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Who makes the best tea kettle? Do you prefer using an electric tea kettle or stovetop?
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Muffy Aldrich
Muffy Aldrich, Editor of Salt Water New England: The Thing Before Preppy, since 2010. And a 12th Generation New Englander.
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I do not know if it is the best, but a Simplex Buckingham used over a gas burner is pretty wonderful. The chromed version is low maintenance. Apparently, others have not been enamored. They can be found at far lower prices on eBay.
ReplyDeleteNot sure who makes the best but stovetop over a gas flame is what we prefer. And if you're going to make tea with the water you boil please use tea leaves and a China tea pot and China cups and saucers. The only way to drink tea (and like most bits we drink it with milk)
ReplyDeleteI use a Simplex Buckingham and drink my tea in double walled Bodum glasses
ReplyDeleteI do like those Bodum glass mugs.
DeleteOh my god ... the classic Revereware stainless/copper bottomed kettle is THE BOMB !!! All vintage Revereware pieces are just so ooh-la-la ... collars up, preppies !!!
ReplyDeleteHahah! Used this for YEARS! “Borrowed” from my mother when I moved out of the house
DeleteI grew up with and still use Revereware, right down to the teakettle. Vintage Revereware is truly, as you say, the bomb.
DeleteWe have a Bodum electric kettle that we bought 15 years ago, it’s fantastic and heats up fast.
ReplyDeleteA while ago, I bought a Cuisinart PerfecTemp plug-in kettle (I think at Wirecutter's recommendation) and liked it. There was absolutely nothing wrong with it, but after a couple of months, I gave it away and went back to heating water in a glass measuring cup in the microwave. I find the microwave more convenient, more efficient, and no slower.
ReplyDeleteYou are like my husband 20 years ago...When we got married they loaded a truck of his plastic and silicone kitchen tools, microwave and plenty of other things. Apparently he even boiled (or rather wanted to), an egg in microwave for his daughter. I don't need to add that the egg exploded, cleaning lady was busy whole weekend cleaning the kitchen walls and the daughter doesn't eat eggs LOL
DeleteMen! What are we going to do about these thick-headed lugs?
DeleteA shame that he didn't work out in advance that there would be more steam produced than the shell could contain. For eggs, it's really only omelettes that you can make in the microwave.
DeleteWe have 2 at home. Since we manufacture them for different brands (yes, in China!), I get them for testing.
ReplyDeleteUsing only electric, recently double wall with stainless steel inside, plastic body outside and electronic temperature indicator (very practical). The previous one was made of glass which I liked too, also electric, but the lid was made of plastic and this concerned me constantly.
There are some kettles made of stainless steel, manufactured in Italy (I mean European market), and I like their vintage look, but it's easy to burn hands and one needs a gas oven.
Newey & Bloomer
ReplyDeleteMakers of the above-referenced Simplex Buckingham, for those keeping a tally.
DeleteDear SWNE, your photo above is lovely, but a picture of the Buckingham would not be amiss. Visually, it is clearly unique. BTW, its whistle would wake the dead, perfect for the scatter brained such as myself who put on the kettle and then wander off to do other things.
ReplyDeleteReston Lloyd burner covers and matching whistling teakettles. Pretty cute if a little over the top. Seem harder to find than they were 10 years ago.
ReplyDeleteSimplex Buckingham!
ReplyDeleteYou just need freshly boiled water. The kettle does not matter.
ReplyDeleteChina cups are fine if you are playing acting at tea. A substantial mug is best for a cup of strong builders’ tea. Good loose leaf tea is better than tea bags. Less dust in loose leaf.
O.k. if your a builder!
DeleteBuilders’ tea is just a term for proper people’s tea - i.e. those who regularly drink it in large quantities.
DeleteNot tourists, or folks who go to Betty’s tea room in Harrogate, or overpriced afternoon teas in fancy London hotels.
You are very much mistaken
DeleteI believe the poster of the comment re the use of bone china was referring to the way tea should be drunk and not the way the unwashed masses drink it. It sounds like you have a chip on your shoulder
DeleteThere is a time and place for everything. I love afternoon tea in great grandmother's blue and white Canton cups and saucers, using her sterling creamer for the milk (not cream), her matching sugar bowl filled with "officers' sugar" (cubes), and the matching teaspoons. Yesterday, feeling under the weather, I welcomed a hot cuppa with honey and lemon in a big, warming mug. On the road, the ten ounce Yeti is ideal. In a place where only a paper cup can be had, a paper cup it is. The only container that will always draw a sneer from me is something made of plastic. The sneer, however, is disdain for plastic itself, not for looking down on the style. If one lives in a home where the only cups are ceramic other than bone china, they are not barred from putting on the kettle at 3:30 or even earlier, if, as Mick Jagger proclaimed, "I've got nasty habits. I take tea at three." If you truly believe tea should be served only on bone china or you regard the masses as unwashed, you are a rara avis of another time and place.
