I love this one and use it to make coffee w/ the Chemex brewer. It pours perfectly.

The thing with tea kettles is this: aesthetically they can look so appealing, but when you take them home and when you or gosh forbid your kid goes to make tea, you find you pretty much scald your hand when you grab it. two of the kettles above have made it home, and both have made it to the basement (wouldn't even give it to housing works). So if anyone has ever used any tea kettle whose handle does not get scalding hot and is safe for even kids, please post. I may just cave and get one of those electric Braun devices...

I know it isn't a tea kettle, but I love the sorapot: http://joeyroth.com/sorapot/

ReNest - can you do a review of Electric Kettles as they are much more efficient for boiling water. We are in need of a new kettle and would love some insight!!!!

I am currently using an electric kettle (no complaints) but when I get my new stove top I will surely need to invest in a new kettle too.

I LOVE this one that I purchased in Tokyo. http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/images/B000EAOSE0/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=3828871&s=kitchen This is the ultimate.

wow, that simplex looks amazing..gorgeous.

I was so upset when i found out that my mom gave away the Alessi tea kettle to some random person...obviously she didn't know how expensive they were...

The Staub teapot is truly the best! Enameled iron holds the heat forever and the entire lid lifts off so that you can even use the pot for soup. I've had mine for 5 years and it still looks gorgeous.

I've had the Bodum Osiris and I have the OXO now; the Bodum is pretty, but it doesn't whistle and isn't well-balanced. The OXO is too heavy, not well-balanced, and hard to fill. I want a Revere Ware teakettle like my grandmother's.

When I lived in England, my British flatmate commented on how odd and quaint it is that Americans are so attached to their stovetop kettles. I have to say, after having gone electric, I never want to go back!

Sori Yanagi's kettle is the best. I loved it so much I went to Japan to get it! This is my most favorite thing in the whole kitchen.

It did get burned once, but now I'm so much more careful about leaving anything on the stove. So like a good friend the kettle taught me responsibility :)

After forgetting (and destroying) too many oxo kettles on the stove, we invested in an electric Utilitea pot. Love it! It's so much faster than a stove top kettle and it doesn't take up a burner!

We got the Chantal stainless as a wedding gift 7 years ago. It still works perfectly (even the whistle), boils water really fast, and looks practically new. We use the Flameguard Pot-Handle Holder to prevent burns.

after burning more than one kettle and with the amounts of tea I drink I went electric but with style: http://www.surlatable.com/product/id/130917.do?affsrcid=Aff0001&mr:trackingCode=D664AEDC-D781-DE11-B7F3-0019B9C043EB&mr:referralID=NA

I love it, you can watch the water bubble and it's one of the fastest out there, 1.5 qts in 4 minutes, I boil pasta and blanching water in it!

Agree with Eliza... We've using Adagio's Utilitea electric kettle for 3 years. Best feature is the adjustable dial for cooler temperature for green tea.

http://www.adagio.com/teaware/utiliTEA_kettle.html

i've had a Chantal Stainless kettle for 20 years and it is just now giving up the ghost. the Hohner harmonica is gorgeous even though i rarely use the whistle. i'm such a tea-head that i can listen to the kettle and tell when the water is boiling without a whistle. hardcore, i know.

i too would appreciate a review of electric kettles. i've used a Bodum Ibis kettle for 15 years and it's time to replace that too. oy! i've been toying with replacing stovetop kettle with electric...

I got rid of my stove top kettle (under $20 from Ikea, and it never scalded my hand.)

I now use an electric kettle, and I have to join the others in recommending Adagio's Utilitea kettle. I love the variable temp controls since I drink a lot of white tea. And it heats up a cup of water in a snap. (And my local tea shop actually had it cheaper than Amazon!)

I love beauty in everything but just can't get used to USA love of dangerous stove-top models either. Being only 58, I don't remember ever using a stovetop model myself. Under the age of 8 we did have a huge heavy one on the solid fuel AGA cooker,but never since. I like a synthetic outside for coolness and safety and a clear strip to see how much water is inside and would only consider a cordless model ( for those who don't yet use them, there is a corded base stand that the cordless kettle sits on.. the round knob on the base is easiest as the kettle always lands "correctly") Even these are mostly attractive but if Allessi would make a really cool one I would get a 4th. ( one in kitchen, one in bedroom and one in art room so far...)

We have the Revere tea kettle, and you don't need a pot holder to pick it up or pour. However, we don't use ours anymore because we have a hot water dispenser. It's the best! I don't just use it for tea, but also if I need to add a little hot water to a sauce, or something, it's always at the ready. I highly recommend it.

Love my T-Fall Electric Kettle - Will never return to a stove top one. I keep my old stove top kettle in the closet in case the power goes out.

