What to Buy Coffee, Tea & Espresso The 3 Best Gooseneck Kettles, According to Our Tests Improve your tea- and coffee-making with our top-rated kettles. By Ariane Resnick Ariane Resnick Ariane Resnick, CNC is a leader in the realm of nutrition and special diets, helping to make healthy eating affordable and easy for all. She has cooked professionally, intermittently, for well over twenty years, and has nearly a decade of professional writing experience. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on September 22, 2023 In This Article Expand Jump to a Section Our top picks Reviews Our Favorite The Tests Factors to Consider FAQ What Didn't Make the List Our Expertise We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. Learn more. Food & Wine / Sarah Karnasiewicz Whether crafting a cup of tea or a carafe of pour-over coffee, the gear you use matters as much as the leaves or beans. For better brews, we recommend a gooseneck kettle. With a thin, long spout that pours water more slowly than a standard kettle, the gooseneck kettle allows the tea leaves or coffee grounds to saturate more slowly, coaxing out the aromas and flavors more delicately than a fast "whoosh" of hot water. We tested five gooseneck kettles for timing, accuracy, warming function, pour, taste, and ease of cleaning, taking all of the guesswork out of choosing which one is best for you. Read on for the pros and cons of our top choices, and to learn why a gooseneck kettle makes a difference. Our Top Picks Best Overall: Fellow Stagg Electric Pour-Over Kettle at Amazon Jump to Review Best Stovetop: Hario V60 "Buono" Drip Kettle at Amazon Jump to Review Best Value: Cosori Electric Gooseneck Kettle with 5 Variable Presets at Amazon Jump to Review Best Overall Fellow Stagg EKG Electric Pour-Over Kettle Amazon View On Amazon View On Williams-Sonoma View On Sur La Table Pros It heats up quicker than most kettles and retains that temperature for a long time. It's so attractive that you'll want to keep it on the counter when it's not in use. Cons It has no indicator sound to alert you when your desired temperature is reached. The Fellow Stagg EKG Electric Gooseneck Kettle came out on top for its consistent results, features, and overall design. Its ergonomic handle prevents it from slipping, and its built-in stopwatch helps you monitor your pour rate. While we wish it made an indicator sound, it doesn't take long for water to reach temperature thanks to its 1,200-watt heating element. Once there, it stays hot for up to an hour. The temperature control dial is as precise as possible, letting you choose the exact water heating point between 135 and 212°F. This lets you brew every type of tea correctly. This stainless steel gooseneck kettle is available in several colors: the matte black is similar to cast iron; copper and polished silver offer high shine; and the warm pink will pop against a neutral backsplash. Plus, it takes up less storage space, as the base is a 6-inch square. Price at time of publish: $165 Capacity: 0.9 litersMaterial: Stainless steelWarranty: 1-year limited Food & Wine / Fred Hardy Best Stovetop Hario V60 Buono Drip Kettle Walmart View On Amazon View On Williams-Sonoma View On Walmart Pros It’s small in size, so easy to store and clean. Its design is simple but beautiful. Cons There’s no max fill line, which could lead to overfilling and spillage. It doesn't hold a temperature as well as the electric kettles on our list. A past winner of the “Best New Product” category of the World Tea Expo, the Japanese-made Hario V60 Buono features a long spout and a rippled stainless silver well. At $42, this stovetop kettle costs less than its electric competition. It holds over a liter of water, allowing for 3 to 4 cups of tea in one round of brewing. The Buono kettle is compatible with gas, electric, and induction stoves. If you're using a gas burner, just be sure to center the kettle so that the handle is off the burner — it might melt otherwise. During our tests, it held a temperature moderately well after boiling, dropping to 199°F after 10 minutes and then to 171°F after 30 minutes. While we found it easy to clean, those with large hands may have trouble reaching inside the small opening. A bottle brush can assist with this, and you’ll want to be sure to clean and dry it well to prevent any rust from forming. Hario, which specializes in tea and coffee, also makes pour-over tools, and this kettle can be used with that as well. Price at time of publish: $42 Capacity: 1.2 litersMaterial: Stainless steelWarranty: 1 year Food & Wine / Isaac Nunn Best Value Cosori Electric Gooseneck Kettle with 5 Variable Presets Amazon View On Amazon View On Target View On Walmart Pros With individual presets for various teas, this kettle lets you easily tailor the water temperature to your beverage. Cons Water cools the fastest of all the kettles we tested. The Cosori kettle can dial the water temperature to the optimal heat for your beverage with five presets: coffee, white tea, green tea, oolong tea, and black tea (like Earl Grey and chai). The buttons note the specific temperatures, too, so you can choose whatever temperature the container suggests. The buttons light up when pressed, and the matte black surface shows no fingerprints. The water stream is stable and steady, enabling you to get the most out of your tea leaves or coffee grounds, though it fared worse for insulation than other kettles tested. That said, it does stay warm for up to a full hour. The food-grade stainless steel interior ensures that water tastes pure. A triple-beep sound will alert you when your water is ready, but you can turn it off if you find it more annoying than helpful. An auto shut-off feature prevents the kettle from burning. The heating element for this kettle is the same as the Fellow Stagg, so it heats quite quickly. We consider it a great value for its performance and features. Price