If You Decide to Buy an Electric Kettle

The first electrical kettle was invented in 1891 by the Carpenter Electric Company. It boiled water in about 12 minutes. In 1922, the Swan Company improved on the Carpenter Electric Company’s design by having the heating element, a metal rod, inside the kettle. This helped the kettle heat water faster.

Today, an electric kettle can boil water in as little as five minutes. Most modern tea kettles are also cordless, meaning the pot sits on a base and it’s the base that’s plugged into the wall socket, not the kettle itself. This makes the cordless electric kettle as convenient as a stove top kettle.

You can use electric tea kettles to boil water for tea, instant coffee or instant hot cereal. They trump stove top kettles when it comes to portability. If you want to sit in your living room and enjoy a cup or two of tea, you can take the electric kettle into the living room with you and enjoy as many cups of tea as you like with the amount of water available in the kettle. The fast boiling time allows you more time to enjoy your morning drink or breakfast.

Electric tea kettles come in a variety of colors and styles. They are often made of stainless steel, glass or plastic. People who worry about the toxins in plastic often prefer the glass or stainless steel varieties because no plastic ever comes in contact with the boiling water. Another drawback to plastic tea kettles is that they sometimes make the water taste like plastic. Some electric kettles look like their stove top cousins, some look like old fashioned coffee percolators and some have very modern, streamlined designs. People who have hard water have the option to buy electric tea kettles with water filters inside for an even better tasting cup of tea or instant coffee.

The only real drawback to using an electric kettle is the fact that it’s electric. If you have a gas stove in your home, then when the power goes out, you can simply boil water on the stove. But if you don’t have a gas stove or a backup generator and your power goes out, you will have a hard time boiling water.

If you decide to buy an electric kettle to save yourself some time, make sure you read reviews of the brands you like best. After all, you want the best quality kettle your money can buy.