There is nothing more quintessentially Australian or British than an afternoon cup of tea. But turns out, for our friends in United States, a scorching hot cuppa is rarely on the menu.
Listen, no one is forcing an entire country to adapt to our beloved arvo traditions. But now that some Americans are beginning to dabble in tea making, the internet has noticed how behind the eight ball they’ve been, specifically when it comes to boiling water.
In a now-viral tweet, British user Stefan Roberts shared a screen shot of a recent article from the prestigious American news outlet, The New York Times. Said article, written in 2022, was a listicle of the best electric kettles on the US market with a title that saw many scratch their heads.
“A Swift and Easy Way To Heat Water Without Using a Stove”, the article’s headline read.
“I’ll hear absolutely no more from Americans criticising our clothes drying racks after this,” Roberts said alongside the image.
At time of writing, his tweet has amassed 33.1K likes and is growing by the hour.
Comments beneath the snapshot come from those in countries where electric kettles aren’t an ingenious new appliance, but rather a necessary amenity that has sat on kitchen benches for as long as they can remember.
But, do Americans have electric kettles?
So, you wouldn’t be wrong for asking: how do they make themselves a piping hot beverage?
Well, prepare yourself, because the retweets of alternative tea making methods were rather, well, interesting. One user shared a video by an American woman showing her TikTok followers how she brews herself and her version of a cuppa.
“Today I wanted to show you what this American girl likes as hot tea,” the video began. Before long, she’s mixing a cup of Instant Tea, two cups of Tang, Country Time Lemonade—yes, lemonade—two cups of sugar, cinnamon and cloves.
Once combined, she fills a mug with cold tap water, heats it in the microwave and then adds a heaped spoonful of the mixture into the warm water to create her take on hot tea. Unheard of in tea-loving countries? Sure, but we’re not here to shame her.
While another user excitedly shared how buying their electric kettle one year ago has been life-changing, explaining that they “got so tired of warming water on the stove like my ancestors”.
A stove-top kettle is essentially a pot with a pourable spout that is heated by the fire on the stove, and houses a valve that whistles once enough steam is generated. Hence, that haunting kettle whistle that you often hear in spooky movies.
But, the stove-top alternative isn’t actually as efficient at the electric variety. In fact, boiling water on the stove is much more wasteful of energy, given that electric kettles come with an automatic shut off once boiling point is reached. No excess power wastage is used and no danger can come from forgetting about it.
Clearly, America has see the light and is, albeit slowly, making their way toward the glorious world of electric kettles. While some shared tips on how to use theirs to save time when cooking pasta, others explained that using a stove has always been the typical way Americans boil water—even though it’s far from convenient.
“I’m an American who drinks tea every day,” another user wrote. “Before I got my electric kettle, I boiled water in a kettle on the stovetop. That’s how my mother did it.”
Naturally, residents of the United Kingdom and Australia were left pretty shell shocked, clutching on to their trusty kettles for dear life.
But hey, America hasn’t missed out on the glory of electric appliances entirely because of ignorance.
Apparently, their lack of kettle love comes from the fact that they only have access to low voltage in their electricity. You see, the United States runs on 100 to 127 volts of power, while countries like Australia and the UK are blessed with 220 to 240 volts at our disposal.
Basically, this doesn’t mean that they can’t use electric kettles, it just means that their water takes a little longer to boil. But surely, they’re still saving on the grief associated with stovetop boiling.
Now, we know that America aren’t huge hot tea drinkers, after all coffee is practically their national beverage—but this hasn’t stopped the online divide.
And listen, as long as they’re enjoying drinks that are as piping hot as the ones we enjoy, that’s all we can hope for.
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