Best Electric Kettles Not Made in China

Best Electric Kettles Not Made in China

Last update: 10/20/23 – added another Tiger model and more commentary on the use of step-down transformers to use Japan models.

How to get safe boiled water

There are a lot of names for “portable appliance that can heat water and dispense it for use with tea, coffee, hot chocolate, instant noodles, or hot water”. In some cases people are looking for an “electric water boiler or thermo pot”, where water is stored in a pot and you can push a button to dispense. In other cases people are looking for an “electric kettle”, that looks a lot like a regular kettle, but which can be heated on an electric base.

Whatever you call it, it’s becoming harder and harder to find one that’s not made in China. And that’s worrisome. We’ve already seen with crockpots and other kitchen appliances that operate at high heat, bad chemicals and lead from shoddy raw materials (plastic, steel, glaze) can leach into your water. These are the sorts of details that corporate executives don’t think about–and because long-term impacts can’t be measured easily–don’t care about.

So it comes down to you, the consumer, to educate yourself, especially as more and more “fake brands” start to pop up on Amazon and Walmart.

By the way, if you’re looking for a non-electric kettle (i.e., a traditional tea kettle), see our earlier reviews of the best tea kettles not made in China.

Are any electric kettles not made in China?

While hot water heating hasn’t been big in the Western world (we do use hot water heating technology here, but most often in conjunction with a coffee maker), it’s to Asia and in particular Japan we need to look for the innovation, as they’ve been at it for years. Specifically, brands like Tiger Corporation and Zojirushi have pioneered and perfected the art.

Unfortunately, even they’ve mostly outsourced to China, at least products intended for sale outside of Japan. These brands are hoping that consumers don’t notice a difference, but as you read reviews you see reports of rust and premature breakage from units made outside of Japan. But if you look hard enough you’ll be able to find units that are not made in China. If you’re lucky, you know a friend in Japan who can find and ship you one (or visit Japan yourself), but if worst comes to worst you can find a seller on Amazon or eBay (for example, this promising model from Tiger is made in Vietnam).

The same goes for European brands. Most of the once-reliable European brands like Mueller and Bodum outsource to China, but one name keeps coming up on discussion forums–Ottoni Fabbrica. They’re made in Italy, but only sell to Europe. If you know of someone who lives in Europe, chances are you can have one shipped to them.

Of course, if you see a European or Japanese brand, you’ll need to look very carefully at the product listing, as Japan uses voltages of 100V or 200V (they use plugs that don’t fit a standard 120V socket here) and Europe uses different voltages and plugs across different countries. Contact the seller–in some cases you’ll need to get a transformer.

If you Google “electric kettle not made in China”, you’ll see sites that reference brands like Saki, Mueller, Hamilton Beach, and even Amazon Basics. Don’t be fooled–these are all made in China. The only brand I was able to find that still sells non-China products to the US market is Zojirushi, and even then you need to look for certain models.

Best Electric Kettles Not Made in China – Quick Ranking

# Preview Product Rating  
1 best hot water kettle Zojirushi CV-DCC40/50 4.8 View on Amazon
2 Micom Water Boiler & Warmer CD-NAC40/50 4.8 View on Amazon

1. Zojirushi CV-DCC40/50 – Best Overall

One thing I love about the Zojirushi Web site is that there’s a filter that shows you very clearly whether a certain product is made in Japan with none of the trickery that sites like Amazon use to try to obfuscate China-made from Japan-made products.

The VE Hybrid Water Boiler and Warmer (CV-DCC40 and CV-DCC50) comes in 4-liter and 5-liter sizes respectively. It boils water and then maintains it at precise temperatures of 160, 175, 195, and 208 degrees Fahrenheit. If you’re wondering the significance of these temperatures, you’re probably someone who, like me, has always thought that hot water is hot water.

