Polly Put the Kettle On

Our nation has been weaned on ‘a nice cuppa tea’. If ever there is a crisis, on goes the kettle and ‘a nice cuppa tea’ (or coffee) will make everything better. Most of us can’t get going in the morning without our first brew of the day and we even have a nursery rhyme to extol the virtues of boiling the kettle! But do we ever wonder how much energy we consume for our cup of hot, brown liquid? And can the earth sustain our tea-drinking habit? Government figures claim that we, in the UK, drink a staggering 229 million cups of tea and coffee every day.

It would seem that when making a cup of tea most people overfill their kettle using unnecessary energy to boil water they don’t actually use. If you are brewing for just one or two people make sure you only put enough water in the kettle for this amount of tea. Anything over and above this is a waste, unless you are organised enough to transfer it into a flask for later use. Likewise, don’t boil the kettle and then forget about it, resulting in you having to boil it up again. If you only leave it for a few minutes, the water will still be hot enough without the need to do this. It may seem trivial but it makes a big difference to your energy bill as well as conserving the earth’s energy resources.

Fortunately, some clever members of our species have taken this problem on board and invented various alternatives to the bog-standard kettle to curb carbon emissions.

The first I have come across is the Eco-Kettle for which I have found mainly rave reviews, albeit from the manufacturers and vendors! This one, however, is by someone who has actually trialled it and gives an interesting, impartial review. It is praised as the all singing, all dancing answer to the bog-standard kettle and there’s no doubt it is an improvement where energy use is concerned. Nevertheless, it has it’s pros and cons so I suggest you have a read before making up your own mind.

The Lobo Plunger Filter Kettle, has similar intentions as the Eco-Kettle, although it is a bit pricier. However, it is quite an ingenious design and looks like a cross between a kettle and a cafétiere.

Another new option is the Tefal Quick Cup, which, if their own words are to be believed, is:

“an extraordinary invention that serves hot or cool water in 3 seconds. It only heats the water you need and uses only a third of the energy of an ordinary kettle - so a great time, energy and money saver.”

I suggest once you have clicked the link above to access Tefal’s website, you then click on the top left hand corner where it says ‘CLICK for more information’ to get a really good idea of what it has to offer. It does appear to be quite revolutionary in the world of kettles and I have to confess to desiring one. However, I have also come across this review page that gives mixed messaging. Most people like the concept but have had technical problems with it and feel these need to be ironed out. Also, it would seem it doesn’t proclaim to be a kettle as such, merely a water heater and cooler, enough for one cup at a time. So it probably wouldn’t be suitable if you want larger quantities of hot water for cooking or cleaning. It also requires a water filter at added cost and, as yet, they do not offer a recycling service for these. It would depend how much you use your Quick Cup as to how many you may need to use, although, according to one review, you don’t have to use one at all.

You may wish to peruse reviews on all three of the above by SmartPlanet.com, who have carried out some extensive product testing on them.

Something a little different still is the Superkettle. This contender is very common in the Far East and when ‘Janet’ of newtonz ltd was introduced to it whilst visiting her brother, who lives in Singapore, she liked it so much she decided to set up a company to import them to the UK and start selling them here. They do seem like a good idea but I feel they may be more suited to homes or small businesses where hot drink making is prolific. I’m not sure about the energy-saving if you only use your kettle once or twice a day as opposed to the Superkettle that is on constantly, albeit at a low energy rating. I can’t find any exact facts or figures to confirm or deny this, it is just a hunch.

This Energy Saving Kettle is another concept. This invention was demonstrated on Dragons’ Den on February 14th 2007 and is protected with Patent Pending. Unless the website is not up to date, it seems the inventor is still trying to source funding to get it to market. Not an avid fan of Dragons’ Den, I can only assume he didn’t get backing from the Dragons! It works on the principal of only filling the kettle with the desired amount of water and is designed to enable you to do just that.

I will finish with the Kenwood Energy Sense Kettle, and the Breville Blue Ice Jug Kettle as I could probably go on and on finding alternatives. These clear kettles enable you to see how much water you are using and offer a rapid boil compared to other kettles.

It would seem that even if you are not ready to splash out on a new type of ‘eco-kettle’ just yet, as long as you are not over-filling your current one you will still be saving energy and emitting less carbon into the atmosphere.

My head is spinning with all the different options and thoughts of carbon emissions, so much so, I need ‘a nice cuppa tea’ to unwind! I might even indulge in a chocolate digestive or three…

November 2008