Just my cup of tea.

First thing's first; I forgot to heed the advice given by other reviewers of this item; I didn't boil and dispose of a few cups of water before boiling some to drink. There will be a plastic taste if you make the same mistake I did!! I would disagree that the noise level is higher than that of an ordinary kettle. It sounds much the same as an ordinary kettle would when reaching boiling temperature, only this device reaches higher temperatures faster as it is heating a smaller volume of water. The water is hot enough to make your hot drink but I would hazard a guess at saying it isn't quite boiling. I also would agree that it suits only a mug rather than a cup, although there is the drip tray facility should you insist on using a cup. The only other shortcoming, no pun intended, is the length, or rather lack thereof, of the cord it uses to connect to the socket. It means you have to keep it very close to the socket which can be a drag if you have limited space. A great time and money saving item.