Getting it right...

I made a big deal about brewing our morning cup with water that has been heated to 198°F. There are a few ways to get there including a stove top-heated kettle with a temperature probe in the center of the lid. We use something more extravagant. It's a kettle that can be set to a final temperature at which point it will either shut off or maintain the water at that temperature. I found this bonaVITA automatic kettle at Sweet Maria's that I like. There are any number of kettles for heating water, but kettles with temperature control are more limited.


 

The bonaVITA automatic kettle has a gooseneck spout which makes it easy to hit a specific place in the coffee when pouring. I have always assumed it was designed for tea drinkers but since I recently became aware of the methods used for pour-over coffee I must admit it lends itself to that method nicely.

We use exactly 28 oz water (not precisely; if we were precise I would use a gram scale to measure the amount). Our water is filtered using a Berkey water filter (like a Britta filter but on steroids). The bonaVITA remembers the last value set for end-temperature (always 198) so all I have to do is press On/Off to turn it on, then press the Hold button so it will maintain that temperature after it gets to the set point. I've previously set °F (instead of °C) and that is remembered as well.

When the water gets to temperature I have about 20 minutes before the bonaVITA thinks I've fallen asleep and shuts off. During that time I have to get started with the pour. I described that in the preceding post.

After pouring for the bloom I have to hit the buttons again for On/Off and Hold since the kettle automatically switches to a built-in timer when the kettle is lifted off. So after the 60-80 sec for the bloom I can do the last pour and wait for the coffee to brew.

The bonaVITA is currently $80 at Sweet Maria's and about $63 at Amazon. You have to pay shipping at Sweet Maria's and shipping is free at Amazon if you signed up for Prime. You *did* sign up for Prime, right?!**

There are other options for automatic electric kettles that are over double the price of the bonaVITA . But the bonaVITA has worked pretty well for the 2 or 3 years we've owned it so we're happy.

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** We live in the boon docks. If you shop carefully, Amazon can be a lifeline to products other than Walmart's re-branded and/or diminished products from the same supplier, e.g. 4.0 oz of Tom's of Maine toothpaste vs. 4.7 oz from other retailers. But shipping will be a killer. Prime provides free 2-day shipping (plus other incentives). If you buy only a few things per year, Prime doesn't make sense. But for us it's a bargain.

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