Few can start the morning without a cup of hot tea or coffee. And in the evening, when the whole family gathers at a large table ... Well, how can you not have some tea here. This is understandable: the tradition of getting together and having tea with bagels for heart-to-heart conversations goes back centuries.
And the electric kettle was revealed to mankind only 126 years ago: the first electric kettle was presented to the visitors of the Chicago exhibition by a certain retired Colonel Cromton. There was no special "wow" effect: such a kettle was heated very slowly, but it "ate" a lot of electricity. But then the followers of Cromton improved the kettle - and today it is already difficult to imagine the life of the most banal hostel without an electric kettle.
It would seem that it could be easier. A good electric kettle is a stand, a heating element, and a bulb. Well, okay, it still has to look neat, cute and match our personal preferences for color, style and shape. All. What can be upgraded here? Let's try to figure it out. For today's review of teapots, we took five modern models that are often found in reviews and reviews on the network:
- BOSCH TWK70B03
- REDMOND SkyKettle G201S
- POLARIS PWK 1702CGL
- Tefal Glass KI7208
- XIAOMI Mi Smart Kettle
Overall
With the general functionality, everything is clear. Probably, it is already "indecent" to mention a flask rotating 360 degrees as an advantage. To some, this may seem like an insignificant trifle, but the "spinning" kettle is convenient: you can put it on the base instantly. And both right-handers and left-handers can do this. The dummies participating in the review (like the overwhelming majority of current electronic kettles) have heating elements built into the base - and this has also long been a "common place". A compartment for twisting and storing the cord is also already in all teapots - even in noun-units from the Moscow region wholesale base of household appliances. Therefore, in our rating of teapots, we do not stop at these stylistic details: it is clear that branded teapots in our review have everything in order with style and ergonomics.
Now about the differences
Electric kettles by the type of flasks are of two types: "pot-bellied" and "cylindrical". The cylinder, of course, takes up less space. But the bulge looks more appetizing. But in general, the choice of shape is a matter of taste. But the weight and material of the flask is, perhaps, much more important than the shape.
Yes, most manufacturers have preferred classic glass. It is understandable - the glass provides clarity of the processes inside the kettle (boils, does not boil) and is well cleaned from scale. Unlike plastic, glass does not “fade” - for example, colored, especially cheap plastic, “burns out” over time, and even a well-functioning kettle has to be thrown away ahead of time due to the loss of its appearance. And plastic is not popular with people today: even if the flask is made of super-modern harmless plastic, the consumer will still be afraid of "the release of harmful phenols from plastic". Therefore, reasonable manufacturers "fix" on glass flasks, and use plastic and metal in other parts of the kettle.
XIAOMI decided to stand out and made a two-layer flask - steel inside, plastic outside. This is explained by the fact that even when the water inside the flask is heated to 100 degrees, the outer walls will not heat up above 40 degrees. This is generally great. But in fairness, it should be noted that rarely does anyone have the habit of grabbing a boiling kettle not by the handle, but by the body. So the innovation is controversial. And in our rating of dummies, Xiaomi does not add any advantages.
REDMOND and POLARIS kettles turned out to be the lightest by weight.But Tefal unpleasantly surprised: why is it so heavy? Pardon me, this is an electric kettle, not a dumbbell! .. At the same time, pay attention to the capacity of each model (see the table below): the lighter REDMOND holds 2 liters of water (and its weight "when filled" will be 3.2 kg), and heavy Tefal - only 1.7 liters of water (and its weight "when filled" will be almost 4 kg!). Those. in order to get a company of guests drunk, you will have to pump up your biceps well with Tefal and do several boiling approaches.
Specifications
But, weight is weight, and the main task of a good electric kettle is still to boil water. And here power is important.
Number 5 stood out here too - it turned out to be the weakest: the power is too small, and the volume is only 1.5 liters. We can say that XIAOMI with such data is suitable only for a family of the "man and cat" format. But Tefal and BOSCH turned out to be the most powerful.
REDMOND shows a decent power and at the same time boils the largest volume - 2L. Perhaps, for a family with children, this combination of power and volume is optimal. It's not so important that the water boils a fraction of a second later than another kettle. But an extra cup of tea is already important. So, here in our review of teapots we give preference to REDMOND.
