I got this unit after our 'normal' kettle died, probably under the strain of my family's tea addiction. The greatest advantage is this: from your hitting the start button to the unit finish pouring is close to 30 seconds. In the fairly unlikely event that you have not got a more typical kettle as a back-up, I find that the Hot Cup is fast enough to serve several people without anyone being conscious of how long they have been waiting.

The amount of water dispensed is controlled by a dial on the top of the unit. There are 5 dots (rather than measurements that would be more useful) that let you pick how much boiling water you want.

I broke out my measuring cup for this: The lowest setting dispenses 200ml, while the highest setting dispenses aprox 350ml. If you prefer a less scientific notation, the highest setting does not fill oversize mugs I own, but gets them well over 2/3rds full.

Other reviews have mentioned faulty devices, this has not been an issue with my unit despite very heavy use. The only issue is that as I live in an area with hard water, there are lime scale deposits around the edge of the top of the unit where the water is poured in.