Breville IQ Kettle BKE820XL
| Asin | B001DYERBK |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 9.06"L x 7.2"W x 9.84"H |
| Weight | 3.42 Pounds |
| Manufacturer | Breville |
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Breville IQ Kettle BKE820XL
| Asin | B001DYERBK |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 9.06"L x 7.2"W x 9.84"H |
| Weight | 3.42 Pounds |
| Manufacturer | Breville |
Drummer –
This is my 2nd Breville electric kettle. I purchased my first one in 2018, but it finally started going kaput late last year (2023). I ordered a new one the last day of December, arriving the first week of January 2024. I started using the new Breville electric kettle this week and couldn’t be happier. I use the electric kettle to heat water for my morning herbal tea and my late afternoon and evening herbal tea. The kettle is quiet. It’s got this great feature of keeping water warm for up to 20-minutes, which is helpful. There are some who think that the price is too expensive. Well, I paid $129 in 2018 for this Breville electric kettle, and only $139 this time around. This is well below what regular inflation would have made the price. This is fantastic electric kettle, one that you won’t regret purchasing, especially if you’re able to use it for 6-years! Highly recommend.
Charles Carter –
Surprised how the taste was affected by temperature
Cnidarian Connoisseur –
I used this in an office environment for a few years and now have one in my home after liking that one so much. In the office it was used probably 5 times a day every day for 2 years and still looks and operates like new. I dunno that impresses me.
– The hold temp feature is great. I don’t think I’ll ever buy another kettle without this.
– It’s possible that it’s altitude related (we’re at 5,000ft above sea level) but the temperatures are little off. By about 10 degrees, I think. No big deal though. It’s consistently off – not all over the board.
– Stays clean looking
– It’s mostly steel. But the window is plastic (i think) and there are some plastic elements in the unit which is less than optimal but not bad compared to full plastic versions.
– I had one shipped to me that was dead-on-arrival (from Amazon Warehouse) and Breville replaced it with a new one in about 7 days with very little hassle.
– You can pour very little water (as for pour-over coffee) very accurately without dripping. No need for that spindly, pompous, long-spout Hario style thinger. Kind of impressive actually how little it drips (read: it doesn’t drip at all). You can also pour like a maniac!!! Say you needed to empty its contents completely in 5 seconds as part of an amazing Boiling Water Pouring Competition (BWPC) – you could do that too! EXTREME!! Don’t take my business idea!! – BWPC is the next Tough Mudder!
Joseph Adler –
Many reviewers have commented on this kettle for tea. I hardly drink tea, but still find it very useful.
I am a fanatical coffee drinker. I prefer to buy freshly roasted coffee from small roasters, store the beans at room temperature in an airtight container, measure the beans with a digital scale, grind the beans before brewing with a conical burr grinder, boil my water to precisely 192 degrees, and brew the coffee in an insulated french press. Well, except when I was making a small amount of coffee with the AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker . Then I wanted the water to be 185 degrees. (At this point in the review, I feel it is necessary to remind the reader that I am a FANATICAL coffee drinker.)
Water temperature makes a huge difference in the taste of your coffee. Higher brewing temperatures extract more acidic and astringent compounds. Brewing coffee with boiling water makes it taste more harsh and bitter, brewing with cooler water makes it more mild. Through trial and error, I’ve found that I prefer my coffee to brew for a long time with moderately hot water. With the coffees I prefer (usually Indonesian and African, roughly full city roast), 192 degrees works best.
I bought this kettle because brewing the water to the right temperature was very frustrating with my old kettle. It would take a great degree of diligence and multiple temperature checks with a digital thermometer to get the water to the right temperature. As promised, this kettle will brew your water to a specific temperature. It has saved me a small amount of time and aggravation every morning.
I have only a few things to criticize about this product:
– There is a button labeled “French Press Coffee” that brews water to 200 degrees. Do not use this setting for french press coffee. Brew the water to 195 degrees instead.
