BEST GOOSENECK KETTLES IN 2024: AVOID THESE BUYING MISTAKES

Our top brand choices for pour over (gooseneck) kettles are Fellow Stagg, Timemore Fish and BaristasBuddy.

Photo: Home Grounds

Some believe that using a gooseneck kettle is a waste of time and money, just a gimmick that makes you a coffee hipster. They couldn’t be more wrong. But you can’t blame them; they clearly aren’t as serious about great-tasting coffee as you are. You’re here because you know that the best gooseneck kettle can take your pour over coffee from good to amazing.

I get it if you’re having trouble choosing the right gooseneck kettle. There are dozens of them for sale online, and to be honest, the majority are a waste of money. Some lack pouring control, some burn your hand, some leak strange chemicals into your brew, and a surprising number don’t hit the temperatures they claim. That’s why I did in-depth testing on 15 popular gooseneck kettles to bring you this roundup of the six best.

How I Tested These Gooseneck Kettles

I tested the kettles both qualitatively and quantitatively. I started by conducting a series of simple measurements that didn’t involve making coffee. 

I timed how long each kettle took to boil an equal volume of water. For the electric kettles, I used an infrared temperature gun to see how close the actual temperature was to the set temperature. And if there was a Keep Warm function, I tested how well that temperature was maintained.

Qualitative testing involved brewing a V60 pour over with each kettle to see how it felt to use. I considered things like ergonomics, control of flow rate, and how easy it was to operate the controls. I also noted any hot spots where I might burn myself; after all, I need to be able to use my kettle in a bleary-eyed, pre-caffeinated state.

The 6 Best Gooseneck (Pour Over) Kettles of 2024

Without further ado, here are my top gooseneck kettles on the market right now, according to our tests. There is an option for every style and budget, including stovetop kettles or electric kettles. If you’re ready to upgrade your coffee brewing skills with a gooseneck kettle, any of these options will serve you well.

Modern styling, smooth matte colors, and wooden accents make the Fellow Stagg electric kettle a natural choice for the kitchen fashionista. But the built-in variable-temperature controls were what sold this one to the coffee nerds here at Home Grounds. It was an easy pick as our top choice, and its cult-level following worldwide suggests that we’re not alone.

I tested the Stagg’s temperature control and was impressed to find it consistently delivered precise and accurate temperatures throughout its range, from 135 °F and 212 °F. It was able to hold the water at my desired temperature for up to an hour, which has been useful at the office when multiple team members make coffee.

The temperature display shows your goal and current temperatures in real-time, and it’s easy to toggle from Celsius to Fahrenheit – a feature much appreciated by our international team. I love that the built-in brew stopwatch means I don’t have to pull out my phone to time my pour over brew.

In 2022, Fellow released an upgraded Fellow Stagg EKG Pro Studio model at a higher price. I tested it out, but I don’t believe the new features justify the extra cost for most home users. So the original Fellow Stagg EKG is still my pick for top spot on this list.

Timemore is one of my favorite coffee brands, consistently offering affordable gear that doesn’t skimp on quality. The Timemore Fish Kettle is a great example – and no, I can’t tell you how it got its name.

This matte black kettle might look like a Fellow Stagg knock-off, but don’t be fooled; it has its own merits. Chief among them is its powerful 1500-watt heating element, which makes this the fastest kettle on the list. I could heat 500 mL of water for a pour-over coffee in just over 2 minutes!

The Fish Kettle has a wider settable temperature range than the Stagg, from 40 to 100 °C. But it wasn’t quite as accurate in my tests, sometimes off by a degree or two, especially at the lower temperatures. You can set your desired temperature by sliding your finger on a touchscreen panel. It’s intuitive and simple to use but can sometimes be unresponsive if my fingers are wet.

This gooseneck digital kettle also comes in a 20-ounce size, but I’d recommend the larger model. It only costs a few dollars more and is much more versatile, even if you mostly brew small servings.

Related articles:

• Recommended pour over coffee makers
• Best coffee beans for pour over
• How to brew pour over coffee

This beautiful new kettle from BaristasBuddy is for the coffee lover who values great style as much as great coffee, and it just so happens to be the least expensive option on the list!

Despite its low price tag, it checks all the boxes of an excellent gooseneck kettle, making it the best budget gooseneck kettle on this list. I found the long, tapered pouring spout provided impressive control over water flow, on par with the more expensive brand-name options I tested. It has a durable stainless-steel build, and the wooden handle is comfortable and heatproof. Some cheap kettles have hot spots where the handle meets the body, making it all too easy to burn yourself, but that is not the case here.

The eye-catching matte yellow body and gorgeous wooden accents set the BaristasBuddy Bohemian Kettle apart from the crowd. I’ve found that mine has taken up permanent residence on my stovetop simply because the cheery color brightens my day, whether I’m boiling my water or not.

There are a few downsides, as expected from a bargain-priced kettle. It doesn’t include a thermometer, so be prepared to buy one separately if you want a precise brew temperature. And while the BaristasBuddy Kettle is compatible with most stovetops – including electric, induction, ceramic, and halogen – gas stove owners are out of luck.

