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8 Best Kettles Tried & Tested for The Perfect Cup of Tea
Just when you thought tea couldn’t get any better
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Alarm goes, kettle on. Whatever your hot drink of choice, it’s safe to say that unless you’re in a committed relationship with a coffee machine, we couldn’t start the day – or make that early morning gym class – without the trusty appliance.
In fact, in the UK we drink an eye-watering 100 million cuppas a day, so having the best kettle in your kitchen is essential.
Whether it’s green tea or coffee that’s on heavy rotation in your home, we’ve done the thirsty work of testing tens of models to find the best kettle for every bev – you’re welcome!
What electric kettle should I buy?
If you know just what sort of kettle you’re after, then we’ve got the tea on the ones to buy now:
- Best kettle: Kenwood Elegancy Collection ZJP11
- Best variable temperature kettle: Smeg 50’s Retro Style Variable Temperature Kettle KLF04
- Best for tea: KitchenAid Variable Temperature Kettle 1.7 Litre 5KEK1722
- Best for keeping water warm: Tefal Smart’n Light KO853840 Kettle
- Best kettle for coffee: Felicita Square Temperature Control Kettle
- Best kettle for hard water: George White And Wood Textured Scandi Fast Boil Kettle 1.7L
- Best budget kettle: Russell Hobbs Honeycomb Kettle 26051
- Fastest kettle: De'Longhi KBLA3001.R Active Line Kettle
What should I look for in a kettle?
Let’s be honest, how your kettle looks is important - after all, it’s out for everyone to see. There are two main styles for you to choose from: jug, the more modern upright style, and dome, which resembles traditional stovetop kettles. Neither’s better and ultimately which one you go for comes down to personal taste.
If you have hard water, make sure the kettle you go for has a removable limescale filter that you can clean – this will stop any debris ruining your last sip of tea and help prolong the life of your kettle.
Take into consideration the capacity, too – ask yourself how many cups you like to get out of one boil – and also think about the weight – the lighter they are empty, the better. It’s also worth thinking about whether you’d like cups or litres on your water gauge and, if you’re after one that’s more eco-friendly, a kettle that will let you boil as little as one cup’s worth of water will help you preserve energy.
What is a variable temperature kettle and is it worth it?
If you drink a lot of soothing herbal teas, or are into your coffee, then using water that’s the right temperature will transform your drinks. Both are best made with water that’s below boiling, for example, 80C is the optimum temperature for green tea.
The easiest way to achieve this is by investing in a variable temperature kettle; these clever models allow you to choose what temperature the water heats up to, so you don’t have to wait around and hope that the water has cooled enough so as not to burn your coffee grounds.
How we test
In our undoubtedly public service testing, we boiled enough water to make some 5,460 cups of tea to see how accurately each kettle fills, pours and boils at different capacities. We measured how hot the casing gets when the water is freshly boiled (so you know if you need to watch out when you’re picking it up to pour), as well as how easy each one is to use and its overall design.
Hannah is our homes editor, specialising in reviewing the latest kitchen appliances, cleaning products, mattresses and bedding, and crafting equipment. Hannah has written about hundreds of products, from air fryers to smoothie makers to pillows, and is committed to finding the most reliable and best value for money buys.
Hannah is also interested in sustainability in the home and has completed a course with the University of the Arts London in sustainable textiles, so she can help cut through the noise on what’s green and what’s not. Hannah has an MA in Magazine Journalism and has previously worked as a freelance lifestyle and women’s sports journalist, working for Stylist, Sky Sports and more.
Hannah has also previously worked in a florist and can normally be found caring for her house plants or sewing something new for her home or wardrobe.
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