Only yesterday, I was talking to a member of the Green Options editorial team about the delights of tea – and we agreed, that Early Grey must rank as one of nature’s finest hot beverages for an afternoon’s pick-me-up.
The British Empire
Oh yes, think 4pm, the duchess summoning Jeeves to bring the best china, hallowed guests gather on the front lawn, croquet temporarily suspended as we congregate to imbibe.
So imagine my delight when I came across the following:
A kettle that boils the water in just three seconds.
Despite the romance of the scene described above, the empire has fallen, duchesses spin in graves, country estates now overgrown.
Yet tea is still tea and integral to our daily lives.
So thank you Tefal. For those, who like me, have patience worn thin by the intensity of modern life, at least we can now have scolding water in three seconds and the tea brewing before you can say Jack Flash.
Energy Saving
An energy saving of 65%. Watch out. With tea available so quickly, we’ll have that empire rebuilt in no time and the lawns shipshape before Jeeves can dust down his evening jacket.
“The Tefal QuickCup uses a heating system called OPTI Quick, a technology exclusive to Tefal, which heats water instantly without any preheating. OPTI Quick allows water to pass through the heating system in a spiral motion…”
As a nation, Britain gets through 165 million cups of tea a day. When you take this into account, the energy saved as a nation could be astronomical should this product take off.
Source: Image courtesy of Flickr.
i considered it for an ecological project but chose against it in the end on the basis that the water is not hot enough to make a good cup of tea. if you like tea then forget this; if you like PG Tips then its perfect… albeit a little slow to fill the whole cup.
I’m a big enough tea drinker to know that different teas are best at different temperatures too.
@Jak: How is it not hot enough? Boiling is boiling, right? I mean, unless you change elevations…
I have one of these so I have a little insight on the subject. The water isn’t actually boiling, but it is very hot for coffee, hot choclate etc. it’s perfectly acceptable. The two downsides are the price and the noise. I got round the price by cashing in my nectar points essentially getting it for free and the noise aspect was significantly reduced using an old mousemat to dampen the vibrations!
Jaxster, you made me smile, just by mentioning nectar points. And what innovation by using a mousemat for noise reduction. (The joys of reusing!)
I must now confess that I nearly posted my reply by typing “nose” reduction rather than what now appears. The mind boggles.
Thanks all for your comments.
Wow, I’m impressed. I’m not British. I am North American and live in the most fabulous city in the country, Portlnad, Oregon—where tea drinking in the afternoon (among other things) is looked upon favorably. It’s part of self-care which is very eco-friendly and healing to the Planet. I’m wondering about the details on how Tefal works. In other words, what is in it that works to heat the water so quickly? And is it earth friendly? Thanks for posting this! I’ll do some more research and blog about it on my eco-blog: http://www.planetpinkngreen.com. Keep up the good work!—Cheryl Janis from http://www.planetpinkngreen.com