Things to Consider Before Buying Electric Tea Kettle

Although heating water up in a kettle from the stove is simple, there are some drawbacks. For example, you can’t adjust the temperature precisely and control how long to heat the water up. But these become quite simple tasks when you use an electric kettle. 

However, there are some things to consider before buying electric tea kettle. Keeping in mind these factors is important because there are thousands of kettles to choose from with dozens of variations. Which one is the best? There’s no single answer. Budget is important here as well. We’ve compiled a list of important factors to look at before buying an electric kettle that we’ll look at in this guide.

Size

If you have a small family and usually make 1 or 2 cups of tea at a time, then there’s no need to go for large kettles. A kettle with the minimum capacity level will be sufficient for you. 

But if your family is large and you have to make a few cups at a time, or maybe you want to boil water for other things, you need something with a large capacity. Try to get one with around 2 liters of water capacity. 

Seemingly the more capacity there is, the better it should be. But you’ll also have to think about the size of the outside of the kettle too. The higher a kettle’s capacity gets, the larger its body size becomes. And having a large kettle in your kitchen can take up a lot of space. If you have space limitations, it might be problematic.

Try to find one that has good capacity yet offers a compact body. You’ll find kettles like this from high-end manufacturers.

Boiling Speed

If your electric kettle can’t boil up water faster than your microwave or stovetop kettle, what’s the point of having it? It’s supposed to make life easier by speeding up the water boiling process so that you can make tea, coffee, soup, or whatever, quickly. 

Usually, good electric kettles will heat water up to the boiling point within 3 or 4 minutes. This is considered good in the industry, and if you find your desired one within this time range, feel free to look for the other factors of that kettle.

However, some manufacturers market their kettles having some quick preset modes. You should check the manufacturer’s guide as well as check the product practically if possible. Also, you can see its reviews to know better about it since no features are 100% true.

One bad thing about many of the electric kettles is the calcium carbonate build-up. It’s also known as scale or limescale. If a kettle is prone to scale build-up, then the boiling speed isn’t so great to have. Sooner or later, the calcium layering will slow the heating speed down radically, making its fast boiling capability useless.

Looks

You’ll see some expensive kettles that look like they’ve been made from cheap quality plastics. If you’re spending money on a good kettle, then check how it looks too. Buy the ones with decent metal or plastic designs that have a good heat holding capacity.

Cordless

If your kettle is corded and the cord is not removable, then it’s a mess. Taking out the cord from the plug every single time you need to take the kettle away from the charging isn’t something to enjoy. In everything, cords are a hassle.

Get a cordless kettle. There are good quality cord-free ones in the market. Also, many kettles have a base system that allows the kettle to get power just by placing it on the base, which gets the power from the cord connected with it. These variations have a very good user experience.

Handle

If the handle isn’t heatproof, try to stay away from it. It’s going to be hard to use it every time the water is boiled. Some good kettles have a rubber grip on the handle that makes it easy to hold the kettle even if the handle is wet. Also, similar to the handle, the body shouldn’t get hot too. The outside temperature should be normal.

Variable Temperature Options

Okay, first of all, this feature isn’t important to have for all. Having the option to adjust temperature can be a wonderful feature for tea and coffee experts. Experts, as in the sense of people, have a good level of taste bud experience.

Simply explained – every type of tea and coffee has a different boiling rate. What might be the perfect heat for a light cup of tea might not be enough to get the juices out of the coffee beans. Also, you may want to make some soup, which will require you to heat the water up quite a few notches. See how there are variations?

And for this single reason, this feature is good to have. But sadly, you’re not going to find this in cheap, low-end kettles. Even if you do find it, the chances of it are quite dependent on luck. Look for its quality too. Some cheap brands seem to offer many features, but these kettles hardly last any time at all.

Cost

Electric kettles are cheap. Do you want a basic one? Try to keep a budget of $20 or a little more. But if you want to have the premium features, then more or less $100 is enough to get you a solid one.

Final Words

You can simply buy an electric kettle that you like. But since you’re spending your money on it, it’s a good idea to know about the things to consider before buying an electric tea kettle. You’ve known them now and are ready to find the best one on your own. Do enough research before you make your final decision.