Breville BKE820XL Variable-Temperature 1.8-Liter Kettle

by Breville

• 1500-watt 2-quart kettle with 5 pre-set brewing temperatures for tea and more
• 360-degree stainless-steel directional base; clearly marked push-button control panel
• Hold Temp button keeps water at selected temperature for 20 minutes
• Boil-dry protection; water-level indicators on both sides; removable scale filter
• Measures 7-1/2 by 9-1/2 by 11 inches

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 9.5 x 11 inches ; 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001DYERBK
• Item model number: BK3820XL
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (138 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,077 in Kitchen & Dining (See Top 100 in Kitchen & Dining)

Product Description

The Variable Temperature kettle allows the user to heat water to specific temperatures that achieve perfect taste profiles for the four major types of teas and French press coffee. 5 Pre-set brewing temperatures include: 175F for Green Tea; 185F for White Tea; 195F for Oolong Tea; 200F for French Press: and 212F for boiling and black tea. The European stainless steel design make it a beautiful table statement.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

246 of 255 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars New tea snob in the making thanks to this excellent kettle November 24, 2008

By O. Gunther

I am relatively new to the tea scene (my wife and I started drinking Teavana teas about a year ago) and as such I have been searching for a really good kettle. I wanted an electric kettle because of their ease of use as well as the extra features some of the nicer kettles offer. After an exhaustive search I decided upon the Breville SK500XL Ikon Stainless-Steel Electric Kettle based in no small part to the excellent reviews it has received on Amazon and other sites.

I went to a few stores to examine it in person and compare it to about ten other electric kettles that the different stores carried but nothing seemed to come close to the design and quality of the Breville. So after finally making my decision, it was simply a matter of time before I made my purchase. I am very glad I waited as within 2 weeks this new Breville kettle was released. While still substantially costlier than the SK500XL, the BKE820XL has a number of features and design improvements that made the extra cost more than worth it. These include:

- Multiple temperature settings (different teas require different temperature water for an optimally brew) with 20 minute hold
- Improved water level indicators now on both sides (the single water level indicator on the SK500XL is behind the handle which makes it hard to read)

I've only had my BKE820XL a few days (I purchased it from a local store) so I cannot speak to its long term reliability yet, if it is anything like the SK500XL, I don't expect to have any problems.

Oh yeah, and the tea I've made in the last few days is easily the best I've ever brewed! Yay!...

UPDATE 1/2/2009: I've had the BKE820XL for over a month now and I still love it! The only thing I've found that I would critique is:

- After you are done boiling water for the day, you need to either dry out the lid by hand or leave the lid open for a few hours to let the water evaporate (from the lid where it collects). I am concerned that not doing this might lead to issues down the road.

Even with that, I am still overjoyed with my purchase (which I use at least 5 times a week) and highly recommend it to anyone in search of a quality electric kettle.

UPDATE 3/12/2009 - Nothing much to report except that my wife and I are continuing to use our kettle mutliple times a week and are extremely happy with it. It has a permanent place on our counter! :)

UPDATE 09/26/2010 - Just wanted to pop on and provide a quick update. We have had this kettle almost 2 years now and have yet to have any issues with it (fingers crossed). We have used it at least once a week (if not a lot more) pretty much without fail and are still very happy with it. At this point if something were to go wrong with it, we wouldn't hesitate to purchase another one. Highly recommended. :)

UPDATE 09/30/2010 - A commenter chastised me a bit for not mentioning the BPA controversy in my review. As I mentioned in my reply to her, I would caution everyone to be sure to read the actual scientific papers or publications that are as unbiased as possible. I find a great source for all things scientific to be Arstechnica.com. They have a great way of breaking down complex topics in ways that non-scientific types (like myself) can really understand and absorb (see this BPA article as an example: [...]).

If you don't want to wait for a conclusive link between BPA and health issues (of which there has not been one to date that I am aware of), I can completely understand and sympathize. If I had an infant I would definitely be doing all I could to minimize their BPA intake. Still, with that said I would ask that anyone concerned by this or other health issues please try to represent the facts in your arguments and not the hype; this allows others to make their own, informed decisions as well.

UPDATE 09/04/2011 - We've had our Breville almost three years now and have yet to have any problems with it. Most of the negative reviews seem to be in regard to the potential BPA issue which I've already posted my opinion on (both above & in the comments to this review) however a few have mentioned actual mechanical issues. Perhaps they use theirs more than we do (we use ours at most once per day but probably more realistically about 3 to 4 times a week on average) or maybe they just received a lemon (or perhaps ours is the exception, I couldn't really tell you). I have noticed recently that the lid sometimes stays shut while the water is still hot; I don't know if it has always done this and I never noticed before or if it has recently started to do this, either way I look at it as a design element (to help keep me from spilling hot water on myself) but perhaps it is a design flaw? Regardless all I do is tap on the lid once or twice while pushing the button and it opens right up. Other than that it works just as well as the day we bought it (I still don't have a decent thermometer so I couldn't tell you how accurate it was new or used but the water still seems as hot...for whatever that is worth).

