There’s nothing quite like a hot cup of tea for breakfast time or anytime. Leaf lovers have their own unique taste and techniques for brewing a personal best cup, but it all starts with the right vessel.
If you have a gas stove, it’s important to consider the materials and your habits before purchasing a new kettle. Before we reveal our top 5 teapots, it’s important to first discuss metal and glass.
Quick Comparison: 5 Best Tea Kettles for Gas Stoves
Brand | Heat Conduction | Weight | Durability |
---|---|---|---|
#1. Revere Whistling Tea Kettle Our Best Pick Check Price | Very good | Heavy bottom, medium weight | Durable |
#2. Adagio Teas Glass Water Kettle Fancy Check Price | Exceptional | Light to medium weight | Fragile |
#3. Staub Enameled Cast Iron Round Tea Kettle Check Price | Excellent | Heavy weight | Durable |
#4. Richmond Heritage Copper Whistling Kettle Check Price | Exceptional | Heavy bottom, medium weight | Long-lasting but prone to dents |
#5. Primus Anodized Aluminum Tea Kettle Check Price | Low maintenance | Light weigt | Long-lasting but prone to dents |
A Look Under the Lid
What are the advantages and disadvantages, and how do they behave under a roaring gas flame?
Anodized Aluminum:
Pro: light, quick heating, inexpensive, scratch resistant, easy clean, and the go-to metal for camping enthusiasts.
Con: aluminum reacts with acidic foods and liquids if the anodized layer is damaged giving it an off flavor, some may have concerns about aluminum and health.
Copper:
Pro: the quickest and most efficient conductor of heat, attractive, responds well to temperature adjustments, constructed to last.
Con: requires maintenance to keep tarnish at bay, is prone to showing dings, and may impart an off flavor to delicate teas, expensive.
Glass
Pro: easy to clean, fast and even heat distribution, doesn’t impart off flavors, perfect for showing off pretty herbal teas.
Con: plastic handles and lids may melt if heat is too high or the burner too large or become too hot to hold with bare hands, soda lime silicate glass is more likely to suffer stress shattering than borosilicate.
Stainless Steel
Pro: slowest heating time, holds heat longer than copper and glass, durable and inexpensive.
Con: can be prone to rust if the metal blend doesn’t have enough chromium.
Cast Iron
Pro: tough and heat resistant to 500 F, even heating, keeps water at temperature up to an hour, enameled cast iron is non-reactive and won’t inject odd flavors, built to last generations.
Con: can rust especially if enamel coating is chipped, heavy, teapots for steeping and kettles for boiling are easily confused, Japanese style tetsubin boiling kettles without enamel need care.
1. Best whistling tea kettle for gas stove: Revere
Great-Grandma knows best. There’s a reason why the standard, stainless steel tea kettle was ubiquitous in the fifties and is still among the most popular styles. The classic Revere Whistling Tea Kettle features a heavy copper bottom to take advantage of superior conductivity and the cost effectiveness of stainless steel.
This is an everyday pot with a wide spout for filling and a high handle. The gentle whistle isn’t shrill, and the sliding spout protects the fingers from steam.
Best practices. The weight and copper grab and hold heat, so a high flame is not necessary. To avoid issues with hot or melting handles, keep the flame to low to medium.
High flames throw heat up and around the pot rather than concentrating at the bottom and this is enough to melt the heat-resistant plastic. Allowing water to boil out and leaving the metal to cook dry will lead to discoloration and warping.
To clean pots without a top lid, mix white vinegar and water, gently simmer for ten minutes, swirl, and rinse.
- Affordable, tough, shatterproof, and simple.
- Can’t see inside to clean, handle and lid may melt with high flames.
2. Adagio Teas Glass Water Kettle
A brew with a view. Glass has been used for cookware for decades, and it doesn’t alter the flavor of food or liquid. Glass kettles allow easy peeking and get hot faster than metal. Blooming teas and herbal blends that should be shown off pair well with glass pots.
Borosilicate glass is stronger than soda lime silicate, so look at manufacturer details if purchasing other brands. Glass doesn’t take well to thermal shock and is prone to stress shattering.
The Adagio Teas Glass Kettle is a step above less expensive brands since it is made with borosilicate glass, has a metal lid, and a glass handle. It’s durable, easy to clean, and microwave and dishwasher safe.
Best Practices. Turn down the flames, use the small burner, and the glass can take the heat. Using a large burner overheats the handle and lid because the excess energy engulfs the pot rather than settling on the bottom.
