Review: Russell Hobbs Tea Kettle

Tea kettle for coffee? I’m glad you asked. A lot of manual brewing methods, like French Presses and Pour Overs require a hot water source. I’ve been using an old tea kettle that I heat on the stove. It gets the job done, but it takes a while to heat up and with a short spout that doesn’t always work smoothly. I hoped the Russell Hobbs, 1.8L Electric Tea Kettle (model KE9000CR) would be an upgrade and make my mornings pre-coffee a little easier.

Background

The Russell Hobbs Heritage Kettle includes advanced features that allow you to heat up water quickly with ease. A removable filter keeps minerals and impurities out of your water so you have the purest tate everytime and a water window with measurement markings allows you to fill to the proper level. A 360 degree swivel base and pull off lid add ease to pouring and filling the kettle — with both left and right hand. The auto shutoff function gives you peace of mind while the boil/dry protection adds extra security by shutting the kettle off when water level is low. Cord storage and a sleek stainless steel finish, painted or not, top off the kettle’s beautiful design allowing for counter top storage if need be. Choose the Russell Hobbs Heritage Kettle in one of three colors: cream, stainless steel, or red.

• Boil/dry protection
• Removable filter
• 360-Degree swivel base
• Water window with level markings
• Stainless steel finish with painted body
• Pull off lid
• Auto shutoff
• Cord storage
• 3-Year limited warranty

My Review

Russell Hobbs Tea Kettle has two main features that I investigated. The first is whether or not this electric kettle heats water faster then a kettle heating on the stove. The second was the spout and it’s pouring abilities.

Yesterday I put my old kettle head to head with the Russell Hobbs. I filled each with an equal amount of warm water, enough water to fill an eight cup French Press. I started each at the exact same time and timed how long it would take for each to reach a boil.

The electric kettle finished at a little less than four minutes. The kettle heated on the stove took just over ten minutes. No wonder I had fallen asleep so many mornings waiting for my hot water.

The electric Russell Hobbs Tea Kettle won the race hands down and it had a better designed spout that poured more evenly and smoothly. It’s probably not as smooth as the extra long spout of the Hario Drip Kettle, but for my needs it got the job done.

There is only one thing that I didn’t like about this kettle – the cord. It was just too short at 29 inches. Maybe if you have a spot on the counter within two feet of the outlet you’re in business, but for me I had to move it into place every time I needed to use it. Not a major issue, but a minor nuisance.

As far as value, it retails at $59.99 at the Russell Hobbs website. It’s well made and it looks like it’ll hold up to normal wear and tear. It also has a three year warranty. I did find some electric tea kettles less expensive out there, but most of those were smaller or looked cheaply made.

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking for an electric kettle for your manual coffee brewing methods, check out this one from Russell Hobbs Tea Kettle. The speed that it heated the water impressed me, I loved the way it poured and I think it’s a good value. Just make sure you have a spot on the counter near an outlet.

Pros:

• Heats water quickly
• Pours water smoothly

Cons:

• Short cord

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Fine Print.