Zojirushi Water Boiler & Warmer

Zojirushi Water Boiler & Warmer

There’s a funny cliché that a household can only be considered an Asian household if there at least these 3 specific items- a rice cooker, a wok and an electric water boiler.

Those of you familiar with my brand may be familiar with the longstanding close ties I have with the Zojirushi brand but what you may not know is that I have loved this eclectic Japanese brand since childhood. My parents’ kitchen, my friends’ kitchens and now, my own kitchens, are all equipped with a myriad of Zojirushi kitchen gadgets. (Here’s my review on the Zojirushi Rice Cooker).

My latest love is the Zojirushi Water Boiler & Warmer. Some of you may ask, why can’t you just use a kettle to boil water? Excellent question. I have bought and given away/thrown away about a dozen kettles in the past 5 years, ranging from cheap (under $10) to what I consider to be expensive for a kettle (over $50). There were always different issues with each one.

Several of them had no convenient way of filling the water from my refrigerator’s filtered water dispenser, due to the construct of both kettle and dispenser. All types of weird angles were tried and nothing short of first filling another vessel with a wide opening that would sit under the dispenser (like a carafe), then pouring into the kettle, would get the job done.

Other kettles that were aesthetically gorgeous (mostly those fancy glass ones) broke way too easily, even for someone not prone to clumsiness. Also, the glass kettles didn’t stay pretty for long if you use a gas stove. The bottom half ended up with ugly burn marks that were impossible to remove.

Whatever the issues were, there was one thing in common with all the kettles- you had to remember to turn off the heat once the water boiled.

Now I know this sounds like first world problems and it totally is, but frankly, with my often insane schedule and doing twelve different things at once, the last thing I need to pile on top of all that is to remember not to burn my house down because I forgot to turn off the kettle. (And yes, I realize there are plenty of kettles with the horrifying loud screeching noise to remind you- another terrible feature). I am an avid tea drinker. I can’t call it a complete day without having at least a big mug of green or white tea. I have family members who drink mostly just warm water, something I do as well when sick.

Zojirushi’s Water Boiler & Warmer make all of this- tea drinking, warm water drinking, not burning your house down- super easy, pleasant and a huge time saver.

The Zojirushi energy efficient VE® Hybrid Water Boiler & Warmer utilizes vacuum insulation technology (like travel mugs) to keep water hot with very little electricity. It features the new Quick Temp mode, which significantly reduces the heating time by directly reaching 160°F, 175°F, or 195°F keep warm temperatures without reaching a boil.

Features include:

• Vacuum-electric (VE) hybrid keep warm system
• 4 keep warm temperature settings (160°F, 175°F, 195°F, 208°F and Vacuum Insulated Non-Electric Keep Warm)
• Optional Quick Temp mode reaches 160°F, 175°F, or 195°F keep warm directly without reaching a boil
• Micro computerized temperature control system
• Easy-to-clean, clear coated stainless steel body and non-stick interior
• Energy-saving timer function (6-10 hours)
• Interchangeable melody or beep signal may also be turned off
• cETLus listed
• Made in Japan
• Instruction manual in English, French, Traditional Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese

All I do is fill a big jug with water and pour into the Water Boiler (which depending on how much I drink, lasts me up to 4 or 5 days). Set the temperature you prefer- and here’s one of the key winning features– the 160°F and 175°F are PERFECT for most tea brewing. There’s no waiting until the kettle’s boiling water cools down (how long are we supposed to wait until it cools down to perfect tea brewing temperature?). There’s no using thermometers either (yes, there are serious tea aficionados that do this).

There’s no worrying about turning off the stove or dealing with ear piercing shrill shrieks. This beautiful piece of engineering sits anywhere in your kitchen (you can also bring this to the office or anywhere, really) and occupies just a small area. Its Stainless Steel metallic appearance is modern, sleek and very easy to clean with just a quick wipe with a damp cloth. In the 3+ months that I’ve had this cool kitchen gadget, I’ve only had to clean the inside once, which to Zojirushi’s credit, was due more to the hard water in my home’s water. Clean up of the interior is also very simple. If you’ve had the Water Boiler plugged in and there’s hot water inside, simply unplug and drain all the water (you can recycle this water for plants). Once the appliance has completely cooled down, use a clean damp cloth to wipe down the interiors. That’s it.

This Zojirushi Water Boiler & Warmer is perfect not only for tea drinkers and warm water drinkers, but also for coffee drinkers who don’t have a coffee maker at home and prefer drip or French-press style coffee, for instant noodle lovers (bad for you but I won’t judge :) ), for families who drink all of the above, for elders who shouldn’t be handling heavy kettles of boiling water and for anyone who lives alone and needs convenience when sick with a cold or flu. So, in other words, this gadget is perfect and necessary for everyone.

Two capacities are available- a 4 Liter and a 5 Liter. Specs below.

Learn more about Zojirushi Products or Purchase on Amazon directly from Zojirushi.