Vancouverscape, a Vancouver based blog covering travel, tech, and lifestyle

Over the years, my husband and I have gone through our share of both electric water kettles and stovetop tea kettles for brewing French press-style coffee and tea.

Breville’s IQ Kettle is a godsend when it comes to getting the temperature for each tea just right. We received an IQ Kettle recently for test-driving various teas as well as for my husband’s favourite morning French press fix.

[What’s in the box]

Out of the box, there’s the kettle, a multi-directional heating base with cord storage, user manual, warranty and French language stickers.

Once plugged in, two buttons illuminate: START/CANCEL and 212°F BOIL. Simply select the type of tea you’re preparing (green, white, oolong, black — or French press coffee). You can heat between 2 and 7 1/2 cups of water.

The very first tea I tested was a Japanese Sencha green, normally pretty bitter to my palate. With the kettle selected for green, I let the IQ do its job and I did notice a difference in the tea once brewed: it had more flavour and less bitterness! Boiling water can scald tea leaves which is what causes that bitter element.

This is my first foray into temperature-specific water kettles and I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly the water heated. The soft opening lid is a nice touch as is the cord storage under the base, making our countertop just a tad less busy.

If you’re tea nerds like we are and invest in good quality tea, it makes sense to ensure you’re heating the water at the proper temperature.

[Super handy Breville Assist Plug]

Features

– Dual water windows
– 1,500 watt rapid boil functionality
– 1.8 liter/7.5 cup capacity
– Auto shut-off and boil dry protection
– Five temperature settings
– KEEP WARM button
– START/CANCEL button
– Multi-directional base with cord storage
– Breville Assist Plug

The outside of the kettle may be wiped over with a damp cloth and polished with a soft dry cloth. The kettle features a removable mesh filter to remove scale deposits for cleaner water. There’s added protected against accidentally turning the kettle on without enough water in it.

Additionally, there’s a Hold Temp button that keeps the kettle at temperature for 20 minutes – ready for that second cup.

The stainless steel kettle is see-through for easy reading of its water level indicators (on both sides).

The Breville IQ Kettle comes with a one-year limited warranty and retails for CDN $199.99. I love this kettle’s ease of use and variable temperature settings for that perfect cup of tea.

And YOU can love one too! Breville has kindly sent me an extra IQ Kettle to give away to one lucky Vancouver-based reader. All you have to do is follow @Vancouverscape and @Breville Canada on Twitter AND leave a comment below mentioning your favourite hot beverage! Bonus points for retweeting the contest 🙂

I’ll draw a winner at random on Friday, June 17 at 5 pm. Congrats to Tracy K! We’ve just drawn your name at random and will be contacting you shortly.

Good luck to all entrants and remember, you must be able to meet me in Vancouver (downtown or Westside) in order to claim your kettle!