For a long time, a kettle’s job was simple: boil water. Fast forward to today, and choosing the best kettle for your kitchen means considering a raft of clever features, from temperature controls and coffee and tea settings, to keep-warm functions and built-in filters that promise to banish limescale and purify your water.
But do you really need your kettle to have more settings than your car? And which features are actually worth paying extra for? We’ve boiled down the options to help you find the best kettle for your budget and brewing needs.
Before you think about adding a new kettle to your online shopping basket, it’s worth giving your existing kettle a professional clean, to see if it isn’t already up to the task.
“Descale your kettle using a product such as Oust, which is specifically designed for kettles,” says Sophie Herrmann, spokesperson for the brand. “Doing so will remove limescale debris from the internal coils of the kettle and result in shorter boil times. If you live in a hard-water area, descale every three months, and every six months in soft-water areas.”
You can clean your kettle without using any fancy cleaning products, too. “Fill the kettle halfway with a 50/50 solution of water and white vinegar. Bring it to a boil, then let it sit for 20 minutes before pouring away,” suggests Dean Davies, professional cleaning expert at Fantastic Services. You can even use lemon to spruce up the exterior of chrome kettles. However you choose to clean your kettle, keeping it in pristine condition is essential for a decent brew.
How we tested the best kettles
We drank a lot of tea, along with coffee, but we didn’t just look at each kettle’s ability to produce the perfect cuppa. The speed at which they boiled, their noise levels, the ease with which settings could be tweaked, and how easy they were to lift, pour and refill were all examined. These are the one’s that even Polly would approve of.
The best kettles for 2024 are:
- Best kettle overall – Bosch styline TWK8631GB kettle with temperature selector, white/stainless steel: £65, Ao.com
- Best budget kettle – Russell Hobbs quiet boil kettle: £36.47, Amazon.co.uk
- Best kettle for sustainability – Philips eco conscious edition 5000 series kettle: £37.99, Amazon.co.uk
- Best kettle for speedy boiling – Kenwood elegancy earl grey kettle: £44.99, Kenwoodworld.com
- Best small kettle – Smeg mini kettle: £134, Very.co.uk