Ladies and gentleman...er...a kettle. (Delonghi KBE3014-2)

Member Name: TheAdder

Product:	Delonghi KBE3014-2
Date:	26/08/09 (105 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Pours well, looks great and boils water.

Disadvantages: Tight lid

I bought the DeLonghi Cordless Cream Jug Kettle in a dual purchase with its toasting counterpart mainly due to its retro appearance and colour match. It does add a subtle touch of warmth to the kitchen with its inoffensive guise and old school charm.

Standing at approximately 11" tall on a 7 ½" diameter circular base it has a capacity of 1.7 litres. The fill level is indicated by a transparent tube that runs parallel with the handle. The ON switch is situated at the bottom of the handle and is very easy to flick down, 2 red lights on either side of the kettle will snap on when the switch is activated.

The kettle also has a cool wall facility and a filtered spout but you have to fill it through the top and this leads me to perhaps the only fault I can find with the product because frankly, some days, Geoff Capes would struggle to get the lid off. It is an incredibly tight fit and you only have a little bud-like handle on top to get hold of. When you do finally manage to prise the thing off you will invariably get a small but slightly annoying sprinkled shower from the droplets that have taken residence on the underside of the lid from the previous boil.
If you like your kettle lid stereotypically rattling around gleefully while it boils like in some cartoon cottage, then this won't be for you, when the lid's on, it stays on.

Donning white overalls and sporting a clipboard, stopwatch and furrowed brow, I timed a full tank boil at exactly 4 minutes long. A passable time I thought, while also privately dispelling the notion that a watched pot never boils. It will stay quite warm for a short time after but should you accidently brush against it I don't think you'll get branded.

It never ceases to amaze me that some people are actually concerned with noise levels for kettles but for the sake of the review here goes. It does make a hissing noise, similar to that of a distant train, before going on to its inevitable mild bubbling eruption. I've no doubt this would be ear shattering for The Borrowers should the thieving little sods be dwelling in your kitchen, but for the human ear it shouldn't be at all threatening - in fact I'd feel more intimidated if Pingu performed a haka on my kitchen worktop.

Pricewise I paid just under £50 for this but I've seen them for as little as £30 since and no doubt somewhere to the sides of these pages they will be advertised for a lot less.

On the whole a great looking functional item let down only by the tight lid.

Summary: Will add a touch of warmth to your brew and your kitchen.

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