No tetsubin teapots have been mentioned! I love mine, and wouldn't trade it for the world. I use a glass electric kettle to heat my water (always make sure it's filtered, or the TDS in the water will prevent you from making your best tea!) and then let it steep in my Tetsubin because it retains the heat so well. I can go back for a cup an hour later and it's still hot!

Also, I love the Eva Solo tea makers. Pretty and functional to boot!

So I got a boring stopgap Hamilton Beach electric kettle for cheap at a Sears Outlet, figuring, "When it dies I'll get a really nice one!" How shocked am I that it's the best kettle I've ever had, either in the US or UK???

http://www.cooking.com/products/shprodde.asp?SKU=644002

This is the classic Le Creuset kettle perched atop my stove, but I am loving the pink one and the turquoise one, too!
http://www.lecreuset.com/en-us/Products/Enamel-on-Steel/Teakettles/Whistling-Teakettle-18-qt/

I'd love to see a set of reviews about electric models as well. I'm particularly interested in ones that don't have plastic as part of the kettle that would come in contact with the water.

I've had the classic Alessi for about five years now and it works very well to boil water. It actually was a replacement for a great quality and super cute Michael Graves for Target kettle that my brother melted my falling asleep when he was heating up water (that happens when you're sick).

We have the Chantal kettle in red and absolutely LOVE it. Stainless steels are too hard to keep clean and always end up looking crappy, so I'm not going to go back to them.

The Chantal replaced a 'glass' kettle (I think it was a Bodum) that had replaced a Revere. It was good in theory, but got too hot to handle and remembering to use the heat diffuser on our electric burners was an extra step we grew to hate. Boiling water should not include extra steps.

Yesterday I ordered a Le Creuset Halo kettle, I think its gorgeous!

The Micheal Graves has an electric base for this teapot- my fave.

http://www.neimanmarcus.com/store/catalog/prod.jhtml?itemId=prod38190043&eItemId=prod38190043&cmCat=search&searchType=MAIN&parentId=&icid=&rte=%252Fsearch.jhtml%253FN%253D0%2526Ntt%253Dmicheal%252BGraves%2526_requestid%253D27745

I gave the Adagio Teas Glass Water Kettle as a gift to my boyfriend. At first he was afraid to use it. He thought it looked "fragile." He got over his fears and now he loves it.

I drink tea daily and love this roundup of kettles. We have a Le Creuset and have trouble with it. Maybe its time for a new one! Thanks for the review.

My favorite is the OXO teakettle in enamel (mine's red) as it's so easy to fill and pour...
...just be sure not to leave any enamel kettle cooking on the burner without enough water inside - or you'll burn the pot and the enamel will flake off the base metal!

(Yes, I've done this - and Yes, I ended up replacing the kettle)

I've had a Chantal, multiple La Cruesets and countless others.

I have replaced too many kettles in my time so I am a huge advocate of electric kettles with automatic shutoff...

"The OXO is too heavy, not well-balanced, and hard to fill."

I never use the lid beneath the handle to fill - I fill via the pouring spout and it works just fine.

The Russel Hobbs electric kettle is just the best ever, and frees the burners for cooking. It is great for boiling water for boiling and steaming veg when in a hurry, much faster than any pan, and no drips when pouring into your teapot or french press. I've had mine for 10 years, so it is a different cordless model.

I have an electric pot too; it's my second, the first having died a worthy death after heating hundreds of pots of tea.

I have had an Alessi knockoff that was passed onto me by someone who got it as a wedding gift and didn't want it. At first I thought ..."waah, what is this thing?" but since I didn't have a teakettle I started using it to boil water. Cut to now, some years later and I'm totally addicted to it, quirky looks and all.

I'm currently using the Oxo - like the one pictured above - only with black rubber handle instead of cork. Works for me - I use it to make coffee every day, and don't scald my hand (don't need a potholder, either.) I also never fill it from the top, but through the spout.

A consideration for many who don't use their leaded tap water is that a kettle has to be easily fillable from the Britta - mine is the boxy one that sits on a shelf in my refrigerator with a spout. And the Oxo one is easily filled from that spout into the pouring spout of the kettle.

Works better than my 2 former Le Creuet Zen ones - destroyed two of them going off and forgetting about it 'til they burned. The Oxo has a louder and more consistently-working whistle - the zen would only whistle sometimes and not loudly. Though I see they've redesigned the whistler to an attached one - maybe it works better - mine had the old style whistle with the round knob that pulls out completely from the spout to pour. Though I do miss that splash of Le Creuset color...

And brushed stainless steel - which my Oxo is - instead of the shiny stuff - is very easy to keep looking clean. I find it even easier to wash clean of spatters than the enamel ones I had.

