Kettle Yanagi Sori -matte finish -Made in Japan

Yes...Sori Yanagi is a national treasure in Japan. No...no one here in the USA has ever heard his name. So, it's up to me! The tea kettle is brilliant. It is also beautiful. Nice combo. Basic comments: 1. It is MUCH more burnished looking than the photo, which makes one think it is matte grey. It is not. It's between a mirror polish and matte. Just perfect for real use. 2. It is heavy gauge steel. Some comments make one think it is thin. It is not. They must be used to cast iron to call this thin. Looking at it, it is graceful. Picking it up, it is solid and just exudes caring craftsmanship. Don't like "Made in China"? You'll be thrilled with "Crafted in Japan". 3. There's nothing to break or fall off...good. 4. The lid! That brilliant super wide, whole hand plus a soapy sponge can fit inside with ease lid. 5. It does not whistle. Thank you. You actually have to pay attention to a boiling kettle on your stove. Good idea, right? 6. The kettle is one piece plus spout...no bottom seams...totally flat bottom...ideal for glass/ceramic cook tops. And, yeah, coils, gas, campfires, whatever. 7. I read one review complaining about the lid falling off while pouring. Seriously? Got a good laugh there. Gravity works! Stick your middle finger down while pouring if you think it's gonna take the plunge. <Insert eye rolling emoticon here.> 8. I'm only writing this because I love this thing...and it's expensive. Maybe not to some, but to me, yes. I mean, I could boil water in a number ten tin can...but this kettle makes me happy, warm and serene. It's easily worth the cost. BTW: ALWAYS start out with cold water and use only medium-high heat. So long, and thanks for your support. (send tea)

I am a 300 pound, 6'4", corn-fed, beer-drinking, 40 year-old, white guy. I have only just begun to appreciate the finer things in life. I'm not hip to opera or ballet yet but I have a feeling that this kettle might move me closer to that (I still think that they're a scam, but I digress). Everyone appreciates different qualities. I am especially big on craftsmanship, form and function: this kettle has all of those and then something that I don't yet understand. In 50 years, I have no doubts that this kettle will appraise for thousands (or more) on Antiques Road Show.If you are like me, the first thing that you will notice about this kettle is that it was made by hand - a very skilled hand. The handle only folds down to one side, for example. If the handle was die stamped by a machine, it would have been trivial to bevel both edges of the handle. But this handle was beveled by hand. And time is money - so this handle is only beveled on one side and, as such, only folds to one side. This isn't a problem - just a personality that one must learn to live with - like a child, spouse, or an absent-minded professor.Additionally, I purchased this kettle with the matte stainless finish (which looks nothing like the picture - more like a typical shiny stainless appliance - not that I would mind what is pictured) and the "brushed" grain really shows some intangible, hand-finished imperfect qualities. And then there is the welding - this kettle was designed for pouring tea. And the most important parts of that are the spout and the gravity feed design. Every other kettle is stamped from a single piece of metal - not this one. The spout, which is a separate piece of metal and affixed to the kettle body via a skillful weld, appears to be hand-hammered.Finally, there's a welded screen on the inside of the kettle in order to prevent tea bags from wandering into the spout during a pour - wonderful attention to detail that you will not find on kettles in this price range ever. The lid fits loosely but, when the water boils, the form and function all come together: holding the lid down tightly causes the water to boil out of the spout. This is why the lid fits loosely (as well as the two holes that have been punctured). This is why others call this kettle "light weight" - the low mass allows the available heat to go directly into boiling the water.This kettle is worth $1000. Under $100, I will be purchasing these in bulk to fund my retirement, which will likely be spent in Japan. I hope they like large, corn-fed Mid Westerners.

I feel compelled to leave a review. I bought this exact kettle here for $97 in 2013. It’s a beautiful kettle and has functioned very well for our family. It heats up quickly; pours nicely. Holds 2 full quarts with room to spare. My husband heats water in it for tea multiple times per day.The only downside is that the stainless steel doesn’t hide anything. We keep it on the stovetop, and it gets some splatters and grease from cooking. I’ve typically cleaned it with baking soda and elbow grease once a year or so. I guess I’ve dropped the ball lately because it had turned a splotchy brown, seemed impossible to get clean, and I’d decided it was time to give up and replace it.After shopping for a while, I realized that there just aren’t other stovetop kettles of any shape or color as attractive as this one. So... I spent about an hour, half a box of baking soda, and most of a magic eraser getting it looking shiny and silvery again. It doesn’t exactly look new, but it’s beautiful once more. I'm happy to say that the brushed steel can take a good bit of aggressive scrubbing and still look great. This is a gorgeous, very functional kettle. I hope it lasts us another 10 years!