160°F is the optimal temperature for brewing “delicate” teas like white tea. 175°F is ideal for brewing green tea. 185°F is best for oolong tea, and 208°F (just off boiling) is ideal for black tea, herbal tea, coffee, instant noodles, instant oatmeal, and even blanching vegetables. If you’re chuckling at this premise, like I said I was once like you, but I became a believer the moment I tasted green tea at 175° vs. 212°.

If you’ve owned a rice cooker or other appliance from Zojirushi, you’ll know that the Japanese put the same engineering prowess into their appliances as they do their cars. The vacuum insulation technology (the same as used in high end travel mugs) and micro computerized (“Micom”) temperature control keep water at the precise temperature (and an easy-to-read LCD panel and controls), and a “quick temp” mode heats the water without it coming to a boil, if that’s important to you. There’s a timer function that can shut off after 6-10 hours. The insulation is stainless steel that you know has never seen the inside of a Chinese factory. You can view through a clear window how much water there is.

Lots of people may scoff at the thought of paying $200 for a pot that boils water, but if you drink tea or pour-over / French press coffee every day, you’ll wonder how you lived without it.

Pros

  • NOT made in China
  • Vacuum seal for maximum efficiency and energy savings
  • Micro computerized temperature control
  • Large capacity
  • Made in Japan with Japan’s material safety and quality control

Cons

  • Pricey
  • Not a kettle but a water dispenser

2. Zojirushi Micom Water Boiler & Warmer CD-NAC40/50


This is essentially the same product as above, except that it lacks the vacuum seal for heating efficiency, and it comes in a stylish black color. It does have the same Micom technology for precise temperature control.

Pros

  • NOT made in China
  • Micro computerized temperature control
  • Large capacity
  • Made in Japan with Japan’s material safety and quality control

Cons

  • Pricey
  • Not a kettle but a water dispenser

3. Tiger Microcomputer Controlled Water Boilers PDU-A30U/40U/50U

h/t to W for posting this one in the comments. It looks like it’s made in Japan by Tiger, one of the big Japanese brands. The reviews on this one are pretty stellar; users love the fact that they’re dependable and won’t break even after daily use; they use it for coffee, tea, instant noodles, and just about every other application that needs hot water. It comes in 3, 4, and 5 liter sizes (you can toggle between the options in the area on the Amazon page under the price.

I notice that as of this writing, the 4 and 5 liter sizes are available from Amazon, while the 3 liter size is only available from a third-party seller. To avoid counterfeiting, grey market, and used items packaged as new, I’d suggest buying only from Amazon.com as the seller, unless you do your research on the third party seller.

Pros

  • NOT made in China
  • A workhorse; reviews say it lasts forever
  • Large capacity
  • Made in Japan

Cons

  • Pricey
  • Not a kettle but a water dispenser

4. Plug-in Tea Kettles Not Made in China: Tiger A081-H and Zojurushi

In the comments, Miwa was asking about plug-in kettles, i.e., kettles that look like traditional kettles but aren’t made in China.

Unfortunately, these are practically impossible to find in the US. The reason is sad but simple: consumers are lazy. They search Amazon for “electric kettle” and find hundreds of options made in China, both from established brands like Mueller, Cuisinart, and Bodum, as well as from cheap China brands like Amazon Basics (yes, that was a dig at Amazon :P). Even Tiger makes its electric kettles in China.

Back before I got on the “made in China” bandwagon, I bought one of these and gave it to my sister. It was broken within a year, and we’re lucky that it didn’t burn her house down.

The sad reality is that producing an electric kettle outside of China would probably double or triple the price, given that all the relevant electronic parts are made there. American consumers are too brainwashed to realize that it’s better to buy one $100 kettle that lasts for 10 years than to buy five $30 kettles that each last less than one year. And so that’s where we are.

The good news is that they’re not as foolish in Japan. Perhaps it’s because the Japanese use these things constantly for tea and ramen, so they see much more quickly how terrible the quality of Made in China is. So there are a TON of options in Japan.

