T-Fal Vitesses 1.7L (7-Cup) Electric Kettle
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of T-Fal Vitesses 1.7L (7-Cup) Electric Kettle
Customer Review: Do not buy another kettle - this is the ONE
Summary: 5 Stars
I am British, an avid tea drinker, and I know a LOT about kettles.
I did a lot of research before I bought this kettle. I have owned it for quite some time now, and this is THE BEST kettle I have ever owned.
Cons: NONE
Pros:
Large capacity, fast boiling time.
The heating element inside the kettle is a flat plate, not a curly thing. This means that you only have to add water for 1 cup of tea, not enough water to cover the curly heating element. Meaning, you don't have to boil more water than needed, therefore saving on electricity AND heating time.
It's a cordless kettle. The base plugs into the wall and the kettle sits on the base.
The cord is quite long, but curls into the base.
The base the kettle sits on has a round connection point. Meaning that when you place the kettle on the base, you can swivel the kettle around. Great for both right handed and left handed users.
Both sides of the kettle have large see-thru panels, so you can see how much water is in the kettle.
This kettle has a fairly small footprint, which in my small kitchen means a lot.
Made of plastic, this kettle is cool to the touch, even when completely boiled, which means a lot when you have a toddler around! No stainless steel kettles for me!
The lid of this kettle locks into place. My last kettle just had a lid that closed. I would wonder why the kettle hadn't boiled yet, only to find that the lid wasn't tightly shut. As soon as I banged the lid down, the kettle would finish boiling! No such problem with this kettle. With a locking lid, the kettle will boil perfectly every time.
Most kettles nowadays click off once the water is boiled. This is also the case with this kettle.
I love the removable, washable, filter in the spout of this kettle. I live in Florida and there are bugs galore here. Every now and then I'll find the odd sugar ant in my kettle. If this happens without me noticing, the filter in the spout will prevent any unwanted 'items' ending up in my tea!
The spout is small in diameter, meaning you have more control of how fast the water pours from the spout.
The handle is large and easily grabbable.
There are 3 heat settings, so you don't have to heat water to boiling if you use one of the lower settings.
Made by T-Fal. If they don't know what they're doing, nobody does!
I never write reviews because I am too lazy. The genius of this kettle prompted me to write this review. I hope it helps.
Customer Review: Great electric kettle design!
Summary: 5 Stars
I spent hours researching every electric kettle available (and looking at them in person, in stores) before settling on this one. I've owned it for about 6 months now, and it's been great. The concealed heating element and the simple one-piece plastic jug design make it very easy to clean (not that I've needed to) and leak resistant (I assume, from a design perspective, since mine has no leaks yet). The only way it could leak is if the grommet sealing the metal bottom piece to the plastic jug developed a leak, whereas most of the stainless steel kettles being sold have several parts, many seams, and thus many places a leak could develop. There is some mild browning of the plastic inside the jug, I suppose a reaction to the high heat. This same thing happened with my roommate's older plastic electric kettle, so it's to be expected. People complain about plastic vs. stainless steel, I settled on plastic for one primary reason: it is a better insulator, so not only will it keep the water hotter for longer, it will be safer to handle in general (ie. it won't burn you or a child if it is accidentally picked up by its sides while it contains hot water). People complain about plastic "leeching chemicals" into the water, I haven't noticed any difference in taste, personally, and I doubt stainless steel would be much "safer" than plastic in this respect. The switch works great, and mine has never spilled water or over-boiled it (as long as it contains the minimum recommended amount of water). The spout and handle shapes make it easy to pour, and the locking top makes it pretty tough to spill. Definitely recommended, I'm buying another one for my parents right now.
PS - While researching electric kettles, I frequently saw complaints of how kettles designed for use in the USA don't heat water as fast as those in the UK. This is for a very simple reason: UK uses 240 volt power, USA uses 120 volts. Most electrical receptacles are rated for 15 amps (though the kitchen are often has at least two 20-amp circuits, per NEC recommendations). Watts = volts * amps, which means that UK kettles can get up to 240 volts * 15 amps = 3600 watts, while USA kettles can get up to 120 volts * 15 amps = 1800 watts. Manufacturers might sometimes avoid approaching this limit, perhaps due to safety or liability issues? Just note that this 1750 watt Tfal kettle is very close to the typical USA receptacle wattage rating. It's just about as high as you'll be able to get in the USA...most other USA electric kettles only go up to 1500 watts.
