How to Use a Glass Kettle: More Than Just Boiling Water

The Kylin Electric Health Glass Kettle does 16 things. Most people only use it for one.

If you've ever looked at a glass kettle and thought it was just a fancier way to boil water, you're not alone. That's what most people think. But if you've got the Kylin Electric Health Glass Kettle sitting on your bench, you're actually holding one of the more versatile small appliances in the kitchen — and chances are you're only using about a tenth of what it can do.

Here's a proper rundown of what this thing is actually capable of.

The Obvious One: Boiling Water and Brewing Tea

Yes, it boils water. But it does it better than most kettles because you can set the exact temperature rather than just hitting boil and hoping for the best.

Green tea wants water around 75 to 80 degrees. Black tea is happy closer to 95. White tea sits somewhere in the middle. Boiling water straight from the kettle and pouring it over delicate green tea leaves is the single most common reason a cup of tea tastes bitter, and a temperature-controlled kettle fixes that immediately.

The removable tea infuser means you can brew directly in the kettle itself — loose leaf tea, herbal blends, fruit infusions, whatever you want. Set your temperature, drop in the infuser, and the kettle handles the steeping. It even keeps warm for up to 8 hours once it's done, so your tea is ready when you are rather than when you happen to remember it.

The One That Surprises People: Cooking Eggs

The kettle comes with an egg rack that fits inside the glass pot and holds up to five eggs at once. It's genuinely useful, especially in the morning when you want soft-boiled eggs without standing over the stove timing things manually.

Just place the eggs in the rack (never directly on the heating element), select the egg cooking mode, and walk away. The kettle handles the rest and switches off when it's done. No water-watching, no timer app, no guessing whether four minutes was actually four minutes.

For a school morning when you need a quick protein that everyone will actually eat, this is one of those things that becomes a habit surprisingly fast.

The Slow Cooking Mode: Soups and Broths

This is the one most people don't expect. The Kylin glass kettle has a slow cook function that can gently simmer soups and broths over an extended period — up to 9.5 hours ahead with the timer function.

Set it up in the morning before you leave, and come home to a warm soup that's been quietly doing its thing on your bench all day. The 1.5L capacity is enough for a decent portion for two, or a small batch to use as a base for dinner.

It's not going to replace a proper slow cooker for a large family meal, but for a single serve miso, a small batch of bone broth, or a quick congee for the kids, it's genuinely practical.

The Timer Function: Set It and Forget It

This is what turns the kettle from a convenience appliance into a genuinely useful kitchen tool. You can program it up to 9.5 hours in advance.

Set it at 8am, tell it to start in 5 hours, choose your cooking mode — by 1pm your soup is cooked and sitting on keep warm waiting for you. The keep warm function holds temperature for up to 8 hours, so there's a generous window between "done" and "dinner time" where everything stays at the right temperature.

What Else It Can Do

The full 16-mode lineup covers:

Boiling water at precise temperatures (40°C to 100°C range)
Multiple tea types including green, black, herbal, and fruit
Slow cooking soups and stews
Porridge and congee
Egg cooking with the included rack
Milk warming at controlled temperatures
Baby formula preparation at safe temperatures
Keep warm for up to 8 hours

The baby formula mode is worth a specific mention for households with young children. Getting formula to exactly the right temperature and keeping it there is one of those things that sounds small until you're doing it at 3am, and having a kettle that handles it precisely is actually a meaningful convenience.

A Few Practical Things Worth Knowing

The glass body is borosilicate glass, which handles thermal shock without cracking — important when you're going from cold water to 100 degrees. It also means you can see exactly what's happening inside, which is useful when you're cooking something rather than just boiling water.

Cleaning is simple. Wipe the glass with a soft cloth and a little dish soap, rinse, and dry. Descale a couple of times a year and it'll stay in good condition. The FAQ on the product page mentions an "E00" error code, which just means it ran dry — let it cool, add water, and it resets itself.

The power base is a standard Australian three-pin plug, RCM approved, so no adapters needed.

Who Is This For?

Tea drinkers who want proper temperature control, parents who want a faster egg and formula option, anyone who wants to prep a small soup or congee without turning on the stove, and honestly anyone who just wants to understand why their kettle has 16 modes and whether any of them are actually worth using.

The answer is yes. Most of them are.

Ready to try it?

The Kylin Electric Health Glass Kettle with Tea Infuser is available now at Hello Kitchen, currently on sale as part of the EOFY Kylin appliances offer. Browse the full kettles and water boilers range if you want to compare options before deciding.