Re-boiling vs keeping warm

It’s a commonplace in tea circles (although I’ve never seen in scientifically verified) that water for tea should not be re-boiled because boiling removes the oxygen and the tea will not taste as good. Assuming that’s so, what about tea pots that heat water to a desired temperature and then periodically start up again to keep the water at a that temperature. Does the continual repeated heating but to a temperature below the boiling point deplete the water? After all, even at 180, 190 or 200 degrees, air bubbles do form, just smaller than when the water boils.

8 Replies
Uniquity said

I think that for those who mind, the water should be drawn fresh each time, regardless of how hot the water gets.

I don’t happen to mind, so I use the same water if there is enough left, and if not I just add more. I can’t tell the difference. I also just use water from my tap, rather than bottled, spring or filtered. I can sometimes tell the difference between bottled and good well water when drinking it plain but not steeped as tea (unless the water is really bad like at my Mum’s or Dad’s, or I’m using town/city water which tends to taste bad.)

As with most things in tea, just do what works for you. You could try one way and find out if there is a difference for you and if that difference is strong enough to warrant a change.

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Cwyn said

You could look into tea heaters, they range from low tech clay stands that will keep the bottom of a tea pot or kettle from cooling, and a tea cosy for the pot itself, to stands that hold a candle or piece of charcoal beneath the kettle. Or you can find electric tea kettle stands.

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I think what you described does counts as reboiling. Though, I reboil my water every day and never notice a difference in taste.

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vc said

From what I understand, the amount of dissolved oxygen in water is dependent on temperature – oxygen is less soluble at higher temperatures. So when water is boiled, some oxygen is removed, but oxygen from the air will redissolve into the water as it cools. Unless you are boiling in a vacuum where there is no oxygen in the environment to go back into the water. If you are concerned about oxygenation, even giving the water a good shake should reintroduce oxygen into it. This is just what I understand scientifically about water and dissolved oxygen, but there may be something completely different with reboiling water that affects tea steeping.

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darby select said

I use a Zojirushi which initially boils and then retains the heat. I couldn’t live without it…..saves so much time!

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Angrboda said

The sheer amount of energy waste involved in a kettle that stands there all day keeping the same water warm for hours and hours on end is enough to make me not even want to consider that option.

Re-boiling wastes energy as well, although not quite to the same degree, so I usually go for that. I do try to not heat too much more than I need at a time. A small amount of water boils quicker than a large amount anyway. Unfortunately I’m not very good at it. I always over-estimate the amount I need. (You would think I would have learned by now, but no…)

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I agree with you Angrboda. I recently carelessly got one of those pots that when placed back on its pod, brings the water back up to a chosen temperature and keeps it there, successively reheating it whenever it dips a certain point below. So I always take it off the pod until I’m ready for another brewing.

Angrboda said

Can that not be turned off at all? How odd. What if the kettle is empty? Perhaps the design team thought that money grows on trees…

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