It's 3pm in the office pantry. You drop a jasmine tea bag into your mug, fill it straight from the boiling kettle, and take a sip five minutes later. It's harsh, dry and bitter. You add sugar, drink half, and pour the rest down the sink.

Sound familiar?

• The S$20 tin of Japanese green tea a friend brought back from Tokyo tastes like grass clippings.

• Your jasmine tea smells lovely in the packet but leaves your mouth puckered.

• You've tried letting the water "cool for a bit", but you never know if a bit means 30 seconds or 5 minutes.

• You've binned perfectly good loose leaf tea because you assumed it was low quality.

Here's what nobody tells you: most delicate teas were never meant to meet 100°C water. And a standard kettle can only do one thing: boil.

By the end of this guide, you'll know the right temperature for every common tea, how to brew it properly, and whether a kettle with temperature control is worth it for your home in Singapore.

Quick Answer: Which Kettle Is Right for You?

• If you drink green, jasmine, oolong or white tea most days → Strongcore RIGHT. One tap on the Tea 80° preset, or set any temperature with the +/- buttons.

• If you brew pour-over coffee or make matcha at home → Strongcore RIGHT. The Coffee 90° preset and real-time display take the guesswork out.

• If your household drinks tea all morning → Strongcore RIGHT. Keep warm holds your water for 2 hours, so the second pot is ready too.

• If you mainly boil water for Milo, instant noodles or teh-style black tea → Strongcore MINUTE. Fast, safe and simple at S$23.90. 

Why 100°C Water Ruins Japanese Green Tea (And Jasmine Too)

Tea leaves hold two kinds of flavour. The sweet, savoury notes come out easily at lower temperatures. The bitter, astringent compounds (mostly catechins and tannins) come out fast when the water is very hot.

Pour boiling water on delicate leaves and you pull out the bitterness first. That's the dry, mouth-puckering taste you've been blaming on cheap tea.

Green teas are hit hardest. Japanese green tea such as sencha is steamed rather than roasted, so its leaves are tender and release bitterness quickly. Most jasmine tea is green tea scented with jasmine flowers, so it has the same weakness.

Black tea is different. Its fully oxidised leaves need hotter water to open up, which is why teh and English breakfast taste fine straight off the boil.

What buyers regret not knowing: people blame the tea, buy a more expensive brand, and get the same bitter cup. The fix was never the leaves. It was the water.

The tea temperature cheat sheet

Save this table. Each tea has a sweet spot, and most of them sit well below boiling. These are common brewing ranges; adjust by a few degrees to suit your taste.

Rule of thumb: the lighter and greener the leaf, the cooler the water. The darker and more oxidised, the hotter.

Tired of guessing? RIGHT shows the water temperature live on its display, so you pour at exactly the number in this table. [Check RIGHT's 4 one-tap presets →]

How to Brew Green Tea Properly (Works for Loose Leaf Tea Too)

You don't need a tea ceremony set. A mug, a strainer or teapot, and the right water are enough.

1. Fill the kettle with fresh water. Re-boiled water tastes flat, so start fresh for each new pot.

2. Set the temperature. On RIGHT, tap Tea 80° for most green and jasmine teas. For gyokuro, use the +/- buttons to drop to 60°C.

3. Measure your leaves. About 2–3g of loose leaf tea (roughly 1 teaspoon) per 200ml cup. Use one tea bag per cup.

4. Warm your cup or teapot. Swirl a little hot water inside and pour it out, so the brew doesn't cool too quickly.

5. Pour and time it. Green tea needs only 1–2 minutes. Set a phone timer; over-steeping turns even perfect water bitter.

6. Strain and drink. Remove the leaves or bag completely so the tea stops brewing.

7. Re-steep the leaves. Good loose leaf green tea and oolong can be brewed 2–3 times. Add 30 seconds for each round.

For the second and third pot: RIGHT keeps your water at temperature for up to 2 hours and reheats it automatically if it drops. Lift the kettle to pour, put it back, and it remembers your setting (up to 10 lifts). No re-boiling, no waiting for it to cool again.

