cross-posted from: …blahaj.zone/…/i-m-in-a-hotel-in-america-with-no-…
Wtf do I do? I’m only here for one night thank fuck but it’s still very hard.
If you ask the front deak, they may supply you with an electric kettle.
I'm in a hotel in America with no kettle in my room, if I want tea I have to microwave it.
Submitted 1 day ago by Twig@sopuli.xyz to britishproblems@feddit.uk
Comments
mannycalavera@feddit.uk 22 hours ago
Enjoy another British past time… Getting wankered and streaking through the hotel lobby. Wahey!
BotsRuinedEverything@lemmy.world 13 hours ago
I honestly don’t understand the preference for how the molecules in your water start moving.
xxce2AAb@feddit.dk 1 day ago
Yup, welcome to the US.
(I’m Danish, we have kettles, obviously - I just watched a YT video about how Americans don’t just days ago - the poor bastards)
truthfultemporarily@feddit.org 1 day ago
Because of lower voltage in the US, total available power of a wall socket is lower. So kettles take forever.
fakeman_pretendname@feddit.uk 1 day ago
I think it’s 50% this, and 50% “boiling water repeatedly all day is simply less important to them”.
HumanPenguin@feddit.uk 19 hours ago
It takes longer but not by much. It’s the volts times amps that indicates the actual work done.
Having lived in the UK and the US. Kettles only take a min or so longer in the US. They tend to be 1.6kw rather the. 2kw. Your plugs are slightly higher current then ours. Although your plugs always worried me as rather small connection surface wise.
But people in the US just do not consider boiling water as often as we do. Coffee and green tea tend to be ruined with boiled water.
Whereas many Brits very much prefer the taste of black tea when the water is boiled. It has a significant effect of the flavours released.
As such. Even before electricity was common. Most houses had a kettle that could be boiled on gas or the open fireplace. It’s been common in UK houses since the late 1800s.
ohulancutash@feddit.uk 1 day ago
They do, but they’re smaller and not as ubiquitous.
SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 1 day ago
There’s no tiny coffee machine in there? Put water in with no filter/grounds and it should heat up just right
NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 1 day ago
And taste like a decade of old, burnt, low grade hotel coffee.
homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 21 hours ago
What hotels are you staying at?
prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 19 hours ago
No way that water doesn’t come out tasting like old coffee
HumanPenguin@feddit.uk 19 hours ago
Coffee machines do not boil water. Just heat it to below boiling.
This has a significant effect on the brewing of tea. And means the flavour will be very unpleasant to many Brits.
It is also the issue Brits find with the vaste majority of tea sold in American restaurants etc.
SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 17 hours ago
You don’t want actual actively boiling water to make your tea. Also, water heated to just below boiling and cooled off from boiling to just below boiling is the same temperature.
spacemanspiffy@lemmy.world 20 hours ago
It’s rare but some hotels have these in their rooms in the US. I wish they were more common here though. Not enough people use them.
remon@ani.social 1 day ago
Sure, it feels a bit odd … but what’s the issue? It will boil the water.
Lumidaub@feddit.org 1 day ago
I THINK they may be exaggerating, for effect and self-deprecation. They may have been looking forward to the ritual of preparing tea and having a cuppa as a bit of normalcy at the end of a day of travelling and not even that very simple ritual is possible in its usual form.
remon@ani.social 1 day ago
Fair. But it still beats having to boil water on stove!
NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 1 day ago
If you want your tea to actually be drinkable and not taste like just bitter water, you don’t use boiling water. A proper electric kettle allows you to set the water temperature to 85, 90 or 95°C.
remon@ani.social 1 day ago
Never seen one of those. All the electric kettles I’ve ever seen just turn off once the water is boiling.
HumanPenguin@feddit.uk 20 hours ago
True for coffee and green tea.
UK taste insist black tea must be boiled. And that dose not mean 100c but diff temps at different altitude. Hence most of our kettles use the physics of boiling water. Rather then temp to turn off.
The effect of boiled water releases certain flavours in the tea. Those who like darker tea (more tanning released) tend to be the most fussy about this.
Tanning is also the chemical in tea that calms the mind. He ce why Brits have a tradition of turning to tea in stress etc. the tanning and caffeine work well together to clear allow a relaxed but active mind.