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Tea kettles can add a bit of nostalgia to a mundane task. And a well-made kettle can do more than just boil water — it can offer predictable performance, function, and a pleasing design so you can actually enjoy your morning tea ritual.
Our testers reviewed the top stovetop kettles on the market that look great and perform well, and a few even whistle while they work. They looked at qualities like design, durability, heating time, pour performance, and ease of cleaning. With data in hand, they landed on the Le Creuset Classic Whistling Kettle as the best overall due to its exceptional functionality, pleasing palate of signature colors, and classic design. Read on for more details from our testers as they put the top kettles to work in various performance tests.
Also available at Williams Sonoma.
Pros: Display-worthy design and very easy to clean.
Cons: The design is not ideal for storing in a cabinet due to size. It's also very heavy when filled.
Le Creuset is known for its unique style and high-quality brand name, and this teapot comes in a range of beautiful signature colors. The enamel finish is resistant to chipping, and the inner chamber is non-reactive and resists staining.
While this teapot is larger in size, making it more challenging to store, its body covers the whole burner, minimizing flames from damaging the exterior finish. "Le Creuset is a gorgeous brand and always looks nice on a stove," noted one tester. "While it is on the larger and heavier side, you don't really need to find a place to store it as it looks so good on the counter." Though big, it also is quite light when empty, and the handle easily folds down. The testers found its whistle volume on the softer side, describing it as tempered and steady.
This kettle can heat up to a full boil in under five minutes. While the exterior gets quite hot, the handle and spout stay cool, making it easy to pour. In addition, our testers found no metallic taste in the heated water.
When it's time to clean, the opening is large enough to fit a hand and sponge into the chamber. The black interior hides any watermarks or staining, and the exterior finish is easy to clean and maintain. Because the water lines are challenging to read due to its dark inner chamber, the kettle can easily be overfilled. However, our testers found the lid a little difficult to remove and put back on. This kettle works on most stovetops, including induction and electric, ceramic, and halogen.
Also available on Japanese Taste.
Pros: Unique design looks great on display in a modern minimalist kitchen. It's also small enough to store away when not in use.
Cons: This kettle doesn't take up the full burner, so some flames will shoot out from the sides of the kettle, potentially damaging the finish and handle.
This unique, stylish, small kettle from Hario features a gooseneck spout for easy, precise pouring. It's the perfect size for single-use tea service or pour-over coffee and comes in stainless steel, black, and matte finish. During testing, our testers noted this stovetop kettle does not whistle when ready.
Its smaller size has a few disadvantages as it doesn't take up the whole burner. On high-heat gas stovetops, flames may shoot out from the sides of the kettle, and if positioned over a direct flame, the handle could melt. The manufacturer suggests using medium or low heat. Still, our testers appreciated its small size for easy storage.
There are no maximum water fill lines, so overfilling can be an issue. In addition, the small vent holes on the top should not be positioned near the handle when heating, as steam could cause burns when grabbing the handle. During testing, the water reached a full boil after six minutes and nineteen seconds, which was longer than the other top two brands. However, our testers found that it held a higher, more consistent temperature ten minutes after removing it from the burner than all of the other models tested. After heating, our testers observed a very slight but noticeable metallic taste in the water, which may dissipate over time.
The top opening is small, so most hands might not fit inside when cleaning. Drying overnight left no staining on the inside of the kettle. This kettle works with induction, halogen, gas, and electric stovetops.
Pros: The kettle is easy to clean, the water beads off the exterior surface quickly, and there is no discoloration after drying.
Cons: It's a bit bulky, making it difficult to store.
This stovetop kettle from Susteas would look perfect sitting on display in any kitchen. The empty kettle is very lightweight; however, it's heavy when filled, so this kettle may not be ideal if you have weak wrists and arms. Large in size, the kettle covers the entire burner. Storing this one in a cabinet would require a good amount of space due to the large size and shape.
Our testers found the kettle exterior gets very hot when heated. The manufacturer suggests only low heat to prevent the rubber handle and kettle from overheating, which could cause injury or damage to the finish. It has a handle lever that makes it easy to open the spout covering, allowing for a seamless pour. In addition, The "whistle when ready alert" is not loud compared to other brands with this feature.
