It’s like I nodded off for literally one second and missed the moment everyone decided they were too impatient for kettles, but I digress.
The latest kitchen gadget making waves is the instant hot water dispenser, which provides an immediate supply of tea and coffee-ready hot water at the touch of a button.
Appliances like these have existed for a little while, though it was Kmart’s iso-launched Anko appliance that started the frenzy. At $79, the budget gadget is less than half the cost of Westinghouse’s 2.7L boiling water dispenser, which has a price point of $199.95. Ouch.
Kmart’s Anko dispenser holds two litres of water, which it can boil in around five seconds. Tea-lovers choose whether they’d like 150ml, 230ml or 300ml dispensed (depending on the size of their mug) in temperature settings of 25°, 75° or 90°.
Upon its launch, Kmart’s wallet-friendly boiling water dispenser sent shoppers wild and started a rolling stream of appreciation content on dedicated Kmart Facebook groups.
“My hot water dispenser arrived today and it’s great,” wrote one buyer in a budget lovers group on Facebook back in August. Her post was met with some 400 reactions and 365 comments from Kmart fans who also felt their lives had changed for the better thanks to the new appliance.
“I love mine and literally don’t know how I’ve lived without it,” one fan wrote with another adding, “OMG I need this”. While most commenters shared sentiments of appreciation, many others acknowledged that the product had already sold out both in-store and online.
Now, it would seem that Bunnings has launched its own hot water gadget to rival Kmart’s, and shoppers are racing to grab theirs before history repeats itself.
Bunnings has stocked two instant hot water dispensers, both of which cost $87 each — $8 more than the Kmart counterpart. Available online only, the Maxim Kitchen Pro has a 2.5L capacity and a cool-touch body, making it ideal for those with kids or adventurous pets.
The Bunnings dispenser is predicted to sell out fast, so anyone keen to cut out time waiting for the kettle to boil would be wise to get in quick. Good luck!