Breville VKJ142 Hot Cup Kettle

The Breville Hot Cup was received as a Christmas present last year and I can honestly say that it has been used every day since. It can really only be described as a kettle – but with a patented design which means that only one cup is boiled at a time which, of course, saves time, energy and money. There is no wasted hot water as you would usually get when boiling a traditional kettle for one or two mugs of coffee – or anything else that only requires one cup.

I have to say that making instant coffee has never been easier because with this little item you don’t even have to pout it out. The reservoir holds up to one and a half litre of water but the heating chamber only boils 250ml at a time – and dispenses it when it is ready. This does sound somewhat like a coffee machine but, for some reason, the coffee also seems to smell and taste better, perhaps due to being exactly the right temperature – or maybe only my imagination!

Everything has a nice bright blue illumination when switched on – that is the On/Off button on the top and the water reservoir. This is exactly matched to my existing kettle which is also Breville, so it all looks very well together.

There is a lid-release button and the reservoir is easy to fill. I tend to do it with a jug – simply because I always have a jug of water nearby – but it’s not a heavy item to take to the tap. Of course, you have to be sure that you have a cup or mug of the right size or you might find that you’ve managed to “overflow”, but even if you do, there is a removable drip tray which holds over a cup of water anyway so you’re not likely to flood the place! This is very smart having a shiny stainless steel top for the cups/mugs to stand on. I have to say that I was really surprised to find that the drip tray held so much as it really seems too small but I did inadvertently switch on one day before putting the mug under the nozzle. After the first initial panic I found that all was well with no flooding of the kitchen! It is certainly very easy to remove to empty or clean. The base is where the power is – similar to any other cordless kettle – apart from the drip tray of course.

There is a very comprehensive instruction booklet which gives instruction on how to use, cleaning, descaling and troubleshooting. There is also a “quick start” card for those (like me) too impatient to read the whole booklet first.

I have to say that this is probably NOT something I would have bought myself but having used it so much I feel that I would be lost without it now and would certainly want to replace it should the need arise. I don’t think it would really replace the ‘conventional’ kettle and I do feel that a larger model would be required to serve a family – they ARE available I believe – but for one or two people this is great.

Would I recommend it? Yes – ours gets a lot of use!

I thank you for reading this and I hope that it has been of some use and interest.

Hazel.