A great and much loved friend of mine died a few days ago and he shall be sadly missed. He was a grand old age of about 5 years old and his passing is very sad, but life must go on and tea must be made somehow so it’s time to replace him with a brand new kettle.
Now you may think that it’s a simple trip to the shops and just a case of having a look for one that you like that is within your price range but if you are really after a good kettle, there are a few key elements you want to focus on. Sometimes you have to put up with some flaws to get more of the good elements so it can take a while to find the perfect kettle.
So what are the important design elements in a great kettle?
Pourability: you want one that is a nice pourer, not one that just spills its contents out all over the place without any element of control to it! In my personal experience that means a pointier spout.
Volume: (noisiness not how much it holds) this is the one you most often have to sacrifice for the other key elements. A fast kettle that is a bit loud is always better than a slow one that is silent
Speed: for those of us who are addicted to our hot beverages you need to find one that has a rapid boil setting - no point waiting longer than you have to for the water!
Appearance: this is the most subjective of the elements but you have to like the appearance of your kettle, you will be using it a lot so you don't want to think "my god that’s ugly" every time you go to use it.
Ease of filling: simple as it sounds; you want one that isn't awkward to fill with water since you will be doing that a lot.
Concealed element: this is a must, much easier to clean than ones with an exposed coil based heating element, especially if you are in an area with hard water where lime scale is a problem.
Cordless 360-degree base: this isn't essential but it’s so much handier than the other options, especially if you are left handed and I will always pay a little more to get one if I can.
Material: cheap ones can taint the water with a nasty plastic taste, but this isn't always the case. This depends a lot on the quality and type of plastic used. Metal ones can also have the unfortunate side effect of being much hotter to the touch as the metal will conduct the heat much easier – this may be a problem for those with children or those with weak arms who may need to help steady the kettle with a second hand to be able to pour easily.
Water level indicator: you want a easy to read water level indicator if you want to be able to judge quickly if you need more or less water at a glance for when you are in a hurry. This is also particularly important if you are interested in using your kettle as energy efficiently as possible.
Pourability: you want one that is a nice pourer, not one that just spills its contents out all over the place without any element of control to it! In my personal experience that means a pointier spout.
Volume: (noisiness not how much it holds) this is the one you most often have to sacrifice for the other key elements. A fast kettle that is a bit loud is always better than a slow one that is silent
Speed: for those of us who are addicted to our hot beverages you need to find one that has a rapid boil setting - no point waiting longer than you have to for the water!
Appearance: this is the most subjective of the elements but you have to like the appearance of your kettle, you will be using it a lot so you don't want to think "my god that’s ugly" every time you go to use it.
Ease of filling: simple as it sounds; you want one that isn't awkward to fill with water since you will be doing that a lot.
Concealed element: this is a must, much easier to clean than ones with an exposed coil based heating element, especially if you are in an area with hard water where lime scale is a problem.
Cordless 360-degree base: this isn't essential but it’s so much handier than the other options, especially if you are left handed and I will always pay a little more to get one if I can.
Material: cheap ones can taint the water with a nasty plastic taste, but this isn't always the case. This depends a lot on the quality and type of plastic used. Metal ones can also have the unfortunate side effect of being much hotter to the touch as the metal will conduct the heat much easier – this may be a problem for those with children or those with weak arms who may need to help steady the kettle with a second hand to be able to pour easily.
Water level indicator: you want a easy to read water level indicator if you want to be able to judge quickly if you need more or less water at a glance for when you are in a hurry. This is also particularly important if you are interested in using your kettle as energy efficiently as possible.
and finally
Comfort: this goes hand in hand with pourability, you want to have a handle that you feel is comfortable and sits at an optimum angle to ensure controllable pourability! You don't want to be left having to hold it at an awkward angle to be able to pour out a small amount of water!
Comfort: this goes hand in hand with pourability, you want to have a handle that you feel is comfortable and sits at an optimum angle to ensure controllable pourability! You don't want to be left having to hold it at an awkward angle to be able to pour out a small amount of water!
I have no shame in the slightest about being so particular about the standard I like my kettle to meet, I am a tea addict and drink an obscene amount of tea on a daily basis… hell I drink an obscene amount of tea on an hourly basis! I was born to be a tea drinker and have been in training since I was just a baby, very weak milky tea was often the content of my bottle. Today my normal mug holds about a pint of tea (approximately 600ml) and its not uncommon for me to drink on average 8 of these a day! So when you drink that much tea you want the perfect kettle since it is guaranteed to have very regular use.
I will leave you with a challenge, go to your kitchen and make yourself a cup of tea and rate it out of 10 based on the information you have read here today. I bet you’ve never though much about it but you probably already have very clear opinions on the kettle you own. My most recent kettle was almost perfect, its only real flaw was a slight issue with ease of filling, and so I’m going to give it a 9.5 out of 10.
It truly was a sad day when it died and it will be a hard kettle to replace for this proud tea addict.
1 comment:
I am making tea now, in honor of your lost kettle.
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