Breville IQ Kettle™ Pure, BKE830XL, Stainless Steel

This kettle would be great if it did not beep. To make one cup of the it beeps nine times! It beeps when you take it off the stand to fill it and then when you put it back on the stand. You have to press two buttons to start it – two more beeps. It beeps three times to let you know that yes indeed it has boiled and then another two beeps as you take it off the stand to fill your cup and then replace it.

I am not sure if this is justification for returning it but for all of you who might think of buying one – beware of the beeps.

This is one sweet appliance! I have absolutely nothing bad to say about it. I waited several months before reviewing. It is substantially constructed. Breville did NOT make a cheap, flimsy product. It works perfectly. The appliance is very attractive and pleasing to look at. No problem at all with the control buttons. The temps and wording for types of tea are easy to read. The text is above and below each button instead of on the button so it won’t wear off. The buttons are flush with the control panel making it nice and sleek. There are no extra pieces sticking out anywhere on this appliance thereby giving it it’s sleek appearance. There is an auto-open (flush) button on the upper part of the handle that auto-opens the kettle lid. It is a soft open so the lid does not suddenly fly up. If you accidently miss this button a little so the lid does not completely open, just press button again. Note that this is not a malfunction of the design but a whoops of your finger. There is a stainless steel bottom inside the glass kettle portion. It is a breeze to clean. 1 cup of white vinegar, fill pot to max line, bring to boil. Once it cools a bit so steam is not too hot for you, use a long-handled, soft-bristled brush in the vinegar solution and brush the whole inside of the pot. It cleans right up with no hard scrubbing needed (you wouldn’t want to scratch the glass if that’s possible – I don’t know). Dump out the vinegar water, rinse it, put in fresh water, bring to boil, dump that and you are done . The boiling of the pot does most of the cleaning. You won’t need to clean it like this often – only once you see class getting cloudy. It will be sparkling clean again. There is an element on bottom of the pot and the base also. No submerging pot or base! If you get a little water on these places it’s totally okay so long as you dry it up before turning kettle on. I have done this many times. Handle is easy to hold. There is a small strainer right behind the glass spout that is easy to remove and replace. Another great feature that Breville uses on all their appliances concerns the electric cord. There is a three-prong cord with a finger hole in the plug so you can easily pull it out of the wall. I thought this was ingenious and would like to thank the person at Breville that came up with it. The cord itself is heavy-duty, still flexible enough to coil up nicey, and just long enough for counter-top use. This is something that I do. I actually brew the tea in the pot but after the water comes to temp. Once the water is heated, I drop in the teabags or tea ball, set the timer for how long I want and then remove the bags/ball. I have a wooden cook spoon with a long handle that pulls the bags right up the side of the glass so I can grab them. Also, Amazon has a couple of tea balls with 7″ chains that will hang on the side of the pot. This is quite convenient for me. You should know that Breville does not recommend brewing tea in their pot. However, I puzzled this out with logic and common sense considering that the kettle is stainless and glass – not materials that are bothered by tea. If you are going to do this, it’s important to know the tea is put in once the kettle is off. I did spend hours on the Internet researching all the options for electric tea kettles/brewers and reading tons of reviews. I really did not want to pay the price for the Breville but in the end its features, construction and appearance sold me. I have had a lot to say about this product because I think it is as close to perfect as I have seen in my 69 years of purchasing. I hope you will enjoy it too.

I splurged on this kettle about a week ago and I’m not sorry. I am a huge tea drinker and this kettle is a tea drinker’s dream. I hadn’t realized how badly my old, “regular” kettle was scorching everything. I actually boil water for my herbal tea on the green tea setting, because I don’t like my tea so hot that it burns my tongue. The flavours are so much more robust when you boil the water at the various temperatures. So far I’ve used the green tea and the black tea setting and no joke, my tea tastes so much better, and I never realized how much flavour I was missing. The water boils quickly and quietly, and the “stay warm” function is a dream… most of the time I’m doing other things while water boils and with this function I don’t feel like I need to sit and wait for it to finish… I can do whatever I’m doing and know the water will stay at the appropriate temperature. It’s very easy to operate and I love how big the carafe is, I only need to fill it every two or three days. I haven’t cleaned it yet, but based on the instructions it will be easy to do. It’s a lot of money for a kettle, but it’s very worth it. It’s sturdy, well-made and I expect it to last a very long time.

This was a very researched purchase and I have no regrets. We use this every day for various teas and Aeropress coffees, instant noodles, and for a head start on boiling water for pasta or potatoes, and it has surpassed my expectations. It is very nice to be able to adjust the heat required for expensive teas, instead of steeping them all at the highest temperature. I also enjoy the convenience of the Hold feature that keeps the water at the temperature specified for 30 mins, very handy! This kettle chimes when ready, so that’s a nice call for attention as well, if you are a perpetual multi-tasker like me! I love being able to see the water boil, although this is more of a “nice to have” but it does contribute to the attractiveness of the kettle overall, it looks very smart sitting on our granite counter top.