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August 11, 2008 4:09 PM PDT

Make tea directly in the cup with BoilingPoint

Posted by Brian Krepshaw

BoilingPoint is a replacement for the electric-kettle.

(Credit: LEVITAT)

I've seen a lot of combination appliances, (which for one reason or the other seem to love to utilize toasters in any way they can) but rarely do I see an appliance that removes an element. However, that is exactly what the BoilingPoint kettle has done: left the cup and threw out the kettle.

The gadget warms up water directly in the cup. A heating element is attached to a plunger mechanism, (sort of like a toaster after all) so no kettle is necessary. Simply fill the cup with water and place it under the element. When the water is boiling, the element retracts, and a fresh, steaming hot mug of water is ready for tea.

Besides the elimination of the kettle, the concept appliance has other benefits, too. By heating the water directly in the cup, only the exact amount of water that is needed actually gets used. Conventional kettles may leave excess water that just sits flat and unused until it is time for the next cup of tea. Or, worse yet, the excess water gets poured down the drain.

BoilingPoint modernizes the concept of waste in ways that we are not all too unfamiliar with. If you think about it, the design isn't too far off from other conceptual changes in how we approach our interaction with everyday items. From grocery shopping with reusable bags to recycling our cooking oil into motor oil, the notion of reduction of needless waste is quite the common one--be it oil, paper, or water.

(Via Kitchen Contraptions)
Brian Krepshaw is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET.
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