interior), and I love them. I notice no flavor problems with the water. And I'm a persnickety tea drinker.

Have you considered, as others have mentioned, that it's your water? Maybe time for an experiment. Compare your tap water with different bottled brands.
posted by ObscureReferenceMan at 10:02 AM on March 3, 2008