Alessi 9093 B - Design Kettle with Handle and Bird-Shaped Whistle, Stainless Steel and PA, Black

Oh my gosh this is going to be one of those LONG reviews ---- but worth it I hope!!Okay - I have waited three months to put in this review. It's been something else with this kettle!!!First of all, it's made in Italy and the style is rather different than what we have always gotten for tea pots in our American home. I'd say, it is of a minimalist type of style. Nothing fancy. When we got it I was SUPER SKEPTICAL - It felt thin. And, to me, that melded with the idea of being cheap. I am not into the minimalist way of life - and this is what it felt like to me - European (and minimalist). HOWEVER, I have to say - this is the best tea kettle I have EVER had! (And, I have had a lot, of tea kettles in my lifetime.)Now, I need to mention the bird. That cute little birdie - it's adorable.And, completely useless. I don't even know WHY it's there - maybe to tease those of us who think it's what makes this kettle cute and adorable to make up for the unusually simple, minimal design. I bought it. However, when we used it with the bird attached - it had to come off immediately. It does whistle, so it does serve that purpose. It is cute. It's pretty. But you CANNOT POUR OUT YOUR WATER WITH THIS THING ATTACHED. Yeah - I tried and the water tumbled through and out all over the place. AND, it gets HOT - of course. So when it was cool, I pulled it off. And, it has never come out of the drawer! Did it look odd without the sweet singing birdie? YES - but I looked past this and now I never even think about it.That said......We have had this kettle on EVERY day, throughout the day, for steam/moisture in the kitchen area during the cold winter months, here in the northwest, AND use often throughout the day, for our teas, coffees, shroomy & chai drinks, cocoa, etc... It has held up remarkably well. Even when it got VERY low on water. I am really impressed and at this point will probably never go back to the LeCreuset-enamel on steel, or other brands of "quality" tea kettles.In addition, the handle stays cool which is SO NICE! It has only gotten hot when we placed it on the larger sized burner - let me rephrase this - when my "husband" put it on the larger sized burner - highly recommend you keep this and the smaller pots/pans on the smaller burners - it only makes sense. The handle feels great and has a nice grip if you can call it that.Once we adjusted to this VERY different style of tea kettle, we adapted to the point of preferring it over the others. This surprised me - perhaps I have a bit of minimalist in me after all...... my kids would be proud!Also, we do energy testing and there are few tea kettles which test well with water sitting in them for a long period. This metal is fine for that. I'm impressed, and did not expect this to pass my high standards. But it did. I'd highly recommend this - it's pricey but worth it.I want to add, the LeCreusets we'd always use before would not have made it through the three months of constant use like this - with sometimes little or no water on low setting heat, they would not handle it like this Alessi does. The LeCreusets' paint enamel at this point keeps chipping, and/or turning a different color in places from getting too hot, AND somehow on these ones with the painted enamel, if grease from cooking nearby, gets on them, the heat sort of seals it in and it's a total pain to get that clean.... not cool :). Not to mention the water deposits all around the lid. The Alessi has NONE of that so it stays nice looking (as long as I wipe it every few days, which only takes a minute.)We certainly don't plan on the kettle getting ridiculously low on water, when we use it but it happens from time to time in our busy household. We used to go through tea kettles about every six months and that type of cost soon equates with one (or more) of these Alessi kettles! Perhaps it's the 18/10 stainless steel. Whatever it is, it REALLY handles the heat! Again, I am not advising anyone let their water run out to test this!One more thing, (yeah I know this is long - I'm almost done here) maybe think on the fact that this is shiny (mirror polished) stainless steel. Many of us have the stainless steel appliances which are NOT shiny. This might be an issue for some. For me, I like the contrast. (And, I am saying this after actually disliking it at first sight on my stove).Bottom line - I didn't really care whether I liked this or not - I did not "want to like it". I actually expected to hate it, but I wanted to try it. And, over a rather brief period of time, I can honestly say, I love this tea kettle.This kettle is "the one" for our family. I don't expect to need to get another for a VERY long time! I do love and miss the little bird; and perhaps during the summer he will take his elevated place atop, greeting me each day when we won't use the kettle nearly as much. But with or without, I'm more than content with this Alessi,

The Alessi tea kettle is what happens when kitchenware decides to get a degree in fine art and a passport stamped Made in Italy. It’s not just a kettle—it’s a sculpture that happens to boil water, and it does so with elegance, attitude, and zero resemblance to anything made on a factory line in Shenzhen.The design? Bellissimo. Sleek, iconic, and guaranteed to make guests ask, “Wait, is that a tea kettle?”The whistle? Ehhh... more whisper than aria. If you’re hoping for a bold operatic finale to signal boiling, you might miss your cue. But honestly, when something looks this good, you forgive it for not being loud.Final verdict: A showpiece that boils water like a minimalist dream.

This is the second of this classic Micheal Graves kettle that I've owned. I purchased the first one around 20 years ago. I was still using the first kettle but decided to change things up a bit and got this one with the black handle (my first kettle had the blue handle). The design of this kettle is perfection functionally and aesthetically, so I'm puzzled why they changed the design of the lid. It now has a circle surrounding the knob on the lid. I feel that it detracts from the design. This may not be an issue for anyone who has never owned the original design. Luckily for me I was able to switch out the lid with the one from my older kettle. I look forward to many years using and admiring this beautiful kettle.

I was so disappointed to receive my kettle with the handle detached. I tried to call the company to ask is this normal or what to do. This item is expensive and I’m stressed out that I can’t use it

I love, love, love Michael Graves' objects. Stellar designer. This kettle is very practical to use - good design as always but the whistle is really wimpy and the kettle costs a small fortune so it was an extravagant purchase but, that being said, I love this kettle. It's just so beautiful and makes me happy every time I use it so I guess it was worth the price. Just hoping the little birdie holds up since they cost as small fortune to replace LOL ADDING a little more commentary after owning for a couple of months. Still love, love, love this kettle. But wish they'd done a better job with the non-whistling whistle... Maybe I'll try the dragon and see if that works better... I'll let you know if I do. Checking back in August 2024 - still love, love, love this tea kettle and have found that with the just right amount of water (not sure where exactly that is) the little birdie will sing his little heart out!!! So it does have a good whistle if the kettle is full-ish but not all the way. Never did order the dragon......Checking back in December 2024 I take back every mean thing I said about the whistle as it works great with the just-right-amount of water. Now if I could just figure out what the perfect amount of water is......March 2025 - still love this kettle. No mineral build-up at all, still as bright and shiny as first day I used it and it heats the water in flash!!! The little birdie hasn't broken which makes me very happy since some of the reviews said the bird didn't hold up very well. Totally worth the price. I wish Michael Graves was still alive so I could tell him how much I like this kettle.