Of all the things my mother has given me from the vast warehouse of her garage, there are two items I treasure the most. One, a Costco-sized box of gallon-sized Ziploc bags, and two, a battered Zojirushi water boiler that has been in the family for decades. The Ziploc bags are nice to have and can be easily replaced; the water boiler, on the other hand, has become an indispensable tool that makes my life at home a little better, every time I use it.
A brief twist: if given the choice, I’d take an ice cold beverage over hot any time. But even I, with my preference for drinks so cold that they hurt my teeth, have been converted to my family’s beloved Zojirushi.
I use it almost every day – for the instant Cafe Bustelo coffee that I drink every morning, for instant noodles, for tea and hot chocolate and any other wintry weather beverage. Once you’ve opened your heart (and wallet) to one of these things, I promise you that you will never look back.
At a glance
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Better than any electric kettle
Zojirushi Micom Water Boiler & Warmer
What is this thing, anyway?
The Zojirushi is essentially a souped-up instant tea kettle with a much larger capacity – our family heirloom holds three liters. It heats water up fast and crucially, keeps it hot for the whole day, so that you can have access to hot water at the push of a button.
Electric tea kettles do the same thing (and take up much less counter space), but I’m impatient to a fault and a little lazy – the standard kettle holds way less water than the Zojirushi and doesn’t keep the water hot all the time; you’re stuck reheating it every so often. All of these quibbles are relatively minor, but when you’re craving instant noodles that are actually instant, or need a hot chocolate this second now, I bet your stomach will feel the difference.
Better than any electric kettle:
Zojirushi Micom Water Boiler & Warmer
Why would I want hot water all the time?
If I’m doing something vaguely ambitious with miso paste when I’m cooking, a little splash of very hot water loosens up a marinade. For jars of anything that are seemingly welded shut, running some hot water over the edge of the jar helps. And if I’m feeling particularly fancy, I’ll switch from instant coffee to something in my moka pot and add hot water in its chamber to make the brewing process a little faster. Hot water: you need it more than you think!
Practical uses aside, there’s been recent chatter around drinking hot water for the medical benefits (in part thanks to the internet’s Chinamaxxing trend). Allegedly drinking hot water helps various ailments such as constipation and digestive issues, but those may actually just mean you’re dehydrated. Water is water, in the end, and everyone needs to drink it, no matter the temperature.
How do I use this?
It’s dead simple: just fill the inner chamber with water up to the fill line and close the lid. To set the temperature, press the Timer/Temp button on the machine’s front panel and pick from three settings – 175, 195, or 208F – and let ‘er rip. The machine takes about 15 minutes to boil water to a toasty 208F, my preferred temp for anything, and it will keep the water in its chamber hot basically until you unplug it (which I never do).
(Zojirushi claims it uses 48W to hold water at this temperature, which is less than an old-school light bulb, but the newer model has a timer, so you don’t have to leave it on at all times if you don’t want to.)
A gauge on the front of the boiler shows how much water is in there, which is much easier than lifting the lid to see for yourself. And the LCD panel on the front shows the actual temperature of the water within.
How do I clean it?
No parts are dishwasher-safe, but the chamber lifts out for an easy handwash every month or so, and there’s a built-in cleaning mode to dechlorinate and descale the chamber so your water doesn’t taste gross. It comes with proprietary citric acid cleaning packets, but since this product has been in the family since the late 2000s, those packets are long gone.
In a pinch, you can use lemon juice from concentrate. Just pour the acid of your choice into the chamber, fill it to the max water line and press the Reboil button on the front for three seconds. When the cycle is done, rinse out the chamber and it’s ready to go. (A helpful video from Zojirushi outlines this process, in case you need even more specifics.)
The Zojirushi lives on my counter for most of the year and will occasionally go into hiding for the summer months when I want more space. But when it’s not there, its absence is felt, if not by me, than often by my recurring houseguest, my youngest sister. She prefers a mug of tepidly warm water alongside her coffee in the morning, a habit she picked up from my mother. And even though I see my family infrequently, I still leave the Zojirushi ready to go – a small act of hospitality better than any box of Ziploc bags.
Still a skeptic? Electric tea kettles I recommend
Corvo EKG Electric Kettle
Fellow’s squat little kettle heats water up to 400F and if you miss the shrieking whistle of your analog tea kettle, it can also chime when your water is ready.
Smeg Tea Kettle
A charming retro option from Smeg, this kettle shuts off automatically once your water boils.
Bodum Electric Kettle
Bodum’s no-frills kettle gets the job done, and this fetching orange – a MoMA exclusive! – is a nice departure from stainless steel…
Aarke Stainless Steel Kettle
…but if you like shiny things, then Aarke’s simple and elegant option is just the ticket. (The handle is heat-safe, so your hands will be, too.)
Balmuda Kettle
Balmuda’s kettle holds enough water for just 3 cups of coffee, so the water heats faster.
Other pieces you might enjoy from the Filter, the Guardian’s guide to buying fewer, better things:
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Making cafe-caliber java at home is possible with these six coffee-making upgrades
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‘The perfect food storage finally exists’: I tried the new Anydeli plastic-free containers
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I tried 17 rice cookers to find the best model in the US: here are my favorites
