• @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    132 years ago

    A water kettle. Doesn’t have to be any fancy one, but it really fucking rocks for anything you might think of : want hot water for tea? No problem. Need hot water to steep something? No problem.

    Most mid-range ones are insanely power efficient too, often being alot better than just boiling water on a stovetop, or using a microwave. And, depending on insulation, heat can be stored for over 6! hours.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      22 years ago

      I’m going to guess you’re in the States? I’m from England and live in the Netherlands. I’ve never met anybody ever who didn’t own a kettle. Is it true that it’s really not that common in the States to own a kettle?

      • Shrek
        link
        fedilink
        12 years ago

        I would say 20 years ago almost no one had an electric kettle in the US. Now they are much more common, but still only in a minority of homes. Americans just don’t drink nearly as much tea as the English. The UK consumes 1.94kg of tea per person annually. The US is 0.23kg. (per wikipedia). You will find a coffee maker in most homes and hotel rooms though.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        12 years ago

        We had a stove top kettle growing up but I never heard of an electric kettle until I was an adult. First time I saw one was a pretentious dude doing pour over coffee at work.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      1
      edit-2
      2 years ago

      A kettle is such a default kitchen item in the UK that I find it kinda crazy that it’s not standard somewhere like the US, though I know I’ve seen the difference in base voltage being a factor before.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        1
        edit-2
        2 years ago

        I went to visit a friend in the US (los angeles). She asked me what I want for breakfast and I said just some tea please and nothing else. I saw her going from confusion to terror in 5 seconds. And I was like whats wrong? Is everything ok?

        Eventually she boiled water in a mug in the microwave, put in some pieces of apples and called it tea.

        A few weeks later I went for work in the bay area. I just cannot start a day without tea. I saw the hotel I stayed in had a bit of difficulty in the tea department. Decided to buy my own kettle so I can have my tea in the room. Naively went to an electric store to buy a kettle. There was none. I was like WTF. Went to target, there were none. Only stove ones. But my room didnt have a stove. Then it hit me americans just dont boil water like the rest of the world.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      02 years ago

      What home doesn’t have a kettle? I don’t think I’ve ever been to someones house who didn’t have one. Who are these degenerates that were boiling all their water in saucepans?