The best electric kettles for tea, pour over coffee and French press
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If you love a fresh cup of tea, one of the best electric kettles can help. If you’re new to these appliances, an electric kettle essentially heats water to its boiling point at the flick of a switch. So there’s no standing around a stove top and no gazing through a microwave door as you wait for your water to heat. They offer convenience when you need hot water, whether it’s for a cup of cocoa or for cooking pasta. However, when it comes to electric kettles, there are several factors that determine the overall performance.
First, it needs to be quick to heat — otherwise you might as well stick to the microwave. It should also be quiet as it boils, especially as you will likely be using it first thing in the morning. On top of this, you want a design which is lightweight and comfortable to hold, and it should look nice as well; after all, it will likely stay on display in your kitchen. Once you’ve got all that, you need to consider special features — if you’re an avid fan of herbal tea, perhaps a variable temperature kettle would be best suited? Whatever your cup of tea (pun intended), we’ve done the research to find the best electric kettles you can buy right now. Whether you want a compact design, or one which will impress guests, we’ve got the answer.
1. Cuisinart PerfecTemp Cordless Electric Kettle
Color options: Stainless steel
Temperature settings: 6
Capacity: 60 ounces/ 1.7 liter
Size: 9.8 x 6.1 x 8.8 inches
Weight: 3.6 pounds
With six different temperature settings, the Cuisinart PerfecTemp Cordless Electric Kettle lets tea lovers heat water to the optimal temperature for a variety of teas, choosing between delicate, green, white, oolong and black settings. And if you’re not content with just tea, you’ll love the French press setting which delivers the perfect water temperature to brew coffee in your French press.
If you engage the 30-minute keep warm function, when it’s time for your second cup the water will still be at the perfect temperature, great for refilling your mug during a zoom call. It’s not the cheapest kettle in our list but the features and large capacity make it a versatile choice and tea geeks will love the variety of temperature options.
2. Zwilling Enfinigy Cool Touch Electric Kettle
Color options: Black, silver
Temperature settings: 1
Capacity: 50 ounces/ 1.5 liter
Size: 9.9 x 6 x 6 inches
Weight: 2.9 pounds
If you didn’t know better, you’d think this electric kettle was just a black pitcher sitting on the kitchen counter — it has a streamlined, uncluttered appearance and doesn’t look like an appliance at all. Reviewers love that there’s no plastic inside the kettle, as well as the fact that the outside stays cool to the touch. This is due to the double wall construction that not only keeps the outside cool, but insulates the kettle, keeping the water inside hotter for longer.
It doesn’t have a water gauge, so you can’t check how much water is inside, but the flip top lid opens easily and there are markings inside to indicate different fill levels, including the maximum. Sadly, it’s only available in black or silver which won’t suit everyone, but it’s easy to use and boils water as expected.
3. Bodum Bistro Electric Water Kettle
Color options: Black, red, white
Temperature settings: 1
Capacity: 34 ounces/ 1 liter
Size: 8.9 x 5 x 7.9 inches
Weight: 2.1 pounds
Budget kettles aren’t always good-looking — they’re usually functional and basic — but with the Bodum Bistro kettle you can choose from three colors to coordinate the kettle with other appliances in your kitchen. Truly, no one will guess that you’ve spent less than $25 on this electric kettle.
The 34 ounce/ 1 liter capacity is on the smaller side, so if you’re looking for a kettle to fill a large French press, this probably won’t fit the bill. The markings on the outside of the kettle show that it can boil 8 cups of water, but it’s really only enough to fill around four standard mugs. However, it’s great for smaller households or people who just want to make one cup of tea at a time.
4. Breville the Smart Kettle Luxe
Color options: Black and brushed stainless steel
Temperature settings: 5
Capacity: 57 ounces/ 1.7 liter
Size: 9.8 x 9.1 x 6.1 inches
Weight: 3.9 pounds
Premium appliance brand Breville has a reputation for making high quality kitchen appliances with a sleek stainless-steel finish and this kettle is no exception. It’s the most expensive kettle on our list, but it has plenty of features and reviewers praise the sturdy build quality. The large capacity is ample for making hot drinks for the whole family and the 20-minute keep warm function means the water will still be hot when it’s time for a top-up.
Tea lovers can choose the perfect brewing temperature at the touch of a button, with options for green tea, white tea, oolong and black tea. There’s also a coffee button, so you can heat water to the perfect temperature for pour-over coffee. With all these hot drink options, the kettle is sure to keep everyone in the house happy.
5. Fellow Stagg Gooseneck Kettle
Color options: Matte black, matte black and maple, matte black and walnut, matte white, polished stainless steel, matte pink and maple, polished copper, stone blue and walnut
Temperature settings: Any setting between 135 – 212oF
Capacity: 30 ounces/ 0.9 liter
Size: 10.5 x 7.5 x 7.8 inches
Weight: 2.75 pounds
The simple aesthetic and multiple color options make this kettle the perfect choice for lovers of sleek and contemporary design. But, it’s not all form over function though — the gooseneck spout is designed for precision pouring, making it the ideal electric kettle for pour over coffee aficionados. This is the kettle one of our editors bought for all his tea- and coffee-drinking.
It’s packed with features and reviewers love the keep warm setting which will maintain a set water temperature for up to an hour. The easy dial control allows you to set the kettle to heat the water to any temperature between 135 – 212oF giving the most precise temperature control of all the kettles on this list. The LCD display on the base shows the real-time temperature inside the kettle as it heats and once you’ve poured the hot water over your coffee or tea bag, the built-in brew stopwatch gives you a quick and convenient way of timing your brew or extraction. What more could you want from a kettle?