Customer Reviews

Chef's Choice 685 International Deluxe Cordless Electric Teakettle

5 star:		(65)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

I had one of these for almost six years and used it on a daily basis (not just for making tea, but also for boiling water quickly for other uses, i.e. food preparation). It always looked great and was a pleasure to use, but one day it stopped working. So I went online and looked at all of the kettles currently available. I thought about trying a different brand, but all of the other stainless steel kettles (I wasn't interested in plastic) had something I didn't like about them -- an awkwardly placed handle, an exposed element, etc. In the Chef's Choice kettle the element is hidden, so the interior of the kettle is easy to clean (it pretty much doesn't have to be cleaned at all, since only water is ever put in the kettle), and if the element gets covered in scale, I don't know about it (Chef's Choice does recommend occasionally "decalcifying" the kettle by boiling some white vinegar in it -- I never did this with my first kettle and I wonder if this eventually led to it malfunctioning?). The handle doesn't extend over the opening of the kettle, so it is easy to fill, and the spout is truly dripless. And of course the cord is attached to the base, not the kettle itself, so there is no need to plug and unplug it when carrying the kettle to sink or table or stove or wherever. So I'm on my second Chef's Choice kettle and very happy with it so far. I'm the kind of person who doesn't go in for a lot of kitchen gadgets, and I don't like using electric/electronic items when a manual or mechanical one will do, but I definitely recommend an electric kettle because it is energy-saving, fast, and won't boil dry (if you forget about it) or annoy you with a whistle (when you're busy doing something else).

UPDATE: (June 2008) My second one of these has just stopped working. I still love the design of this kettle, and maybe 5-6 years is not a bad lifespan, but . . . I think I might give the Breville kettle a try this time. Will report back!

Like another reviewer here, this is my second Chef's Choice electric teakettle. My first one, purchased at Williams-Sonoma in the mid-1990s, suddenly stopped working after my neighbors borrowed it (hummm...). As do all items purchased there, it had a lifetime warrenty, so I took it back and was given the brand of electric tea kettle they were selling at the time. I did _not_ like it, especially the placement of the handle, and promptly returned it. This was 2003 and Amazon was now carrying the brand so I ordered it here after being unable to find an electric tea kettle with a comfortably placed handle or adequate capacity in any local stores.

I use mine a minimum of twice, more commonly three times a day and am very, very happy with it. As mentioned in other reviews, having the actual heating elements under a solid bottom of stainless steel definitely prolongs the life of the appliance--the heating elements do not get caked with minerals. The best part for me, however, is the placement of the handle which makes pouring the boiled water both safe and easy for someone with hand and elbow problems--it has superior ergonomics.

I have high mineral content well water. Since I pour the boiled water into a thermal caraf (when not into a tea pot), I often use almost all the boiled water the Chef's Choice holds, which results in an accumulation of minerals on the stainless steel interior bottom. As a natural way of removing the sediment, I occasionally boil potato pealings in it then let it sit (with the pealings) over night. This is a trick I learned from someone who works in agriculture for the World Food Program. It works great.

An electric kettle seemingly wouldn't wear out, but that is exactly what happened to our previous one after only one year of use. This one has already beaten that. Additionally, it holds the water at a boil for a bit of time, rather than shutting off as soon as the boil is reached. This means that the water stays hotter in the kettle.

I love this teakettle! At first, I was hesitant to spend so much money on an electric teakettle. I have a perfectly good kettle for the stove but I got tired of waiting for it to boil and it gave no indication when it was done, so you had to keep an eye on it. I took the plunge and am very glad I did.

Whoever designed this kettle put some thought into it. First of all, I love that the base and the kettle are separate to allow filling and pouring without a cord in the way. Also, the fact that if shuts off when the water has come to a boil is very convenient. There is a light to indicate it is on (even if it is dark you can tell if it is off or on, that comes in handy) and when the switch moves to the off position it makes a clicking sound that also lets you know the water is ready. Last, but certainly not least, this kettle pours beautifully. The side mounted handle distributes the weight nicely and the spout is truly free of drips! There is a metal piece fitted over the inside of the spout that controls the pouring water and I think that is what keeps it from dripping (but the kettle can pour either really fast or really slow...the metal piece doesn't interfere with that).

