I love a good cup of tea, I have one next to me while I’m writing this (now I just have to remember to drink it). While a good cuppa, whether it is tea or coffee, is an easy drink to make – just pop the kettle on and pour boiling water into a cup with a teabag or coffee and add milk and sugar, not everyone makes a good cuppa. While there are plenty of arguments whether milk goes in first or last (always last – at least for me anyway) and how long to let It brew for etc., did you know that water temperature can make a big difference? I didn’t until I went to buy a new kettle. I drink standard black tea which apparently thrives when the water is 100°C. But other speciality teas such as green teas are better with a water temperature of between 60-90°C and coffees like between 90-95°C. Using water that’s too hot or too cold can have a dramatic effect on the flavours, leaving your hot brew less than satisfying. That’s where the Ninja Perfect Temperature Kettle excels, a kitchen gadget that is a precision instrument for boiling water to the perfect temperature, and keeping it at that temperature, hopefully giving you the perfect cuppa every time.
While a kettle is a tool for boiling water for hot drinks, they can be very different. Most of us have one, we just fill with water and flick the switch or press the button, and when it boils we pour into cups etc. A kettle can have more functions than just fill, boil and pour. The Ninja Perfect Temperature Kettle lets you boil water to a preset temperature from 60°C to 100°C, you can adjust to your own perfect temperature, and it can hold that temperature for up to 30 minutes (which is very handy for me as I have a tendency to boil it, forget it and then boil again).
The Ninja Perfect Temperature Kettle is a 1.7l electric kettle. Available in black, white or silver it has a sleek design and more features than a standard kettle with temperature control, rapid boil and temperature hold. I have mine in black and silver (also available in black and copper), which is more of a matt black than a glossy shiny black and looks great (I prefer the matt finish over the shiny finish of my previous one). And this is the first kettle that I have owned where I had to have a look through the instruction manual – although it is not difficult to use, it was more to get to know what the different buttons do (but they are self-explanatory).
The Ninja kettle comes in two pieces, the jug and the base unit.
- The base unit allows the kettle to swivel and has the digital controls for switching on the kettle and temperature settings. It also houses the power cord which can be wrapped underneath the base unit to shorten the cord. This ensures that the cable isn’t too long to become a hazard and makes it look a lot neater on the countertop.
- The kettle can hold 1.7l of water and has a water level gauge by the handle (which illuminates when the kettle is switched on). The handle has the lid release button on top on it. The kettle also has a wide pouring spout and a cool touch spot to close on the lid.
Using it is no more difficult than a standard kettle, you are just setting the temperature before switching it on to boil. Fill with enough water by pressing the lid release button on top of the handle then close the lid and place the kettle back on the base (which then lights up). For standard black tea, press the boil 100° button and press the start/stop button. The kettles water level indicator lights up while the temperature will be displayed on the base, which will rise as it boils to the set temperature. For different teas or coffee just press one of the preset buttons or select your own temperature by using the plus and minus buttons and then press the start button. When the kettle boils to the set temperature it will beep and switch off. If you want to hold the temperature just press the Hold Temp button before or during boiling and once the kettle has boiled in will maintain the set temperature for 30 minutes so there is no need to re-boil. Once boiled, it has a nice wide spout for easy pouring as well as an easy to grip and hold handle.
With 3000W of power a full kettle boils in a few minutes but it will rapid boil enough water for one cup in under 50 seconds.
Overall, while it may be considered an expensive kettle, I love it. The build quality is fantastic and it looks stylish. The cable wrap under the base is great, allowing the cable length to be shortened with three different positions to come out of the base – this makes it look much neater on the countertop while ensuring that the cable isn’t overhanging anywhere for little hands to grab or for the cable to catch in anything.
The controls are intuitive and are easy to use and very responsive. And I love that you can see how hot the water is while it is boiling (and when finished). And the base will switch itself off after 5 minutes of inactivity.
The temperature hold function is fantastic. I more often than not boil the kettle, get sidetracked and have to boil again. With the temperature hold I can boil it and it will remain at the correct temperature for 30 minutes, no need to constantly re-boil and I can make another cuppa without boiling again if I want one.
While I don’t have hard water where I live, so don’t suffer with limescale in my kettles, this one does have removable limescale filter to filter out any limescale in hard water areas.
While I love the kettle, and don’t really have any problems with it, it is a bit noisier than previous kettles I have owned. While that isn’t a problem for me, some might have an issue with it. It is also quite pricy with an RRP of £99.99 – I don’t think that I would pay this price for it, although the build quality and functions do support the price. It is currently £79.99 on the Ninja website, which I feel is a more reasonable price.
I love the Ninja Perfect Temperature Kettle. I drink lots of tea and the hold temperature function is fantastic and saves a lot of re-boiling. And I do feel that changing the temperature for different hot drinks is making them taste better with a more consistent flavour.
An excellent kettle with some simple and easy functions that make it a cut above the rest.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £99.99
For more information or to buy direct from Ninja, visit ninjakitchen.co.uk. Also available to buy from Amazon here.