at time of publish: $70 Capacity: 0.8 litersMaterial: Stainless steelWarranty: 2-year limited Food & Wine / Fred Hardy Our Favorite The Fellow Stagg EKG Electric Gooseneck Kettle is as lovely to look at as it is precise in temperature control and holding. Staying at dozens of degrees hotter after a half hour than some other picks, it lets you drink cup after cup with one round of brewing. The handle is designed to prevent it from slipping out of control, and it could only be improved by having a sound that denotes when the water is ready. The Tests We tested the kettles for timing, using cold water and then checking every 10 minutes once it boiled for how well it held the temperature. We tested accuracy by setting it to individual temperatures and recording the variability. We based the warming function on the kettles’ ability to hold temperatures for 15 and 30 minutes. Pouring tests examined splashing, comfort, and ease of use. For taste, we looked for unwanted or chemical flavors. For ease of cleaning, we checked for stains and deposits, in addition to following manufacturer cleaning instructions. Factors to Consider Heating Method There are two types of gooseneck kettles: ones that heat on your stovetop and those that sit on an electric base for heating. Most prefer electric models to effectively regulate water temperature for perfect coffee and tea, especially in pour-over styles. If you love the look and precise pouring of a gooseneck kettle without the frills, stovetop versions will likely work fine for your purposes. Just note that, unlike regular stovetop kettles, gooseneck models do not come with whistles to alert you when the water has reached its boiling point, so you have to watch them closely to prevent them from boiling dry. Capacity Most gooseneck kettles can contain around one liter of water. The ones we tested varied from 0.8 to 1.2 liters. While there are plenty of electric and stovetop kettles that hold significantly more than this, gooseneck kettles are made for slow, stable pouring, so they generally run much smaller. Cost Gooseneck kettles, especially the electric kind, can run you a pretty penny. If it is more of an aesthetic decision and you don’t need precise temperature controls, stovetop models will be much more affordable. If you want the features an electric model offers, research the ones that are most important to you, and don’t buy units with bells and whistles you won’t use since those tend to increase costs exponentially. Frequently Asked Questions Why is a gooseneck kettle better for coffee? “It's better for coffee if your chosen brewing method requires control and precision,” Easto says. “If you are interested in mastering a pour-over method, for example, you'll likely appreciate the control and precision a gooseneck kettle provides. Gooseneck kettles have a long, thin, curved spout (like, you guessed it, the neck of a goose), which allows you to pour water very slowly (or quickly) and direct it to specific places.” Can you use a gooseneck kettle for tea? “Yep, you can use a gooseneck kettle to heat water for tea to the proper brewing temperature,” Easto says. “Some teas require lower water temperatures, so that's where electric gooseneck kettles come in handy. But this is not for steeping; you shouldn't put tea leaves inside your kettle.” Do you need a gooseneck kettle for pour-over coffee? “You don't need it, but it's recommended and you may find it makes life easier,” Easto says. “Pour-over devices require you to pour water over coffee (hence the name). In order to make sure the water and coffee are in contact for the right amount of time, you usually have to pour carefully and slowly. Different devices restrict the flow of water to different degrees.” “If you have a device with little restriction, such as a V60 or a Chemex, it becomes even more important to slow down your pour. It's very hard to pour slowly with a regular kettle. Additionally, you usually have to make sure the water is evenly distributed, without making big divots or channels in the brew bed. You do this by pouring in a pattern, such as a figure eight or a circle, and the gooseneck kettle allows you to do this.” How do you clean a gooseneck kettle? Always follow manufacturer instructions for cleaning gooseneck kettles, as they will vary depending on type and material. Some electric kettles may need only to be descaled occasionally, while others will require more frequent cleaning. For electric kettles with heating elements, there may be areas that can’t get wet, so read instructions carefully and follow them closely. What Didn't Make the List Willow & Everett Gooseneck Electric Kettle with Temperature Control & Presets ($54 at Amazon)This kettle performed well in our tests. We found it easy to use, and we liked that a sound alerted us to the water reaching temperature. The exterior felt warm to the touch, and we noticed a faint metallic taste to the water. Bonavita Variable Temperature Electric Kettle ($130 at Amazon)We found this kettle's design lacking for the cost. Its exterior shows fingerprints, and it doesn't have an indicator sound to notify you when water comes to temperature. Moreover, the display read 189°F when the temperature actually measured 200.4°F, so we knocked it off the list. Our Expertise Contributor Ariane Resnick is a special diet chef, certified nutritionist, and bestselling author who loves a hot beverage as much as a meal. A meticulous type who doesn’t stand for products that say one thing and deliver another, she greatly appreciates a gooseneck kettle that can heat water to a given temp without variability. We spoke to Jessica Easto, author of Craft Coffee: A Manual, to get her expert insights on how to use gooseneck kettles. Stacey Ballis, a freelance writer, recipe developer, and product reviewer, also contributed to this piece. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit