http://theinductionsite.com/how-induction-works.shtml is a nice primer. Decent info there regarding all things induction. (I’m not affiliated – just a shopper.)

The challenge of hot water for tea (in Japanese, chanoyu) of the leaf steeping variety is to bring it to a boil and then to let the temperature drop, not to just heat it up to a specific temperature. The temperature (and composition of the water, i.e. less minerals are better) impacts the flavor of the tea. One doesn’t want to shock the dried leaves.

As a Japanese tea ceremony / matcha aficionado, I find that having electric pots (or heating elements in braziers) to boil water is not conducive to making a fine bowl of powdered green tea. In chanoyu procedures, using a set of naturally produced (no chemicals) charcoal allows the water to come to a slow, rolling boil at a pace that allows for the serving of a meal and two bowls of tea over a period of two to three hours, with only one refreshment of charcoal. The first bowl is prepared in a concentrated manner and the second, often frothed; the first one being finer of the two teas presented. The sound of the water as it develops its appropriate heat in an iron kettle, “matsukaze” (Japanese, wind in the pines) provides all in the small tea room also with a sense of time. Electric heaters maintain water at a constant, rushing temperature producing something akin to the eruption of Mt. Vesuvias. In this way, the tea gathering host doesn’t have to constantly adjust temperatures. Also a single amount of water can be overboiled and exhausted, another challenge to the taste of tea. Fresh water, drawn from a fine well served by a snow-topped mountain … ah! For more info on tea preparation, check all-volunteer produced Kyoto Journal’s forthcoming issue at http://www.kyotojournal.org