– The kettle resets to 212 degrees (a full boil) if you unplug it. This can be a minor annoyance; more than once, I have accidentally forgotten to reset the temperature and boiled the water.
– I’d really like a 190 degree setting. 195 degrees is a little too hot for some coffees, and 185 is too cold.
– It’s tough to get all the water out. A little water tends to get stuck in the lid and filter. If you measure water before boiling (I do, in order to expedite boiling), you may find this annoying.
– The “hold” mode is confusing if you don’t read the manual. Once, my wife misread the kettle, and accidentally added lukewarm water to a coffee pot. The kettle indicates that it is done by beeping and changing the color of an LED. I think it would have been better to add an LED light explicitly labeled “at brewing temperature” rather than assigning two purposes to the light around the hold button.
These may be minor quibbles, but this is a very pricey kettle. If you’re looking for a well made kettle that brews water to different temperatures, this is probably your best bet. If you don’t care about the multiple temperatures, you can find much more economical options that are just as functional.
Tucker Ray –
I looked at just about every single electric kettle and all their reviews. The general consensus with reviewers seemed to be the Cuisinart model with this a close second, their main reasoning being this was more expensive. I am willing to pay slightly more for real quality and my mother has had the same Breville kettle for over six years now and it is still perfect. Hers doesn’t have temp control, just straight forward boil. I wanted the variable temp feature for my tea habit and went with this one. Really like it. Looks super sharp, super easy to use, boiled quickly and all the different tea temperatures are accounted for. Two small qualms I have with it. The windows for water level aren’t lit. I know its minor but my mother’s has a light and I rather like the look of it. When it’s heating it’s lit, when it’s done it dings and the light goes off…a silly cosmetic feature with some practical use (you can see it across the room at night) but I like it. This one’s buttons light up which can also be seen. My main problem was with the lid. It has a slow opening lid which prevents steam or hot water hitting the user. Mine just never really sealed shut. It would clamp closed but stay open around the edges on one side as if warped. I highly doubt they are all like this which is why I still have five stars. Get one yourself, try it, but I had to return it and will try out the Cuisinart. Whenever that one dies I will go back to Breville and see what they have out then, they are a quality company.
mtb –
We’ve had this kettle for about a month now and we’re very pleased with it. We use it four or five times a day. I use it primarily for making coffee with the Aeropress and for green tea. My wife and son use it for various teas.
The primary reason we bought this Kettle is for its accurate temperature control and we are not disappointed. I’ve taken a couple of temp measurements at the 175 and 185 degree marks and it’s always been within 2% of the target temp. It’s also fast at reaching temperature, but I haven’t timed it so no feedback there. I’m usually doing other things when I’m in the kitchen and it’s usually reached temp before I’m ready.
It’s also a good looking appliance and we’re also Breville fans. We’ve had their high-end juicer with the blender attachment for two years and it’s been a champ. We use it every day and it shows no real signs of wear. We had to use customer support one time about a blade issue and they were very responsive and sent us a new one for free, so we trust that they’ll step up if there are issues with this kettle.
It’s very easy to clean and we have high calcium in our water so I use vinegar once a week to clean out the deposits. I try to keep the base and bottom of the kettle dry, I don’t think a little moisture will hurt it but I figure it will last longer if we keep the electrical components dry. It is a little loud; it is a thin stainless steel container so you can hear the water heating and it’s louder than an enamel stove top kettle.
I don’t consider this a big source of BPA. Most of the surface area is stainless steel, but there is a little plastic in the kettle and you can probably remove the strip that holds in the calcium filter. If you’re really concerned with BPA there are other ways to reduce your risks like stop drinking OJ, milk, eating yogurt and everything else that is packaged in plastic.
Other kettles that we looked at with temp control had fairly poor reviews on accuracy. If you drink a variety of teas or use coffee presses and need accurate temperature control, this kettle is great and worth the extra money. If you just need boiling water this may not be the kettle for you, there are cheaper kettles with very good ratings that boil water.
