tea kettle: electric or stove top?

referring back to an earlier post about tea and tea kettles: sooo which one, electric or stove top?, i finally made a decision:  stove top.  i have been wanting a tea kettle and needing to make the decision sooner rather than later.  my 21 day cleanse has me off caffeine so i have been leaning towards green and herbal teas rather than decaf coffee for my hot beverage fix.  tea could never replace my love for coffee, but i have been loving getting know tea and immersing myself in all the wonderful flavors and varieties.  what made me choose stove top kettle over the electric kettle is a great deal on the perfect color green chantal tea pot.  i was using my sisters stove top tea kettle the other day and when i went to pour the water into my cup i nearly burned my hand on the handle.  it was boiling lava hot.  that makes no sense.  why would the handle be impossible to hold and pour?  good thing my green lady has an easy grip stay-cool handle :)  down the road i will probably invest in an electric kettle mainly because it takes at least 10 minutes before i hear the whistle and sometimes that is just too long to wait.

here is a picture of my beautiful green lady:

happy tea drinking!

- the mrs.

tea! yes.

i have always been a coffee drinker and when i say always, i mean i started drinking coffee in my 3rd year at UCLA.  coffee was a must.  i've never been into energy drinks (or drugs) and having a hot coffee in during the early morning or late night study/cram sessions was essential.  i love coffee, i do.  everything about it - the aroma, the body, the texture and flavor. my favorite ice cream is ben and jerry's coffee heath bar crunch and my favorite dessert is tiramisu.  that being said, i have been diving into the world of tea (hot tea) head first.  iced tea has always been on my radar, and i love it.  hot tea, not so much.  its tastes too much like water - its practically hot water, but i guess iced tea is just cold water? hmmm.

anyhow, i talked to a few tea lovers i know - one of them being the coffee/tea buyer at work.  she was so full of information and enthusiasm, definitely making me excited about tea too!  after trying a few of the samples she gave me and taking her suggestions on things to try and learning about proper tea preparation and tasting - i stocked up!  went to the store and bought one of every thing!  well, not really, but i bought some green tea, some black tea, some white tea, some loose tea.  WOW! so many selections. 

i also went to tea forte dot com and purchased a kati tea brewing system shown above in "tree top."  its a double wall ceramic tumbler with a stainless steel mesh infuser basket for loose tea.  there are 8 different color/pattern options.  i love it and keep one at home and one at the office!  its never hot to the touch and i like the versatility of being able to use both loose and bagged teas.  this brewing system was featured in O Magazine, so use the coupon code: OPRAH at check out and this super cute tumbler is yours for only $9!  

oh, and their tea isn't too bad either, haha.  i love their cucumber mint and mango peach green teas.  i got the cucumber mint bagged and the mango peach loose.  let me know what you think!

at work, i just use our hot water dispenser for my tea, but at home i currently use the microwave to heat my tea water and would like to get away from doing that.  i am debating between a traditional stove-top tea kettle or an electric kettle.  i like the idea of getting a cute green whistling stove-top kettle - its pretty and functional but maybe not so practical.  the electric kettle is much more efficient/quicker.  maybe i will just get both?  meh, thats not really necessary.

le creuset whistling tea kettle. kiwi.

 

bodum electric kettle. green.

sooooo, which one?