Customer Reviews

Le Creuset Enamel-on-Steel Demi 1-1/4-Quart Teakettle, Cherry Red

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

This kettle has the wonderful, traditional Le Creuset whistle when the water comes to a boil. It has elegant styling and a durable vessel. What one would expect from such a respecable brand.

It's got some serious flaws though. The handle extends beyond the edges of the kettle an so picks up quite a bit of heat from the burner underneath. It can be extremely hot if you don't take care to use a low flame.

More serious though is that the lid is fitted so snuggly that one needs to place ones palm on the handle and grasp the lids knob with the fingers, then squeeze to make a fist in order to get enough leverage to pull the lid off. It was only after the knob finally broke off that I discovered that the threaded screw holding it on was less than 4 millimeters long.

After 4 months of use, into the trash this kettle goes. I expected better from a brand like Le Creuset.

I've now owned two Creuset tea kettles and both times the whistle has failed and both times I burned up the pot (and ruined the stove top burner). Because I am an absent minded professor, I need to be WARNED or else I'm off in my own world. If you're like me and you absolutely need a reliable whistle on your tea kettle, then DO NOT purchase this brand. Oh, it's fine for a month or so, then the whistle starts to go and finally you'll end up burning down your neighborhood.

I have a love-hate relationship with this kettle. I love the looks, the colors, the size. But they don't hold up the way I want them to. Despite this, I've had 3 of them over the last few years. If you want a kettle to last a long time, I guess this isn't the right one. Here are the downsides and upsides:

The GOOD:
1) Fabulolus range of colors.
2) Heats pretty fast
3) Whistle is great as long as it doesn't fall out
4) No problems with rusting inside, and I leave water in it all the time.
5) Cleans up nicely no matter what splatters on it (I keep mine on the stove all the time)

The BAD:
1) No matter how careful you are, the enamel will eventually chip off here and there, especially at the bottom.
2) The metal side parts of the handle DO get hot and if you are careless, you can burn your hand. However, I haven't considered that a big problem.
3) I've had 3 of these over the last few years. On two of them, the whisle device fell out of the end of the spout and couldn't be put back (it wouldn't stay in once it fell out). The first two were replaced due to excessive chipping.

I adore my old little red Le Crueset teapot but have burned it so many times that the enamel has cracked and there is rust inside. That is why I was overjoyed to order this new version with the whistle! problem solved! I have the larger size kettle with the whistle in white at my country house and its a great kettle. I recommend it. Only problem here is that this little red pot is not really red, as shown in the photo, its a gradient from brown at the bottom to orangey red at the top. I was so dissapointed. I am returning it.

I should know.......... I have bought it twice now! I started off buying the cheap ones....... but they are ugly & I walked out of the room while heating water & by the time I came back it was completely stuck to the burner. (my fault) I then decided to buy a NICE tea kettle & bought the Le Creuset larger one . REALLY loved it but it was just SO big. I seem to be the only one who makes tea so I didn't need the big one. The 1 1/4 quart demi kettle is teh right size for one to two people. And you can have several cups of tea from it. I use it to heat up water & add it to the coffee grinds in my coffee press. I FINALLY bought this one & LOVE IT!! It's perfect for me & looks nice on the stove when not in use. I did have to buy another when I burned THIS one on the stove as well....... It didn't melt away on the stove but the enamel did start to chip...... But I LOVED this one SO MUCH that I immediately set out to find the exact same one. I abslutely love it. And I am being much more careful to not leave the room when I have the stove on. :) I am a firemans nightmare.

This kettle is not worth one tenth of its price. The whistle hasn't worked since its second or third use, the knob broke off after a few months, and as I was about to throw it away, I noticed the blue and white enamel on the inside of the kettle, where the spout meets the body, was chipped and rusted. Who knows how long it had been that way, despite my carefully opening it and drying it out after each use. My family loves Le Creuset and we have many of their pots and accessories, and none has disappointed as much as this tea kettle.

This kettle takes a long time to boil water, but the main problem is the handle--it doesn't stay upright, and as another reviewer noted, it heats up quite a bit, meaning you need an oven mitt or towel to hold it.

this teakettle is great. a lot of people don't like it and say that it rusts after 3 months. well, then they should really stick to a kettle like OXO or something. it isn't as high-maintenance as a le creuset or even a calphalon teapot.

a teapot, after used, should be dried and cleaned just like anything else. you shouldn't leave the water in it. i take special care of all my pots and pans because they are my treasure.

this le creuset teakettle rocks. it's so pretty.

I picked this tea kettle because I couldn't find the one I wanted. It's pretty on the stovetop, but it's dangerously flawed:

1) Boiling water surges unpredictably from the spout when pouring.
2) The handle may fall over and melt.
3) The whistle is not loud, and doesn't reliably sound.

I owned two of these kettles. Right out of the box the whistle was not reliable. Sometimes it would work and sometimes it wouldn't. That is fine, I thought, as long as you live in a tiny one-bedroom apartment and are always close enough to hear the water boil if the whistle fails. But then I moved to a bigger place and I have burned two of these kettles since.
Why would you bother buying a tea kettle without a reliable whistle? You might as well just save the money and wait in the kitchen while you boil water in a regular pot.
Don't buy this product! This Le Creuset kettle is a fire hazard and should be taken off the market. Even you might forget to remember one day that you had some water boiling for tea, and before you know it your apartment goes up in flames.