About my kettle
The problem with a story about my kettle is that I don’t have a kettle.
Gareth Willey wrote a piece recently that suggested writing about your kettle as an exercise for becoming a better writer. He suggests that if you can sit down and write about something as mundane as a kettle then you can write about anything.
My problem with this isn’t that I disagree with him on this, it’s that I don’t have a kettle. Well, that’s not entirely true. I do have a small portable kettle I use to make a coffee (or tea) when hiking or camping, but for my regular morning coffee I don’t.
Now that I am sitting down to write about this I realise that I don’t even really know what to call the machine I use as an alternative to a kettle. It’s a small machine that somewhat resembles a pod coffee maker. It has a removable four liter tank on the back, some controls on the top to set desired temperature and how much water to dispense and a spot at the front just large enough to accommodate a large mug or a small coffee plunger.
It takes only a few seconds for this machine to output enough to make a cup of tea or coffee at the right temperature and only a minute to fill a coffee plunger or tea pot if you want a few cups.
No more waiting by a stove for a kettle full of water to boil, or by an electric kettle for it to boil. It’s quick and easy.
The water tank on the back lifts out easily for cleaning and refilling. I’ve been using for for over a year now and it’s just so handy to be able to just make a hot drink without all the hassle of boiling the kettle each time. Being a self contained unit as well it means it doesn’t need to be plumbed into the house and is suitable for rentals and similar situations.
The only real downside is having to refill it, but in all honesty, it only takes a minute to take the tank off and fill it up, or fill a jug and tip it in if you don’t need to clean it. So it’s not really a downside at all.
I purchased mine from an online store and had it delivered, but chances are, your local home appliance shop might have something similar if you’re interested in this sort of thing.
Thank you for indulging me this short piece about not having a kettle. I trust you have an excellent day and if nothing else, perhaps I’ve inspired you to make a tea or coffee while you read on.