Why Most Kettles Can’t Fix This (And What a Kettle With Temperature Control Does)

Problem 1: "Let it cool for a bit" is a guess

Standard kettles only boil. You're left counting seconds or lifting the lid, with no idea whether the water is at 90°C or 75°C. People buy a basic kettle for tea, then realise every cup is a gamble.

How RIGHT fixes it: four one-tap presets (Milk 40°, Honey 70°, Tea 80°, Coffee 90°) heat water to the exact temperature and stop. Need something else? Use the +/- buttons to set your own. It's a kettle with temperature built in, not bolted on.

Problem 2: You can't see what you're pouring

Many "variable temperature" kettles have a dial but no readout. You set it and hope.

How RIGHT fixes it: a real-time temperature display shows the water heating up degree by degree. No thermometer, no guessing, just pour when the number matches the cheat sheet.

Problem 3: The second pot means starting over

Most kettles switch off and cool down. By your second cup, the water is lukewarm, so you re-boil and wait for it to cool all over again.

How RIGHT fixes it: keep warm holds your water for up to 2 hours and auto-reheats when needed. The memory function keeps your set temperature even after you lift the kettle up to 10 times.

Problem 4: Hot outsides and plastic insides

Cheap kettles often have single-layer walls that burn to touch, and plastic parts in contact with hot water.

How RIGHT fixes it: a food-grade 304 stainless steel liner, a double-wall cool-touch shell, auto shut-off and boil-dry protection. It's fast too: 1850–2200W boils a full 1.7L in under 5 minutes.

Trusted by Singapore homes and backed by Strongcore's 1-year SwiftSwap warranty: if it fails, you get a replacement, not a repair ticket.

Strongcore Right at a Glance

Everything a tea drinker needs from a temperature control kettle, at S$38.90.

Common Questions Before Buying

"Is it worth paying more than a basic kettle?"

RIGHT costs S15morethanourS23.90 MINUTE. Used daily for a year, that's about 4 cents a day for tea that isn't bitter. Compare that with binning a S$20 tin of green tea because every cup tasted harsh. If you only drink teh or Milo, though, MINUTE is the smarter buy.

"How much does it cost to run?"

A full 1.7L boil at 2200W for about 5 minutes uses roughly 0.18kWh. At around 30 cents per kWh, that's about 5–6 cents per full boil. Heating to 80°C instead of 100°C uses less. Descale once a month with vinegar or citric acid; no filters or parts to buy.

"Will my tea really taste different?"

Yes, if you drink green, jasmine, white or oolong tea. Brewing at 80°C instead of 100°C pulls out fewer bitter compounds, so the same leaves taste smoother and sweeter. And if RIGHT develops a fault within a year, SwiftSwap replaces it, no repairs.

"Is it complicated to use?"

No. Tap a preset, and RIGHT heats to that temperature and holds it. Want plain boiling water? It does that too. At L22.22 × W16.18 × H26.03cm, it takes about the same counter space as a standard 1.7L kettle.

"What temperature should I use for oolong tea?"

Most oolong tea brews best at 85–95°C. Lightly oxidised oolongs like Tieguanyin suit the lower end, darker roasted ones like Da Hong Pao the higher end. RIGHT's Coffee 90° preset is a good middle point; adjust with +/-.

Stop Drinking Bitter Tea

You're here because you want tea that tastes the way it smells in the packet, not another harsh cup poured down the sink.

Most kettles fail tea drinkers for one simple reason: they only boil. You're not brewing wrong. You just never had a way to control the water.

Strongcore RIGHT doesn't guess. Four one-tap presets, including Tea 80°. A real-time display so you see the exact temperature. Keep warm for 2 hours, so the second and third pot are ready when you are. A 304 stainless steel liner, a cool-touch double wall, and a 1-year SwiftSwap free replacement warranty.

If you're already buying good tea, every cup brewed at 100°C wastes some of it. The sooner you brew at the right temperature, the sooner that tin starts tasting like what you paid for. RIGHT comes in white or black to suit your kitchen.

Get Strongcore RIGHT today!