I Tried the Gorgeous Electric Kettle That Everyone Is Obsessed With — Here’s My Honest Review

Until last year, I never understood the point of electric kettles. Space is already very limited on my kitchen countertops, so why would I add something new when my stovetop kettle — or even a pot! — works just fine? You mean I have to pay how much for something just to … boil water? I remember laughing when I heard that, during the commercial breaks for popular TV shows in England, there would be electrical surges because everyone turned on their electrical kettle at the same time. I just didn’t understand the hype.

Friends, family, strangers: I’ll be the first to say how wrong I was. I was living in the dark, and now I see the light — that fast-as-hell-boiling-water light.

My journey to acceptance started on Instagram. In 2020 the internet was inundated with the stainless steel kettles from Fellow, and over the course of the year — and countless cups of tea at home — my apathy started to waver. I doesn’t hurt that the kettles look like something straight out of Architectural Digest, and come in a variety of colors like matte black and polished steel. You’ll actually want to leave this out on your counter for everyone to see (even if that’s just you and your cat right now). Fellow has two different kettles: the Stagg gooseneck and the Corvo. Because I don’t drink coffee, I decided to get the Corvo for its short spout.

In the three months that I’ve had this kettle, it’s become one of my most-used and most-loved things in my kitchen. Instead of the normal 10-ish minutes that it takes to boil water, it now takes five minutes to reach 212°F. This might not seem like a huge change, but it’s the difference between me enjoying three cups of tea a day, versus just one. I also love how simple the temperature control knob is, and how the digital display makes it easy to see the current temperature of the water. You can also hold the temperature for up to an hour if you plan on having another cup of tea shortly after — something I’ve used a lot.

Other small details that make this kettle a bright spot in a dark, dark world? The ability to switch between Fahrenheit and Celsius, the ergonomically designed handle, and the satisfyingly snug lid. I’m also obsessed with the fact there’s a secret game you can play on the kettle called Wormy — it’s essentially a version of Snake, that classic cellphone game you might remember if you’re over the age of 25. To play, you toggle between Fahrenheit and Celsius and the game appears on the LCD screen. It has nothing to do with boiling water, and that somehow makes me love the kettle even more.

The only thing I would want to change about the Corvo is the built-in brew timer. From what I can tell, it’s intended for making pour-over coffee, but it’s useless for tea-drinkers. The timer just counts upwards and there’s no way to program it for a certain amount of time (or to beep to indicate the time is up). It’s not a deal-breaker in any way — just something that would have been nice to have.

The Corvo is definitely more expensive than its competition, but it’s worth it for me because I use it multiple times a day. It’s ultra-sleek design, fast boil time, and easy temperature knob make it the best companion for my daily cup(s) of Earl Grey. And the best part? If you’re considering joining this tea party, right now for a limited time, you can score 15 percent off the Corvo (and several other Fellow items) with code COOLBREWSUMMER.