Elite Gourmet Electric Kettle EKT-602 In-depth Review
Elite Gourmet by Maxi-Matic is a US-based Chinese brand of small kitchen appliances operating for more than 37 years. Besides electric kettles, they also manufacture toaster ovens, blenders, waffle makers, food dehydrators, deep fryers, and steamers to name a few.
Overall Verdict
The Elite Gourmet Electric Glass Kettle is not a kettle we recommend. Although its overall score isn’t too bad, it fails to make the grade with the key things that really matter in our tests.
Two key detriments are its slow boiling time and high energy consumption. On the other hand, it has an exceptionally quiet boiling phase and is slightly better than average with heat retention, but neither of these are a good enough compensation.
Furthermore, the Elite has an awkward button placement which defeats the purpose of what an electric kettle should be—a simple and easy to use appliance.
Things We Like
- Inexpensive
- Easy to use
- Light weight
- Large capacity
- Quiet when boiling
Things We Don’t Like
- Slow boiling time
- High energy consumption
We bought the Elite Gourmet Electric Glass Kettle (EKT-602) for $25.43 on Amazon (at the time of writing), which was comparatively inexpensive. Unfortunately, on our first test run, the kettle disappointed with a slow boiling time. Read more to see if our complete test program revealed any saving grace for this kettle.
On a side note, the version that we chose was the 1.7-liter glass carafe. However, there’s also a 1-liter version, a 1.7-liter BPA-free plastic carafe version, and a 1.8-liter stainless steel double-wall carafe version that may be more of your cup of tea.
Key Specs
Where to Buy Price at publication $25.43
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Compared to Other Electric Kettles
6.1 Performance
The Elite Gourmet Electric Glass Kettle (EKT-602) failed to perform well enough in our two most important tests—Boiling Time and Energy Consumption. Surprisingly, its performance in our Noise Level and Keep Warm tests were better than many other competitors.
4.9 Boiling Time
For the common electric kettles (not goosenecks) like the Elite Gourmet, we evaluate the time they take to boil a middle ground capacity of 1.5 liters of water. Much in tune with our first impression, this kettle took a staggering 10 minutes and 4 seconds to bring 1.5 liters of room-temperature water (80°F/26.7°C) to boiling point (212°F / 100°C).
This result was our slowest recorded boiling time overall, even worse than our other tested kettles that had the same 1100 W of power, e.g. the Aigostar 300104LCB. As a result, we had no choice but to give it a measly score of 4.9/10.
5.8 Energy Consumption
While conducting the boiling test, we also used a power meter to measure the Elite Gourmet’ total energy consumption. The kettle took 161 Wh to bring 1.5 liters of room temperature water to a roiling boil. This was considerably more than other kettles in our data and consequently scored a 5.8/10.
9.2 Noise Level
The Elite Gourmet’s low noise level turned out to be its saving grace, earning it an excellent and much needed 9.2/10. During boiling, the kettle’s noise level peaked at 68.3 dB while reaching a rolling simmer, which was significantly lower than 80dB—the CDC’s safe level for up to 2 hours of noise exposure. This outcome was one of our best so far alongside the Ovente Electric Kettle (KP72W).
7.5 Keep Warm
The glass of the Elite Gourmet carafe isn’t the best material for heat retention, but this is much the same as other kettles we tested. The kettle also doesn’t have temperature control for the Keep Warm feature.
However, the water temperature inside the kettle dropped noticeably slower than its peers, possible due to a more fitted assembly. After 5 minutes, the temperature dropped from 212°F / 100°C to 203°F / 95.5°C while many others dropped to 201°F. Checking with our data, this equates to a good score of 7.5/10.
7.9 Design
The Elite Gourmet Electric Glass Kettle has a standard design, but is very functional in that the carafe, spout, handle, lid, base, and power cord all serve their purpose well.
In the Box
- One cordless kettle
- One corded power base
- One user manual
- Warranty: 1-year limited in the US
The Elite Gourmet Electric Glass Kettle arrived neatly packaged between two foam pads, one the top and the bottom inside a carton box. The instruction manual was standard, having basic information on the kettle’s parts, how to use, safeguards, cleaning and maintenance, troubleshooting, and a warranty.
Dimensions
8.0 Carafe
The carafe holds 1.7 L (57.48 fl. oz.), or around 7 cups, and is made of glass (+2). It has a wide lid opening, 3.54 inches in diameter, so pouring in water from your tap or any container is very easy (+1).
