The Search for the Perfect Kettle

A good gooseneck kettle is an essential tool for making pour over coffee. Like many baristas, our first gooseneck kettle was the ubiquitous Hario Bueno Kettle. Still a fixture of budget-conscious cafés everywhere, it’s not a bad little kettle for the price point. It has temperature stability issues, but pours water slowly- which is what matters most. Pragmatically, there’s no kettle we recommend more than Bonavita’s Variable Temperature Kettle. It has unparalleled temperature control and incredible insulation, but it’s probably not going to win any design competitions. More aesthetically minded baristas have long preferred the Takahiro, which pours like a dream and works well with induction burners. But recently a new kettle on Bryan Schiele’s blog caught our eye.

Canadian Made

Monarch Methods is the brain child of Chris Chekan, the head of innovation at Toronto’s Pilot Coffee. According to Chris,

Monarch Methods sets out to make brewing equipment that is as beautiful, hands on and high quality as coffee is itself.

The result is this gorgeous copper kettle, which comes in 320 ml and 500 ml sizes. Rather than a handle, each kettle is wrapped with laser-cut leather, adding an extra layer of insulation and a unique ergonomic approach to brewing.  The Canadian-made kettle is not designed for direct heat, but features a recessed port for easy thermometer access.

We haven’t gotten a chance to use Monarch’s kettle yet, but we’re hoping Bryan lets us use his next time we’re in Arizona. If it’s as good as Bryan says it is, we think this kettle is a great option for home enthusiasts and baristas who hate handles but love good design, Canadian-made products, and small batches of coffee.

All photos by Bryan Schiele.