Whether you can’t be bothered with anything fussier than a bag of Lipton or you love watching the chrysanthemum blossoms in your tea bloom, a perfect cup starts with equipment that performs two crucial functions: It brings the water to the right temperature and steeps your tea to the right intensity.

Stovetop Kettle

In the kettle kingdom, stainless steel reigns. It lasts longer than glass, and it doesn’t taint the flavor of the water the way leaching copper can. “You’re dealing with a subtly flavored product,” says Joe Simrany, president of the U.S. Tea Association, a trade group. “If anything interferes, it will lessen your enjoyment.”

RS Pick: Oxo’s eight-cup Uplift Tea Kettle (shown, left) — steel coated in enamel (nine colors and two finishes available) — offers a rubberlike handle that keeps its cool, a spout cover that lifts when you tip the kettle (so escaping steam doesn’t scald knuckles), a whistle that starts out softly, and a wide top for easy cleaning.
To Buy: $50, www.oxo.com.

Electric Kettle

To boil water much faster than with stovetop models or for pick-me-ups at the office, go electric.

RS Pick: The seven-cup Krups Electric Cordless Kettle (shown, right), in stainless steel, boiled four cups of water in three minutes (the Oxo took almost 10). The automatic shutoff makes boiling the pot dry impossible, a water-level window lets you see what’s happening, and a built-in filter delivers a tasty brew.
To Buy: $70, www.amazon.com.