[PhantomGremlin]

I used to boil water in a stovetop kettle. But that takes too long. So now I just use the microwave. Take a teabag, pour cold water over it, nuke for 90 seconds, DONE!

Of course it doesn't taste nearly as good as pouring hot water from a kettle onto a teabag, but it's so fast and convenient.

And I don't think anyone in the USA buys loose tea. It's all teabags here (i.e. probably 99% of the market).

[laumars]

The microwave trick not only tastes bad, but it also doesn't heat evenly as you get patches of boiling water and patches of cold water.

Modern kettles boil in about 2 minutes anyway. So I don't really see them as any more inconvenient than using the microwave. The real inconvenience is having to get up to switch the device on; what I really want is a networked kettle so I can boil it from the comfort of my seat hehe

[ihateloggingin]

Microwave just the water, then put the teabag in after. Then it will taste the same.