Tea Kettle: Farewell and Hello

Our beloved tea kettle has come to a premature end.

My honey put water on to boil for tea when he was called upstairs at the request of the boy child who was alone and watching Harry Potter.  We generally don't leave the kitchen when the water is on to boil.  Then they both got engrossed in the movie and before you know it there was a terrible smell in the house.  The whistle hadn't been in to alert him and the tea kettle had boiled dry.  Drier than dry.  The bottom was burnt black.  Not good.  More than a bit scary.

The kettle has now started to audibly crack every time water is heated.  The enamel is chipping and flaking.  After nearly 10 years of loyal service we are in the market for another kettle.

The saddest thing about those pictures?  The electric stove.  Oh, how we have missed a gas stove these past few years!  Because of code issues and the location of the microwave we couldn't swap it out without considerable kitchen renovation or expense . . . OK, my little pity party is over.


We have loved our Le Creuset and the color scheme "Flame" is so cheerful that it was a no brainer to get the same one.  Two days latter it arrived in the mail.  The design is the same but with a few updates.  There is a new stainless collar around the lip of the pour spout.  I presume to prevent wear.  Instead it causes water to drip all over the stove when you pour.  And the whistle!  It is sooo piercing that I didn't even want to walk near it to turn it off.  I had my free hand over my ear!  Strike 3 was the discovery that a piece of plastic had broken off in shipping.  This was not meant to be.  We returned the kettle and started our search from scratch.

Even though we had loved our original one, reviews for the Le Creuset were across the board unflattering.  We decided to go a different route and get stainless steel this time.

And here she is!  I love that she arrived straight from Japan.  Via Amazon.co.jp.  I'm also glad I know how to boil water already because the instructions are entirely in Japanese.  She pours water without and errant drip.  Isn't she lovely . . .  That wasn't a question.  I'm singing Stevie Wonder . . .

No, she doesn't have a whistle.  I checked to see if our old whistle might fit but her spout is too shapely.  Small concession.  Now I need to learn to make a proper cup of British tea and all will be OK.