Takes longer and usually don't get it hot enough.
this post was submitted on 07 Jul 2025
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I used to at work. I would do a half filled mug, give it 2-3 minutes of heat so it didn't suddenly boil over, then drop in the tea bag and fill with regular water.
We don't. Our simple kettle with its whistle is working great, despite its age. And its much nicer to look at than a microwave too ;)
Never as I don't drink tea nor own a microwave.
I was fighting a cold recently so used the microwave to heat the lemon juice / honey / gin mixture I was self medicating with.
Lemon juice, honey, and also gin?!? Genius! Any water, or just that?
We ran out of JD Honey - trump tax and Canadian embargo - and I was gonna add a local bourbonesque booze ... but I never even thought of a gin base.
Gin is just what I had available. It's a hot toddy, normally made with whiskey but I'm not a big fan of wood cask spirits. I put it in a thermos to take to a funeral. It was about a 3:2:1 gin:lemon:honey mix. It was sippable but sweet like cordial from the honey. I was putting it in hot water.
I use an electric kettle but remember that in the US outlets are 120V, so they take a lot longer to heat water than in countries with 240.
So the microwave isn't much less efficient than the electric kettle, mainly because some of the energy is heating the mug/container. The least efficient is a stovetop kettle on an electric stove.
But I'm curious, why are Europeans so horrified by the idea of heating water in the microwave? Is it related to power consumption, or is there some other reason?
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I've used an electric gooseneck kettle for about a decade, before that I used a stovetop kettle or, if so was really desperate, a saucepan.
Jesus invented kettles for a reason, only commies and the god forsaken use the stove or microwave :)
In the US, if you go to the store and ask where are the tea towels are, they'll look at you funny, then suggest you look in the T-shirt department.
I'm not a commie, and if god forsook me, how would I know?
OTOH, I still mostly only drink Red Rose and Tetley, and given enough steep time ... say 10 or 15 minutes ... they're not so nasty. And I was born -next- to Canada, so I can't be -too- disabled.
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My boomer mom will put a tea bag in a mug of water then nuke that until it bubbles to make tea. (Yes, even when the tea bag has a staple).
But, if she is heating up a can of soup, she will dump that into a sauce pan and heat that up on the gas range, on the burner right next to the nice kettle I got her years ago.
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Always for coffee only sometimes for tea.
I don’t drink tea or coffee, but my mom microwaves her water for tea.
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Never we have a Quooker. (Instant boiling water out of the kitchen faucet)
Reminds me of a Technology connections on electric kettles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yMMTVVJI4c
And there was a followup on microwaving water: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpoXFk-ixZc
Its very enlightening from both US and European perspectives.
Wait, you guys have microwaves?
Sincerely, Someone who does not own a microwave
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At home, I always heat the water in a saucepan on my stove. I only use a microwave when I’m making tea at the university, where it’s the only way I can get hot water. These microwaves are always a bit dirty because most students don’t clean after themselves, and I can’t fully enjoy my tea because it feels tainted.
I microwave water for almost everything that requires boiling water except cooking pasta.
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I do, water is water.