There are water level markings in the middle of the carafe (+1). The spout is made of plastic and not shaped out of the glass carafe like some other kettles. It has a standard V shape and a removable limescale filter positioned by the spout (+2).
Similar to many other cordless electric kettles, the Elite Gourmet’s heating element is positioned inside the bottom of the carafe. There’s a ring of blue LED around the bottom which lights up when the kettle’s running, making it easy to spot in the dark (+2).
7.0 Handle
The cool-touch handle is made of BPA-free plastic (+3). It feels secure and comfortable on the wrist even though it doesn’t have an ergonomic contour or anti-slip feature (+4). On the handle are two buttons, the one above is to open the lid and the one below is to start the kettle.
7.0 Lid
The Elite Gourmet has a hinged lid operated by a button on the handle which should pop up to an 80° (+3). However, in reality, the lid only popped up to 75°, but the remaining 5 degrees we could lift up manually. Regardless, the lid angle is enough to easily get water in (+2).
Its exterior is plastic with a stainless steel coating (+1). The lid isn’t entirely cool-to-touch, only a small black area.
The interior is plastic which some people may not like since hot water will contact the plastic material. Nonetheless, we detected no chemical odor during the first boil.
Unlike some other electric kettles we’ve tested, this one doesn’t have a silicone band around the circumference. However, the lid still closes tightly (+1).
9.0 Base
The Elite has a standard BPA-free plastic 360° swivel base that’s sturdy and fits the carafe well enough (+5). At the bottom of the base is the cord storage and also three small anti-slip rubber pads (+4).
Power Cord
The Elite Gourmet has a 28.74 inch round power cord, which should be enough for household use. It has a three-pronged plug which is typically safer than a two-pronged one by having a grounding wire.
6.7 Usability
Further inspection revealed that the Elite Gourmet Electric Glass Kettle has some issues due to one design flaw. The positioning of its two buttons makes it unnecessarily awkward to use.
6.0 User Control
The Elite has a standard one-touch switch with no digital display or temperature control (+1). However, the power switch is awkwardly positioned right below the lid button (-1).
The kettle doesn’t have an indicator light inside the switch like many of its counterparts. Thankfully, the carafe still has a blue LED ring to let you know the kettle is running (+2).
The kettle has an automatic shutoff feature.This is activated by the thermo fuse when the temperature reaches boiling point (+2). This feature won’t work if the lid is not closed, but the boil-dry protection feature will turn off the kettle when no water is present (+2).
7.0 Ease of Use
With no specialized features, the Elite should be easy enough to use. However, since the power switch and the lid button were close to one another, on more than one occasion we accidentally pushed one instead of the other (+0). And, we don’t think you’ll be safe from this unfortunate hitch.
The button placement, however, doesn’t make the handle tricky to hold in any way. On the bright side, the carafe weighs only slightly more than 2 lbs and is sturdy enough to carry around filled to the max (+2).
The large lid opening of 3.54 inches is a comfortable fit for any faucet or container (+1). The water level markings in the middle of the carafe are easy to view for precise decanting (+1).
We detected no odd odor during the first boil—a sign of good material quality and upkeep before delivery. The pouring angle between the arm and the kettle was comfortable and effective (+1).
The power base fits firmly below its carafe and we didn’t notice any wobbling during our tests (+1). Despite the round shape of the cord, it didn’t wrap the tightest around its storage, although perfectly enough to leave only the plug sticking out.
7.0 Cleaning
Cleaning the Elite is straightforward enough (+2). Its lid doesn’t get in the way and the opening is large enough for an adult hand to easily fit through and wipe the interior (+3). Additionally, the limescale filter is removable for frequent cleaning and maintenance as well (+2).
Behind the review
Alan Nguyen is a writer and product reviewer at HealthyKitchen101. His major in English language teaching taught him to present concise information. In addition to his cooking hobby, he values the practical aspects of household appliances.
Lap is Head of the Research, Testing, and Review Team (RTR Team) at HealthyKitchen101.com, where he directs and supervises the testing of kitchen gadgets and appliances.
Nguyen Ntk is a graphic designer, photographer, and videographer whose philosophy centers around respecting and celebrating the beauty of reality. Through his lenses, Nguyen strives to capture the true essence of objects and events, showcasing and highlighting authentic features without distortion or exaggeration.