DeleteHi VV I always enjoy your comments and am pleased to hear you enjoy a nice cuppa. I'm rather flattered that you consider me a rare bird from another time and place as I wouldn't disagree with you in that I'm always well dressed knowing what to wear and when to wear it and having impeccable manners which today is indeed very rare. I am still the same waist measurement I was when I got married (34) alongside an increasingly obese population. Drinking tea from bone china is less rare than you would think here in the UK. It's not restricted to Betty's Tea Rooms in Harrogate or smart London hotels. All our family and friends do so and the majority of tea rooms and small hotels in the area in which we live do so. When they don't we drink coffee. I absolutely hate the dumbing down that has occurred over recent years in the UK. When we go out to dinner in a nice restaurant (me wearing a jacket and tie) I'm always surprised that people think blue jeans and a tea shirt or hoody is suitable attire. So yes I'm a rare bird from another time and place and proud of it. Thank you!
DeleteI meant to post the above comment as tjmataa. Apologies
DeleteRegarding ‘the unwashed masses’ comment, I am reminded of this chap. Not Victor, or the man in the mobility vehicle, but the chap whose Irish jig goes down the drain:-
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmZ9f_a6tEU
For Anonymous on November 16, 2025 at 2:32 pm:
DeleteWhen tea first came to the UK, only the aristocracy could afford it. They used bone chine which could withstand the heat of the tea. When tea became more affordable, many people did not have bone china, so they used other drinkware and put the milk in first to avoid breakage.
I love a bone china mug or a bone china cup of tea, but I think it is a disservice to think that only the "unwashed masses" like builder's tea. That particular cup of tea means a strong brew with milk and two sugars and has nothing to do with the way it is served nowadays.
I agree with Vecchio Vespa that there are many ways to enjoy tea, and many lifestyles that do not accommodate sitting down with a full china tea service. It does not mean that you are better than anyone else, just that you are fortunate enough to be born into a more privileged family than others, if you are able to take tea at 15h00 using bone china.
@Melanie Feeney 1.47 p.m.
DeleteI should point out that I made the original comment on November 12th re drinking tea out of bone china a bit tongue in cheek I'm fully aware that not everybody owns bone china but everyone now seems to be attributing the comment re the unwashed masses to me. I'm not sure why as it was an anonymous post. It's frankly offensive to suggest that only those born into a privileged family can own or enjoy drinking tea from bone china (I certainly wasn't) and at no point did I suggest we sit down every afternoon at 3.00 p.m. with a full tea service. Please check facts before you post. The bone china we have used for the last forty one years is our wedding gift china and yes we eat off it too! You may also rest assured that I know the history of tea drinking and I also know what builders tea is (only two sugars - I think not). I also know the history of coffee drinking starting in London in the 17th century but I won't lecture you
Being a rare bird is, indeed, a tip of the hat to one who knows how to comport one's self.
DeleteSales of bone china are falling in the UK as people prefer something cheaper and more practical. Earlier generations had china and cutlery as wedding gifts. Additions were purchased in January sales. They were often kept for best, like the parlour room and rarely used.
DeleteI used to find tea served at work in china cups did not hold the heat well and a freshly made tea in a mug was more enjoyable. Part of the problem might have been talking slowed the consumption when you were offered the china.
Sacrilege, but we have a dedicated instant hot water dispenser adjacent to our sink. Replaced the myself when the heating element inside it died a few years ago. Between hot tea and mason jars of iced tea that I make, steep on the counter, & refrigerate, it's too convenient to ignore.
ReplyDeleteI hate my tea water in the microwave.
DeleteYou are not alone. In fact, we do not accept the microwave, period. My bride, an accomplished artist, calls the microwave, “a distinctly unattractive appliance.” We like the classic Simplex design. And we prefer the teas of the northwest corner’s own, Harney Tea.
DeleteAnother Harney Tea fan here. From a tiny town in Connecticut to collaboration with Historic Royal Palaces to produce a coronation tea in honor of King Charles. Try it. You’ll like it
DeleteI had a Simplex Buckingham, but to be honest, I didn't like it. I found the handle uncomfortable, and hot water tended to spurt and sputter as I poured. Additionally, it occupied a significant amount of space on the stove or in a cabinet. I replaced it with a Cuisinart electrical kettle and have never looked back. It boils water amazingly quickly and has a large, comfortable handle on the side for easy pouring.
ReplyDeleteWe replaced our copper bottom yrs ago for an electric kettle. Quick and steamy hot. We order our tea from a British supplier. Never use the microwave for anything other than reheating food!
ReplyDeleteI heat the water for our tea in the microwave.
ReplyDeleteWe were tired of our electric kettles dying regularly, so we are currently using a non-brand stovetop kettle that my Mother-in-Law bought for emergency purposes. I love the whistle, the blue enamel and most of all, I love the boiling water. If I had the means, I would have a dedicated hot-water-tap. But until then, I am happy with what I have. I will say that the quality of the water where I live is very good, so I don't need a water filter. If you live somewhere with hard water, a water filter and regular descaling of your kettle with vinegar are very nice to have.
ReplyDeleteLe Creuset tea kettle. Very fast. If you don't boil it out, it will last a long time.
ReplyDelete