Breville SK500XL Ikon Cordless 1.7-Liter Stainless-Steel Electric Kettle

Comment: This kettle is well made, designed for easy and safe use and does the job. There are no chemical smells and no plastic to contaminate the water. And it looks good too! Delivery was very quick. Great service from Amazon.

Comment: What else can you say?

OK here are some comments.

The wife: "You paid how much for a kettle?"
Me: "When you start making *me* tea, you can start complaining!"

Seriously, it heats up the water in good time, and makes a pleasing little "ding" (kind of old fashioned hotel desk sort of sound) when it is done. There's a window to show you how much water is in it and said window lights up with a cool blue light when it is heating.

Aesthetically speaking, it looks pretty too. It is taller and thinner than my old Krups kettle, so it takes up less counter real estate. It is easy to lift and fill, and the lid on top is one of those "soft touch" openers on a hinge - you push the button gently and it opens slowly.

Comment: I was seeking an electric kettle with a lid that would be easy to open and thought this was well designed and durable. However, within six months, my boiled water started to have a metallic taste and when I examined the interior, I was surprised to see that there was a ring of worn down metal that was probably the cause of the metallic taste of the hot water. I no longer had a receipt and it was past due any return policy date. Luckily, I purchased it from Bed, Bath, and Beyond and they gave me a store credit---no questions asked. Because they had a limited number/brands of electric kettles, I ultimately purchased an Aroma Hot H20 Xpress at another store. This kettle is terrific (so far) and the kettle performs as advertised: a kettle of water boils at the speed it would take to boil a cup of water. The lid is manual but it is easy enough to open for my arthritic fingers.

Comment: Seeking to replace my 25 y/o English tea kettle that I first learned to use at university in Leicester, outside of London, I did not find a suitable current, equivalent replacement, so I went to the Amazon Reviews: good thought. The reviews were uniform: Breville. Well, I thought a bit more expensive and I never heard of the name: a well kept secret. I went for it and thrilled that i did. The manufacturer did think of everything the average sophisticated used would desire: the cord tucks away nicely and easily, handsome too, top opens with a touch, fills easily and you can see inside how much water, from the outside there is an illuminated (terrific blue) measure of the contents, a touch of the switch and it heats..the switch might be a bit larger, but a minor detail. Heats very quickly, no hot steam escapes to burn you when you pick it up, it sits comfortably on the stand and when ready automatically shuts off, easy to remove and replace and the stand never moves, great: when you pour there is never a hint that boiling water is being dispensed because the handle never gets hot or exposed to steam and you never even get close to touching the kettle itself. I like the tall design vs the fat squat, more stable easy to clean, no crevices or joints to get dirty. Price/quality, the best I have bought.

Comment: We think our Breville is absolutely wonderful. It's fast and the bell sounds so you know when it's ready. It matches all of our stainless steel equipment so I give it an "A-". It would be an "A" but, it does show finger prints easily so I have to wipe it off often.