Baxtermom –
I did a lot of research and it appears that the Breville Electric Kettle, especially this model, for the cost, was the best on the market. Although some of the reviews here, are giving me pause….especially the one video review where the guy hit the buttons and there is a flicker and then nothing. As far as it lasting a year, I am fine with that…if you use something several times a week, and its a small electric appliance, this type of thing is not going to last forever, but I just want it to last a year and not go on the fritz. It appears to be well made and is solid, it feels heavy and well made, like, expensive. There is nothing ‘ tinny’ about this thing.
I just had my first brew tonight and the water was perfect, the tea was perfect. All was excellent and I do believe that the water temp has a lot do to with making good tea. Although I am a coffee aficionado, I am a tea newbie…but I know what I like. I bought some Twinings Christmas Tea with a pinch of cinnamon, etc. and fired up my new Breville…..a little steeping, a little milk and sweetener…and voila! A perfect cup of delicious tea!
I will be back to update, if I have any of the issues like I am seeing in the video and written reviews…but so far, I am thoroughly enjoying it.
J A Cook –
I’ve had this kettle for a few weeks now and I am loving it. It’s quiet, quick, well-balanced, and makes a lovely cuppa. It’s an elegant design and looks classy on my counter, as well as feeling solid and well-made. I like the keep-warm feature since I have small children and often get interrupted.
I can’t speak to its longevity, but so far I would give it five stars.
** Update ***
Over a year later, this kettle is still going strong. We’ve moved and traveled so much that it’s really not a joke when I say “home is where the Breville is.” If we’re leaving home for more than a few days, this kettle goes with us, doubtless confusing hotel housekeeping staff across the country. I really can’t do without it because not only oolong, green and white teas but also delicate blacks (like Darjeeling) brew much better when I can reliably get the correct temperature of water.
The only issue I’ve had is that over time the lid does not seal as tightly as it used to. I haven’t noticed steam escaping, but when you tilt it well over to pour out the hot water a bit of hot liquid will come out between the lid and the body rather than just through the spout. This is only a problem if you’re trying to pour into a very small-mouthed container (think narrow thermos) and can be easily addressed by pressing down gently on the lid with your other hand (and a hot pad or oven mitt!). This is a nuisance but a very minor one. Whenever ours eventually gives up the ghost we will be ordering another post haste.
Karen –
I looked long and hard for a decent kettle as my husband and I drink 3 to 4 cups of tea a day. Here were my requirements:
1) No plastic because of the leaching of chemicals. This kettle has a little plastic but is the best I could find. The glass kettle that is highly rated has a big silicon like seal which people said made the water taste funny.
2) A decent area to fill the kettle. You can fill it either by opening the lid which has a nice mechanism that slowly raises the lid when you push the button. Some kettles have small spouts which require you to aim.
3) A water level indicator. This has a water level indicator on two sides for use by right or left handed people.
4) A separate stand that you lift the kettle off of so you don’t have to hassle with a cord. I also wanted to be able to replace the kettle on the stand in any direction. Some makes require you to place the pot in a specific orientation.
5) Adequate protection so I wouldn’t be burned. The stainless gets hot, but around the handle there is more than enough protection that it hasn’t been an issue.
5) Elegant design. This kettle is well made, with little extra touches from a nice subtle tone when the water is boiled, to lighted buttons, to the lid mechanism. The extra temperature controls to optimize flavor for different types of tea are a bonus although I haven’t tried them. There is a hold button if you want to keep water hot. Yes it’s more expensive, but this thing sits on my kitchen counter and I use it a lot, so I was willing to spend the extra money.
Overall we have been very happy with this kettle and I looked at pretty much everything on the market. Can’t say anything about reliability as we have had it only a month.
Suzanne Jackson –
I use this everyday not only for tea but I use boiled water on my vapor and humidifier. Ot Jay’s very quickly, looks sleek and the size is perfect at 1/2 gallon