GEEKY Variable Temperature Kettle Comparison - Brewista vs Fellow STAGG vs OXO vs Bonavita
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ก.ย. 2023
- Looking for a variable-temperature kettle for your tea and coffee brewing? These kettles should be on your list but which is the best and why? Let's do a geeky review!
TEAWARE
Gong Fu Vessel: meileaf.com/p/cl-gfcv
OTHER KETTLE REVIEWS:
Bonavita: • Bonavita Gooseneck Var...
Stagg EKG: • FELLOW STAGG EKG REVIE...
Brewista: • Battle of the Goosenec...
Vektra: • Gamechanger! Reviewing...
Other Kettles: • Reviewing Kettles for Tea
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A MEI LEAF KETTLE IS WHAT WE NEED
We have used the Oxo for 4-5 years multiple times a day for tea and coffee with no issues. It is awesome and hard to beat for the price. If it ever wears out, it is any easy decision to purchase again.
I have used the OXO for about 3 years now; and-at least in my experience-it has continued to work flawlessly. I’m glad that you were finally able to get your hands on it!
Been waiting for this one , can't wait to watch when I get home.
Hi, just found your videos from the comments section of James Hoffman's coffee channel. I have had the OXO for 3-4 years. I really enjoy and appreciate the simplicity of its design (and honestly, most OXO products are thoughtfully designed). The multifunction knob is quite intuitive and easy to clean as well as aesthetic, and the display is bright. And I had no idea until this video the kettle had a counting up timer function. Since the Hario "coffee scale" include a timer in the scale this was not an issue for me. The stainless steel & grippy handle is also kind of a signature of OXO. The base is a bit light, probably due do the fact that the underside is hollow to store extra cord length. The one thing that annoys me is I sometimes forget to double-tap to confirm selected temperature. On that note, a quick double tap after pouring can also stop the keep warm function from continuing to heat for 30 min.
Being a US product, I think the kettle lead concern may be due to US appliance safety requirements. Most kitchen appliances don't have a cord more than 3 feet (some small commercial appliances, 6 feet) in length.
I have been stocking my kitchen with oxo products for 30+ years. They are known for their ergonomics. I did not know they had added a pour-over kettle. Thanks for including this in your test.
Thank you, so much for this comparison, it helped me tremendously in picking out the perfect kettle.
I bought the Oxo Kettle a few weeks ago and I love it.
Excellent information! Thank you. I appreciate this longer, in-depth look at the details. Your videos are easy to watch because your editing is so streamlined. Thank you for not adding distracting music or weird camera angles. I'm sure I'm not the only one who appreciates this too.
Mei Leaf's videos are sooo good. I truly appreciate the careful and minimal editing that goes into them. Besides the great content, they're also so relaxing to watch!
@@prcr Agreed.
A perfectly timed video, I just started looking into variable temperature kettles to replace my cheap Amazon Basics kettle I've had for years...great video!
I just ordered an OXO, thank you so much for this video, it helped me make the decision!
My Bonavita hold button broke today after many years of excellent service. Your video magically appeared as I brewed my BallPit Tycoon. Just ordered the Oxo - only $89 US on Amazon. Thanks Don!
I've had my OXO for about 5 years now. I got it on a 4th of July sale for 60% off... right around $35usd. It has served me well and shows no sign of stopping!
I bought my Oxo kettle a few months ago to help myself get started with gong fu brewing. I have to say, I’m happy to have the plasticky base if it made the kettle less expensive-this was the only brand-name variable temp gooseneck I could afford and still have money left over for tea! Maybe Oxo could keep this as a budget version and then add a premium model that upgrades the base and adds a few more features.
Ironically, my Oxo kettle was just delivered yesterday. In the middle of its maiden voyage this morning (with Souchong Liquor), this video pops up! Currently it’s priced at $89 on Amazon in the U.S. I love the bright display and it seems user friendly so far.
I love my Bonavita still. I think I paid around $59 for it two years ago, but I still love watching these videos because I know it will give out eventually! The only thing I don't like about it, and I'm sure I've commented this before, is that the timer only works when the pot is off the stand. It does have a short cord, but the extention cord I have is perfect.
I'm still leaning towards Brewista as a follow up when the Bonavita gives out, but we'll see!
After all the pros and cons of the other kettles, I still love my stagg and think for me it is the best kettle; never thought of using the timer before, but I'm glad I found out now trhough this review how easy it is to use.
Just so happens I had the OXO kettle in my cart before watching your video and this excellent review reassured me I was making the right choice thank You
I have 3 OXOs. Now after this review I love them even more. Don, I’ll add to your short wish list - the lid could be easier to open especially when hot. But the tea world feels more right now that you have the best kettle in your studio.
