Just stick the mug on top of the stove on medium heat n it boils in like two minutes... Less than that is you use a saucepan...
this post was submitted on 07 Jul 2025
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In the US I bought an electric kettle because I got tired of using the stove. I don’t understand people who use the microwave it just feels wrong.
Dafuq is tea? - Murican
My wife is a purist from the south of England with several tea brewing options. If I boiled water in the microwave I’d be at real risk of divorce
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(7 replies)
I did it when having no kettle,
Main problem is that you don't have a good temperature control, sometimes, you get mid-walm water, sometimes you get boiling water.
Even worse, you have this physical phenomena where water is above 100 degree but doesn't boil, and as soon you move-it it starts boiling. At best it's impressive but it can move into burn quickly.
Has that happened to you? I've not managed to make super heated water in the microwave.
The water continues to heat ~1 minute after microwaving stops, so I guess it could happen if you take it out very close to the boiling point.
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Yes it already happened a couple of time. It starts boiling either when pulling-out or when putting the tea inside.
Apparently you can do it by turning off the microwave as soon as it starts boiling, turning it on again and repeating until everything boils at the same time and explodes.
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Why not heat it on the stove in a small pan?
For me it's the fact that my cast iron stove takes ages to heat up
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Yes, if I need only 1 cup of hot water, I use the microwave.
The electric kettle wants a minimum of 2 cups (1/2 liter), or else it makes funny noises.
Mine makes funny noises too, but since it has a marker for one cup, the noises obviously don't matter.
Was gonna say, for one cup it seems like a better use of resources (in terms of power), the only obvious downside is temperature control
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I used to microwave water for all sorts of things before getting an induction stovetop.
Seriously, it goes from tap water to boiling in 2 minutes. It's a game changer.
My electric kettle does about the same. Long enough to finish a piss before doing the water things.
Never mix up things there... 😇
Too late. Dumped my tea and drank my piss.
My kettle boils a mug's worth of water in less than a minute, and it takes me longer than that for even a brief toilet visit and washing of hands. I have learned not to switch the kettle on until I get back from the bathroom, otherwise I'll be boiling the water twice.
Important factors: 1) Britain has 230V mains power so electric kettles can boil water incredibly quickly, 2) The stereotype about Brits and tea is true in my case. I get through three to six mugs of the stuff per day. 3) Hot tea must be made with boiling water. Power isn't cheap and re-boiling the water adds up over time.
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Induction hobs I think are still less efficient than an electric kettle, right? Correct me if I'm wrong. (I have both but I don't have the know-how to measure the effect of either. Just what I've heard.)
afaik electric kettles are the most efficient machines around. something like 95% efficiency
Every thermal machine is technically ~100% efficient at producing heat, but then how much heat is spent usefully is another metric, depending on materials used (and subsequent thermal dissipation), loss in cables, etc.
Right. The hob needs to heat up entire surface of your cookware, and kettle transfers heat directly from the element below to water - only then some of that heat is dissipated.
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Right. The hob need to heat up entire surface of your cookware, and kettle transfers heat directly from the element below to water - only then some of that heat is dissipated.
It would be interesting to test. quick, someone poke Technology Connections.
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If you have both, and a timer on your phone, should be easy enough to check. Put the same measured amount of water in both and see how long it takes to boil.
this only works if both have the same energy consumption.
this is probably not the case, so you also have to measure the energy consumption and then adapt the measured time accordingly.
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I did that in the past because we had no electric kettle at home. Today it's the over way round: I have a kettle but no microwave
We use a kettle or boil it in a pot. I would not even entertain the idea of microwaving the water.
Takes longer and usually don't get it hot enough.
I've always had a stove top kettle, there was no reason to boil water in the microwave for tea. Up until a few years ago, I did not have a microwave. I prefer the even temperature of water boiled in a kettle.
We don't. Our simple kettle with its whistle is working great, despite its age. And its much nicer to look at than a microwave too ;)
I used to at work. I would do a half filled mug, give it 2-3 minutes of heat so it didn't suddenly boil over, then drop in the tea bag and fill with regular water.
Never tried it. Is it faster than an electric kettle?
Microwave can take 2-3 minutes depending on how hot you like it and how shitty your microwave is. They also tend to not heat evenly.
A good kettle might also take about 3 mins, though some can take up to 5 or 6, but you're guaranteed properly heated water.
In the US a microwave is faster. Your 220v heats things up faster than our 110v.
V is irrelevant. A determines how much actual power something gets.
Amperage determines how much current something gets.
Voltage times amperage determines the power something draws.
More current needs thicker wires, while higher voltage does not.
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(2 replies)
japanese have 100v and don't have this problem
Yes they do.