Constructive nuances
In four of the five kettles presented in our rating, the lid opens, and in BOSCH and REDMOND it is almost vertical, which is convenient when drawing water. But POLARIS made the cover removable. It would seem that this is it, maximum pleasure. But no. In the classic case, we open the kettle with one hand, turn the tap with the other hand and let the water in. In the case of POLARIS, you will first have to take the kettle with one hand, with the other, remove the lid and (attention!) Find where to put it while the water is being drawn. To put it mildly, not all sink manufacturers provide a place for a kettle lid on their products. A trifle, but it may not be very convenient in everyday life.
But okay - the cover. The workmanship of POLARIS is noticeably inferior to the rest. Unfortunately, there are small design flaws: in places uneven seams, not always a snug fit of the elastic bands. And this, in addition to potential anxiety among perfectionists, can also significantly reduce the life of the kettle: loose joints will disperse faster and begin to leak. At the same time, POLARIS costs no cheaper than other brands of teapots!
Chips, goodies and prices
BOSCH and TEFAL did not disappoint, but did not surprise either. Simple, solid, good electric kettles. Automatic shutdown when boiling and when removing the flask, overheating protection, high-quality glass, an anti-scale filter. Everything you need and nothing more. But then why such a high price? Brand fee? Hmm, maybe.
But REDMOND and XIAOMI are already a different level. Not just kettles, but smart kettles with smart functionality. Managed in 1-2 clicks from a smartphone. It's simple: you download the application for free - and you can turn on / off the device remotely, from almost anywhere in the world. Or you wake up - and the kettle is already boiling. Or you go home from work in the drizzle and slush, you run into the apartment, as in the harbor, and there is already boiling water. And tea in a minute. A couple of sips. To keep warm. And let the whole world wait.
But is it only possible? Maybe the prefix "smart" and control from a smartphone give something else interesting and useful? We look:
It turns out that REDMOND has provided a few more functions in its electric kettle. Both funny and practical. Here, for example, colored illumination - it would seem, just pleases the eye. Customize colors and shift intervals as you wish. And if you synchronize your smartphone and the kettle in the application (“Disco-tea” mode), you can literally arrange a disco with color music in the kitchen: the smart kettle will start shimmering in different colors to the beat of your chosen melody.
But besides fun, colored backlighting has practical value. The REDMOND SkyKettle's built-in smart RGB lighting allows the kettle to be used as a night light or lamp. Also, you can adjust the color change so that from a distance, by the color of the kettle, you can determine how hot or cold the water is in it. Plus, there is even a mode of children's games for guessing the color - to entertain the kid with something interesting while he sits in a high chair and waits for porridge.
Well, especially for Russia REDMOND in 2025 year introduced another "chip". The collaboration between the brand and Yandex has resulted in the integration of the Alisa voice control system into the application. So, now the phrase "Alice, turn on the kettle!" will no longer sound crazy in an empty apartment. But what to do if my wife's name is also Alice ...
In addition to what is mentioned in the table, it is worth noting that REDMOND in 2025 year opened new options for users on its Ready for Sky platform (the user application bears the same name). This is ordering drinking water and teas from tea shops at home (SkyMarket solution); and a personal scheduler with reminder settings (SkyManager solution). And also - in the custom application there is a book of recipes for tea gourmets.
XIAOMI in this sense is not yet diverse enough. Which, in general, can be seen in the table, and without special explanations. And the results of our review of teapots seem to be quite obvious. POLARIS dropped out of the race during the build quality phase. BOSCH and TEFAL, if they were surprised, only at the price for a basic and never surprising set of functions. And in the rating of dummies "wisely" REDMOND won an unconditional victory. By the way, the manufacturer has already announced the release of a new series of smart kettles, where the backlight will not consist of 1 LED (as in the model reviewed today), but of 24 diodes. And this means that in the very near future we will watch a movie or football with the effect of full light and color immersion - because it will be possible to customize the illumination of the kettle in the most exotic versions and combinations. The 21st century is the century of technology, there is no getting away from this: and even a teapot nowadays is not enough just to boil water. We are convinced of this. And you? Feel free to read your impressions in the comments.
