In America this is the default method for small amounts of hot water.
this post was submitted on 07 Jul 2025
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I did it when having no kettle,
Main problem is that you don't have a good temperature control, sometimes, you get mid-walm water, sometimes you get boiling water.
Even worse, you have this physical phenomena where water is above 100 degree but doesn't boil, and as soon you move-it it starts boiling. At best it's impressive but it can move into burn quickly.
Why not heat it on the stove in a small pan?
For me it's the fact that my cast iron stove takes ages to heat up
Has that happened to you? I've not managed to make super heated water in the microwave.
If you're using distilled water there's not enough minerals in the water to start the boiling process before the temperature crosses 100 C because microwaves heat it up so fast.
It also doesn't necessarily have to be distilled water, but the the closer it is to just H2O, the higher the chance this will happen.
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Yes, if I need only 1 cup of hot water, I use the microwave.
The electric kettle wants a minimum of 2 cups (1/2 liter), or else it makes funny noises.
Mine makes funny noises too, but since it has a marker for one cup, the noises obviously don't matter.
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Not a thing in Brazil
Tangential, but I just learned of a Quooker yesterday. Guy ran boiling water straight from the tap instantly at a house I was viewing. Blew my mind.
I used to microwave water for all sorts of things before getting an induction stovetop.
Seriously, it goes from tap water to boiling in 2 minutes. It's a game changer.
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Im not against it, but an electric tea kettle is no slower, and less hassle. Seriously, 2 cups of water boils in under 2 minutes, it's insane.
We just have an instant hot water tap. Can't live without it, haha.
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.
We have a spigot in the kitchen that only puts out boiling-hot water, so I use that. If that's not working, I'd just boil it in a pan on the stove.
I did that in the past because we had no electric kettle at home. Today it's the over way round: I have a kettle but no microwave
I microwave water for almost everything that requires boiling water except cooking pasta.
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I don't, my water dispenser has a tap for hot water. If I'm out of water in the dispenser I usually boil it in a pan. That being said heating water in the microwave is not an issue for me, as long as it's just the water before adding the tea.
I always heard that drinking hot water from the tap was unsafe (at least where I'm from) due to the risk of lead being picked up from old pipes. Also sediment from the water heater.
Yes, you shouldn't drink hot water from the tap. I have a water dispenser, as in an equipment where you put a 20L mineral water bottle and you can pour either cold or hot water.
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Dafuq is tea? - Murican
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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I absolutely don't heat water in the microwave! I have a kettle like any other good god-fearing man.
However as a person who recently got into tea I'd love to hear recommendations on tea. I recently got a box of Yorkshire gold that's been pretty good to me
So, I like loose leaf when I can, but will totally use bags, I grew up with Tetley so that'll always be the tea I'll use for some basic iced tea. Yorkshire gold reminds me a lot of Red Rose, which is the other really common bag tea (and I swear is what my grandmother uses for her water intake). Recently, have some bags from Genuine Tea, it's a Canadian brand and some of their blends are pretty good, there's an elderberry hibiscus one that's great to just toss a few bags in a pitcher and cold steep.
Going to mention more types of teas rather than brands that I've liked in the past, there's a lot of variety and tea (like quality coffee) can totally have a wide range of flavours depending on region, age, processing etc. By no means an expert, I just like trying things.
I like Lapsang Souchong sometimes, can have a strong smoky flavour, don't have any more but we had some first flush Darjeeling tea that was fantastic. I had some nice white tea as well, but you need to be careful, turns super unpleasant if you over steep it or have the water too hot, should be floral and lightly fruity, not pine needles.
Otherwise, I personally like oolong and pu'erh tea the best. I tend to brew tea quick with an excess of leaves, but you'll use the same tea leaves multiple times. Pu'erh can have some earthy subtle flavours, and apparently totally changes as it ages (it's fermented if I recall).
Definitely going to give the lapsing a try. Ty for the rec!
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