Breville (Sage in the UK and Australia) has carved out a niche in the small appliance market as purveyors of high-quality products—far from cheap, but not too premium—and this 2,400-W kettle epitomizes their approach to form and function. It feels good, looks good, works well, boils quickly, and should last for years. It also teaches you the correct temperature to brew better-tasting drinks, with five presets including those for brewing green tea, oolong, coffee, and black tea. Yes, there are loads of buttons as a result, but all of them make sense.
In WIRED contributor Chris Haslam’s test kitchen, lined up alongside the KitchenAid, Hay, and Wolf options, it was the undisputed champion of repeat use—which, given the quality of the competition, is saying something. The pour was consistently easy and smooth. There’s genuinely nothing to fault here, and while the price point is high, it’s not extortionate, and the look will happily fit in with most kitchen schemes.
Boils up to 1.8 liters (1.7-liter Sage version)