Things Got Hot While We Tested the Best Tea Kettles

Best Overall

Cosori Electric Gooseneck Kettle

$139 at Amazon Orig. $104 $89 at Walmart $78 at Target

Many electric kettles did well in our tests, but the Cosori Electric Gooseneck Kettle still stood out. Its simple push-button base lets you heat water to five different temperatures designed for specific beverages, from 170 degrees Fahrenheit for white tea to 205 degrees Fahrenheit for coffee (and, of course, 212 degrees Fahrenheit if you just want boiling water). The kettle heats very accurately and fairly quickly and will hold its set temperature for half an hour or more.

The Cosori's gooseneck spout design with a counterbalanced handle makes it easy to pour hot water into any vessel without spilling, and its matte black finish doesn't pick up fingerprints when touched. It's also fairly affordable for an electric kettle, especially one that works this beautifully.

The main downside we found is the kettle's small capacity. At a bit short of a quart, it's only able to make two or three cupfuls of tea or coffee at a time. If you're the kind of person who needs a mug of hot beverage all day long (or if you're brewing for a whole caffeine-loving family), you might find yourself having to refill and reheat multiple times. And while the kettle doesn't show fingerprints, it is quite hot while in use so be mindful.

Capacity: 0.9 quarts | Dimensions: 11.6 x 9 x 7.7 inches (including base) | Weight: 3.5 pounds | Material: Stainless steel | Product Care: Hand-wash

Best Budget

Mr. Coffee Flintshire Tea Kettle

Orig. $20 $19 at Amazon Orig. $25 $19 at Walmart $21 at Wayfair

At its most basic, a tea kettle is supposed to heat water, and that's exactly what the Mr. Coffee Flintshire does—and at a great price. Its heatproof handle incorporates a latch for the spout cover and is another nice feature that you'll only find on a few of the more expensive models we tested. The kettle is available in seven different colors, all of them selling for 25 bucks or less.

We found this kettle worked just fine, placing it in the middle range in most of our trials, but we don't love its plain look (though aesthetic may not be top-of-mind for buyers looking for a budget pick so long as it performs well). Plus, it comes in quite a few colors so this isn't a deal breaker. The lid also has an inner rim that traps water, which interferes with fully cleaning and drying the kettle.

Capacity: 1.75 quarts | Dimensions: 8 x 8 x 8 inches | Weight: 1 pound | Material: Stainless steel | Product Care: Hand-wash

Best Electric

Fellow Stagg EKG Electric Pour-Over Kettle

$164 at Amazon $165 at Williams-Sonoma $165 at Sur La Table

With their narrow, sloping spouts, gooseneck kettles offer added control when pouring. This makes them an especially useful option for making pour-over coffee or brewing with another manual method like French press. Every detail of the Fellow Stagg EKG Pour-Over Kettle feels high-end, from its sleek silhouette to its many convenient features. Its simple dial and LCD display lets you set the kettle to any specific temperature between 135 and 212 degrees Fahrenheit.

We really like this kettle and believe the spout, exact temperature selection capability, and unequaled design made it worthwhile for both tea and coffee lovers. The Fellow Stagg EKG is one of the more expensive gooseneck kettles on the market, but it's available in a number of stylish designs that combine a variety of kettle colors and handle materials.

One negative is that the item has a small capacity, at just under a quart (though this does help it heat up more quickly). There's also no visual or audible indication that the water has fully heated, so you'll also have to keep an eye on the kettle while it's coming to a boil.

Capacity: 0.95 quarts | Dimensions: 11.5 x 6.75 x 8 inches | Weight: 2.75 pounds | Material: Stainless steel | Product Care: Hand-wash

Best Stovetop

Le Creuset Classic Whistling Kettle

$115 at Amazon $91 at Wayfair $91 at Wayfair

Looking for a stovetop kettle that's long-lasting and top-of-the-line? Le Creuset has you covered. The company known for its cast-iron Dutch ovens also manufactures a line of stunning tea kettles (among many other kitchen goods). This stainless steel kettle is covered in porcelain enamel and makes an excellent registry gift or opportunity to treat yourself and upgrade your current tea kettle. It holds nearly 2 quarts and comes in nine gorgeous colors, including pale-blue Caribbean, bright-red cerise, and warm-gray oyster.

