Tea Thermometer Recommendations

63 Replies
ifjuly said

I’ve been wrestling with which thermometer to buy myself (surprisingly hard to find many that fit all the requirements—beeps when ready to steep, FAST read, digital, maintains accuracy, not wildly expensive, won’t fall apart immediately, battery life decent) and David’s was high on the list because it beeps and it’s decently priced. I appreciate the details you’ve provided Rachel (they don’t have much in the way of specs on the website, alas). What kind of battery does it take, do you know?

looseTman said

For additional info see: http://steepster.com/teas/davidstea/36677-thermometer-and-timer
or DAVIDsTEA 1-888-873-0006

I have and like the Davids tea thermometer…..Cant beat the price

looseTman said

“What kind of battery does it take, do you know?”
I don’t believe it requires a battery as one is not mentioned it the instructions sheet and it doesn’t have a removable panel/door to replace a battery.

I suspect the DAVIDsTEA thermometer/timer uses a thermocouple instead of a battery:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermocouple
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/question136.htm

We owned ours now for almost a year and no problems.

Actually judging from this conversation: https://twitter.com/DAVIDsTEA/status/285752015760539648

There is some sort of battery.

looseTman said

You’re correct. Several weeks ago, I inadvertently “toasted” one of our DAVIDsTEA thermometer/timers in the microwave. Recently, I became curious, disassembled it, and found that there is in fact a large flat disc battery CR-2032 – Lithium 3V.
http://i.walmartimages.com/i/mp/MP/10/00/64/30/MP10006430448_P290619_500X500.jpg
However, this unit is not designed to be user serviceable. Prying the top & bottom halves apart fractures the plastic fasteners that hold the assembly together.

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Rachel J said

Bought an OXO thermometer today and am happy with it:
http://www.oxo.com/p-557-digital-instant-read-thermometer.aspx#

I tested it against the Davids and the Upton analog one on boiling water. Only the OXO registered 212. The Davids was 5 degrees under and the Upton was 10 degrees under! (Could be why I was finding all my teas too astringent. Yikes.)

The OXO is simple, no fancy features. Has silicone around the screen so you don’t burn your fingers taking it out of the kettle. Nice big display. The reviews on Amazon are pretty bad, so we shall see how long it lasts me, but my first impression is that it’s great.

I decided that a thermometer/timer with presets for tea was overkill for me. I just want a quick temp reading on my water so I can start steeping when it reaches the temp I want (which seems to be different for every tea). Then, since I’m always right by my microwave when brewing tea, I just punch in the time on the microwave timer, hit start, and pour. Simple. I’m happy now.

I think these thermometers all tend to be somewhat inaccurate especially after some time. I’m gonna try to remember to do an ice slurry and boiling water test with this one every few months.

looseTman said

Per OXO:
Application:
“With the OXO Good Grips Digital Instant Read Thermometer, cooking meats to perfection is as easy as pressing a button.”

Features:
“The probe has a thin tip to quickly read temperatures and the display has large numbers for easy readability.”

Requires:
- an LR44 battery
- visual monitoring as it doesn’t provide an audible beep when the desired temperature has been reached – Not optimal when multi-tasking is necessary
- a timer

Cost: $19.99

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AnnaEA select said

I use this one – http://www.amazon.com/Taylor-5989N-Classic-Instant-Thermometer/dp/B00004XSC4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1391964694&sr=8-2&keywords=taylor+instant+read+thermometer

it’s not digital, so no batteries to worry about, is super easy to calibrate, maintains calibration for months at a time in home use (needed recal once a week or so in the restaurant though) and , my favorite part , fits perfectly and is perfectly placed to measure the kettle temp in the whistle hole in my tea kettle’s spout!

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Kat said

I just use an inexpensive manual thermometer I bought at the drug store. For cooking and meat and such (oil too, right? I have no idea what it’s for really). It seems to work pretty well, and I don’t care what happens to it. I think I paid like 5$ for it.

Now that I have a kettle I can program temperature into, I use my thermometer never.

AnnaEA select said

If it tops out at 220f its a meat thermometer. If it tops out at 500f or 550f its a candy/deepfry thermometer, and probably has a thicker stem and reads a little more slowly. What is your electric kettle? I’m considering getting one…

Kat said

It’s a meat thermometer then, because I would know if it went all the way to 500f. It was really cheap, so I have no real feelings attached to it.

Anyway, my kettle was really inexpensive, and it works really well. It’s by Oster, and the Amazon reviews says it doesn’t work, which knock on wood, mine is like 8 months old and still does, and it looks like it’s not being made anymore. Here’s one at the same price point. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Aroma-Gourmet-Series-6-Cup-Digital-Electric-Kettle-Stainless-Steel/17201593 Mine doesn’t have preset temps, though, it goes up by 10 degrees starting at 160f.

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teaenvy said

I just bought an oster kettle at Target for $35.00. It also increases by 10° but lists brewing temps for various teas. I have noticed with a lot of bad reviews the buyer either failed to follow instructions, like do not submerse, or had expectations the product was never intended to meet.

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