Making a good cup of tea is both an art and a science. Here at Quite A Kitchen, we love a good cup of tea. We like a robust, flavorful brew. This requires a slow pour, to get all the flavor out of the tea leaves. A useful gadget for a slow-pour tea beverage is the Willow and Everett Gooseneck Drip Electric Kettle.
ABOUT THE Willow and Everett Gooseneck Drip Electric Kettle
A beautiful stainless steel piece, the gooseneck design it adds a bit of whimsey to your home or office. We have a regular Willow and Everett kettle at the office, so I know that it is a reliable and safe kettle. But the gooseneck is the key to getting a better cup of tea.
WHY THIS KETTLE MAKES FOR A BETTER BREW
Ever been brewing a cup of tea and noticed that some of the leaves rise to the top but don’t get wet enough to brew? With the Willow and Everett Gooseneck Drip Electric Kettle, the gooseneck allows control over how the water is distributed, so all leaves are immersed in the water and brew properly.
The second use for this kettle is properly warming a teapot. Ever notice on Downton Abbey or other period pieces how the person making tea would pour hot water into a teapot to warm it, then dump out that water? It’s actually better to slowly warm the teapot. With the slow pour of the Willow and Everett Gooseneck Drip Electric Kettle, the teapot isn’t warmed all at once but warmed at a slightly slower pace. Then when you brew your tea, the teapot will be properly warmed.
POUR OVER COFFEE
The kettle is also excellent for brewing coffee. Since it is a slow pour, it gives coffee the time to brew properly if you are using a reusable one-cup drip filter. The technical term is “pour over brewing.” It is quite popular in hipster coffee shops, and I have seen it in one near me. Quite simply, it allows the brewer to control the water distribution. The stream of water when brewing coffee has a tremendous effect on the taste and quality of the cup. When brewing either coffee or tea, what you are really doing is extracting the quality and flavor from the grinds or leaves, and the extraction makes all the difference between a weak brew and an excellent cup.
SAFETY FEATURES
I like the safety features of this kettle, as well. It automatically shuts off, so if I get distracted, all I have to do is reheat water, but I don’t have to worry about a boiling-over kettle.
IF I COULD IMPROVE ONE THING…
While the kettle, base, and cord are all quite sturdy, the black cap-top is made of an inferior quality hard plastic and is not soldered as well as I might expect for what is otherwise a very useful and solid piece. This would not stop me from using the item or giving it as a gift, but it seems to the component that will wear out first on an otherwise sturdy item. The round knob on top is held in place with one metal screw, this must be pulled on to add water.
When deciding amongst kettles, the gooseneck feature of this Willow and Everett is attractive and highly useful for slow pour tea or pour over coffee, but it is not a daily use workhorse of a kettle like some competitor kettles on the market.
WHERE TO BUY IT
Find this lovely teapot at Willow and Everett.
DISCLAIMER
We received this item for testing and review purposes. If you have any questions about my experience with it, leave it in the comments section below.