I was lucky enough to have the old school hand blown Chemex tea kettle and coffee pot in the 70's. A graduation gift from my mother, both later broken by casual use of roommates - lost a La Creuset saucepan that way too. Now I have forgone roommates in exchange for knowing that if it breaks it's my fault.

I use a saucepan to boil water. I'm a minimalist in the kitchen. A teakettle is just one more thing to spend money on. Why bother with them when a saucepan does the same thing?

I previously used a saucepan to heat water...until I forget, burned the pan, and had to throw it away.

I decided I DEFINITELY wanted a whistling tea kettle. I bought one of the le creuset ogive tea kettles bc I thought they were arrestingly beautiful. I love my tea kettle and use it almost daily in the cooler months.

http://remodelista.com/posts/kitchen-kaico-kettle

Having lived in America (as an Australian), I found the whole stove-top kettle thing a little old fashioned. I LOVE the first one, and the whole style thing, but everyone here has electric kettles & has had for ages.

I love my kitchenaid kettle. Mine is stainless but the colors are lovely, I think. I've had mine for 2.5 years, using it daily in that time and I have NEVER had a single problem like the ones described in the low ratings on amazon. *shrug*

http://www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-Stainless-Steel-2-Quart-Porcelain-Teakettle/dp/B0000UQOOQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1283994132&sr=8-1

Staub teapot!

Count me as one American who will never give up her stovetop kettle. Counter real estate is just too precious to give over to another counter appliance. Plus, c'mon, an electric kettle just lacks soul.

No tetsubin teapots have been mentioned!

... well, the post is about kettles....

I have a Metier tea kettle (mirror finish).  It's lovely but the whistle (in the lid) is a touch unreliable (though the sound is nice when it does whistle), and I've forgotten it at least once on the stove.  Didn't get too discolored on the bottom/inside, so am trucking on with it.  I also have a stainless steel kettle (bought from TJMaxx) which does not have a whistle, which I also tend to forget on the stove—I bought this one twice because the first one got pretty wrecked. >.>

@krunkinator

Oh dear.  Thanks for reminding me that I can find more household goods to throw money at on Amazon.co.jp.  THANK GOODNESS ALL SIX (more like 4) LUCKYWOOD ケトルs ARE UNAVAILABLE RIGHT NOW.

So many fans of the kettle!
I love it and feel the same about mine!

I recently bought a new electric kettle from Crate and Barrel and, get this, it's a BODUM CHAMBORD (yep- styled just like the classic french press)

Take a look!

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/kitchen-and-food/teakettles/bodum-chambord-adjustable-water-kettle/s684506

It boils effortlessly, AND has all stainless housing!
Did I mention it looks like the french press? Alas, my crush still runs deep!

There was a Revere Ware kettle on our stove when we were kids, and there's still on on my stove top right now -- they last forever, and no need for a potholder or mitt.

The electric versus stovetop debate has a lot to do with local current. The voltage in the UK is twice that of the US, and the kettles come to a boil so fast compared to units made for US current. I assume Australia uses 220 volts, too.

For me, since I have a gas stove and pay a fixed monthly fee (minimum usage -- never go above the allowance), it makes sense to use the stove instead of driving up my electric bill and having another appliance to clutter the limited counter space.

Great article!

My beloved stovetop kettle was a wedding present in 1996 (it has outlasted the marriage) - an eggplant with a two-tone, atonal whistle, just like this one:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/49790819/vintage-enamel-tea-kettle-purple

I'm interested to know whether the second note in the Sapper 9091 Tea Kettle (Alessi, 1983; "brass whistle ... two notes, 'mi' & 'si'") is "so" or "ti," as there is no "si." Makes a difference...

staub! http://www.staubusa.com/prod_teapots/index.asp

I have to be missing something. What's wrong with Whistler (not the knock offs)?

I had to comment on the one apartmenttherapy sent the following day in the e-mail, as having been too late to make the list:

http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com/store/product/id/3210

Anyone see a huge design flaw? So how long exactly is it going to take to fill the teapot from this boiled kettle? And while the water is trickling out through the 3mm cooling tube over the course of the next minute and a half--what's happened to your optimal water temperature?

Sorry, but I have a huge pet peeve about product design that sacrifices actual functionality (it's reason for being) for chasing after some misunderstood "art" phantom--it's pointless, and neurotic. Functionality is the fundamental starting point for good design. Without that it's pure pretense. For it to be elegant--it has to actually work for its intended purpose.

I have a Staub Tea Pot and I love it! I also just bought a Zojirushi water boiler/heater which is fantastic because it can keep water at the correct temp. all day (mine has 3 temperature options) and can be set to reboil in the morning to save energy overnight. Also, it has a vaccuum insulation technology so I can save power by turning off the thermostat if I wish.

