We didn’t notice the kettle being unusually quiet, despite it boasting the Quiet Mark, but it certainly wasn’t especially loud.

All of the touch points are also well executed, from the comfortable handle that stays cool to the touch to the soft open lid and non-drip spout. It also comes with a polishing cloth included to buff away any fingerprints its stainless steel body might collect.This kettle also offers the ability to heat water to five different temperatures – 40, 75, 85, 95 and 100°C – which is great if you’re a coffee or herbal tea aficionado who knows the exact best degree centigrade for your brew. For the price we also weren’t fans of the lid. You open it manually by finger-pulling the loop handle on the top. It’s built to last, sure, but it’s hard to open and is certainly no fun to open when hot.

There's also the AWS, which is the one I tested. This is similar to the NewGen but it doesn't have the bagel setting. If you look, you can even see that the toaster is put together with a regular Philips-head screw whereas most other toasters are designed so you can’t get into them to fix them safely. This is what commitment to the environment looks like in practice. Filters that reduce limescale are invaluable if you live in a hard-water area and don’t want to be descaling your kettle on a regular basis. Out of the nearly 20 kettles she tested in one day (there was a lot of tea), these were the 10 that made the final cut. Her favourite was the KitchenAid Temperature Control Kettle, which has the sleekest look and features out there. FAQs When's the best time to buy a kettle?

The Russell Hobbs Emma Bridgewater Kettle is the quietest one we tested. It heats and boils virtually silently, which means you're unlikely to be disturbed if it's used when you're in a call or early in the morning. It's also a treat to look at, with a retro-contemporary design that comes in either a multi-coloured polka dot or a love heart pattern. There's also a matching toaster available, which we really enjoyed testing. The spout of this kettle makes pouring a treat, and the overhead handle is easy to hold and tactile. Dualit have very cleverly created a timeless design that manages to look great in a traditional or modern kitchen. The key is the quality. You can tell by looking at the products that they are beautifully and solidly built with no faddy gizmos interfering with the practical design. These products are clearly designed to do one job and do it exceptionally well and that simplicity will always be in style.' The control is a simple switch near the base with a red light that comes on to indicate that it’s heating up. It took a pretty average 2m34s to boil a litre of water that started out at 14⁰C from the tap. We measured the temperature after 10 mins (86⁰C) and again after 30 mins (73⁰C), which are a bit warmer than most – this is a kettle that holds its heat fairly well. Maybe. It’s good but very expensive for a basic kettle. So the only reason you’d chose it over others is the looks – you love the styling and/or it matches your other Dualit appliances perfectly.

Part of the Classic Series

For one, the toaster is made in Britain, one of the very few small electric appliances that still are, so there are fewer airmiles. But most crucially they are both built to be repaired which is absolutely essential to prevent waste. The idea is probably that you should fill the kettle via the spout instead, but the spout is fairly small so using the lid would have been easier.