Verdict
Want to make pour-over coffee like a pro? You could spend time learning how to boil the water on the hob, before transferring it to a preheated gooseneck kettle. Or, you could buy the Dualit Pour Over Kettle. Created for those who like their hot drinks just so, this variable-temperature kettle has a long thin spout for ultra-precise pouring, making it ideal for pour-over coffee as well as all types of tea, from green and oolong to Earl Grey. Since it’s a specialist appliance, it’s a slow, gentle boiler with a smaller capacity than most at 800ml. However, the fine control makes the longer boil times worth it.
Pros
- Multiple temperature selection
- Can hold temperature for five minutes
- Concealed element
Cons
- Small capacity
- Slow to boil
Availability
- UKRRP: £84.99
- USAunavailable
- Europeunavailable
- Canadaunavailable
- Australiaunavailable
Key Features
- TypeA pour-over kettle, it’s for making coffee the traditional way. You can make tea with it, too
- Multiple temperaturesYou can select temperature by the degree right up to 100ºC, so you can make your drink just as you like it
Introduction
If you’ve ever sat in a café watching a hipster barista expertly drizzle hot water from a pot onto a filter of grounds, you’ll know the attraction of pour-over coffee. And while part of that appeal comes from the ritual, the Dualit Pour Over Kettle is an easy way to cut out some of the faff of heating water to the right temperature. It’s equipped with everything you need – a slim, gooseneck spout, the ability to heat degree-perfect water and maintain it, and it even has a digital display. All of which means that you can enjoy rich, aromatic pour-over coffee whenever the mood strikes.
Design and features
- No litre or cup markers
- No limescale filter
- Can select degree-perfect hot water
Dualit’s Pour Over is no ordinary kettle. Rather than an on-off lever, it has a control panel, complete with a dial to scroll up and down through water temperature options, a hold button that’s labelled with a pause symbol, and another button that allows you to switch between Celsius and Fahrenheit.
This last one feels redundant, since you’re likely to choose one and stick with it. Fortunately, though, it functions as a mute button, too, so you can switch off the chimes for an almost-quiet heating experience.
The digital screen is useful. It displays the starting temperature of the water, allow you to monitor it as it heats, and also shows how long is left on the hold timer if you’re using this function. You can select temperatures by the degree, which is more flexible than is possible with the Smeg KLF04, where temperature options are in 10ºC increments.
Inside, the kettle is more familiar. There are min and max fill markers – although, sadly, nothing in-between. This means it can be difficult to determine how much water you’re boiling between 250ml and 800ml.
It has a pull-off lid, which feels less of an issue given that this kettle is more about method than speed. One difference is the position of the spout – it’s situated towards the base so the kettle doesn’t have to be tipped at an extreme angle to pour. Since the spout is super-slim, there’s no limescale filter. As such, if you live in a hard-water area, you’ll likely have to descale this kettle fairly regularly to prevent scale clogging the spout or reaching your drink.
Performance
- Whole kettle boils in 4mins 24secs
- One-touch keep-warm button
- Pours a thin stream without splashes or drips
The Dualit Pour Over Kettle isn’t for those in a rush. With that in mind, it should be no surprise that it takes 4mins 24secs to boil 800ml of water from 19ºC; it has a lower wattage than conventional kettles. However, what it does offer is something more valuable to the coffee enthusiast – precision. It heats water gently, creeping up degree by degree to the temperature you’ve chosen, whether that’s 66ºC, 88ºC or the recommended for pour-over coffee, 90-96ºC.
Since speed takes a back seat, the boil is incredibly quiet – there’s no audible bubbling, no jiggling of the jug and barely any steam. As the spout is low down, it doesn’t emit much steam at all – instead, holes at top of the kettle are where most comes out.
I found the kettle easy to handle – the jug was light to carry, even when full, and to pour; only a slight angle was required. The water flow was ideal for making pour-over coffee, allowing me to switch between a few drops and a full stream without any drips or splashes. A longer hold time to maintain the water temperature would be useful, but beyond that, the Dualit Pour Over Kettle is perfectly suited for the job.
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Should you buy it?
If you often make batches of pour-over coffee, or enjoy a variety of teas, then this kettle is ideal. It’s compact, very quiet when boiling (ideal for those who make hot drinks at less sociable hours), and light to pick up, too.
If you often need to boil more than its limited capacity of 800ml, this kettle may not be ideal. It’s also slow when boiling, so not suited to the morning rush.
Final thoughts
Although it’s slow to boil and offers a limited capacity, the Dualit Pour Over Kettle is built to give you precise temperatures and precise pouring. For those who love their coffee (or tea) made to a specific temperature, this is a great too. If you just want something faster or bigger, check out the guide to the best kettles.
FAQs
Yes, you can select the temperature in 1-degree increments up to 100ºC.
Not very fast, since this kettle uses 1300W of power, rather than the 3kW of the fastest kettles. However, it’s designed to be a precise kettle, so you get the exact temperature you need each time.
Specs
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Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.