With less expensive brands that have plastic lids and handles, overkill with the stove knob can lead to melting. Lids are loose fitting for safety; simply hold the lid handle during a pour. If the handle is sometimes too hot, allow to cool.
Glass doesn’t like extremes of temperature, so slow heating is not only efficient but better for product longevity. Allow the kettle to cool on the stove, on a dry dish towel, or trivet.
Avoid pouring cold water into a hot pot or placing a just-boiled kettle on a cold counter (especially marble).
- Fast effective conduction, dishwasher and microwave safe, non-reactive, easy fill, attractive, able to showcase specialty teas.
- Prone to thermal shock, will shatter if dropped, can be pricey depending on the brand and style.
3. Staub Enameled Cast Iron Round Tea Kettle
Buy one and pass it on. Cast iron is tougher than nails and prized pieces have been passed down through the generations as practical heirlooms or revived to like-new after decades of element exposure.
Heavy weight is even more of a factor of heat conductivity than metal type. The Staub Round Tea Kettle is enameled cast iron. It is not only attractive but conducts and retains an even heat.
Enameling may chip over time, but it protects against rust and it is non-reactive. Staub uses a multi-coat enameling process which is as colorful as ceramic but resists cracks and chips.
It’s strong enough for the dishwasher and the metal handle folds down for storage. A good cast iron piece is as expensive as copper, but since they are made for successive lifetimes, they are an investment.
Best practices. Be sure to buy a cast iron pot made for boiling tea rather than steeping. Kettles are designed to withstand high heat and the handles are positioned differently to avert melting temperatures.
Use a pot holder and a trivet when transferring off the stove. Cast iron can keep water at the same temperature for up to an hour, but that means the kettle stays hot.
- Indestructible, heavyweight thermal conductor, non-reactive if enameled or properly seasoned.
- Because they are heavy they aren’t practical for high capacity, expensive.
4. Richmond Heritage Copper Whistling Kettle for Gas Stoves
For something truly special. Copper in the kitchen is a thing of beauty and copper tea kettles fit right in with the big boys. The whistle on this model toots like a melody rather than a shrill squeal ans is the Porshe pots.
The Richmond Heritage Copper Whistling Kettle has all the best features assembled into one product. Handmade kettles like this beauty fetch a higher price than machine cast.
It is lined with tin so that the reactive nature is buffered and won’t infuse foreign flavors into the water. A treated beech wood on top of the handle stays cool and a special built-in heating coil allows for rapid boiling and heat retention.
Best practices. Lower the dial and allow the copper to do the work. Roaring flames waste energy and may blacken the sides of the vessel.
Copper requires polishing to keep tarnish at bay, but with regular maintenance it will always look brand new.
- Beautiful, rapid heating, long lasting, an investment that can be passed down.
- Expensive, requires regular cleaning, prone to minor dings from rough handling, doesn’t hold heat when off flame, unlined brands can change the flavors of teas depending on the level of acidity.
5. Primus Anodized Aluminum Tea Kettle
Campout light and easy. Out of all the metals and materials on our list, aluminum is the winner for rapid heating, budget friendliness, and portability. Often heavy, stainless steel cookware has a layer of aluminum sandwiched in the middle, a copper bottom, or both to take advantage of aluminum superior thermal capabilities.
The Primus Aluminum Camping Tea Kettle is constructed of hard anodized aluminum, making it lightweight for camping. It’s meant to be a small capacity pot, ideal for packing into a small space. It can be used over a campfire, camp stove, or even on a home gas range.
Best practices: Aluminum can handle open flames, but it will gather soot on a camp fire and needs cleaning. Hard anodized coating resists scrapes, scratches, and corrosion.
Like copper, however, aluminum tends to show dents. Watch and take care with the hot handle, especially on an open flame of a fire or small camp stove.
- Light, portable, rapid heating, cost effective, corrosion resistant.
- Small capacity, prone to dents, no whistle, short spout may leak.
What’s the Best Buy?
The cost to benefit ratio depends on how you do the brew. However, two leaders emerge when comparing all the available options based upon convenience, price, and efficiency.
Revere’s Stainless Steel Whistling Tea Kettle and the Adagio Teas Glass Water Kettle can take on the daily teatime and cater to those who like upkeep to be minimal.
Though glass can be finicky, it does have a speed advantage, holds its own with everyday brew, and can showcase the fancy herbals.
The stainless steel kettles of yesteryear absorb abuse and won’t fail when dropped. They aren’t flashy, but they get the job done for the fraction of the price of copper and cast iron.