UPDATE 04/09/2012 - Well I am sad to report that, after almost 4 years of service, our Breville appears to be on its last legs. Over the last few months we've started to notice some faulty behavior that I suspect is indicative of our unit's impending death. Here are the issues that have started to plague our kettle:

- Kettle does not shut off at the proper temperature: this is happening more and more - we mostly use our kettle for coffee these days and I use the second highest setting (195 degrees) for our Chemex. The issue is the kettle doesn't always shut off at 195 degrees but will go to a full boil instead. I do not know if it would eventually shut itself off or if this is a true safety issue as I've always notice the issue right away. This is not a huge issue (provided the safety shutoff is still working, which is unknown) as much as an inconvience but it does not bode well for the kettle's future.
- For the first time this morning, the Breville shutoff prematurely. I turned the kettle on, set my temperature and the temperature hold and walked away. When I returned (less than 5 minutes later), the kettle had shut off and the water was nowhere close to the 195 degree that it was set to. I was unable to get the kettle to heat up the water to the 195 degree setting as it would (by the sound of it) start to heat up but then before the water was hot enough, it would shut off. The water never got to the correct temperature and the kettle never shut off. It seemed stuck in a repeating cycle. I eventually set the kettle to its highest setting (205 degrees) and the kettle started working again.

To me these issues seem to indicate that the kettle is having issues with its electronics and not with the actual heating unit itself (but obviously this is purely speculation on my part based on my anecdotal evidence). Being that this is the only "high end" kettle we've owned, I don't know if 3+ years is a normal or acceptable lifespan for a tool such as this. I know it only comes with a 1 year warranty but for the price, I had hoped it would last at least 5 to 10 years but perhaps that is unrealistic? Being that my wife and I are mostly coffee drinkers these days, we probably will replace this kettle with gooseneck spout type kettle (like this Bonavita: Bonavita 1.0L Electric Kettle BV3825B) instead of another Breville. Overall I'm still a fan of our kettle and will be sad to see it go.

I believe my original score of 5 stars still stands though I'd change it to a 4.5 if Amazon allowed 1/2 stars. Read more ›

415 of 487 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars The viewing window and lid are polycarbonate August 26, 2009

By Mama G

First, this kettle is gorgeous! I bought it for it's beauty and easy to use variable temperature and the fact it had a viewing window to easily see how much water was inside. Before I used it, I emailed Breville to find out what type of plastic the viewing window was made from. The response I received was a defensive email about how polycarbonate and BPA are safe for food contact and this kettle is safe. I've been reading the research on BPA and polycarbonate for years, so they didn't share anything new with me. I would have preferred their response to simply state "polycarbonate" and then offer to provide me with more information if I had any concerns.

Regardless, they weren't going to change my mind. I don't feel comfortable with polycarbonate around my boiling (or close to boiling) water and in this day and age where BPA is a huge uproar, I am super surprised that Breville came out with a brand new kettle containing polycarbonate. I would have loved to see this kettle have a glass viewing window and lid, that would have been super! Especially with the price point they are selling this at. Having it be a "toxin free" kettle with no plastic would have been a great marketing move.

I did reply and thank them for the information and politely told them I would be returning it due to the polycarbonate, but that if they came out with a version that had glass instead of polycarbonate, I'd snap it up in a second. I received no further reply from Breville.

35 of 39 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Almost Perfect January 19, 2009

By Alan L. Sharp

Amazon Verified Purchase

I drink various types of teas constantly to my dentist's consternation, such as Irish and East Frisian in the morning with Pu Erh Tuo Cha and Green Jasmine in the evening. On the weekends I drink French Pressed coffee.

I did it the old fashioned way with a thermometer. Needless to say, but I will anyway, this kettle did make life simpler, but, (always a but) it has not functioned as advertised.

The primary issue is on the boiling setting for black teas. Sometimes it shuts off, and sometimes it doesn't. The other presets have worked flawlessly, and this may only be an anomaly with this particular pot.

I will say that I am going to order a second one, and send this one back to Breville for repairs. That should tell you how much I like the idea of this kettle.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best tea and easy use March 14, 2009

By Papa H

Amazon Verified Purchase

This is an incredibly elegant and precise, yet easy to use kettle. Even the sound to let you know when it's done is discreet and pleasant. Our household has a variety of schedules, and drinks a variety of teas as well as french press coffee. It's wonderful. Finally, jasmine green tea comes out at home as it should!

The manual holds only critical information, so it's brief - but read it well. I started to be dissatisfied about how the hold temp function works until re-reading the paragraph later.

I've only two minor criticisms. I wish that the minimum water that could be heated was 250 ml not 500 ml, but I get around it with an incredible insulated mug/carafe. More annoying is the cord length; if it was just a few inches longer to 2' it would be great. It's been difficult to find a place on the counter near an outlet that wouldn't steam the cupboards above or get knocked over. (And there's no room to stuff 3-6 feet of the correct type of 3-pronged appliance extension cord.)

So - very minor gripes. Even if it broke tomorrow, I'd order another immediately.