Godd but can be improved

I bought this kettle to replace a Capresso one, which I liked but it did not last long -- the handle broke off at the top just when garantee expired. I also hoped that this kettle will solve the problem of bad chemical smell apparently coming from the silicon or plastic seal between glass and metal heating element. Alas, this kettle has the same problem as Capresso! I hope smell will disappear as it did eventually in Capresso. Also, I was a bit disappointed that it took 7-8 min. to boil max. water -- longer than Capresso, I thought, but maybe I am forgetting. Another annoying feature -- the package said "fast and quiet," but it was neither. It was quite noisy, much noisier than Capresso. And don't even think to fill this kettle with more water than max -- even that was too much: the boiling water was splashing so violantly, I was afraid it would spill over, but luckily it did not. But the next time I'll use less water than max. With all this said, the kettle did its job, turned off reasonably fast, and pouring was easy -- you don't have to open the lid as in Capresso, and the steam did not come close to my hand. The kettle looks and feels very sturdy if not as elegant as Capresso. So, I hope it will last longer. But the next time I probably will go with a metal kettle, although some of them I saw in stores felt quite heavy even when empty, but at least they probably won't have stinky plastic. So, I would recommend this product, but with caveat, and not to somebody who is concern about plastic and bad smell.

[Friday, December 12, 2008]