Anyone who thinks a kettle is just a kettle is not a person who should buy a Morphy Richards. In a world of plastic water boiling jugs for a fiver, the retro styled Accents model from this UK-based kitchenware company is a refreshing alternative. Not only that but it’s also pretty damn good at its job too.
Our quick take
Looks-wise, the Morphy Richards Accents gets full marks. It’s pretty, it’s stylish and we have seen no other kettle we’d rather have to show off in our kitchen. Operation-wise, it’s just short. Don’t get us wrong, it works perfectly well but there are a couple of what we refer to in the gadget review business as “niggles”.
Niggle one is that LED being slightly obscured. Niggle two is that the dynamics of the build mean that if you pick it up the very instant the kettle boils and go to pour it out, the super-heated steam has a way of channeling onto your knuckles which is not a pleasant experience. The final niggle of all is that there’s no eco-credentials. That’s not a massive issue but heading into the future we’re beginning to expect a few green claims from famously power-hungry utensils like these.
Niggles aside though, this is a lovely piece of kit and one we’d be happy to call our own. It’s also excellent value at the £30-40 you can pick them up for around the web.
Thanks to QVC for the loan of the product. You'll find it available at www.qvcuk.com.
Morphy Richards Accents Black Traditional Kettle - 4.0 / 5
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Despite its squat pyramid shape it still carries just about as much water as the taller models - 1.5l compared to 1.7l in some of the largest jugs. On top of that though, you actually get something that looks good on your counter and wouldn’t be out of place in any kitchen in the world thanks to its artistic design and the fact that it comes in almost as many colours as there are choices of paint for your walls - black, red, blue, green, chrome, cream and country cream, if you really must know. Ok, so it’s a slight exaggeration but there’s still plenty to choose from unless you happen to be sitting reading this in an orange kitchen.
Each of the colours, save the chrome, comes with a matte, almost anodised finish perfectly chosen to look super smart. The orange “on” LED is slightly too well hidden at the base of the kettle and the only other area of note on the outside is the water gauge sitting at the back just above the operation switch. It’s all pretty clear, straightforward stuff.
On the inside, the kettle doesn’t come with any widgets or gizmos to try to prevent limescale build up in hard water areas but fair enough really because such devices seldom work. Instead, it comes with a removable filter by the spout to stop any lumps plopping into your Tetley. Interestingly the heating element itself is actually hidden under bottom surface of the water chamber. What that means is that it doesn’t get furred up and so stays in excellent working order. That way, the kettle’s performance should stay as good as the day you bought it plus it is a lot easier to clean if you ever want to attempt descaling. The only worry of the system might be that the water boils slower but we thought the average tap water to boiled speed of 3 minutes 30 seconds for a full 1.5l was good enough for us.
Fortunately, access to the inner chamber is predictably seamless as well. The chrome lid works with a snap on system, so there is no need to have the thing correctly orientated to be able to fit it on. Just grab hold of the ring on top and pull it off/push it down at will. All the same, we found ourselves mostly using the spout to fill up the kettle. It’s quicker, requires fewer hands and the nozzle of our tap happened to fit just right.
The kettle itself is “cordless”. We use inverted commas as there is actually a cord which runs from the pug socket to a circular base on which the kettle sits but that’s the only wire or cable you’ll see. The Accents can be picked up and put down at an angle onto the base, so, yes, the device part of the apparatus is without a cord.
To recap
Fantastic choice and well worth the money. There are niggles but they're not really a problem