At first, I thought I was going to have a problem with the lid because it takes a pretty good tug to get off. But this is no longer an issue after I tipped the hot kettle over to far one day and none of the water leaked from the top. It's a safety precaution and it does work! You can tip the whole thing over and water is only going to come out of the spout. I'll take the tight fitting lid over burns any day.

One last thing, for any other tea snobs out there (like me!), only stainless steel will come in contact with the water. There is no plastic in it that can taint the taste of the water. Because the heating unit is concealed, there isn't any mineral build up to affect the taste either.

A very well made electric kettle. No tea drinker should be without!

UPDATE:
I reviewed this kettle in September of 2003 and am still using it (Feb. 2005) and am still thrilled with it. It's worth every penny!

I was just visiting the page to see if Amazon still offered it because one of my friends is in the market for an electric kettle and I told her about this one. I just felt I had to add this because of J. Falconer "jfalcon1" calims that reviews from "A Kitchen & Housewares Enthusiast" sounded fake. I assure you I am a REAL tea snob and I love this kettle! Mr. Falconer might try reviewing products in the future and not reviewing reviewers!

My priority in kettle selection was health hazard reduction - i.e. least amount of plastic parts.

This kettle + lid is mostly stainless steel, except:
1) 0.5 inch cube sized black plastic part protruding into the lid(bottom portion of lid handle), which could imply exposure via condensation and steam.

2) 2 inch long, .5 to .75 varying inch width of pressure release mechanism made of black plastic, which would be partly or entirely emersed in water if you filled past half kettle capacity.

Based on the price of other electric tea kettles, I felt this was overpriced by $30. It is loud when heating, and auto-shut off is not as responsive (significant amount of steam escapes the spout before auto shut-off.)

I had hoped for additional features such as temperature control, water filter, and water level viewing window, but settled for this one for its mostly stainless steel construction. Slightly dissapointed that it is not entirely stainless steel interior. No frills, but does the job.

I have had this kettle for 18 months. First year it worked great. The switch turned off somwhat late, but actually it takes a while until the whole volume of boiling water reaches "boiling temperature", so the switch is set theoretically just right.
The weak point of the design are all the plastic parts. After a year of exposure to heat, exposed plastc parts become brittle and brake.
First was a lid handle, than the water level - vapor conduit assembly. All that I could fix myself. However after 18 months electric switch stopped working, and it was beyond repair. All the switch assembly is made out of plastic, riveted to the bottom of the kettle and it is impossible to disasemble it without destroying the whole thing. In summary - not worth the price.

First, I agree with the virtures of this product noted by other reviewers - it's a great design. Second, it has serious quality issues. We purchased in 2004, and sent it back for repair that year. Seems that the automatic shutoff feature stopped working (even when it worked, it allowed the water to boil about 1 minute or more before shutting off). It was repaired under warranty, then failed again. Well, the "Chef" no longer heats at all. (ice tea, anyone?) We NEVER ran it with low water, and it NEVER overheated. OK, this product is made in China, which can be good...or bad. A similar kettle at Wal-Mart is about $15.00 If the company attended to quality as much as appearance and features, it would be a great kettle. So...about $100 to heat water less than two years.
Good luck, all.

Currently Amazon does not offer a picture of this very pretty stainless steel kettle. My mother has had this kettle for 2 years and I enjoyed it everytime I went to visit. After looking at many different styles and qualities of kettles I finally got the same one my mother had because it was of higher quality than some of the plastic looking ones, better looking than most (it is a true tea kettle shape), and has a great base that wraps and hides the cord at varying lengths. Any kettle boils water sufficiently, but this one is my favorite and I use it everyday.

I have had this kettle for 2 years now. I have had no problems with it. As other reviewers have mentioned it does not shut off automatically as soon as it reaches a boil, it may take an extra minute. This can be a problem if you have it under or near low wood cabinets as it will ruin them. The water seems to boil very fast. I think it is pricey but I do use it so much and the thing hasn't conked out on me yet. Since it doesn't have an exterior water gauge I have to judge the level by the weight of the water. The exterior cleans easily with just baking soda, so it looks as good now as when it was brand new. I also like the way the electric cord wraps neatly underneath so you dont have an ugly black chord all over the place.

I am upgrading my previous rating from 4 to 5 stars because I discovered the "spots" were due to my water.

In comparing this unit to the Cuisinart, I find this much better to use for the handle is on the side and the opening is wider on top.