Tag: kettle

Swan 1.5 Litre Digital Kettle

Birthday Gifts, Christmas, Family Life, Father's Day, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Home & Garden

Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thought and opinions are our own

Imagine waking up on a chilly morning and without leaving the comfort of your cosy bed, being able to turn your kettle for the all important first brew of the day. That’s now a reality with the Swan Digital Kettle which boasts the title of the world’s first Alexa-compatible kettle. As someone who appreciates home automation, I was intrigued yet sceptical – did I really need to turn my kettle on with a voice command?

Design-wise, the kettle has a sleek, modern look, finished in glossy black with a LED touch panel. At first glance, it resembles a standard cordless kettle, but the illuminated display reveals advanced features like a temperature indicator and a “set” button, allowing you to choose the temperature of the water. With five temperature options ranging from 40°C to 100°C it’s perfect for everything from green tea to coffee. It even keeps the water warm for a couple of hours too which is ideal when you need a top up.

Now, let’s talk Alexa integration. Connecting it to WiFi via the app was very straightforward and within minutes it was under Alexa’s control. I’ve also linked it to custom Alexa routines which turn the kettle on when I say, “Alexa, I’m home,” or when I turn my alarm off in the morning. While you can’t check if there’s water in the kettle remotely, it does have a boil-dry protection feature, which turns the kettle off if there isn’t enough water in it, which is lucky as getting the family into the habit of refilling it is proving to be a challenge!

Overall, the Swan Digital Kettle is a stylish, functional addition to any kitchen, blending tech-savvy innovation with everyday practicality. A smart kettle might not be essential, but it’s undeniably a luxury that’s nice to have.

RRP £79.99 but currently on offer at £59.99

Swan Nordic Collection Kettle & Toaster

Birthday Gifts, Christmas, Family Life, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Home, Home & Garden, kitchen appliances, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day Gifts

Disclaimer: We received these products free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.

The kettle and toaster are the two most used appliances in my kitchen, they are the ones everyone reaches for first thing in the morning, last thing at night and many times in between for a hot drink or a tasty snack.

Given how often they are used, investing in high quality appliances like those made by Swan, is a smart choice. They recently sent us a matching kettle and toaster from their popular Nordic collection and the appliances, which are designed to be both functional and visually appealing, offer a touch of elegance and charm to any kitchen.

The tall jug style kettle with a snug fitting lid can make up to 8 cups from a single boil, making it perfect for larger families or when you’re entertaining. The cotton white coloured Scandinavian style kettle looks very stylish with it’s wood effect handle and the illuminated on/off switch makes it is easy to tell when it is on. The kettle sits on a 360 degree rotating base making it ideal for households with both left and right handed users.

The kettle boils nice and quickly, the 3KW of power can boil a single cup of water in under 45 seconds and a litre of water in just under 2.5 minutes so you don’t have to wait long for that all important first cup of tea or coffee in the morning. It also pours nicely with the water going directly into the teapot or cup without any mess, this may seem like a minor detail, but a smooth pouring action is very important and gets my day off to a good start!!

The matching toaster is equally impressive, with 7 browning settings to suit all preferences. The four slice toaster also features a defrost setting, reheat and a cancel function and the two halves of the toaster can be controlled independently, so if you are making toast for two different people, one of whom likes well done toast and the other prefers lightly toasted then that’s not a problem. The white front and rubberised wood effect controls look nice and stylish, and the simple Scandinavian design will look good in all kitchens.

My pet hate is toasters with thin slots that can’t take a fruit teacake or even worse ruins them when they get stuck to the side, so I was very pleased to discover that this toaster has nice wide slots to accommodate everything from chunky slices of bread, bagels, and of course my favourite snack – the fruit teacake.

When using the toaster, it is obvious that this is a well-built appliance, the controls feel solid and robust and it toasts nice and evenly. There’s two crumb trays at the bottom of the toaster to catch all the crumbs which slide out easily for cleaning.

When you’re using an appliance daily it needs to be built to last and Swan’s Nordic kettle and toaster are constructed with durability in mind. The kettles stainless steel interior is resistant to limescale buildup, ensuring it remains clean and efficient over time and the toaster feels nice and and robust, especially the levers to lower the bread for toasting.

Safety is also a priority with these appliances, the kettle has an automatic shut off and boil dry features while the toaster has an automatic shut off to prevent overheating.

