Kettles aren't exactly the highest tech appliance, but as artisan teas grow in popularity, it's more and more handy to have one on standby. However, they're usually utilitarian, ugly appliances, not ones you want to have out on your countertop.
The Smeg 50s Retro Kettle aims to solve this with a kettle that looks as good as it boils water. Sure, it does the basics, but with 6 temperature presets, a soft close lid, to fill, low noise levels and a drip-free spout, it's as luxury a kettle as you're likely to find.
I put it to the test over a few months, using it throughout the day to make a selection of hot drinks to fuel my cravings. It has even endured a clean and a descale for maintenance purposes. The appliance was the only kettle in our household so it was certainly challenged by my family-of-three to meet our demands. After all this testing, I found one of the best kettles you can buy.
Smeg 50s Retro Kettle
Smeg 50s Retro Kettle specifications
Smeg 50s Retro Kettle: First impressions
The Smeg 50s Retro Kettle is another entry into Smeg's classic retro range. There's an entire Smeg 50s Retro range to browse through; from refrigerators to coffee makers, all available in eight pastel hues. black, cream, pastel blue, pastel green, pink, red, stainless steel and white. You can even get it in a (very expensive) Dolce & Gabbana Siclilian theme.
The kettle has a push top lid with a soft opening to make for an easy fill; a separate 360 swivel base so it can slot onto the base from any position and non-slip feet so it'll stay put when you need it to.
It's powered by 3000 watts for fast boiling whilst the 1.7ltr/7 cup capacity has a built-in, removable stainless steel filter at the spout to filter out natural limescale.
It has 6 variable-temperature settings from 120°F to 212°F, so you can have more gentle temperatures for teas like matcha as well as fully boiling water for pour-over coffee.
Smeg 50s Retro Kettle: Setting up
The Smeg 50s Retro Kettle arrived in a cardboard delivery box. It used recyclable pacakcing throghout, which is always nice to see.
Before first use I needed to give the Smeg 50s Retro Kettle a quick wipe down to remove any manufacturing or packaging elements. You also need to boil a full jug of water at least three times before first use, so it's best to not try set up the kettle when you actually need or want a hot drink.
Test 1 - temperature consistency
To test, I took a reading of the water temperature after it had boiled. This measured 205.7F/96.5C when the water was poured into a mug. It's a few degrees off boiling, but bear in mind that the water would have cooled as it left the jug and filled the cold mug. It's a good result - this is plenty hot enough for most day-to-day uses.
Test 2 - Speed
The next little test I tried was to time how long it took to boil a full, 1.7ltr/7 cup jug and the minimum 0.5ltr/2cup. I recorded 3 minutes 12 seconds to boil a full kettle, and 1 minute 6 seconds to boil the minimum amount of water. This is fairly good, but it could be a little faster, particularly when boiling the minimum amount.
I liked that it was quick to boil the water. When I poured the water there weren't any drips, but I noticed that some condensation formed around the lid lip above the spout and the switch when it was filled up to the max with water.
Test 3 - Noise
My noise reader bounced around between 57dB to 65dB as the kettle boiled. This is equivalent to a quiet street or normal conversation, so it's not too loud, especially compared to other kettles
Smeg 50s Retro Kettle: Cleaning
Cleaning this kettle is really easy. To keep the outside clean and free of fingerprints, all you need to do is wipe it down with a damp cloth every so often. I live in a hard water area, so I also tested how easy it is to descale this toaster. It was really easy. All I needed to do was Half fill the kettle with water and boil it, then wait 10 minutes for it to cool down a little. I then added the descaler solution, left it for 6 - 8 minutes with the lid open, and then poured the solution away before rinsing and boiling the kettle. It was straightforward and completely effective.
Should you buy it?
If you need to replace a kettle that's just packed up on you, or you fancy a more stylish model, I think that the Smeg 50s Retro Kettle is an excellent choice.
The build quality, design and performance is faultless. I could see how much water I had in the jug at all times, which is always helpful, but perhaps the most useful feature was the 360 swivel base. It meant that I could lift it with my left or right hand, which sounds like a small thing but many kettles are designed for right-handers.
The only issues are the condensation build-up when it's full, and that it feels a little plasticky. Both of these issues are compounded when you consider that this kettle is nearly $200 - that's a lot to spend for a decent cup of tea when other models tend to cost $50-70.