Along with being stylish, the kettle is highly functional. When we tested it, we found that it heats quickly and efficiently. The spout cap also makes a nice loud whistle when the water boils and is easy to flip back when it's time to pour. Its handle folds down cleverly from a vertical to a horizontal position, which makes it easier to clean and, potentially, store if you want.

While the kettle is functional overall, one downside is that the lid is difficult to remove. It's also more expensive than average, but we think it’s a worthwhile splurge, especially because of its durability and the brand's five-year guarantee to cover manufacturing defects.

Capacity: 1.7 quarts | Dimensions: 10 x 8 x 7 inches | Weight: 3 pounds | Material: Enamel on steel | Product Care: Hand-wash

Best Stovetop Gooseneck

Hario V60 Buono Drip Kettle

Orig. $67 $49 at Amazon $60 at Food52 View on Prima-coffee.com

If you're a caffeine nerd who loves the ritual of making pour-over coffee or other manual brewing methods, the Hario V60 Buono is the kettle for you. Its long, elegant gooseneck spout and ergonomic handle give you perfect control over the water stream. The Japan-based Hario brand is known worldwide for its high-end coffee- and tea-brewing equipment, and this model's scalloped look is iconic.

But just as you have to use care with pour-over coffee, you'll need to be cautious with the Hario V60 in general. The kettle doesn't have a fill line marked, and we found that it tends to boil over if filled up all the way. The kettle's base is also smaller than many other stovetop models, which means that you should use a lower heat level on a gas stove to make sure flames don't flow up around the sides and potentially melt the handle.

Capacity: 1.25 quarts | Dimensions: 12 x 18 x 13 inches | Weight: 1.44 pounds | Material: Stainless steel | Product Care: Hand-wash

Best Style

Caraway Whistling Tea Kettle

$195 at Amazon $195 at Target $195 at Home Depot

The Caraway Whistling Tea Kettle makes a great first impression. Right out of the box, we loved the matte coating and simple, somewhat tapered silhouette. We could feel how hefty and durable the stainless steel parts are, too, which helps justify the kettle’s high price tag. Although, there are better value-for-money options out there.

Overall, pouring is smooth but, like most kettles, the last couple of ounces can dribble a bit. There’s another minor design flaw—or, at least, hindrance—which is that you can't remove the lid if the spout is open. It didn’t affect our experience very much, but it bears mentioning.

Another slight criticism we have, and one that more directly affected our experience, is that the handle can get too hot to touch depending on the stovetop temperature. The brand recommends using low to medium heat to best protect the kettle and, presumably, to ensure the handle doesn’t get too hot. While testing, we typically used medium-high or high heat when boiling water, however, and a significant amount of customers would likely do the same. On high heat, the water reaches a boil at almost exactly 10 minutes on both a gas burner and an electric burner.

All that said, the Caraway Whistling Tea Kettle is a beautiful kitchen appliance that should last for years, even though it has some quirks we didn’t expect given the price. I also found the 2-quart capacity large enough for anything from tea to pour-over coffee.

Capacity: 2 quarts | Dimensions: 7.5 x 8.5 inches | Weight: 3.1 pounds | Materials: Stainless steel | Product Care: Hand-wash recommended

Fastest-Boiling Electric

Smeg Electric Kettle

$190 at Amazon $190 at Wayfair $190 at Williams-Sonoma

Smeg is known for its high-end kitchen equipment—from stovetops and refrigerators to coffee makers and toasters—that combines modern technology with a retro look. The Smeg Electric Kettle is no different, offering super-fast heating with a design that looks like it fell right out of a mid-century modern museum. Even though it's one of the largest-capacity electric kettles we tested, with a volume of nearly 2 quarts, it was also the fastest to heat up, bringing that water to a boil more quickly than any other model. And you can get it in any of six adorable colors.

Unfortunately, Smeg appliances carry a price tag to match their famous name, design, and quality. This model doesn't offer any temperature settings or other features beyond heating water to boiling very quickly, and we also weren't thrilled that it doesn't have any way of indicating it's done heating. Stovetop kettles whistle and many other electric models have lights or sound, but the Smeg Electric Kettle just makes a click when it shuts off, and it doesn't hold heat very well once it does.