It’s easy to get bogged down in discount brands on Amazon. There are tons of them, and they all look the same at first glance. So I bought and tested as many electric gooseneck coffee kettles under $100 as possible when compiling this review round-up. While many were clearly cheap knock-offs, I can confidently say Cosori is the real deal.

The Cosori electric gooseneck kettle is a smart kettle, so you can operate it using an app. I thought the app was well-designed and intuitive. But I prefer to avoid my phone until after my first coffee, so I appreciate that all this gooseneck kettle’s functions can be accessed using the buttons on the base.

You can set the temperature between 140 °F and 212 °F, with a precision of 1 °F, similar to the Fellow Stagg. You can also program up to four pre-sets, a feature I love for on busy mornings. I use one for light roast pour over brews, one for darker roasts, and one for tea. There’s also a setting for baby formula, but that hasn’t proved useful in my woman-and-dog household.

With 1200 W of power, this digital gooseneck kettle isn’t quite as quick as Timemore’s, but it’s actually faster than the Fellow Stagg. I found it took between 3 and 4 minutes to boil 500 mL of water. Overall, this kettle will meet the needs of most coffee makers at about half the price of the premium brands.

The Brewista Artisan gooseneck electric kettle is nearly as pricy as the Fellow Stagg EKG, but I think its nice array of features more than justifies the cost – and its award as our pick for the Best Electric Gooseneck Kettle.

I love the easy-to-use digital control panel. It’s simple to set the temperature from 104 °F to 212 °F and to switch between Celsius and Fahrenheit. It includes the same Keep Warm mode as many electric kettles, holding the water at the ideal brewing temperature or your chosen temperature for an hour. But I was more excited about the Flash Boil setting, which cranks the full 1000 watts to bring water to a speed boil. I clocked it at under 5 minutes for the full capacity.

I’m a big fan of the Brewista Artisan’s count-up timer because it starts automatically when you remove the kettle from the base. I can’t count the number of times I’ve forgotten to start a timer when making French press coffee, and this solves that problem handily.

I’d be remiss not to mention to unique style of this kettle. It sports a fun, artsy design distinct from the spare, modern look of the Fellow and Timemore options – though it still feels wonderfully balanced in the hand. It’s available in various colors, from basic matte black to bright candy green and the compellingly named “Unicorn Iridescent.”

The Bonavita Gooseneck Kettle is another fine option in this category. It’s a bit lower in price but didn’t manage quite the same temperature consistency in my tests.

Chances are, if you order filter coffee at a coffee shop, you will see the barista using the Hario V60 Buono kettle. The Hario pour-over kettle is trusted by professional baristas and at-home enthusiasts alike to make the perfect cup of coffee or tea.

This stovetop gooseneck kettle is very affordable, making it one of the best pour over kettles aspiring baristas without the budget for a variable temperature electric model. Indeed, it was the first kettle I bought when I got into pour over coffee, and it still holds a valued place on my coffee bar. 

The Hario V60 Buono’s ergonomics are impeccable, practically guiding my arm into the right pouring position. And the flow of the water from the gooseneck spout is very smooth, though it takes more skill than others on this list. Finding the exact angle to achieve a precise pour requires practice (but so does pour over coffee brewing, in general).

This is the largest kettle on the list, which is one reason mine has stuck with me for years. With an additional 10 ounces over the Fellow Stagg, it’s the kettle I pull out when brewing for a crowd. 

I love that the Hario V60 Buono’s beehive design nicely harmonizes with many of Hario’s other coffee products. But if you prefer the more modern look, check out the newer Hario Smart G Kettle.

Other Pour Over Kettle Contenders

The following four gooseneck kettles were tested but didn’t quite warrant a place on our list:

1. Cuisinart Digital Gooseneck Kettle: This gooseneck kettle is one of the many that falls into the Stagg-look-alike category. Its functionality is similar to the Cosori model, but it costs more and lacks options like preset temperature settings and Bluetooth connectivity. However, I do appreciate Cuisinart’s 3-year warranty.
2. KitchenAid Precision Gooseneck Electric: KitchenAid makes a nice kettle, but I was disappointed to find plastic inside. This expensive model is in the same price bracket as the Fellow Stagg and the Brewista Artisan, and it simply can’t compete with those favorites.
3. Bodum Melior Gooseneck Electric Kettle: This gooseneck kettle offers excellent value, costing even less than many stovetop kettles. But it just boils water; it doesn’t offer temperature control or an obvious way to add a thermometer.
4. Oxo Brew Adjustable Temperature Electric Kettle: I’m reserving judgement on this one. The Oxo gooseneck kettle is an excellent option on paper, with lots of features for a good price – though still about $30 more than the Cosori model. I was happy with it in my initial tests, but after more research, I found many complaints about poor durability and customer service. I’ll hang on to it longer to see how it holds up.

Why Do I Need A Gooseneck Kettle For Coffee?

