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- Luxtehnika toimetus
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Choosing a kitchen tap really comes down to four decisions that shape everyday use far more than the shape of the spout: a regular fixed tap or a pull-out spray-head version; whether touchless sensor activation makes sense in a kitchen; whether a filtering or boiling-water tap — with a second lever for drinking, sparkling, or up to 100°C water — is worth the investment; and how to match the material and finish to your sink.
Regular vs pull-out spray head
A regular kitchen tap is a single-lever mixer with a fixed spout — the simplest, most common, and most reliable option, with the fewest moving parts. It suits most kitchens where the sink is a standard size and the main need is handwashing and rinsing dishes.
With a pull-out spray-head tap (e.g. Blanco Catris-S, Franke Active L, Nobili Live LV00117), the spout itself pulls out on a hose and doubles as a handheld spray. This makes sense for larger sinks, double-bowl sinks, or households that cook often — rinsing large pots, oven trays, and vegetables is noticeably faster than with a fixed spout.
A fixed-spout tap always delivers water from the same point; a pull-out spray-head tap extends your reach across the whole sink and doubles as a handheld spray.
Touchless taps
A touchless or sensor tap (e.g. Blanco Culina-S II Sensor) activates from a hand movement, with no contact with the lever. The practical benefit shows up in the kitchen specifically — when your hands are covered in raw meat, dough, or other unwashed food, you don't need to touch the tap, so bacteria from dirty hands never reach the lever.
These taps need a battery or power connection and a bit more planning before installation than a regular tap, but day to day they behave like any other tap — the only difference is how they're activated.
Filtering and boiling-water taps
The biggest functional leap comes from filtering and boiling-water taps, which add a second lever or spout alongside (or built into) the regular tap, dispensing filtered, chilled, sparkling, or boiling water up to 100°C straight from the tap. Blanco offers this at several levels — Drink Filter delivers filtered water only, Drink.Hot adds boiling water on top, and Fontas Filter is a combined solution that, depending on the model, ranges from 2-in-1 to 5-in-1 (filtered, chilled, sparkling, hot, and boiling water in one tap).
Guglielmi's entire PURA line is built around this feature, Nobili offers the Kombi 3in1, and Elleci's Tourmaline series also has a boiling-water version. All of these need a separate boiler or water filter fitted in the cabinet under the sink, and the boiling-water spout has a safety lock that rules out accidental scalding. The real-world benefit is straightforward — no more kettle or bottled water for coffee, tea, or pasta water, and filtered water is always on tap.
Material and finish
The vast majority of taps come in a chrome finish, which suits most kitchens and is the easiest to keep clean. Composite-material taps exist mainly to match a composite sink from the same manufacturer — Blanco Silgranit taps are colour-matched to Blanco Silgranit sinks, and Franke Fragranit taps to Franke Fragranit sinks, so the whole kitchen reads as one coherent set.
Colour-finish PVD-coated taps are a separate option for a clear accent in the kitchen — the Alveus Monarch line comes in anthracite, bronze, copper, and gold, and works either matched to a dark sink from the same line or as a contrast in a light kitchen.
Our range
Our range includes Blanco, Franke, Nobili, Guglielmi, Alveus, and Elleci taps across all five types — from the regular single-lever tap to pull-out spray heads, touchless sensors, and filtering/boiling-water combination taps. If you're not sure which type suits your kitchen and sink, we can help you choose based on how you actually use it, not just how it looks.