Bosch Sky Kettle review

The Bosch Sky Kettle TWK7203GB excelled in almost every test we threw at it. It was fast to boil, the exterior didn’t grow hot and it was easy to use, which is useful for a variable temperature kettle. The touch screen base is intuitive to control and gives the design a modern and sophisticated appearance. 

It also comes with some useful features including a keep warm setting, which keeps the temperature constant for 30 minutes once it’s boiled. It’s a tad noisy, but that’s the worst you can really expect. Our Bosch Sky Kettle review will tell you other reasons why it’s the best kettle you can buy.

• Check out the best coffee makers
• Here’s how to descale a kettle 

Bosch Sky Kettle review: Price and availability

The Bosch Sky Kettle is available to buy from Currys for £89.99 and ao for £89. You can also purchase it directly from Bosch for £99.99. It’s available in black and white colourways and is only available in the UK.

Bosch Sky Kettle review: Design

The Bosch Sky Kettle features a modern design with a partial stainless steel and plastic exterior and an extended base from which it’s controlled via a temperature gauge. It’s a little more bulky than other kettles we’ve tested because of the base, measuring 25.8 x 23.8 x 15.8 cm. It comes with a flip-top lid and a water gauge with a maximum capacity of 1.7 litres. The minimum capacity is 300ml, so it cannot quite boil just a single cup of tea. It weighs 1,037g when empty and 2,737g when full, which is just slightly above the average weight. The handle is average in terms of comfort, because it’s quite hard, but easy to grip. A small removable filter fits onto the spout, preventing any limescale from flowing out. 

It offers lots of temperature options, from 70 - 100 degrees Celsius in five degree increments; as it boils the gauge on the base illuminates and fills to mark the current temperature. It makes an audible noise when you set it and once it reaches its temperature. It also offers a keep warm setting, so whichever temperature you select can remain constant for 30 minutes after it’s boiled. You can select the keep warm function on the base and it works by boiling the kettle occasionally during the 30 minutes. The cord length measures 67cm which is standard, and you can store any you don’t use in the base. It comes with a two year warranty. 

Bosch Sky Kettle review: Performance

The Bosch Sky Kettle is the fastest we’ve seen to boil one litre of water, taking just two minutes and four seconds on average. It was a little noisy, measuring 79.4 dB, which is the loudest we had on test, but the exterior didn’t grow overly hot, reaching 52.7 degrees Celsius on the stainless steel body; the handle remained at room temperature. It’s worth mentioning that you could burn your hand if you held it to the body, but it would severely reduce the risk of immediate scalding.

When boiling at full capacity, it didn’t spit or leak, and remained stable, needing three minutes and 22 seconds to reach temperature. It used just 0.106 kWh on average to boil one litre, which was the most energy efficient we’ve seen. 

We found the external temperature was a little higher when boiling the full 1.7 litres, reaching 55 degrees Celsius on the main body. Thanks to the keep warm function, the water measured 92.7 degrees Celsius after 30 minutes and 80.7 after an hour, so it would still provide a hot cup of tea a while after boiling. The water is accurate to pour out and doesn’t dribble back if you recede slowly. 

The touch screen base is responsive and quick to set. It’s also useful that you can change the temperature during the heating process, say if you accidentally set it to 70 degrees Celsius and want to increase it.

Bosch Sky Kettle review: Ease of use and manual

As a variable temperature kettle, the Bosch Sky Kettle is very straightforward to use. The touch screen controls are intuitive to operate and the keep warm setting can easily be selected at the touch of a button. The filter is easy to remove and refit and the lid is simple to open and close, with a responsive release button. You can fill the kettle through the spout with ease too. In fact, the shape of the spout is so accommodating, that we could fill the kettle through it almost on full flow from the tap. The water level gauge is easy to read, and the handle doesn’t get in the way. The body of the kettle is easy to clean as well with a microfibre cloth, as is the base, however we did notice that the base can show fingerprints.   

This kettle scored close to full marks for its manual. Clear diagrams are given and there’s plenty of safety information. Step-by-step instructions are given for general use, including using the keep warm setting. There’s also a section on how to clean the kettle as well as descale it. Contact information was supplied, however we couldn’t see any guidance on how the different temperatures could be used. 

Bosch Sky Kettle review: Verdict

Ultimately, the Bosch Sky Kettle leaves little to complain about. It’s easy to operate, fast to boil and looks great too. As a variable temperature kettle, it offers lots of different temperatures to choose from and you can use the keep warm setting to maintain your selection for 30 minutes after use. True, it’s on the noisy side, but if that’s not a problem for you, then this is the best kettle you can buy. The temperature of the exterior really sets it aside from the competition too, as most stainless steel kettles grow to a scalding temperature with use. 

Compared to our next best kettle, the KitchenAid Variable Temperature Kettle, the Bosch Sky Kettle is much faster to boil and more energy efficient, although the KitchenAid model was cooler to touch and quieter too. It’s not as reasonably priced as our winning budget kettle, the Breville Curve Kettle, but it scored higher in almost every respect, including being faster to boil, and offering a lower case temperature.