We were in need of a new kettle because the one we were using was the type you boil on the stove – it was slow to boil, noisy and of course, didn’t have automatic shut off. That alone was reason enough, several times I had put the kettle on and then had gone off to attend to something else and would come back into the kitchen to find a lot of steam!

I have started to cut back on coffee over the last couple of years and am drinking more tea, so the kettle has played a bigger part in my daily life. To start with, I knew we should still have a stainless steel kettle because the thought of boiling water in a plastic kettle didn’t sit well with me – just as it is not good to microwave in plastic containers, I have wondered about the long term effects of boiling water in plastic.

This stainless steel kettle by Breville is the one I settled on, it was more expensive than I had intended on spending but with the added feature of being able to select different boiling temperatures, I thought it was worth it. Besides that, I liked the look of the kettle overall and the lid opens so easily with just the press of a button on the handle. With our last kettle, we had to pour the water in through  the spout because the lid was always so hard to pull off, so this feature is a real treat!

The choices of boiling temperature from left to right are; green tea, white tea, oolong, french press and (boil) black tea. I had read before about the flavours and aromas being enhanced with particular teas if the water was not too hot and it is so true – this has taken the guess work out of trying to stop the kettle before it reaches a true boil. The little button beside the start button will hold the temperature for 20 minutes.

Inside the instruction manual there is a table that lists temperature choices for a large number of teas and coffee, so this is helpful when you are not sure of what will be best for a particular one. It also suggests to experiment for what your preferences of setting for tea/coffee are, just as you adjust the steeping time that suits your taste.

Well, I think I will choose a tea and boil the kettle!