Hamilton Beach Compact 20 Oz. Gooseneck Electric Kettle

I like BOILING water for my tea. I do not like microwaved water. This is great for my needs. It is also pretty on my counter and smaller than my previous hot pot. I only make one cup of tea at a time.

I got this to heat water at work. I tried brewing tea into Brumate mugs and taking it with me but it would always get too cold by the time I was ready to drink it (hours later). I have access to filtered water at work so I just fill this up and make tea there. It works really well. It’s compact, so it doesn’t take up too much space on my desk, but it also holds enough water so I can make a double mug in one go. The auto shutoff is a must, especially in an office situation. I don’t want to be responsible for burning the place down!

Took a while to receive this. I like the size, and the gooseneck seems well built. Good for making a single cup of drip coffee. Attractive enough for a common product, though a tad bit expensive for what it is.

I have a larger water kettle that I’m keeping. This one simplifies how much water I need to heat and it’s lighter to maneuver over the filter. Gooseneck allows focused saturation of the ground beans.

Things I’m not too fond of:

-The base has no rubber to adhere it to the counter. This thing slips all over the place! I’ll rig something on the bottom but that should be a basic engineering task of the manufacturer.

-There is a barely perceptible “water line” mark inside the kettle, and only in one area. Without a flashlight it’s easy to miss. This is stupid- at a minimum the line should surround the entire circumference. Even better would be some enhanced contrast above the line to give a fighting chance. The opening at the top is small so there’s not a lot of light to work with, it’s nearly invisible. And if you’re an idiot like me who fails to read the instructions beforehand, you’ll have a surprise pool of water all over and around your kilowatt electrical device because it easily boils over and pops out the cap.

-The pull off top is thick, probably to insulate and extend the heat. I’m wondering how long this will last before starting to rust the bottom.

I’m keeping this, as the positives outweigh the negatives for me. But the rubber feet and nearly invisible water line marking are two obvious major oversights that make me wonder about the engineering on the rest of this device that has the potential to burn down my home.

I bought this after being shamed by my UK colleagues for heating water in the microwave!
I make pour-over coffee almost every day, and this kettle is perfect for that use. Water heats very quickly, and the spout pours smoothly and accurately . Feels sturdy, and I like the look of the black finish.