Others say...

"Great way to save energy and have hot water on demand"
This little pot heats up 3 liters of water in a flash and holds temperature with little power consumption compared to repeatedly heating a teapot on the stove. You can select the hold temperature, reboil or use 7 hour delay heating... Gets rid of chlorine and degases the water, hence water tastes better. The unit is teflon coated and so it doesn't rust like some cheaper models. To descale (get rid of calcium build-up) you can use 1/8 cup of vingear in the water, close top, boil and pump to dispense the acidified water; rinse and use all neat and clean. High quality kitchen device - Small foot pad - Looks great on counter top!

"Perfect for tea lovers"
I used the hot pot while visiting my relatives in Japan, knowing how well theY pay attention to energy saving products, I decided to purchase one myself. I find the product to be the perfect fit for tea drinkers and coffee press users. Not bad for the occasional Ramen noodles in a cup!

"Excellent product"
I didn't even really need one of these damn things but bought it anyway and love it. It's solidly built, well engineered, and in general, just the sort of well-thought-out product that the Japanese are famous for. It ain't cheap, but IMHO, if it lasts five years, I would consider it a very reasonable price/value tradeoff.

The only minor complaint is that the time to boil the full load (3 liters) from room temperature is a little excessive -- 27 minutes. I think they should have Tim Allened it ("More Power") to speed up the "boil" mode.

Have fun with it. Keep the cat away from the steam vent. :)

"Convenience and energy efficiency"
I've had a Zojirushi water heater for 3 years now and I love it. While it seemed expensive when I bought it, I find it is well worth the price. Near boiling water is always ready to make tea, and I've saved countless minutes of what used to be a process of filling the kettle, turning on the heat, waiting, coming back, and then making tea. Instant oatmeal, soup and other products of course are similarly made faster, but also many "real cooking" tasks. Adding boiling water to a pot of fresh green beans for instance gets you cooking faster, and on a number of occasions I've emptied the entire water heater into a pot to make pasta without waiting.
I've also found other uses. If I only have one or two dishes to wash, I don't want to waste tap water waiting for it to warm up, so I dispense a little hot water into the dish I want to wash, then rinse with cold water, saving both water and energy.


"Great gadget for the impatient tea/coffee drinker"
For quickly getting a cup of black tea or French-Press coffee (195°), green tea (175°) and Yerba Mate, Rooibos or fruit/herbal tea (208°), this machine can't be beat, especially as it exists for 3, 4, and 5 liters of water. (Being single, I have the smallest version, but in a Tea Shop that I frequent they use the 5 liter with good effect). It is, however, only for cups, or french presses that fit underneath the spout. It keeps the water at three temperature levels depending on what you set, and has a Reboil-button, when you add water without emptying the pot first, it reboils automatically. Its normal position is 195°F which lessens the danger of bad burns (if you use it as directed that danger is nonexistent, but the preset temperature level - that you can change to 208° or 175° - is an additional safety device).

If you want to brew a whole pot of tea or coffee, however, you need a traditional water heater, as you cannot pour water out of this, only use the spout.

So five stars for a nifty device for grabbing cups of tea or coffee in a hurry and through the whole day (and night).