On Thu, 15 Feb 2018 05:41:19 -0800, leenowell wrote:

We went through this loop a few years ago. At the time, the way it
worked was to continually keep the warm "hot" (maybe not fully boiling)
and when we tasted tea from one in a shop it tasted a bit odd (maybe it
was their one but we assumed because the water was continuously heated).
Anyway after much discussion we bought one of these

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00...ef=mp_s_a_1_1?
ie=UTF8&qid=1518701666&sr=1-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=one
+cup+kettles&dpPl=1&dpID=41wK67rhAZL&ref=plSrch

It boils 1 cup (approx 250ml) at a time and probably takes about 25
seconds to do so. We have a tap and hose next to it for easy filling
without moving the kettle. Descaling is the same as with a regular
kettle.

As far as I'm concerned, that looks like a solution to a problem I don't
have. I need the exercise! :-)

A ten quid Cookworks 3KW jug kettle from Argos does the job just fine
for me since it fits nicely into my 'Tea Making Ceremony'. Realising just
how sedentary my job had become, once I became self employed twenty years
back, selling, then repairing PCs, I knew I had to resist the temptation
to keep a kettle in the first floor bedroom I'd converted to my office/
workshop, electing to trudge up and down the stairs to our back kitchen
every time I fancied/needed a brew.

This need for 'exercise' extended to my tea making arrangement in that I
deliberately chose not to arrange the kettle and tea makings to be
'ergonomically handy' to the kitchen sink in order to force me to take
the two or three steps back and forth between the sink and the worktop
area where the kettle was plugged in just a couple of (vital!) metres
away from the sink.

I normally top the kettle back up to just over the 750mL mark[1] after
every 'tea making ritual' so that it's ready to be switched on as soon as
I step into the kitchen to brew my next 'cuppa' ('mugga'?) tea. This way
I guarantee that the water is no colder than room temperature at worst
and very likely a degree or two warmer, thus minimising energy costs.

If it's just for myself, I'll tip about 150mL or so into my used tea mug
to then be tipped into the sink when I rinse it out for the impending
brew up. Otherwise, when the missus fancies a cup of coffee as well,
there's already just enough room temperature (or warmer) water in the
kettle[2] for the both of us I just switch it straight on.

Usually, it's just me so I know I have only about 90 seconds tops to
prepare the makings in time to pour some of the just boiling water into a
small stainless steel 1 1/2 mug capacity teapot to warm it and rinse out
at the sink before stepping back yet again to the tea making work area to
turn the kettle back on for the 3 or so seconds it takes to come back to
the boil. This gives me just enough time to grab the teabag and chuck it
into the teapot before pouring the water into the pot and taking the
kettle back to the sink (still tilted to prevent the remaining 150mL or
so of just boiled water from dissipating the residual heat away by
evaporation) where I'll top it back up through the spout to ensure the
maximum of heat transfer into the fresh charge of cold tap water.

Having returned with the topped up kettle to deal with stirring the
teapot and closing its lid to let it brew for another minute or two, I
flick the teaspoon dry and perch it on top of the kettle to dry out (it's
the driest, least contaminated place to park the teaspoon) whilst I pour
a drop of milk into the mug so when I've poured the tea, I can avoid
wetting the sugar in the sugar bowl when sugaring my fresh mug of tea.

The final step is to rinse the spoon under the cold tap, shake it dryish
and park it into the spout of the still warm teapot, ready for the next
session. I save emptying the dregs and used teabag until my next brew up
an hour or three later. This saves me having to scrounge around for a
fresh teaspoon every time I brew up.

As you can see, a Quooker would be of little benefit to my tea making
ritual unless you count the reduction of exercise as a benefit which,
believe me, couldn't be further from the truth! :-(

[1] It only takes a little thought to top back up to a specific level
chosen to minimise energy costs. After all, you still have to turn the
bloody tap off regardless of how careless you may be in over-filling it
so you may as well choose a specific point at which to stop filling the
kettle which also reduces the effort of lugging more water around than is
strictly necessary.

[2] We don't have a lime scale issue in our area and the kettle baseplate
stays largely limescale free. What little there is, is confined to a
small area immediately below the filling/pouring spout where the cold
filling water is obviously precipitating the lime scale out of the weak
calcium carbonate solution.

I might rinse it out with fresh cold water once in a blue moon but in
the meantime, what (if any) limescale particles do get past the spout
filter, quickly settle to the bottom of the teapot due to their weight
where most of it gets swilled away on the next tea brewing cycle. The few
bits of limescale that do manage to land up in the tea mug are no great
problem since they stay at the bottom of the mug to remain with the
dregs until the next rinse out/cleaning cycle.

[3] I don't waste electricity waiting for the kettle to turn itself off
when it's quite plainly already boiling the water - I regard the
automatic shut off as a safety/(convenience) feature (for lazy profligate
*******s). :-)

--
Johnny B Good