I have used Oxo four years and often change temperature down and back up for each day as I vary from wulong and matcha, sencha, varying coffee methods, to keemun. (I also may use it to speed up boiling prep into a saucepan for meals.) This summer, the dial feels a little bit creaky or springy under fingers, but it seems to be smooth again. We had a lot of humidity and wildfire particulate poor air quality. Wonder if coincidence?
I live in USA, but apartment building wired in 1925 with only update of fuses into circuit breaker at panel. The wattage says 1500 watts and I comply with directions to use alone on outlet. Bedroom's overhead light fixture dims and flickers if I have that on, but not the led bulbs in same room.
I add magnesium to filtered already soft water. I keep tally to descale every 60 uses. I used to use their brand, but after warranty over, I switched to using super market citric acid into solution. I wipe with clean microfiber inside. I use damp washcloth on exterior or some tiny amount of isopropyl alcohol to sparkle the outside when rarely needed.
I have two of the OXO... one for work and one for home. Love it with one exception. It takes too long to dial temperatures far away from each other. I often switch between temps in the 160's and 170's for some teas then up to max (212, max for the kettle) for food and coffee. It takes several turns to go between the two temps. Going on about 4 years for both and no problems.
Amazing timing! I literally ordered the Stagg this morning, but found this video in time to cancel it for the OXO 😂
I almost bought the Stagg about 3 years ago, opted for the OXO instead, and every time I use it I am grateful for the choice I made. It’s still going strong. I love it!
Honestly my biggest grief with kettles is the capacity, I would love a perfectly designed kettle by you guys with a 1.5-1.7 liter capacity much like the V-spout kettles, it would give it a unique aspect as well to have a Mei Leaf Jumbo gooseneck kettle with temperature hold, mutable noises, and rapid boil and considering the awesome equipment you make with the Gong Fu Story and you gorgeous tea trays and tea ware I look forward to see what other brilliant things you’re up to
I'd like a kettle with 1.2 liter capacity at most. Much more than that and I'd find the kettle uncomfortable to hold while sitting at a table.
🍵 I’ve been making my way through your videos 🎥 thanks for all your hard work. 😓 I studied under a tea master in Honolulu 20 years ago but left tea drinking and all my full handmade master-crafted pots behind (like a moron) - but I’ve loved getting all my knowledge refreshed by you. 🎉
I found there is no perfect kettle out there. Either the kettle has too much plastic, does not have variable temperatur, or the firmware sucks.
My solution was to build and program my own base for a kettle. Now I have a kettle base made from beautiful wood and functions exactly as I want. :)
Can you produce a few more and start selling them. I'd like to buy in ;)
I'm looking for a kettle for my french press, and you sold me on the Oxo. I have the Oxo coffee bean grinder and I love it. So I'm gonna buy the Oxo kettle.
It makes sense the Fellow lost in this because it is designed specifically for coffee. I have been thinking of buying the Fellow for years now, but that pour has always deterred me (I drink coffee and tea, but I only want to buy one kettle) After seeing that pour on the Oxo along with the other features, I’m sold!
Same here. Coffee using AeroPress so I don’t need the fine control. And now getting into Tea. I was looking at the non gooseneck Fellow but now I, leaning hard into Oxo.
I have the Fellow.. I have a love-hate relationship with it! I love how fast it heats, love the 1hr hold function.. but I Hate the slow pour and my lid leaks like Crazy!!! The water driddles out the spout, but if you tilt the kettle, water pours out the lid. 😢
I've already ordered the Oxo.. I have the Bonavita in our lodge. It's slower to heat up, and having to push the hold button every time you pick up the kettle is a pain, but it pours great with no lid leaks.
I use a kitchenaid gooseneck. There’s a digital and an analog version. Both have been great for me. I do want to try the newer stagg ones though
I also used Oxo and my experience was a little different.
At first, sometimes my electric fuse blew and I had to replace it with a stronger fuse.
After some time, it simply stopped heating.
However, I like the design.
My Fellow Stagg without the gooseneck is going on 5 years and running perfectly, now that is. After 2 months of heavy use the on off button started intermittently failing. A quick call to Fellow and I received a full refund and told to keep the kettle too. After another 3 months or so the kettle fixed itself and the problem went away and the kettle functioned normally, until... At about 18 months the thermostat malfunctioned and even though it was set at 70C and read 70C, it quickly came to boil and would have boiled dry on several occasions if not caught by me. After 4 or 5 malfunctions, the Fellow fixed itself again and has been functioning perfectly for past several years. Overall, I have to say my experience has been excellent.Not sure what caused my two serious but temporary issues. I would certainly buy another one despite the issues I had because of amazing customer service in my case making my unit free.
OMG got a real deal on Amazon, Spring sale for oxo kettles in US $75. Love this kettle!
This video popped up as i was googling how to repair my bonavita which broke after 5 yeard of great service. I miss it, but ill be considering oxo to replace it.
