Russell Hobbs Calm Kettle review: can this kitchen gadget make me feel ‘zen’ as I make a cuppa?

The smart kettle plays a selection of calming music and illuminates different colours as it boils. Copy link. twitter. facebook. whatsapp. Price: £99 from Russell Hobbs and Curry’s. Our rating: 8 out of 10. We like:. We don’t like:. Unlike most kettles, this one’s USP isn’t how quickly it boils your cuppa in the morning but how calm it makes you feel. It plays soothing music, which wouldn’t sound out of place on a meditation app, and illuminates through different colour cycles. Let’s be honest, waiting for even the best kettles to boil is a bit of a tedious job, so anything which can make it more interesting is a plus in my book.

Known since the 1950s for their electric kettles, Russell Hobbs bought out their first smart kettle, Attentiv, a few years ago, with similar features to that of the Calm kettle, including a temperature sensor and a touchscreen display. Our thorough, real-world tests will always help you find the best product at the best price. No manufacturer ever sees copy before publication and we do not accept payment in exchange for favourable reviews. Visit our Who We Are page to learn more.

Of course, the main thing we look for when testing kettles is how it performs – i.e. how quickly it boils and makes us a cup of tea, whether it’s just for us or a whole household. I also reviewed the Russell Hobbs Calm kettle on other aspects over a couple of weeks, regularly boiling it for tea, coffee and cooking – day and night. I also looked at design and ergonomic features on the handle which makes it easier for you to use the kettle. I assessed its size and water capacity, how much noise it makes and of course energy efficiency. For this kettle, I was also looking at how calm the kettle actually made me feel – if the lights and sounds of the kettle helped to ease my Sunday blues or whether it was more of a gimmick, adding unnecessary pounds to the RRP.

I normally hide my kettle behind various other pieces of kitchen accessories, but I’m proud to have this one on display and I’d go as far to say that this is one of the most elegant kettles I’ve owned. With a frosted glass finish and copper accents, it catches my eye every time I go into the kitchen. It has a large 360-degree base which, although takes up more room than most kettles, looks neat on my kitchen top. The skinny handle is white and copper-coloured too, while the spout of the relatively light kettle is large enough for a decent pour. Once the light is activated, as soon as it starts to boil, the frosted glass turns from blue to yellow and red as it cycles through the ‘calm’ music and colours.

Of course, the calm element won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but for me it was giving off SAD lamp vibes, which in this hectic world we live in, can only be a good thing. The kettle sits comfortably in its 360 base, and its push release button makes it easy to add water. It holds up to six cups (or 1.7 litres) at a time and draws 3,000 Watts. The higher energy consumption means is boils more quickly, taking around 50 seconds to boil two cups in my test. However, it took much longer when I filled it to the max, at just over three minutes – so it’s definitely worth being more conscious of how much water you actually need before you fill up.

I was initially puzzled about how to start boiling the kettle, because there’s no on/off switch. Instead, you press the boil button on the touchscreen in the base and away it goes. Despite the size, it’s light enough to pick up and the handle is wide and sturdy, while the touchscreen is easy to use. You can cycle through five different sounds, by pressing the right touch screen button on the base – some were more soothing than others. I particularly liked the first one which was more uplifting, while others consisted of bells chiming and piano music. The second sound wasn’t my cup of tea though, and sounded more like the music you’d play at the end of a dramatic movie. This touchscreen also acts as the volume button, allowing you to turn the sound up and down.

The button to the left also allows you to customise the temperature of your water – going up in five degree increments, from 40°C to 100°C. This is useful for making different types of drinks – as some loose tea can actually burn if you use water which is too hot, so I made sure to turn it down 80°C, while coffee was made with 90°C water. The base also has a digital display, showing both setting changes and the temperature of the water as it goes up and down. One aspect I appreciated was the automatic ‘keep warm’ function – we’ve all been there, we boil the kettle and start doing a million other things. This function meant I didn’t have to reboil the kettle multiple times and waste energy.