Customer Reviews

Joyce Chen 2 Quart Ceramic Tea Kettle with Bamboo Handle, Ebony

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is a beautiful little pot. Unfortunately, it has many problems which makes it function poorly. The cover threatens to come off when you pour, and leaks burning steam. Also, the pour spout is very narrow making the pouring process excruciatingly slow. To top it all off, it the spout drips as it pours. I love the way this pot looks, and will keep it for special occasions, but when I want to boil a lot of water and pour it out fast, I'll have to get another pot:(

It's a very pretty teakettle. Easy to clean and it boils water very fast and it doesn't impart any taste to the water. I love it.

My original Joyce Chen Ceramic 2 quart tea kettle was originally purchased for me by my dear friends for my birhtday. About a year later the lid was destroyed by my cat. I bought a new one ASAP. This pot is versatile, you can warm it in a microwave (take off the handle), on an electric range, gas stove, or over an open fire, or rocket stove (Google is your friend). I use it to make both hot and iced tea and do so several times a day. It is quite easy to clean, and though placing it in a dishwasher is not recommended by the manufacturer, my original pot went through well with no ill effects (take the handle off first).The lid is the only weak spot of this product, if you note other reviewers sad tales of lid destruction, you will realize like I did too late, that you must protect the lid. If you protect the lid, this durable and versatile tea pot will serve you for a life time.

I read the negative reviews and almost didn't buy this fantastic product. But I decided to take a risk, given that I couldn't find a better sounding alternative, and I'm very glad I did.

* My goal was to find a tea kettle that wouldn't release metal into the water ~ this one doesn't and never will ~ unlike enamel kettles that eventually rust.
* You can use the hottest burner setting which I wasn't sure about until I read the instructions. I have a glass top electric stove and the water comes to a boil as quickly as my metal tea pot.
* The instructions say to let the boiling water sit for 30 seconds before pouring to avoid splashing. I don't think the reviewer that complained about this did that.
* Yes, you have to hold the lid when pouring (it's not hot) so it doesn't fall off, and if you do, it doesn't leak steam.
* It doesn't drip when it pours ~ just one drop when you stop, but so do many items you pour from. The key is to wait 30 seconds until it stops furiously boiling.
* It pours fast enough ~ I can't imagine what the reviewer who thought it was too slow expects.
* The 2 things you have to be careful about are:
1. Not putting a hot kettle on a cold wet surface. (This is about the property of the material and as this is high fired, it has nothing to do with the quality of the product.)
2. Not letting it boil dry ~ I set a timer so I don't forget.

In conclusion, what's the alternative? Is there a perfect one? I'm certainly done looking ~ this one is perfect enough for me.

I wanted to try a ceramic pot so that I wouldn't have to worry about rust. (No matter how carefully I wash and dry my metal teapots, eventually the insides start rusting.)

This pot looked like a good idea because it's a nice shape & color, has no whistle (they drive me batty), and it was on sale.

As it happens, much to my amazement, I can actually taste a difference when I use this pot to heat water for tea, coffee or hot chocolate. I like it.

Unfortunately, the handle doesn't feel especially secure. The pot seems too heavy for it, so that I'm afraid of the pot swinging out of line while I'm pouring. I solve this by pouring the way my grandmother taught me as a child: holding a potholder on top of the lid while pouring. This steadies the pot and reassures me that the lid will stay in place. (The lid shouldn't go anywhere anyway, the angle of the spout is such that you don't have to tip the pot too much to pour, but it's nice to be sure.)

I like this pot much better than any other I've used, but I'm still on the lookout for the "perfect" teapot.

UPDATE: I've had this teapot for about 6 months now and I've gotten used to the handle. It's not as insecure as it seems at first. I think I can say that I'm no longer on the lookout for another teapot.

UPDATE 30 June 2010: Still love it. I'm totally over my concerns about the handle. The teapot still cleans up like new with just a little soap and water. I highly recommend this to anybody looking for a whistle-free ceramic teapot.

This is the best tea kettle of all that I have owned. I just placed an order for my second one after the first one was accidently knocked off the counter. I'd had it for three years and used it at least twice a day on a gas lit stove top. It's sturdy (only the lid was broken in the fall), will never rust, and as the previous reviewer says, stays warm for a while. It's also a beautiful kettle. It could only be better if it whistled but I'm happily repurchasing this tea kettle over any of the whistling kettles out there.

This kettle is a true work of art. It doesn't get five stars because the price makes it out of range of all but serious tea drinkers.

I am glad I didn't see the negative review before I ordered this tea kettle or I would have avoided it. This is a gorgeous little pot that performs beautifully. It heats nicely, stays hot, pours perfectly, the lid stays put just fine, and it has a simple elegance of form with a soft ebony color that make it a delight.

I ordered one of these great pots when they first came out and have been happily using it for some time. Unfortunately, I dropped the lid and it shattered. So I tried to order a replacement pot. The first time I received it, clearly the box containing the pot had been dropped prior to packing, but was shipped anyway. When it arrived the shipping box was undamaged but the pot was a pile of shards.

I reordered the item, and the second shipment arrived. It was fully intact, but it as clear that it was much inferior in quality to the original pot I purchased: The mold details was crude, the lid was much bulkier and less distinct in detail, the pot had a greenish cast to it and did not match the color of the lid at all, and the texture of the ceramic was completely different than the original. I tried to just salvage the lid, but that would not fit my original pot at all.

Too bad. They had a great design, and have since tried to manufacture them on the cheap. I sent it back completely dissatisfied.

I have been buying this Joyce Chen kettle for a long time. I break them every few years. Most time I accidentally let it boil dry and then you hear this awful 'popping' of the ceramic busting. I just broke another one last night by losing my grip on a heavy plate in the cabinet above it - it made a perfect landing on top of my kettle -*sigh*. The four stars is for the top - it hoses steam on your hand no matter which way the hole is turned and it will fall out unless you hold it in. Otherwise, I really love this kettle as it never rusts and does not impart any metallic flavor to your water. However, I just ordered a ceramic glass range and I understand this cannot be used on it. As a dedicated tea drinker who has never had a cup of coffee in her life, I am torn over which kettle to replace it with. I will miss my little black kettle. :(

Does anyone know if I would still be able to use this kettle if I got a copper heat diffuser thingy for my glass cooktop?