Capacity: 1.8 quarts | Dimensions: 6.75 x 9.75 x 8.9 inches | Weight: 3 pounds | Material: Powder-coated stainless steel | Product Care: Hand-wash

Fastest-Boiling Stovetop

OXO Brew Classic Tea Kettle

$50 at Amazon $53 at Walmart $50 at Home Depot

If you're looking for a versatile stovetop kettle to help you prepare a delicious cup of tea, the OXO Brew Classic Tea Kettle is a great pick. It fits perfectly on a standard stove burner and was the fastest to heat to boiling out of all the stovetop kettles we tested. We liked its silicone-grip handle, which is comfortable to hold and pour, even when the kettle is full, and rotates to the side for easy storage. The large opening on top also makes it easy to fill and clean—it's large enough to fit your whole hand inside to get to all those hard-to-reach corners.

With the spout cap flipped down, the kettle makes a loud whistle when the water is ready, so there's no need to set a timer. In addition to the silicone handle, the kettle has a silicone lid handle and spout cap to protect your fingers from the hot steel surface, but unfortunately, we found that they can still get pretty hot when the kettle's on the stove. You may need to use a dish towel or hot pad when taking the kettle off the burner.

This kettle has a unique shape that suits both retro and modern kitchens, and the brushed stainless steel fits any decor. We also found the material to be truly stain-resistant. While there are some more affordable kettles out there, this is an excellent value for money overall.

Capacity: 1.7 quarts | Dimensions: 9.75 x 8 x 9.75 inches | Weight: 2.65 pounds | Material: Stainless steel | Product Care: Hand-wash

Best Large-Capacity

Susteas Modern Stainless Steel Whistle Kettle

Orig. $38 $35 at Amazon $38 at Walmart View on Susteas.com

If you find yourself going back to the stove to make a second batch of coffee or tea every day, you might need a larger kettle. This one can hold far more water than any of the other stovetop kettles we tested but brought it to a boil nearly as quickly as the other models. Its tall handle has a heatproof coating, along with a clever latch that lets you open the whistling spout cover without having to touch it directly. Besides matte black, it's also available in metallic Champagne and rose colors.

We found the heatproof handle on the Susteas kettle to be very effective, but it doesn't fold down, which makes it take up a lot of shelf space. (On the other hand, it looks nice enough to live on the stovetop.) With that huge capacity, this kettle is fairly heavy and awkward when full, and we found that it doesn't hold heat for very long.

Capacity: 2.64 quarts | Dimensions: 7.16 x 7.16 x 9.25 inches | Weight: 2.71 pounds | Material: Stainless steel | Product Care: Hand-wash

Best Splurge

Zwilling Enfinigy Cool Touch Electric Kettle Pro

Orig. $170 $150 at Amazon $150 at Walmart $150 at Wayfair

The design-forward Zwilling Enfinigy Electric Kettle Pro looks like it came from an art museum, but it's also highly functional. Its impressive six different temperature settings range from boiling all the way down to 104 degrees Fahrenheit for warming up baby formula, as well as a keep-warm function that can hold a temperature for 30 minutes. Other electric kettles we tested heat up faster, but this one's big advantage is its double-walled configuration, which keeps the outside cool to the touch no matter how hot the inside gets. If you've got inquisitive kids around the kitchen (or if you're a little klutzy), it's a nice safety feature.

Of course, all those lovely features (along with the Zwilling brand name) are things you have to pay for. The kettle also can't go in the dishwasher like many stovetop models, though its stainless steel interior is easy enough to wipe down with a soapy sponge.

Capacity: 1.6 quarts | Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.7 x 12.9 inches | Weight: 4.97 pounds | Material: Stainless steel | Product Care: Hand-wash

Best Glass

Mueller Premium Electric Kettle

Orig. $36 $25 at Amazon $35 at Walmart View on Muellerdirect.com

When you turn on this glass kettle, its blue LED lights kick on, and it's just cool to look at. It was also one of only a handful of kettles that managed to boil water in under four minutes in our tests. We liked that its heavy-duty glass body held heat well, and we appreciated the auto-shutoff safety feature that turns off the heat within 30 seconds of the water coming to a boil.

However, you really do have to watch this pot: There's no whistle, beep, or light indicating when the water is ready. We also found that the kettle pours well but is a bit heavy and awkward for its size.

Capacity: 1.9 quarts | Dimensions: 8.62 x 6.25 x 9.64 inches | Weight: 3 pounds | Material: Borosilicate glass | Product Care: Hand-wash