Fellow Stagg EKG kettle review
The Fellow Stagg EKG gooseneck kettle is one of our best electric kettles, and for good reason. The precise gooseneck spout ensures a careful, controlled pour that will give you the best coffee flavor possible.
The Stagg’s gooseneck spout is basically leak-proof and drip-proof. You won’t be accidentally dunking water on your pour-over Chemex or V60 — you’ll be showing your brewer who’s boss. I mastered flow rate control with this beautifully-designed and well-crafted kettle.
It’s not for everyone, though. The kettle starts at $165, with one variant pushing $200 — a price that might put off anyone who’s not a coffee evangelist. You can get gooseneck kettles for cheaper, yes, but they don’t have the undeniable cool of the Stagg. Whether your coffee setup needs a premium kettle is up to you, but find out why this is one of the top electric kettles around today in this full Fellow Stagg EKG gooseneck kettle review.
Fellow Stagg EKG kettle review: Cheat sheet
- What is it? A gooseneck electric kettle
- Who is it for? Pour-over aficionados
- What does it cost? From $165 / £165
- What do we like? The gooseneck spout ensures a precise pour
- What don’t we like? It’s expensive for what it is
Fellow Stagg EKG kettle review: Specs
Fellow Stagg EKG kettle review: Price & availability
Depending on your chosen color, the Stagg kettle is either $165 or $195. The matte black and white options are $165 and the wood styles are $195. I tested the matte black model, but I think the black/walnut shade is gorgeous enough to justify the extra $30.
Fellow’s EKG base is compatible with both the Stagg and Fellow Corvo EKG, so it’s possible to save $$$ with the 2-in-1 EKG base plus both Corvo and Stagg kettles for just $245.
All things considered, $165 is still expensive for an electric kettle. Even for a specialty gooseneck kettle, this is a high price. The Cosori gooseneck kettle is just $69, the Cuisinart gooseneck kettle is $99, while the $39 Bodum gooseneck kettle is one of the cheapest I’ve seen. If this would be your first gooseneck kettle, you might be better off getting a cheaper model before investing in the top-of-the-range Fellow Stagg.
Fellow Stagg EKG kettle review: Design & features
The Stagg excels in exactly the same way its sibling, the Corvo, excels. If there was a beauty pageant for electric kettles, I’d award joint-first place to the Stagg and the Corvo.
The Stagg is constructed of well-crafted matte black metal with an ergonomic handle that supports the user’s thumb while pouring. I especially like the Fellow logo embossed in a sticky, tactile silicon-like material, which is a nice, premium touch.
The EKG base — exactly the same as the Corvo base — is sleek and clean, with an LED screen in the bottom left corner and a dial and button in the bottom right. You turn the dial to set the kettle to your ideal temperature and the kettle will start boiling once you stop turning.
Fellow Stagg EKG kettle review: Performance
As with all my electric kettle reviews, I’ll discuss five key points. Full capacity boiling time; water temperature an hour later with and without the hold setting activated; external temperature of the kettle during boiling; ease of use in tea and coffee preparation; noise.
Much like its sibling the Corvo, the Stagg took five minutes and ten seconds to boil its full capacity of 30 ounces/0.9 liters. If you’re using this for pour-over coffee, you won’t be heating water to boiling point (around 200°F instead), so it will take under five minutes to prepare the full 30 ounces for pour-over.
This boiling time is slower per ounce than the Ninja Precision Temperature kettle, which boils its full 60-ounce capacity in four-and-a-half minutes, but for a gooseneck, under five minutes is a good time. According to user reviews, the budget Bodum gooseneck takes five-and-a-half minutes to boil its full capacity of 27 ounces.
After an hour, the Stagg had kept the water at 212°F with the hold setting enabled. Two hours after I switched the kettle off, the water was at 120°F, which was around the same as the Fellow Corvo and the Ninja.
While the Stagg wasn’t instantly-burning levels of hot during use, I wouldn’t go around caressing its metal exterior for fun. It was hot enough that I drew my hand back, but not enough to scald.
If you’re a pour-over drinker, there’s no better kettle than a gooseneck for controlled pouring. I tested the Stagg with my V60 dripper and was able to get the flow rate down to just 1.5g/s. The maximum flow rate was 25g/s, but I aimed for 5g/s and maintained spiralling pouring motions for optimum brew.
The Stagg is also quieter than you’d expect.
| Temperature | Noise level |
|---|---|
| 122°F/50°C | 67dB |
| 140°F/60°C | 69dB |
| 158°F/70°C | 66dB |
| 176°F/80°C | 63dB |
| 194°F/90°C | 59dB |
| 212°F/100°C | 51dB |
This is mildly quieter than the Corvo EKG, and about as quiet as the Ninja Precision Temperature kettle.
Considering its intended purpose is for controlled pouring, the Stagg is flawless. It performs its job extremely well — it’ll just cost you.
How does it compare?
| Specs | Fellow EKG Stagg | Fellow EKG Corvo | Ninja Precision Temperature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | From $165 / £165 | $195 / £165 | $89 / £99 |
| Capacity | 30 fluid ounces / 0.9L | 30 fluid ounces / 0.9L | 60 fluid ounces / 1.7 liters |
| Preset modes | None — customizable to the degree | None — customizable to the degree | 6 — but you can customize the temperature to the 5° degree |
| Hold temperature | Yes, 1 hour | Yes, 1 hour | Yes, 30 minutes |
| Dimensions | 11.5 x 6.75 x 8 inches | 6.7 x 8 x 2.6 inches | 9.4 x 7.6 x 9.7 inches |
| Weight | 2.8 pounds | 2.7 pounds | 3.8 pounds |
| Spout type | Gooseneck | Large & precise | Standard |
| Live temperature display | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Rapid boil | No | No | Yes — 1 cup in 50 seconds |
| Warranty | US & Canada: 2 years | US & Canada: 2 years | 2 years |
Should you buy the Fellow Stagg EKG kettle?
Do you make pour-over coffee every single day? Do you dream of perfect, concentric circles, the delightful bloom in your morning brew? Then yes, the Stagg EKG is a must-have kettle for aesthetically-pleasing, technically-perfect coffeemaking. However, if you’re just dabbling in the world of pour-over coffee, I’d recommend trying something cheaper, like the Cuisinart gooseneck kettle.
Because once you use the Stagg, you can’t go back. Once you feel the smoothness and satisfaction of the pour, no other kettle compares. The gooseneck spout has ruined me — no other kettle is as good for pour-over. However, it’s not as versatile as the Corvo, or my kettle of choice, the Ninja Precision Temperature, which could negatively affect its cost-per-use ratio.
As I mostly drink espresso, I’m content using my Ninja Precision Temperature kettle for things like tea and topping up americanos. However, if you’re a serious pour-over drinker, there’s nothing better than the Fellow Stagg EKG kettle.
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