Over the last few months my husband and I have experienced several disasters with our household kettles with each failing miserably. Thankfully, a purchase we made a couple of months ago is serving its purpose well and perfectly meets our needs with this review discussing the Breville Polished Stainless Steel Jug Kettle, Model Number VKJ668.

Whilst my tea drinking mad husband would have settled for any old kettle, as long as it was easy to use in addition to effectively boiling the water, I am ashamed to admit that I am somewhat of a snob when it comes to kitchen appliances and accessories. As a result, I like all my items to match with their polished stainless steel or chrome finish. In addition to the appearance of the kettle, my requirements were that it had to offer a good size handle, offer a rotational base as well as an easy to see water viewing window.

The lightweight jug kettle, which holds 1.7 litres of water, has an extremely contemporary and stylish appearance with its shiny polished stainless steel finish and as a result, looks attractive on our kitchen work surface. As our electric power point is situated directly behind where our jug kettle is positioned, the length of the power cord isn't an issue for us, but as I would expect from such a well known brand, it offers a good length. The sturdy and smooth black plastic handle was the winning point for my choice of model, particularly as it begins at the rear of the lid and finishes directly above the on/off switch, which is situated on the lower side of the kettle.

Consequently, it offers an easy and comfortable grip for the largest of fingers, which is a must where my husband is concerned, particularly as he suffers mobility issues in his hands and fingers. Furthermore, the handle remains cold whilst the kettle is in use and when holding, the knuckles are situated a good distance away from the boiling hot stainless steel, so there is no risk of suffering any burns. The circular non slip base offers a 360° rotation, so there is no fiddling around when attempting to replace the kettle, as it will effortlessly slot into place regardless of its position.

Filling the kettle is an easy task due to the large view water window, which is easy to read even in direct sunlight. Whilst the one side of the kettle offers measurements in cups with a minimum of four and maximum of eight, there are well defined increments, which are depicted by a bold line with each indicating one cup. As my husband and I will boil only the required amount of water we fill the kettle to the three cup measurement, which is sufficient for filling two mugs. What I found a little odd is that the reverse of the kettle does not offer a further view water window, which is generally the case with most brands where litre measurements are also offered. Whilst the kettle is designed for both left and right hand usage, the lack of measurements on the reverse may prove to be a little difficult for those consumers who are left handed.

The kettle is filled via the hinged lid with its easy to open release latch, which firmly closes when gently pushed into place. As a result, there are no spillages when pouring the boiling water, which is easily achieved via the perfectly shaped spout, which disappointingly was an issue with our previous kettle, as the water decided to dispense from several nooks and crannies! As previously stated, the on/off switch is located directly underneath the base of the handle, and it is effortlessly pressed into the on position and if you favour an illuminated kettle, this model offers a lovely shade of blue when in operation.

A further selling point of this kettle is the claim of a 3kW fastboil element and I couldn't agree more, as the boil is most definitely rapid, so there's no impatiently waiting around for that refreshing hot cuppa. I'm a real fuss pot as I like my kitchen appliances and accessories to be sparkling clean and the kettle is easily cleaned with a damp cloth followed by a polish with a dry cloth. As the element is concealed, in additional to offering improved energy efficiency, there are fewer areas to clean and as far as I am concerned, this adds to the overall appeal of this kettle. Fortunately, as we live in a soft water area, the build up of limescale is something that occurs every six months or so and as with any other kettle this is easily removed by using a descaling product. Whilst we have yet to clean the element, the accompanying eleven page booklet provides an easy step by step guide, which is similar to that of the directions for any other brand.

We are extremely pleased with our Breville Polished Stainless Steel Jug Kettle, which is guaranteed for a period of one year from the date of purchase. I've carried out an online search to find the most competitive retailer and at the time of writing, Amazon is the cheapest at £24.99. Due to the reasons discussed above, I feel a five star rating is appropriate for this high performance kettle together with a high recommendation.


Please ignore the quick rating criteria, as set by Dooyoo, as it doesn't all apply.

I hope you found my review useful and thanks for reading.