Saturday, August 1, 2009

Chef's Choice 685 International Deluxe Cordless Electric Teakettle

Chef's Choice 685 International Deluxe Cordless Electric Teakettle

Price: $79.99
Manufacturer: Chef's Choice
Buy from amazon.com

Includes Edgecraft 685 Cordless Electric Tea Kettle.

Information

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #4630 in Kitchen & Housewares
  • Brand: Chef's Choice
  • Model: 685
  • Dimensions: 8.00" h x 8.40" w x 9.40" l, 3.25 pounds
  • Electric kettle boils up to 1-1/3 quarts water faster than microwave
  • Cordless: swivels and lifts off power base for convenient pouring
  • Made of 18/10 stainless steel polished to mirror-finish
  • Automatic shutoff when water boils or kettle runs dry
  • Rubber feet on base resist slipping; stay-cool handle; cord-wrap

Product Reviews

Amazon.com Review
For tea, instant coffee, or hot chocolate, this cordless, 1,500-watt electric kettle brings 1-1/3 quarts of water to a boil faster than a microwave. The kettle is made of stainless steel polished to a mirror finish. To provide 360-degree access, the kettle fits onto the power base in any position and swivels for easy liftoff. The heating element in the base never touches water, so there will be no mineral buildup on it. The roomy handle stays cool, the cord wraps on the base's underside, and rubber feet on the base resist slipping. For safety, the kettle shuts off automatically when water boils or if the kettle runs dry. The kettle stands 8 inches high on its power base and carries a one-year warranty against defects. --Fred Brack


Excellent design
I had one of these for almost six years and used it on a daily basis (not just for making tea, but also for boiling water quickly for other uses, i.e. food preparation). It always looked great and was a pleasure to use, but one day it stopped working. So I went online and looked at all of the kettles currently available. I thought about trying a different brand, but all of the other stainless steel kettles (I wasn't interested in plastic) had something I didn't like about them -- an awkwardly placed handle, an exposed element, etc. In the Chef's Choice kettle the element is hidden, so the interior of the kettle is easy to clean (it pretty much doesn't have to be cleaned at all, since only water is ever put in the kettle), and if the element gets covered in scale, I don't know about it (Chef's Choice does recommend occasionally "decalcifying" the kettle by boiling some white vinegar in it -- I never did this with my first kettle and I wonder if this eventually led to it malfunctioning?). The handle doesn't extend over the opening of the kettle, so it is easy to fill, and the spout is truly dripless. And of course the cord is attached to the base, not the kettle itself, so there is no need to plug and unplug it when carrying the kettle to sink or table or stove or wherever. So I'm on my second Chef's Choice kettle and very happy with it so far. I'm the kind of person who doesn't go in for a lot of kitchen gadgets, and I don't like using electric/electronic items when a manual or mechanical one will do, but I definitely recommend an electric kettle because it is energy-saving, fast, and won't boil dry (if you forget about it) or annoy you with a whistle (when you're busy doing something else).

UPDATE: (June 2008) My second one of these has just stopped working. I still love the design of this kettle, and maybe 5-6 years is not a bad lifespan, but . . . I think I might give the Breville kettle a try this time. Will report back!

outstanding
An electric kettle seemingly wouldn't wear out, but that is exactly what happened to our previous one after only one year of use. This one has already beaten that. Additionally, it holds the water at a boil for a bit of time, rather than shutting off as soon as the boil is reached. This means that the water stays hotter in the kettle.

This is my favorite kitchen appliance
Like another reviewer here, this is my second Chef's Choice electric teakettle. My first one, purchased at Williams-Sonoma in the mid-1990s, suddenly stopped working after my neighbors borrowed it (hummm...). As do all items purchased there, it had a lifetime warrenty, so I took it back and was given the brand of electric tea kettle they were selling at the time. I did _not_ like it, especially the placement of the handle, and promptly returned it. This was 2003 and Amazon was now carrying the brand so I ordered it here after being unable to find an electric tea kettle with a comfortably placed handle or adequate capacity in any local stores.

I use mine a minimum of twice, more commonly three times a day and am very, very happy with it. As mentioned in other reviews, having the actual heating elements under a solid bottom of stainless steel definitely prolongs the life of the appliance--the heating elements do not get caked with minerals. The best part for me, however, is the placement of the handle which makes pouring the boiled water both safe and easy for someone with hand and elbow problems--it has superior ergonomics.

I have high mineral content well water. Since I pour the boiled water into a thermal caraf (when not into a tea pot), I often use almost all the boiled water the Chef's Choice holds, which results in an accumulation of minerals on the stainless steel interior bottom. As a natural way of removing the sediment, I occasionally boil potato pealings in it then let it sit (with the pealings) over night. This is a trick I learned from someone who works in agriculture for the World Food Program. It works great.


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