The problem is, of course, that even though Japan’s electric wall plugs look similar to the US, it runs on a completely different voltage (100V/60Hz) than the US (120V) or Europe (230V). Most modern electronics like laptops have adapters that permit use in multiple types of outlets, but appliances are very different, especially ones that pull a lot of power. So you can’t buy a water kettle intended for Japan and plug it into a US outlet. A commenter on this site said it best: a device intended for Japan that you plug into a US outlet will get 44% hotter than it’s designed to.

This commenter goes on to say that you can buy a transformer, but I’d only do so if you know what you’re doing (or know someone who understand electronics). From my understanding, because a hot water heater generates about 1300-1500W, you would need a step-down transformer like this one. But you probably can see the problem right away. You’d need to pay over $100 for a transformer made in China to power a $110 electric kettle that’s made in Japan. You can begin to see how China has cornered the market.

But if you have the money to spare or a Japanese transformer lying around, here are the best models I’ve found not made in China.

Zojirushi CK-HB08-WA – One of the sellers reports that this model is made in Indonesia. I don’t think I need to say more about the consistency of Zojiushi’s quality, and I’m happy to see that unlike their competitor Tiger they seem to be making an effort to avoid China (but again, be careful, as a lot of cheaper Zojirushi SKUs are made in China). The reviews are pretty stellar, including one from someone who said they saw these in hotel rooms in Japan (which is usually a great indicator of durability). Again, remember that this was designed for 100V, so I wouldn’t advice plugging it into a 120V outlet.

Tiger WAKUKO PCJ-A101-R Kettle – This one has a lot of great reviews and comes in at under $100 USD. Reviewers in Japan love how it boils quickly and is easy to use and pour. Most Tiger electric kettles (even ones they sell in Japan) look like they’re made in China, but one Amazon reviewer reported back in 2018 that this one was made in Vietnam. You should of course reach out to the seller to verify before they ship it. If the seller does ship you a different model made in China, ship it back within 30 days at their cost. Once again, remember that this is designed for Japan voltage. If the link above is sold out, you can try this one, where a reviewer also wrote that it is made in Vietnam.

Do you know of other electric kettles or hot water dispensers not made in China worthy of mention here? Let us know in the comments!

15 Comments

    1. The Graef appears to be made in China. German company of course. The Ritter Fontana is made in Germany but at £200+ a bit beyond my budget.

    2. I’ve got the Ritterwerk Fontana now, and it comes with four switches for different temperatures and a safety lock, and has a bauhaus-inspired look. Compared to Chinese stuff, this is luxury!

      1. Did you ever find an option? I’ve been searching up and down and it seems really impossible. I’d even settle for something that would require a converter on the plug if they’d ship to the US. 🙁

        So far the only thing I could find was https://www.amazon.com/stores/Viant%C3%A9/page/D139485F-89B8-4CB8-A254-6B1EDCB7426C?ref_=ast_bln maybe they don’t outsource to China but unsure….another site said they weren’t made in China but I’ve been unable to really verify.

      1. Thanks for the comment Miwa. I updated the post with more details on plug-in kettles. Unfortunately the news isn’t great, but I tried to be as complete and accurate as possible.

        My conclusion is that the best thing all of us can do is to contact Zojirushi and Tiger directly and ask that they bring their models to the US and US voltage. The reason they don’t isn’t because they’re being “mean” but because it’s simply not economically viable for them. If enough of us contact them, hopefully they’ll get the message.

        More importantly, tell your friends not to buy made in China models from even the “big brands”. Every time someone buys from them, it’s validating their decision to support China.

  1. Could we buy electric hot water dispenser ( similar to the Zojirushi) with 220v – using in uk? Almost all the products are 100v. If it shows 220v, it didn’t show in this review- that’s why I am wondering if it is mic!
    Looking forward to hearing more info & reply!

  2. For those of you going to Japan and thinking about picking up a kettle (or rice cooker or… any of the other great products Tiger/Zojirushi produce) on the way home: the duty free zone at the airport may be your friend. Contrary to the domestic electronics shops those at the airport usually carry those models that support 230V.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *