Green
tea is steeped at a lower heat than black tea, and since I drink a lot of
green, my next kettle will have a variable temperature feature. There’s one at
work , and if you want an endurance test for small appliances, a staff of
eighty-plus will surely provide it. The office kettle is boiling—or close to
it—from seven-thirty a.m. to five p.m. every weekday, and I don’t remember when
it arrived. It’s also worth noting that no “off the rack” kettle is designed
for that sort of heavy duty use. We’ve burned through a few in my time (one day
I’ll tell you about the nifty “disco” model that last three days before it went
back to the store), and this one has been operating for years.
So
when our home kettle threatened to blow up some weeks ago, I told Ter I’d
prefer one with a variable temperature feature. Naturally, I couldn’t remember
the brand of the office version, but of the few options available on the
Canadian Tire website, the Oster model looked almost exactly the same. And it
was on sale—at 50% off the regular price! Score!
Oh,
but then I noticed the online reviews. Only one post recommended the kettle as
worth the effort; a handful of others complained bitterly about leaks and
shorts and generally poor performance. Curses.
I
researched a few other options, but no real luck. Either the price was
ridiculous compared to “212 degrees only” kettles, or the reviews warned
against investing in any of them. I conceded to the thriftier option: if we had
to buy a replacement, I’d settle for a remake of our Black and Decker, which
has been stellar from the first go. In fact, I think it might be as old as the
office kettle, if not similarly overworked.
No
matter. Our kettle wasn’t crapping out; we only thought it was. Having dodged
the leaky base/crappy performance Oster bullet, I returned to work the
following Monday and started my morning routine: fill up the kettle, set it to
170 degrees and switch it on to heat while I empty the drainer and zoom to my
office for my mug and a scoop of Japanese sencha.
Guess
what? The superstar much abused overused and years old office kettle is an
Oster with an variable temperature feature.
*sigh*
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