I'd like a cup of tea, but what about my nickel allergy?
I have been an avid tea drinker for over 20 years. Tea bags are OK, but don't give me Lipton tea! My favorite kind of brewed tea is loose leaf, steeped long and strong.Well, it occurred to me that I've been boiling my water in my trusty, 15 year old metal tea kettle. Now that I have been diagnosed with a severe nickel allergy, my task is to try to reduce the daily exposure to nickel and iron oxide. I've loved that kettle ever since my husband gave it to me in a kit of tea items as a Valentine's gift. I love the brick red color and the whistle tone it has!
The first thing I decided in regards to tea, was that I better microwave my tea water until I found a better solution. It worked, but tea just doesn't taste as good after it's been microwaved.
So NOW what am I to do about a tea kettle? I ran a quick little search on Amazon, and saw there are glass tea kettles. These kettles remind me a bit of the restaurant or church kitchen tea kettles from long ago.
Bed Bath & Beyond had the Primula 2 quart glass tea kettle with a whistling feature for $19.99. The only color it was available in was this Spring Green color. But the color is one of my favorite colors, so that's just fine with me.
Bed Bath & Beyond lists these features:
- Classic whistle sounds when the water is boiling
- Pouring is easy with its lever-action flip lid
- A silicone insert in the stay-cool handle provides a secure and safe grip
- Capacity: 2 qt.
- Completely removable lid provides for easy filling and cleaning, whether by hand or in the dishwasher
After a week of waiting, my new nickel allergy friendly tea kettle arrived. The label on the box made me giggle for a couple of reasons:
- Fragile warns the shipping carrier to be careful with this box. But look at the banged up box!
- Fragile reminds me of the dad on A Christmas Story.
Anyway, the Primula tea kettle arrived safe and sound. The 2 quart size is perfect for brewing a full sized pot of tea.
Now it was time to wash it up and try it out.
It became apparent that the lever-action flip lid presents a challenge when I am trying to wash out and fill the kettle with water. We have a nozzle hose at our sink, so sticking the nozzle inside the kettle helped hold it open for rinsing. I use filtered water, so here is how I decided to handle filling the kettle. So now it's time to fill the kettle with filtered water....
In reading reviews other people left for the Primula kettle, I noticed many people said you MUST place it on a smaller burner. That is the best way to avoid overheating the handle. The directions on the side of the box recommended placing the kettle on medium heat, I guess that is to avoid cracking the glass on high heat. But that means the full kettle boils up quite a bit slower that the metal kettle set on high.
At last the water came to a boil, and I got to hear the whistle...
Reviews recommended using an oven mitt to handle the hot kettle. But I found the handle comfortable and not hot. Pouring the water into the tea pot is a bit tricky. Just pop up the lid, then aim the water into the pot. But I had to be careful of the steam that rose up around my hands, as I was pouring. I had the same issue with the old kettle. So I just use my lips and blow cool air on my hand as I pour. Reviewers said they burned their hands while pouring. "Just pucker up your lips and blow."
That's it! I'm sold on this new kettle to help me handle tea in a way that helps my nickel allergy!
The next step is figuring out whether black tea or green tea is better. Here is all I found, so far:
A Korean study found significant nickel content in the following (mg/kg): a green tea bag contained 235.57; a black tea bag, 62.79
More on that front later. I've taken some positive steps in improving my life while having a nickel allergy!