Is it true that electric tea kettles are relatively rare in the US? I've heard a few people tell me this and I just can't believe it. Maybe it's because we Canadians love our tea (our British roots)?

I am British but moved to America in my teens so very American. Electric kettles are much faster and more efficient than stove kettles. I have converted many an American roommate. I too like tradition and find the stove top versions cute but don't understand why the aversion to electric. On any current it's much faster (believe me as an avid tea drinker I know this).

I was always an electric kettle person, but in my current apartment, with just over 2 feet of counter space left after the dish drainer, my kettle was taking up critical real estate. I had to unplug it and move it to the bookshelves ever time I rolled out pastry. When it died last year, I decided to go stovetop for the first time in my life, and got this glass one from Teavana:
http://www.teavana.com/Tea-Products/Tea-Kettles/Alasdair-Glass-Tea-Kettle.axd
I love it! You can put it directly on high heat, no diffuser necessary, and for smaller amounts of water, boils so quickly the handle doesn't get hot. If you're making tea for a crowd, though, you will need a pot holder. Plus it doesn't whistle, which bothers some people, but I prefer it.

I love my Cuisinart electric kettle (http://www.cuisinart.ca/cuisinart_product.php?item_id=152&product_id=135&cat_id=13) - it's classic looking, and more importantly boils water MUCH faster than any stovetop model I've come across. $99 at the Bay here in Toronto. If I went stovetop. it would be for a colourful hit on the stove - I'm surprised there are no pretty enamel choices among the top 10. I had a bright blue one for years, but fast and safe boiling water wins!

The Revere teakettle is a workhorse and shines beautifully if you clean it with the right product (psst: use Revere copper cleaner!). HOWEVER, it is somewhat CHEAP in that the bottom is simple copper, rather than copper with stainless lining on the inside. Over time, I'm probably ingesting more copper than is really healthy. (Well, at least I don't eat raisins much, or suck on breath mints with "retsyn", ie copper salts.)

I'm hoping for something as functional as the Revere but with safer metal on the inside. Thanks to everyone who posted links.

I wonder if there are good enamel kettles? My mother had one and it was terrible! The metal was flimsy and the handle placed where you could get scalded with steam (not a problem with the Revere kettle, btw).

There are some nice electric kettles available in the US, including a nice GE one where the pot comes off the element and which also has an auto-shutoff feature. The cheap one they sell at Walmart does not have auto shutoff and you can boil off all the water and burn the plastic (ask me how!). I bought it for work and still use it but prefer the microwave.

The good electric kettles are the Asian ones with the large stainless canister inside. They work great but if you want fast a microwave is still faster. (The main advantage is having hot water ready immediately--which no other kettle can boast.)

I like my Revere because I can pop it on and do something else and it tells me when it's done. With a thick copper bottom it's no slouch in speed either.

@astorriene

According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solfege, si is a variant of ti.

Hi everyone!
I'm trying to choose between two tea kettles
http://best-tea-kettle-reviews.com/reviews/cuisinart-cpk-17-electric-kettle-review/
and this
http://best-tea-kettle-reviews.com/reviews/hamilton-beach-40898-electric-kettle-review/

can you advise me which is better?
Thx.

I just got the classic Alessi '9093' kettle. I had been thinking about it for quite some time, and when I found that I had some leftover wedding money to spend, I knew I had to buy it. Yes, it is pricey but let me tell you it is worth it! I am a daily tea drinker and design lover, so I really do appreciate and get a lot out of it. I am Scottish but now live in the States. Growing up it was always an electric kettle (it really is much faster!), but I like the old-fashioned way now, especially when it's so good-looking : )

I am missing the Breville BTM800XL One-Touch Tea Maker on the list.

Let me get the bad news out of the way first... it's expensive! If you don't mind staying right on top of time and temperature, and if you don't mind a few stray tea leaves in your cup, then there are way more inexpensive solutions. But for the tea lover who likes to try everything from black to white to green and everything in between, this tea maker can't be beat.

Read more: http://www.istumbledupon.com/breville-btm800xl-one-touch-tea-maker/

I bought Sori Yanagi kettle a couple of weeks ago and I'm quite surprised by the number of good reviews on the internet. While I do like the kettle aesthetically a lot, the handle gets extremely hot, so hot actually that it smells like burnt plastic. I'm not even sure if it's safe, I can feel the smell everywhere in the kitchen. Now, I have a gas stove, and the burner is pretty large, but it's still much smaller than the bottom of the kettle, and anyway what's the point of a stainless steel kettle if you can't use it on your fastest burner, this is quite disappointing.