Electric kettles make so many things quicker and easier.
Most people have one of these now, but it took America more than a generation to get them after Europe, so Iām still in the land of scarcity ā theyāre wonderful.
This is a highly rated model ā I personally have a smaller 1 liter one thatās not nearly as pretty [edit: I have recently upgraded, see update below]. I really like that mine doesnāt make any kind of noise when the water reaches the desired temperature ā just the physical click of the start button switching off (all on its own, without any worry about forgetting it on the stove!)
The big thing to look out for with the smaller models (Iām usually making a single serving and could happily use a 0.5 liter kettle) is making sure that they can be fully lifted off the base; you want to be able to take it to the sink without needing to unplug it, but thatās a sacrifice they make with a lot of smaller ātravelā kettles.
Some people are particular about the temperature that they brew their tea or coffee, so you can get precise models for temperature or with narrow spouts for pour-overs, but Iām not so discerning š¤·āāļøĀ Mine does have a dial for hotter or cooler, but Iāve always assumed it has about the same accuracy as my toasterā¦ šš¬
Update:
Iāve started exploring Chinese medicine and am incorporating a fair amount of warm/hot water into my diet. Even most temperature controlled kettles seem to be designed for particular brewing temps: green tea, black tea, coffee, etc. But I just need water at my preferred drinking temp, which (as Iāve learned from my ember) is around 135F for tea and maybe 125F for warm water, so I am loving my outrageously-expensive-for-a-kettle Fellow Corvo, which lets me select that precise temp without a bunch of waiting around.
Notes:
It functions amazingly well: nearly silent, fast, temperature is accurate, it holds the temp there for a few minutes so you donāt need to hover (and thereās a āholdā switch you can toggle on if you need it to maintain the temp longer), and itās nice to pour.
I donāt like taking the lid off and I donāt like that you canāt see the water level from the outside, but as long as you donāt get the gooseneck model, you can fill it at the sink directly into the spout and Iāve already gotten a pretty good at sensing how full it is from the feel and sound.
For normal use, it has a single control button which you can spin to change the temp and which you press to turn on and off; itās a little derpy in the āclickā or āclunkā of pressing it, and a preset would be better for me to switch between 135 for drinking and boiling for everything else, (Iāve also read that the finish is easily damaged, so I donāt rest the spout when Iām pouring). But these are small flaws and it has already earned its place as a good citizen in my household, or as Mari Kondo would say āit sparks joy.ā
If youād like a full size kettle for ~$100 (I got mine open box and it works perfectly) I recommend this one from Ninja:
It can boil and hold for 30min also has presets for various teas, but you can + or - 5 degrees down to drinking temp.
By default, it beeps when starting and stopping, but you can set it to silent by holding the āhold tempā and ā-ā buttons together for 5 seconds.
(I also have the OXO one recommended by wirecutter but it feels heavy/awkward and pours terribly unless you remove the filter, and even then itās not anything to write home about)