Making a good cup of coffee with a standard kettle is possible, but having a gooseneck certainly ups your game. Many filter coffee recipes require a methodical attention to detail, like Blue Bottle’s Nel Drip (1).

Even extraction is crucial when it comes to mastering manual drip coffee because it leads to improved flavour and aroma of your brew. A gooseneck kettle lets you control where the hot water falls on your coffee grounds, allowing you to achieve a balanced saturation (better extraction) more easily.

Let’s not forget, pour over brewing requires incremental pouring. Some of the best pour over recipes even require you to meticulously regulate each pour by weight. A gooseneck kettle makes it much easier to control flow rate and avoid the pain of under-pouring or over-pouring each round.

What To Look For In A Gooseneck Kettle

Given that gooseneck kettles are the tools of a connoisseur, it’s absolutely worthwhile to be a little pernickety. For this reason, we will touch on some of the fine details to pay attention to when shopping for a kettle to make pour-over coffee.

Electric or Stovetop, What Kind Of Gooseneck Kettle Is Right For You?

This is the first decision to make when shopping for a gooseneck kettle, and it quickly halves your options. There are pros and cons in either case, which is why we’ve included both styles in our reviews.

Electric gooseneck kettles are more convenient, allowing you to achieve precise temperature control at the press of a button. They heat faster than stovetop models, are more energy efficient, and can be a good option if you have an induction or gas stove. Electric kettles are also more likely to have additional features like Keep Warm – or a built-in video game like the Fellow Stagg.

The main reason most people choose a traditional kettle or a stovetop-type kettle is cost; they run about a third of the price of electric models. Because stovetop kettles don’t require electricity, they are more portable and can be a great option for camping or travel. Finally, with no electric components, a stovetop pour over kettle can last virtually forever. As I mentioned earlier, I’m still on my original Hario Buono.

Flow Rate

Some gooseneck kettles pour slower than other kettles, and some respond more to subtle shifts. Ideally, you want a kettle that doesn’t pour too fast or slow. But mastering a smooth and consistent flow is more important than the speed (2).

The main goal with slow coffee — and likely the reason you are even looking into gooseneck kettles — is even extraction of your coffee beans’ flavour. A kettle that sloshes out the spout or drools at the beginning of a pour will ruin all of that. Good flow rate and control are critical when brewing with something like the Hario V60.

Material And Design

The enemy here is rust, so try to avoid options built with inferior metals. Stainless steel is the gold standard for the best models. Those cheap unknown brand kettles you may see on Amazon at low price points often use lower quality metals and too many plastic parts. They suffer from quick wear and tear, cracking along joints, and sometimes add cheap coatings that can leach into your brew water. AVOID.

Comfort. Yes, Comfort.

Keep in mind that you may be holding this kettle away from your body and over your brewer for minutes at a time, gradually pouring in repeated increments. Therefore, it is important to make sure the gooseneck kettle you purchase is comfortable to hold.

Ironically, in what seems like an attempt to keep up with fashion, some kettles have handles that feel more like an afterthought than anything else. Although comfort is a relatively subjective matter, a pretty handle isn’t so pretty when it’s awkward to hold while pouring or too hot to grip. 

Aim to try a kettle before you buy, if you can. Or buy online from a dealer that allows for easy returns in case your kettle just doesn’t match your physique.

Capacity

Gooseneck kettles come in various sizes, though most stick within the same maximum capacity range of around 1 liter. However, there are variations, and a few decimal places to the right or left can make a big difference, depending on how you brew. For example, if you’re the barista of the family, a large gooseneck kettle will allow you to keep brewing without constant refills of unheated water halting your stride.

Extra Features

Since you’re here reading these reviews of an (arguably) niche tool, we can safely assume you appreciate maximizing utility. Luckily, numerous options exist to satisfy your desire for a gooseneck kettle and your compulsion for efficiency (3).

One ‘make life easy’ feature is the variable temperature gooseneck kettle, which allows you to set the exact temperature of your water. If you control the temperature of your water, your brew will taste noticeably better (4). You don’t want to be the person brewing pour over coffee with boiling water!

A built-in temperature gauge is a good fallback for kettles without temperature control, usually the stovetop models. These normally take the form of a probe thermometer attached to the lid and eliminate the need for post-boil countdowns. If you buy a kettle without a thermometer, make sure it is at least designed with a spot to insert a thermometer, and prepare to buy one separately if you want to maximize your brews.

To see how all these factors play into the final product, watch Steven from Home Grounds compare five good kettles in this video:

The Verdict

The Fellow Stagg EKG Electric Kettle has spawned many a knock-off in the years since its release, but it remains our pick for the best gooseneck kettle for pour over coffee of the year. It’s not cheap, but you won’t regret your purchase thanks to its unbeatable temperature control and iconic good looks. 

However, at the end of the day, the right kettle for your pour over depends on your preferences. Every option on this list delivers in its own way, whether you’re looking for a budget option or a feature-packed smart kettle…

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