Welcome to the ongoing saga of my family and our attempts to eat right, exercise, lose weight and still enjoy life, while also managing the care and treatment of injuries, chronic conditions, and cancer follow-up. Convinced that a healthy lifestyle and reasonable fitness level is attainable by even the most committed of workaholics, couch potatoes, and those with health issues, join us as we explore food and wellness choices, try to put new habits in place, and hold each other accountable along the way. Healthy food can taste delicious and wellness practices need not be burdensome. At least, that is our hope, especially as we share resources with others who are working to be well.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Now I Can Make Tea

An exceptional cup of tea is hard to come by, at least that is what I am told by my British friends who decry the "American" way of making tea --- heating water and a tea bag in the microwave for about two minutes.  I must confess I have done that over the past few years because I was sans teakettle.  Mine had boiled dry and I couldn't bring myself to use it for anything other than sanitation purposes (and I kept hoping my family would gift me a new version).  Well, my days of "American" tea making are over because...I got a new, high tech teakettle!






To better understand my excitement, a comparison photo might be in order:









The new PerfecTemp Teakettle by Cuisinart features (as stated on the shipping box):  an ergonomic handle, a boiling whistle, stainless steel construction and, my favorite, a precise temperature gauge with multi-colored, easy-to-read hot water levels so I can brew that exceptional cup of tea I mentioned before.  So, for example, now I know that, for the perfect cup of black tea, the water needs to be in the red zone, at a full boil;  green tea, in the green zone, at 175°F.

I chose this teakettle over some others that were recommended to me because I wanted one that had a temperature gauge, even more than I wanted one made of stainless steel.  The PerfecTemp is a bit slow to heat up if I start with refrigerator-chilled water, but that is a good thing around here.  It forces life to slow down just a bit, which is really the whole point of a cup of tea.

This is my personal recommendation/endorsement.  No benefits, financial or otherwise, were received from Cuisinart or anyone else.