The Uccello Kettle is unique when it comes to handling boiling water safely. It was designed specifically for people with limited strength, mobility, dexterity, and/or visibility.

Basically, there are four ways to try and handle boiling water safely.

1. Uccello Kettle
2. Wireframe or plastic kettle tipper
3. Boiling water faucet/tap
4. One-Cup Dispenser
5. Microwave the cup until hot.

Let’s leave the Uccello Kettle until last ?

Wireframe or plastic kettle-tipper:

This is a device that you strap your existing kettle into, which then facilitates the pouring motion. The issue with this is that because it’s just a regular kettle strapped into something, it acts like a pendulum so you have to still lift the kettle in a swinging motion to pour it.

This differs from the Uccello Kettle which has a round body that moves around the body of water making it effortless. With the Uccello Kettle, it doesn’t matter if there’s one cup in it or 6 cups – it is still weightless because of the shape; there’s is no lifting, straining, or balancing when you pour. With a wireframe or plastic kettle-tipper, the weight of the pour is dependent on the volume of water in the kettle. In addition, because it’s a regular kettle, the handle is positioned where all the weight is on the wrist which is a real issue for our customers.

Style also has to be mentioned, and the wireframe kettle-tipper has none. It is not a pleasant item to have on display full-time in your kitchen.

Boiling Water Faucet/Tap:

This can also be a great idea for handling boiling water safely. However, there is an upfront cost to getting these installed, in addition to regular servicing. Sometimes the upfront cost is done in scheduled payments however, this tends to be a subscription model where payments are required every month to cover the filters, maintenance, callouts, and initial installation costs. As mentioned, the product is pretty good, but it is a costly solution.

Alternatively, the Uccello Kettle has a low one-off cost with self-maintenance just like any other kettle on the market. To assist with the rising costs of everything in an era of inflation, we offer the purchase of the Uccello Kettle over four payments. When you purchase it, you only pay 25% of the full cost and you receive your Uccello Kettle straight away. The following 75% is made up of three more payments of 25% spread out over 2-week intervals.

Hot-Cup Water Dispenser:

This is a pretty good device also which doesn’t look too out of place in a modern kitchen. The primary drawbacks are that it only heats water sufficient for one cup at a time, and more importantly, it doesn’t actually boil the water.

Let’s discuss the latter point first; if you are a tea lover, you will know that tea made from water that wasn’t actually boiled has a significant deterioration in taste. It isn’t what the tea manufacturers intended, and it isn’t what we know and love. That said, it should be fine for herbal teas which are produced to use water heated to about 85°C. It does seem a bit much to ask though, to have two different devices to boil water because of a deficiency in the Hot-Cup Water Dispenser. A Uccello Kettle costs slightly less and actually boils the water to 100°C, so you can cool to any temperature you need or just use it immediately just like we are used to and just as the tea producers intended.

With the Uccello Kettle, it can also be used when you are cooking, so you can boil water in the kettle first and then fill a pot to continue on the stove etc.

Another issue is that the Hot-Cup requires constant pressing of a button to fill the mug/cup. If the person struggles with fingers/hand or wrist strength/mobility, then using the Hot-Cup will prove difficult. For someone with reduced or limited strength in their arms/hands/fingers, that can be a herculean task that causes both pain and frustration.

Microwave the cup until hot:

Out of all the options here, this is the most dangerous and we do not recommend this – ever. There are many citations on the dangers of superheated water so we’d urge you to do a simple google search to bring your awareness up to speed. As an example, the NHS has stated:  “Superheated water in a microwave may explode when the container is jostled or even when something is put into it like a spoon, tea bag or instant coffee. The water may explode out of the container resulting in very serious burns.”

Also, in a report commissioned by the FDA in 2017, it was noted that “The FDA has received reports of serious skin burns or scalding injuries around people’s hands and faces as a result of hot water erupting out of a cup after it had been over-heated in a microwave oven. Overheating of water in a cup can result in superheated water (past its boiling temperature) without appearing to boil.

This type of phenomenon occurs if water is heated in a clean cup. If superheating has occurred, a slight disturbance or movement such as picking up the cup, or pouring in a spoon full of instant coffee, may result in a violent eruption with the boiling water exploding out of the cup.”

For the safety of the user, we would urge you to choose any of the other options mentioned here. It doesn’t matter if you don’t choose the Uccello Kettle, just don’t choose a microwave as your solution.