Morphy Richards Illumination 1.7L Jug Kettle (108021) with blue light, rapid boil & anti-limescale filter

What this kettle is for

If you like your morning routine to feel a little smoother, the Morphy Richards Illumination 1.7L Jug Kettle is a straightforward option: fill, boil fast, and get on with your day. The big differentiator on paper is the blue illumination during boiling, plus a rapid boil design aimed at cutting down waiting time.

It’s also built around everyday usability rather than fancy extras. The easy-view water gauge helps you keep an eye on how much water you’ve put in, and there’s an anti-limescale filter intended to help protect the taste of hot drinks if you have harder water. One more practical touch is the ring pull lid for topping up, and a 360° cordless base to keep turning the kettle round less fiddly.

That said, a kettle like this can be a little “middle of the road” for people who mainly want maximum boil-performance over everything else. If you’re chasing the absolute fastest heating or the most premium build you can buy, you may find this sits more in the practical family-kettle bracket.

Key features you’ll notice day to day

You can see and feel the purpose of the Illumination series. The blue light during boiling is calming for some people and just plain fun for others, but it also has a subtle benefit: it makes it easier to tell that it’s actively boiling at a glance.

The 1.7L capacity is positioned for making several drinks in one go (the listing suggests up to 6 drinks), so it suits families, shared households, or when you’re serving guests and don’t want to keep refilling.

A couple of choices also reduce the little annoyances that build up with regular kettles: - An easy view window/gauge helps monitor water levels without guessing. - The pull-off lid with ring pull makes refilling less of a two-handed wrestling match. - A limescale filter is there to help keep the taste consistent when water quality isn’t ideal. - Cord tidy helps keep the counter a bit neater.

And safety matters too: boil dry protection is included, which is the sort of feature that’s worth having rather than thinking about after something goes wrong.

Performance and boiling experience (based on the spec)

The listing calls out a 3KW rapid boil, so over time you’re likely to spend less time waiting for the kettle to come up to temperature—especially helpful if you’re making multiple drinks back to back. In use, it’s the combination of rapid boil and visible boiling indicator that makes the routine feel faster: you fill, switch on, watch the blue illumination, then pour.

That blue light is also a “nice, but not essential” kind of extra. If you don’t care about visual cues, you may feel the kettle is paying for mood lighting more than for you. If you do enjoy it (or you just want a clearer signal that it’s boiling), it becomes the sort of detail you’ll actually remember.

What to check before buying

There are a few sensible checks depending on your kitchen and habits:

First, think about capacity. 1.7L is ideal for several cups at once, but if you mostly make one mug at a time, bigger kettles can lead to unnecessary water heating. It’s not a deal-breaker—just something to consider if efficiency is your main priority.

Second, consider where limescale is likely to affect you. The anti-limescale filter is intended to help keep drinks tasting better in hard water. If you’re on very soft water, the filter may not feel like the headline feature, but it still adds a layer of practical protection.

Finally, check your pour style. A 360° cordless base is helpful for left- or right-handed use, and it reduces friction when you pick the kettle up and set it back down.

Who it’s for (and who should skip it)

It suits you if you want a family-friendly kettle with a decent capacity, rapid boil capability, and a few day-to-day improvements like an easy-view gauge and limescale filtering. The pull-off lid design and 360° base also point to everyday practicality.

It may not suit you if: - you mainly boil water for one person and would rather avoid heating larger volumes than you need, - you don’t like the idea of blue illumination during boiling (it’s part of the identity of this model), - you’re looking for something that’s clearly aimed at the top end of the market rather than a sensible, mid-range daily kettle.

Worth considering if you want your kettle to do the basics well—and you’ll actually appreciate the “is it boiling?” visual cue.

Practical everyday use example

Imagine you’re making breakfast for two. You fill the kettle using the easy view water gauge so you’re not overdoing it, switch on, and the kettle’s blue illumination kicks in while it boils. Once it’s done, you lift from the 360° base, pour straight away, and you’re not left guessing whether it was still heating. If your water tends to be hard, the limescale filter is there to help keep drinks tasting consistent across repeated top-ups.

Is it worth it?

The Morphy Richards Illumination 1.7L Jug Kettle makes sense if you want a practical household kettle with rapid boil speed, a generous capacity for multiple drinks, and simple features that reduce everyday hassle (easy view gauge, pull-off lid with ring pull, cord tidy, and boil dry protection). The anti-limescale filter is a solid “nice to have” for keeping hot drinks tasting steadier when water quality varies.

You may want to look elsewhere if you only ever need a small amount of hot water, or if you’d rather not have the kettle’s blue illumination as part of your kitchen routine. In short: it’s a good match for routine use and social cups, but it’s not the most obvious pick if your priority is minimal water heating or visual simplicity.

Mini FAQ

How does the blue illumination work?

The kettle provides blue illumination when boiling, which is designed to make it easier to see that the kettle is actively heating.

Is there protection if the kettle is accidentally run empty?

Yes, the listing includes boil dry protection.

Does it help with limescale from hard water?

An anti-limescale filter is included and is intended to help prevent hard water from interfering with the taste of hot drinks.

Can you fill it easily?

The lid is removable, with a ring pull mentioned for easier topping up.

Is the 1.7L capacity suitable for small households?

It can be, but if you rarely make more than one or two drinks, you might find it larger than you need—better to consider your typical brew quantity before committing.