Customer Review: Recipient is as pleased with it as I am impressed
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this kettle for someone else (I own a Braun electric kettle that is no longer available at Amazon; had it been I'd have gotten that one for the recipient because it's been going strong for me 2-3 times a day for years), and she absolutely loves it. She says that it is much better for preparing tea and coffee than the Le Creuset whistling kettle that she's used for years on her gas stove, and that hot beverages she prepares using water heated in the T-Fal tend to say hot longer, and that it is easier to pour from than the Le Creuset. She tells me she also finds it very convenient for heating water to prepare non-instant oatmeal with, and for preparing liquid and dry soup mixes that call for boiling water.
My decision to purchase this particular kettle for her was based in part on the price (twenty nine when I bought it in April, 2010), in part on the nearly 5-star review rating average of over 100 reviews, and in part on the fact that the T-Fal Vitesse has a higher wattage rating - 1750 watts - than a number of other electric kettles in the same price range.
Based on the recipient's response to this kettle, I would say that if you are in the market for an electric kettle, the T-Fal Vitesse would be an excellent choice. (2 tips about getting the best prices at Amazon: (1) there's a site called camelcamelcamel that shows Amazon's price history for many items that Amazon sells, so you can see what the lowest price the item in question has sold for to date, and (2), if you want to know when the price on an item you're interested in drops without having to check the item's Amazon page daily, put the item in your shopping cart and park it there, and if the price goes down or up, when you visit your shopping cart page there will be a hard-to-miss banner at the top of the page announcing the price change.)
Update on 6/9/10: I've been staying for a few days now with the friend who I gave the kettle to, and have had several opportunities to use it and see it in action. It heats up water really fast when set to the highest level, it looks nice, is comfortable to hold, and is wholly intuitive to use. I've used it for preparing coffee and oatmeal and it's great. If the Braun I own ever conks out, the T-Fal will be at the top of my list of possible replacements.
Customer Review: Good choice!
Summary: 4 Stars
Previous to this kettle, I had a Hamilton Beach #40898 double-walled stainless kettle. We have very hard water, and it only lasted eight months. It died during one of the required vinegar-boiling sessions when the vinegar got into the thermostat. The only other major problems with the Hamilton Beach model were a funky lid design, and a too-gentle flare of the spout which made that kettle prone to spills during pouring.
I've had the T-Fal for almost six months now, and in the last month or so the plasticky chemical taste is finally gone. In my attempts to hasten the removal of the chemical taste, I alternately tried boiling vinegar water, baking soda water, or just regular water, usually letting the heated liquid sit in the kettle to cool and absorb whatever solvents it could. Nothing seemed to reduce the chemical taste. I think it just needs to process many liters (50-75 in this case) of water until the taste and smell diminishes.
Mine was fairly quiet until I used it last night, and it had the same shrieking sound a couple of other reviewers noted. After I cleaned off a C-shaped patch of lime about 3/4" wide by boiling a quarter-cup of vinegar, the next pot was quiet, as usual. I think microscopic amounts of water are trapped between those lime deposits and the hot floor of the kettle, and as they break through the lime deposits they create that horrible sound.
Contrary to stated opinions in these reviews, it is not necessary to heat any particular minimum amount of water. I've made a half-cup at a time for oatmeal and it boils within a minute.
For a while I was making tea with bottled water, which did not contribute to lime deposits but was more expensive.
I'm very pleased with this kettle.
Customer Review: Quality, Price and Looks Great!
Summary: 5 Stars
The weather just started turning cooler and for us, that means tea time. My wife is from Europe and the T-Fal brand is well known to us for quality. Waiting for a traditional kettle on the stove to boil seems like an eternity.
This kettle from all appearances is very well made. The lid is spring loaded and well attached. There have been reviews of the lid breaking off but frankly, I don't see that happening without some abuse - but time will tell. The inside of the kettle is mostly plastic, of course the base is stainless. We like the reservoir windows on both sides to see the water level. The 1.7 liter size is generous. The cordless design is great! The auto-off feature is great for safety as is the plastic, as the outside is less hot to touch when in use. This is a real plus if you have kids in the house.
The temperature setting is handy. For green tea the water should be about 160 degrees, which is just a little bit under the half-way point on the dial. Black Tea should be a rolling boil, about 3/4 of the dial. Hot chocolate for the kids, about 1/4 of the dial. I do not understand other reviews stating the temp setting is useless. This is fast, when filled the kettle takes about 5 minutes for a rolling boil. 2 cups of water takes about a minute.
Upon opening the kettle for the first time, there was a plastic odor so I filled and boiled the unit 6 times before using for drinking. It worked.
I am disappointed somewhat that it is made in China. T-Fal has in the past made many of their products in France. I would pay more for made in France and the quality would likely be even better. Please take note T-Fal!