First! Going to be a great tea morning!
Thanks Don! Just an FYI: Here in America, Bonavita has a 1.5L capacity option, closer in price point to the Brewista.
This geeky review is cheeky
Hey Don and Teaheads! What kind of power/extension cord do you use to give yourself some extra length for your kettles? I currently use a Cuisinart kettle, which (as Im learning is an issue with a lot of kettles) has a very short power cord. Right now, I have a sort of tea station set up on a little side table next to my dining table where I put my kettle, however I usually keep the kettle next to me after it reachs temp and then any time I need to bring the temp back up, I have to stand up and bring the kettle back over to its stand at my tea station, which is not TOO much of an issue, but it does bring you out of the mood a little
I would seriously recommend the stagg without the gooseneck. Much better for tea and I didn't have any issues for a year now.
That's the one I have (the name of that one is the Fellow Corvo) and has been holding up very well so far. Also, I much prefer the look and practicality of a "non-gooseneck" kettle.
When you say "accuracy," are you just going by the readout of the kettle's thermometer, or did you put a good thermometer in the water to check the accuracy of the readout? I've seen adjustable water kettles around and wondered how good they were at getting bringing up the water to less-than-boiling for whites and greens. With the one-temp kettle i have i have to dump the right amount of tap-cold water just before pouring into the glass or tea kettle.
I can confirm the Stagg's keep-warm expires one hour after inactivity. It should be configurable on the new, super-expensive model.
Hey Don! I have question, not abou kettle tho xD I recently bought celadon gaiwan with the tip and holes for straining. But it seems like oolong i make in it is much weaker in taste than form porcelain gaiwan. How could this be? Im using same time and temperature, but gaiwan can handle overall more infusions and have much more taste. I don't know that much about celadon, but it should keep temperature better and it supose to be good for oolong?
Serious question here and I desperately need an answer. Recently got a brewista 1.2 litre variable temperature kettle the older model 6 years old. Once it hits boiling it won't stop boiling , and no the hold temperature setting is not on. I have to physically take the kettle off the base to stop it which defeats the purpose of me buying it
Hi! Thanks for the reviews, very informative.
Re. temperature range, are you sure the Fellow EKG starts at 40C?
On their website they indicate that temperature setting starts at 60C for the basic version. You need to apparently upgrade to EKG Pro in order to have temperature range starting at 40C.
Thanks in advance!
Btw, if Fellow reads comments, I am looking fwd to seeing the Pro Studio Edition certified for European voltage!
I love my Brevista kettle
For everyone just getting into brewing tea, I must say it's also fun to get a feel for the correct temperature just by observing bubbles and time. If you're not dependent on very low temps eg for gyokuro and on a budget you might consider getting a transparent kettle instead :)
For gyokuro I will use a separate container to cool the water down (aka Yuzamashi) to use for brewing, it is also fun to learn the temperature by sensing the steam with my palm.
i'm using fresh alpine water and turn the (1.2kW!!! ancient) heating plate off when the bubbles have the size of fish eyes. i am letting it simmer for a while and the chalk sets on the bottom. i then have (my) perfect water to go on from there.
also please mind that the heating source (electricity, charcoal, gas yadayada) has a huge effect as well as your thoughts during boiling and the brewing. but we're fanatics here in bavarea42o.
mush love from the moutains,
TeaJ
Adam MVP. I'm thinking about replacing my kettle around christmas (or rather add another one and keep the older one in the kitchen for cooking). I wonder if that kettle will be available in europe at some point or if it will stay a north america exlusive.
Another interesting thing to compare would be each kettle's ability to sense when there is no water. The Stagg ekg says "No water" a few seconds after trying to boil with no water. The brewista does not. There have been times I accidentally turn on the brewista kettle at my desk and I soon heard the crackling and frying of the insides which could eventually ruin the thermometer in the kettle. With the oxo (a roommate of mine had one) if you put the kettle back on the base without water in it while the kettle is still on, you will soon here that horrid crackling again and I don't believe it has a sensor, so if you forget, it will fry your kettle. Also the brewista has an added step as an American because each time you plug it in, you have to change from Celsius to Fahrenheit since Celsius is the default. It only remembers Fahrenheit if you keep it plugged into the same outlet. Fantastic review, thanks Don!! We need a Mei leaf kettle to settle this lack of a proper gongfu cha gooseneck kettle once and for all.
Oxo 4 years now at a liter a day , but vary matcha, sencha, wulong,keemun,and various coffee methods including pour over coffee. I never mistakenly put on an empty kettle, but twice tried to put empty on base while setting timer after it had reached temp and I had used it. The kettle takes seconds to auto cut off. It was not ruined from two attempts years ago.