During testing, it took about five minutes and thirty-nine seconds to boil. Our testers found the heat retention to be quite good; the top of the kettle retained heat for at least ten minutes after heating, so take caution when handling. As an added safety feature, a silicon mitten comes with your purchase.
The top is easy to remove but is prone to fingerprint marks, while the finish on the kettle's body is fingerprint-resistant. That said, it's relatively easy to clean, though the opening is tight for somebody with larger hands. The exterior finish has a beading effect on water, making clean-up and drying simple. Overall, this kettle provides fantastic performance and style and is a great choice for everyday use.
Related: The Best Electric Kettles for Tea, Pour Over, and More
The Le Creuset Classic Whistling Kettle offers superior function and elegant design from a trusted brand name. Our testers love the array of color options, the convenient fold-down handle, and how easy it is clean. It's an investment that adds some style to your every day.
The first consideration is capacity when choosing the perfect stovetop kettle. Stovetop kettles range from a petite 2-quart to a generous 6-quart or larger, so buying the kettle that will be the best fit for your use is key. Larger kettles take longer to boil and often have a minimum fill level, so they are not ideal for smaller needs. If you are one or two of you most days and only need a cup or two of tea in the morning, a smaller kettle is the best way to go. If you have a large family or tend to love to entertain with tea, scale up as needed.
The kettle's material can contribute significantly to the weight of the kettle. And while you always want a kettle with a heavy bottom for even heat distribution, you also want to be sure it is easy to handle and pour when full of boiling water for safety's sake. If the kettle feels heavy to you when it is empty, you may want to shift to a different style to ensure you can lift and pour easily when it is full.
Stovetop kettles don't have the auto shutoff features of electric versions, so it is important that, whenever possible, you do not leave them unattended. But many have safety features like stay-cool handles, whistles to let you know when the water is boiling, and special pour spouts designed to prevent splashing. Once you have determined the size you need, find some options that are the correct weight and opt for the kettle with the safety features you feel most comfortable with.
Our testers used design, whistle sound, time to reach a boil, ability to hold heat, and pouring performance as key metrics when testing. They heated water with timers standing by, tested and noted water temperature, observed the heating process, and reviewed the strengths and weaknesses of each brand selected. They then offered opinions on what they liked, what worked well, and what could be improved. Finally, they performed a taste test to check for any off or mineral flavor after heating. They also considered ease of cleaning and storing, pricing, and overall design.
We reached out to Jessica Easto, author of Craft Coffee: A Manual, to ask her a few important questions about stovetop kettles.
The short answer, as we discovered, was not necessarily. In our testing, electric kettles out-rated stovetop versions across the board. But for some, stovetop kettles are just their personal preference. Easto agreed with our findings: "A stovetop kettle is not necessarily better than an electric one. It depends on what features you are looking for. Electric kettles often come with additional features, such as the ability to be set to and hold specific temperatures, which can come in handy for tea-making and coffee-making (in which you don't want to scorch your product). You can also walk away from the kettle and not worry about it boiling dry or going cold. But those additional features also tend to mean a higher price tag."
"You should be able to use a stovetop kettle on either a gas or standard electric stove, but always check the manufacturer's instructions," says Easto. "If you have an induction stovetop, you'll need to make sure your kettle is suitable for induction (i.e., made of a ferrous metal)."
This one is a hard pass for Easto. "I would not recommend heating milk in a stovetop kettle, and most manufacturers warn against this, too. Just warm your milk in a saucepan!"
Kara Mickelson is a recipe developer, professional chef, producer, writer, food stylist, an alumnus of UCLA and Le Cordon Bleu School of Culinary Arts, and the creator of Styled Delicious, a boutique culinary brand. She trained in Spain as well as in Napa at the famed French Laundry and has worked behind the scenes with top Food Network chefs. She is the author of Friends: The Official Central Perk Cookbook.
In addition, Stacey Ballis, a writer, recipe developer, and product reviewer who has been published on Food & Wine, Eating Well, Allrecipes, MyRecipes, Delish, and more, offered her expertise for additional research.
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