Kettles and toasters are the unsung heroes of the kitchen, used more frequently than other appliances so if you’re looking to upgrade your appliances this summer then the Nordic range is a great choice, combing practicality with a touch of elegance.

Kettle RRP £54.99

Toaster RRP £79.99

Haier I-Master Series 5 Kettle

Autumn, Birthday Gifts, Christmas, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Home, Home & Garden

Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own

Haier are well known for their large kitchen appliances and have just entered the small appliance market with a new range consisting of 7 small appliances – a kettle, air fryer, blender, hand blender, compact food processor, toaster and a multi functional hot drink maker. We have been trying out a couple of them and I have to say I am really impressed!

A kettle is one of those essential kitchen appliances that is used multiple times a day, whether for making hot drinks, food prep, sterilising or just heating water for other uses. Whilst their primary purpose is to boil water, many kettles have additional features, varying in size, speed as well as the type of lid.

This new Series 5 1.7 litre kettle from Haier is by the far the best kettle I have ever used, the stainless steel kettle not only looks incredibly stylish, it has a host of extra features too. With 7 temperature settings ranging from 40-100°C you can heat water to the perfect temperature, so whether you are making tea, coffee, fruit teas or warming baby bottles it is easy to have water at the correct temperature. With 3000W of power it boils quicky but if you only need a small amount of water it has a minimum boil capacity of 250 ml of water which saves up to 40% energy. There is also a “keep warm” function which will keep the water at the same temperature for up to 30 minutes which is perfect for topping up the teapot or when cooking.  

The kettle is filled by removing the lid, making it very easy to fill directly from a tap and the maximum fill level is clearly marked on the inside of the kettle.

Despite having lots of extra features, the kettle is simple to use, simply press the power button on the wipe clean base followed by the plus button to set the required temperature. It beeps to let you know it has started and then beeps three times when the water is at the correct temperature, the temperature lights illuminate as the water heats up so you can easily see how long is left before you reach the required temperature.

The kettle sits comfortably on the 360° base and most importantly pours nicely with no dribbles.

Overall, this is a very high quality kettle in a classy design and is perfect for all styles of kitchens. It makes a perfect gift for any occasion, but even more so at Christmas when we all need a peaceful moment with a nice cup of tea or coffee.

RRP £119.99 but currently on offer at £99.99

Innoteck Kitchen Pro Electric Kettle

eco friendly, Family Life, Gifts for Her, Home & Garden, Mother's Day, Plastic free, Women

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Innoteck are the kitchen pros with all sorts of appliances such as air fryers, coffee makers, sandwich makers and kettles.  Along with their appliance range they also have small kitchen items like bamboo chopping boards, baking trays and even photo frames. We were sent the Innoteck 1.7 litre electric kettle as a Mother’s Day gift to review to see how we liked it. We did!

The kettle comes in 4 different colours – green, white, grey and the version we were sent is black and each colour has a corresponding toaster too. The outside of the kettle is textured which makes the black body more interesting and far more stylish than the old-fashioned plastic kettles that used to adorn the worktops of kitchen but added no aesthetic.

The Innoteck Kitchen Pro stands apart from other kettles, not just because of its stylish, timeless design but because because it’s BPA-free and therefore not toxic.  The main body of the inside of the kettle is made of metal with stainless steel accents and for anyone who is following the plight of plastics in the ocean, you’ll know that it’s not only the fish and wildlife who are suffering from ingesting plastic but also the human effect of eating small plastic particles when they enter the food chain. Heating water to high temperatures with plastic kettles is one of the ways microscopic plastic particles end up in our bodies.

With that information, you can see why more and more appliance makers are turning to stainless steel machines, as well as making them more recyclable.

The Innoteck Kitchen Pro kettle takes hardly any time to boil, at less than 2 minutes for a full kettle. The instructions ask that you don’t put less than 0.5 litres of water in to protect the element but the kettle can take 1.7 litres of water in all. It’s also got a circular base, which makes it easier for people like me who are left handed and need to move the kettle around to get to. The electric lead is around 50cm long too, and conveniently the element has an overheating guard if you don’t manage to fill the kettle with enough water before you switch it on and will switch it off without sufficient water.

This is a nice gift for anyone and will be used for a very long time on a daily basis in most households. Mum, or Gran, will love it for Mother’s Day.

Innoteck Kettle available for £27.99 at: https://innoteck.co.uk/product/1-7l-black-kettle/