On the subject of tea.

[seiberwing]

I continue to be amused at what happens when I explain to British people that my end of American culture has no conception of the 'electric kettle', and that when exposed to one in England it took me a month to figure out what it was.

They always act like I've just casually stated that we have no cultural taboo against eating our own young.

Comments

[wrongly_amused]

I own an electric kettle!

Of course, I'm a huge tea drinker...and we did live in England for a brief spell when my father was stationed there...

COINCIDENCE OR CONSPIRACY?

[seiberwing]

Oh, I bought one as soon as I got home. But it took a while to find. I love tea, but I had never heard of some middle ground between microwave and boil-on-stove kettle.

...yes, and when I mention I made tea in the microwave as a matter of course the Brits give me funny looks and take a few steps back.

[wrongly_amused]

The electric kettle was actually a gift from a friend - which turned out to be the BEST GIFT EVER. After my brother broke the old one, my mom bought me hardcore industrial one for Christmas. I LOVE IT.

I don't think most non-Americans realize how much microwaves are, like, a household necessity here. I boil water via a microwave all the time at work.

[tamerterra]

Microwave-tea? *hiss*

I've used a saucepan on the hob to boil water when I didn't have access to a kettle, but microwave-tea, on the count-on-one-hand number of times that I've had it, just tastes wrong.

[kookaburra1701]

Everyone in my dorm in college had an electric kettle, but we called them "hot pots" and they were used for everything from making hot cocoa to easy mac.

Thinking back on it I'm amazed we didn't manage to burn down the building.

[seiberwing]

You made...easy mac...in an electric kettle.

How.

[kookaburra1701]

Very messily. I'm not sure if Bethany ever managed to chip all the macaroni out of her hot pot. I cooked ramen and minute rice in mine all the time, though.

Basically added the specified amount of water, boiled it, put macaroni in, kept it cooking until the amount of water looked right, stir in "cheese," butter, and milk.

[seiberwing]

Mine's pitcher-shaped. I'm not even sure how you'd do that.

Though it does have a constant stain because I used to just leave the teabags in there when I made iced tea. Iced tea saved my life last summer.

[ravenology]

I don't drink tea that often despite being a Brit (I'm weird I know) but an electric kettle is still a must for quick-'n'-easy coffee in the mornings (I don't have one of those fancy coffee machines).

[koilungfish]

WHAT FRESH HELL IS THIS? WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE DOING TO YOUR TEA AND YOUR KETTLES?

My space kettle is afraid now.

[seiberwing]

Space kettle?

[koilungfish]

Space kettle. It changes colour.

[seiberwing]

The kettle from out of space.

[faithinfire]

I just misread that as "eclectic kettle" and now I'm wondering what one of those would be. Probably what Werner uses to make his tea in... *g*