The Tea Kettle Dilemma

Mr. Peacock had a bad habit (and still does) of putting some water on to boil for tea, and then walking into another room and starting some other project—completely forgetting about the tea kettle...oops!

On more than one occasion, I returned to the kitchen to find a melted handle and spout dripping over the body of some inexpensive whistling tea kettle—with all of the water boiled away and plastic fumes.

In 1984 I was gifted with the Richard Sapper whistling tea kettle—the first “designer” kettle by Alessi (above). For years, I kept the steel surface as pristine and shiny as possible, but eventually I let it get a natural “patina” and look a bit weathered. Once I had to get a little rubber sleeve replacement to go over the lever that lifts the handle (it gets hot). Other than that rubber sleeve replacement, this tea kettle has never had any problems.

I’ve used it almost every day for 25 years, with the exception of being in storage for about 3 years. A few weeks ago, however, a piece of the scalloped handle snapped off—so much for plastic.

My dilemma...should I simply replace this tea kettle with another Richard Sapper kettle, or get a completely different style. My only prerequisite is that it is a whistling kettle, and I lean towards silver/chrome/steel finishes.

The Michael Graves tea kettle was much more popular than my trusty Sapper kettle, but I never really liked the look of this kettle...but it has grown on me over the years.

This whistling Windsor kettle is classic.

This whistling kettle has clean lines, and a harmonic whistle.

A whistling red kettle could be fun.

This Italian kettle looks industrial and sturdy.

I was originally drawn to the Sapper kettle for aesthetic reasons. It looked a bit Constructivist to me. I still think it’s a beautiful tea kettle. And the whistle reminded me of a train barreling through my kitchen—and stopped me from having a melted kettle.

So what do you think? Should I stick with the Sapper kettle or try a different kettle?