A smaller kettle may be good for a single person or small household to avoid the temptation of overfilling.

We don’t think it’s a deal breaker, since the base of the kettle itself really should be tucked away in a corner. From here, you can turn it on and off, or select the best temperature for your brew between 70-100C. It’s easy to avoid this situation, though, since the water-level window lets you see when water is getting low.All in all we still highly recommend the Zwilling kettle for its design and performance, but found the Ninja offered a better value. The spout makes pouring very easy, and refilling is simple thanks to the button on the top of the lid that pops open. Since this model has a slew of other noteworthy features and has been consistently reliable over years of long-term testing, we’re willing to forgive its minor temperature variances at the lowest setting.

And we appreciated the temperature alert—which was surprisingly lacking in many of the models we tried—since it means you don’t need to hover over the kettle in eager anticipation. That’s because in addition to the wide opening, the top came completely off instead of being hinged to the kettle itself.Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. All of the alerts are particularly loud compared with those of other kettles, and they cannot be turned off—something to consider if you’re an early riser and you live with people who are sensitive to noise. A kettle is something most of us use several times a day, so it’s worth thinking about whether you prefer a flip-up or pull-off lid, if you want the water scale to measure in cups or litres, and whether the weight of the kettle matters to you. Beauty and functionality combine in this straight-sided stainless steel stove-top 2 litre Japanese kettle, made by Black Piment.