Tea Kettles Reviews

We were surprised to find so many thoughtful reviews for tea kettles. The best reviews focus on electric kettles, which almost always boil water about twice as fast as stovetop kettles – in four to five minutes as opposed to seven to ten. The top comparative tea-kettle reviews come from Cook's Illustrated and the UK-based Which? magazine. Both publications have recently put tea kettles to the test, focusing solely on electric models. The testing criteria at Which? magazine goes above and beyond; we were impressed the editors considered factors such as "smudgeability" – if fingerprints easily show on the kettle. Editors at Which? also took tea kettles' mineral filters into consideration. These filters, sometimes called "limescale filters," have a mesh trapping in the spout of the kettle that collects mineral deposits that otherwise could build up in the kettle over time.

While Which? magazine's testers examine more models than any other reviewer and include more information about how tests are conducted, many of the tea kettles selected by this British site aren't available in the U.S. Still, this report is a great place to find information on important features to consider when kettle shopping, and also gives great tips on how to make the perfect cup of tea (bear in mind that the speedy boil times from this report aren't applicable to boil times in the U.S. because household wattage is weaker than in the U.K.).

Cook's Illustrated is a trusted source for kitchenware advice. Its report on tea kettles is detailed, but editors test far fewer kettles than Which? magazine (eight versus 72). But the report offers both detailed information (such as exact boil times) and helpful narrative comments. Cook's looked at three qualities when judging tea kettles: speed, safety and ease of use. Cook's deems a feature common among electric kettles, an automatic shut-off, a necessity, panning the Melitta MEK17W (*est. $25) for lacking this feature. The editors prefer "cordless" models that have a separate base so you can safely remove the kettle from the heating element – helpful to prevent burns while pouring. Cook's editors also warn that plastic kettles may impart a plastic-like taste to the water. The report criticizes the Proctor-Silex K2070 (*est. $10) for boiling water more slowly than a stovetop kettle and claims it has major design flaws.

In a Wired magazine article, Rob Beschizza pans the Sunbeam Tea Drop Tea Maker (* est. $40) and pines for a simpler machine. This new breed of tea machine claims to brew the tea as it heats the water, but Beschizza claims the Sunbeam falls drastically short, producing only lukewarm, tasteless tea. User ratings at Amazon.com for this tea machine are mixed. While many owners say it's fine if you use tea bags, it doesn't work as well for loose tea, and not for green tea (which requires hot, but not boiling, water).  ... Continued

Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
All The Reviews Reviewed chart.

We found the strongest recommendations for an electric tea kettle that's no longer available -- the Braun WK 600. After that, it's a tie between the Ibis, Krups and Capresso electric kettles. The Capresso, though more expensive, is the nicest looking of the three, with a glass carafe and separate base containing the heating element. The Bodum Ibis electric kettle costs less, but isn't as distinguished looking since it's made of plastic. The Krups is another plastic kettle that looks a bit nicer than the Bodum kettle, but has similar features and generally costs more.

As for stovetop tea kettles, we found the best reviews for the OXO Uplift. This model is pricier but comes in more colors than the basic Revere Ware Copper Bottom kettle.