Fancy a cuppa? My epic kettle showdown – and what I learned

Getting steamy: how to liven up your sex life; the best kettles, tested; and ... the best office chairs

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“Steamy windows!” belted out Tina Turner. I always thought she was singing about an erotic encounter, but now I believe she must have been testing kettles. There’s nothing quite like 12 of them boiling one after the other to fill your kitchen with mist, adding a soft-focus haze to everything in it and making every cold surface slick.

Hair-frizzing humidity aside – I spent two days looking as if I had stuck my fingers in a plug socket – the bigger issue at the start was deciding how to test kettles. They all do the same thing in the same way. And they’ve changed little over the decades – a few from the 1970s wouldn’t be out of place in your home today. Beyond a few nice-to-have-but-not-essential features, the kettle remains fundamental and fuss-free.

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