This modern Salter kettle stood out for its ease of use – it boasts a removable limescale filter, a swivel base and a boil-dry sensor. Jug kettles are taller, tend to have handles located on the side and will generally hold a larger volume of water. We fill each kettle from the tap and test the pouring precision into a hot water bottle, looking for splashing and spillages. Note that its minimum capacity of 600ml means it can’t be used for boiling a single cup, making it better suited to medium to large households.

That said, we found the silicone handle quite wide to hold, and the hinged lid was a bit fiddly to use at first. It’s equally important to check the water gauge to make sure your kettle hasn’t been overfilled, which could boil over and become a safety hazard. Hearst UK is the trading name of the National Magazine Company Ltd, 30 Panton Street, Leicester Square, London, SW1Y 4AJ. Boiling the full capacity takes just over three minutes, while it takes two minutes for one litre and a speedy 45 seconds to boil enough for one cup.

Other smart features include pre-programmed temperature buttons for different hot drinks and a "keep warm" setting to retain the water temperature for a certain amount of time. We also look for untoasted tops and stripes and make sure that both faces of the bread are toasted to the same degree. Some kettles have additional smart features, such as allowing you to set the kettle to boil or check the water temperature from an app on your phone. There’s more to a great kettle than just boiling water though, which is why the Good Housekeeping Institute has tried a wide range of models to find the best on the market. We look at how easy the kettle is to use based on how clear the water level gauge is to see, whether the filter is easy to remove for cleaning and refit, and how comfortable the kettle is to hold.

We also check the temperature of the external casing of the handle when water is freshly boiled – some kettles get extremely hot and extra care needs to be taken when picking up to pour. It has markers for one, two and three cups on the inside, which are helpful if you want to boil specific amounts. Given how regularly our kettles get used, it’s worth thinking about what features you want and those that you can pass by. Filling through the spout resulted in a little spilling and splashing so we’d recommend filling through the hole instead, and its exterior got quite hot during boiling, but those were our only niggles. Testers noted how quick it was to boil, taking an average of 58 seconds at minimum capacity and under three-and-a-half minutes at its maximum capacity of 1.Good Housekeeping participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. In her free time, Blossom openly admits to being a music geek and indulges her creative side through crocheting, baking, singing and writing. After spending countless hours testing over 182 kettles in our lab – we've boiled enough hot water to make nearly 5,460 cups of tea! These can produce a cup's worth of boiling water in less than a minute and use up to 50% less energy.