@@Ma_Ba that's interesting, I found myself constantly having the problem of putting the oxo kettle back on the base and then when you forget to switch it off immediately the kettle will continue to heat the empty metal and start cracking
@@Openness Maybe I will time it trying it on purpose, but that would not be kind to myself. The manual says how many seconds it does that before shutoff. It has a 2 year warranty.
That's actually perfect because I neeeeed a kettle that reads in Celsius! That's hard to find as an American who stopped using Fahrenheit.
Just saw that OXO also has a non gooseneck model that seems to be the same base but with a 1.75L regular spout kettle. Same Price.
I really want a kettle with a handle that is attached to the base rather than designed for pour over coffee. It's so uncomfortable to brew sitting down with a pour over coffee style kettle because I have to have my elbow and shoulder in an awkward position the entire session when I'm pouring... I had a gooseneck Hamilton Beach for this reason.
My guess is that a ROHS Compliance issue accounts for the Oxo not being available in the UK.
Making it compliant might force them to price it too high. Just speculating.
What about the Hario V60 Buono?
Still thanks to previous review of the Vektra that's what I've been using. It works really well but the pour is awful
Why are all goosenecks? I understand for some types of coffee brews but why for tea? I was looking at the non gooseneck Fellow for AreoPress Coffee brews and now getting into Teas. But this Oxo might get a try instead. Thanks Don!!!
OXO has a similar model with 1.75L non gooseneck kettle. Same price.
I was ready to buy the OXO. But as you say, they're restricted to the US, they don't make an Australian version.
After growing tired of collecting broken electric kettles, I switched over to an Anta Pottery clay kettle to heat water for tea. No plastic, no leaching, no cord, no beeps, nothing to break. Just soft, sweet water that holds its heat. Takes no time to learn the temperature based on the sound of the water in the kettle. Almost a decade, and it shows no signs of wearing out. It’ll likely outlast me. I’ll never go back to electric kettles. Clay is all natural and (in my opinion) works best.
Bad pour and ergonomics though.
Slow cooking time
difficult temperature control
Even more difficult temperature sustain
heavy
expensive
Has weird taste
hard to clean
Go on?
I'd be happy to take it off your hands! @@Apoz
Increase the price of the oxo don? We need the lower price, Thank you. Why not have an exceptional kettle at a low price?
I have the same display issues on my Stagg. For me though, it resets if I remove and replace the kettle for around a second, but yeah, it is not great.
Also happens on my Fellow Corvo. The glitches are rather infrequent - they happen around once every 20 sessions - and just like you say, all I need to do is raise the kettle from the base and replace it to get the display to sort itself out.
@@prcr I think my interval is similar
I'm also interested in the Cusinart GK-1 Someone send Don one to review! 😂
Links for these ???
I haven't tried ofc, but considering all the videos let's assume It may as well be that at Mei Leaf store all the teas are of exceptional quality, but man the prices are insane. I can get award winning and competition grade teas cheaper straight from Japan, and that's including delivery +20% EU import tax.
Love the videos, but nah, I'll stick to my own tea sources.
I can't believe neither of these kettles got a lid with a hinge! Crazy dangerous. The Smeg got that, hopefully you will try that one
Only Don can make me watch a geeky deep dive on electric water kettles for 45 minutes straight... I regret nothing.
I did settings double speed, but attentive to it.
Has anyone tried Hario?
My $40 miroco kettle from Amazon is my first and probably last workhorse for going on 4 years now. Not a single issue but I have to say all these critiques just feel too much. The electric kettle is an afterthought, and I don’t boil tea in it like you see some people do with glazed clay kettles on induction stoves. Nothing to really obsess over in this department
All these kettles on Amazon have 7% or more failure rate be it cheap or expensive. They're all made in China from similar parts bins , and thrown into different body styles. Some over others seem to be more leak prone. IMO , pick whatever you like , cheap or expensive.......sooner or later you'll be replacing it. Likely sooner.
In all fairness , the OXO appears to rate better and less negatives.
I do not recommend Fellow Stagg EKG, mine last only 1 year and a half. Heat sensor going out of control!!!
You really did my boy Bonavita dirty when rating the pour. It's not at all "one speed", not even a little bit. The Bonavita pours literally just as dynamically as the Brewista, which makes sense because the spouts are pretty much identical. If anything, the OXO looked a bit "one-speed" in this demonstration with a fairly stiff stream. Not completely fixed like the Stagg's but also not nearly as dynamic as the Brewista or Bonavita.
I loathe my Stagg. Had to replace the first one which turned into an erupting volcano at 205° F, and the concave shaped lid that serves as a water basin for all the condensation from the steam that’s generated is unforgivable. See the other lid shapes, Fellow?! Their CONVEX, meaning they won’t collect water!! Pair that with a wooden lid knob and you have a kettle that was designed to fall apart from the get-go.
Even a double beep. Thats a deal breaker.
Does this really warrant a 45min video? Not possible.