New research this week revealed that kettle sales are in decline, while coffee machines are becoming ever more popular. Are you ready to call time on your kettle?
Tea has long been Britain’s national drink, so you’d expect a kettle would always be an essential kitchen item.
But that may no longer be the case. The latest figures by Mintel show that demand for kettles has dropped by more than 7% in the last five years, and more than one in five UK homes now don’t own a kettle.
One reason that’s been put forward for this is the increasing popularity of coffee – and coffee machines in particular. A good 22% of British households now own a coffee machine, and sales have gone up by nearly a third since 2008.
Can you really do without a kettle?
Personally I can’t imagine joining those kettle-free households, and I struggle to see how they do without one. Most of the meals I make at home involve rice, noodles or pasta, so even though I don’t drink tea, my kettle gets plenty of usage.
It’s not like kettles are an unaffordable luxury. At Which? we’ve found Best Buy kettles for around the £20 mark, and there are serviceable models for less than that.
So I’m puzzled by the decline in kettle ownership – they’re so versatile and useful that I don’t think a coffee machine is an adequate substitute. But maybe there’s something I’m missing. Hot water dispensers and microwaves have also been credited with declining the demand for kettles, but I still wouldn’t live without mine.
Have you found yourself using your kettle less? Has it been superseded by a coffee machine?
Could you live without your kettle?
No (76%, 758 Votes)
Yes (19%, 186 Votes)
I don't know (5%, 52 Votes)
Total Voters: 1,006
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