Breville Curve Kettle review

The Breville Curve Kettle features a minimalist design which couldn't be more user-friendly. The lift-out lid is easy to fit and remove, as is the limescale filter, and it's easy to control the kettle as you pour. 

This tall, spherical kettle has a ripple effect on its exterior to give it a textured finish. The kettle is made of plastic, so it's not the most premium of designs, but it is lightweight to carry.

The Breville Curve is a single temperature kettle that you can power on at the flick of a switch. The water gauge then lights up with a blue LED to show it's on the case. In terms of performance when boiling water, it was fairly middle-of-the-pack. But as you will see from our Breville Curve Kettle review, this kettle is  great value for money considering what it brings to the table (literally), which is why it makes our best kettles list. 

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Breville Curve Kettle review: Price and availability

The Breville Curve Kettle is available to buy from Amazon for £39.99, ao for £40 and Argos for £44.99. It is available in colours including grey, black, navy and white. It is currently not on sale in the U.S

Breville Curve Kettle review: Design

With a minimum capacity of 250ml and a maximum capacity of 1.7 litres, the Breville Curve Kettle can boil just enough water for a single cup of tea or provide enough to fill a saucepan. The kettle is made predominantly of plastic with chrome touches on the handle, lid and switch, with a reflective finish that makes the ripple effect stand out. 

The Breville Curve comes with a lift-out lid as well as a sizable water gauge under the handle. The water gauge is clearly marked, but the minimum capacity isn't, either on the gauge or on the inside of the kettle. We learned the minimum capacity only from reading the manual. Inside the kettle, there's a removable filter to catch limescale.

The Breville Curve is about average in size, measuring 25.8 x 23 x 16.8 cm. But it's very lightweight thanks to the plastic finish, weighing just 897g when empty. The cord measures 67cm, which is just below average, and the base can store any excess cable. There's a single switch underneath the handle to power it on — it shuts off automatically once it reaches its boiling point. 

The Breville's handle is rounded and easy to grip, but not cushioned, and it feels hollow. The quality of the kettle's design could ultimately be better, but it's adequate and serves its purpose.

Breville Curve Kettle review: Performance

The Breville Curve kettle took an average amount of time — two minutes and 13 seconds —  to boil one litre of water. While plastic kettles tend not to grow as hot as stainless steel kettles, the Breville's body still reached a temperature of 70.5°C, which is a scalding hazard. However, the handle stayed at room temperature.  

The Breville produced an average amount of noise as it boiled, with readings as high as 74.8 dB. Energy use too was average, at 0.1125 kWh to boil one litre of water. The overall performance during this test was fairly middle-of-the-pack.

When boiling water at full capacity, the Breville Curve didn't spit or leak and needed three minutes and 22 seconds to reach boiling temperature. The external temperature and noise readings were very similar to the one-litre test, at 70.1°C and 74.8 dB respectively.

We took the temperature of the water again an hour later to assess the kettle's insulation. The temperature was 66°C, which isn't great, but it's not bad either — especially when you consider the kettle's body is just a layer of plastic.

It's easy to control the water flow as you pour this kettle and it doesn't drip or dribble if you recede slowly.

Breville Curve Kettle review: Ease of use and manual

The Breville Curve's limescale filter is very easy to remove and refit, even if you have large hands. The lift-out lid can also be removed and replaced with ease — it doesn't require a lot of force, but it seals securely. We filled up this kettle through its spout via a tap with the water on full flow, which not many kettles could accommodate. The water gauge is also easy to read as you fill it up, although the handle gets in the way if you're filling the water up only to the lowest increment. 

The Breville's manual contains the necessary safety information as well as step-by-step instructions on how to use this kettle. There are useful energy saving hints and tips, as well as cleaning and descaling advice. It guides you to the website for troubleshooting advice and contact details are listed.

Breville Curve Kettle review: Verdict

Ultimately, the Breville Curve Kettle isn't a show-stopper in terms of performance. But it more than stands its ground for design and ease of use. It's our highest-scoring plastic kettle, and it doesn't actually look like plastic thanks to the textured body and chrome finish. 

Compared to our winning kettle, the Bosch Sky Kettle, this Breville Curve Kettle isn't as fast, or as quiet, or as energy-efficient, but the Breville Curve scored highly for its user-friendly design and comes at a price that's less than half that of the Bosch. It comes in a great range of colours, too, for added personalisation. This is the kettle to get if you're shopping on a budget but still want something practical and consistent.