4 in 1 Boiling Water Taps Showdown: comparing Fohen, Quooker & Aquataps

When you're looking at 4-in-1 boiling water taps, the market can feel crowded. Several brands are all making similar promises: instant boiling water, filtered drinking water, hot and cold from a single tap. But when you line up the entry-level models side by side and look at what you actually get for your money, the differences become pretty clear.

In this comparison, we've taken the most accessible 4-in-1 tap from four brands: our own Quantum 4-in-1, the Hanström Saxan sold through Fohen, the Aquatap Classic from Aquataps, and the Quooker Flex. Same category, same basic promise, very different price points and feature sets.

What Is a 4-in-1 Boiling Water Tap?

A 4-in-1 tap replaces your standard kitchen mixer and delivers four functions through a single fixture: regular hot water, regular cold water, filtered boiling water (typically at 98°C), and filtered cold drinking water. An under-sink boiler tank and filter unit do the heavy lifting, sitting out of sight in the cabinet below.

Hot Water Taps Quantum 4-in-1 - from £449

The Quantum is our entry-level 4-in-1, and it's deliberately priced to make the technology accessible without cutting corners on the things that matter.

It comes with a 2.4-litre under-sink boiler tank, upgradeable to 4 litres if your household runs through a lot of boiling water, and delivers filtered boiling water at up to 98°C alongside standard hot and cold. A child-safe spring-lock mechanism is standard, which is a detail that matters in family homes. The spout is available in a 180° swivel or swan-neck design, and the Quantum comes in six finishes: chrome, brushed nickel, brushed gold, gunmetal, copper and matt black.

At £449, it's the most competitively priced tap in this comparison, and it doesn't ask you to sacrifice finish variety or functionality to get there. If you later decide you want chilled filtered drinking water as well, the Quantum Chilled adds a chiller unit to give you cold water at around 4°C, making it a complete drinking water solution.

Hanström Saxan (via Fohen) - from £499

The Saxan is a Hanström-branded tap sold through Fohen, positioned as an affordable entry into the 4-in-1 market. It delivers hot, cold, filtered boiling water and filtered cold water through an elegant D-shape spout, and the 2.4-litre boiler tank comes included as part of the package.

One genuinely useful feature is the adjustable temperature control: the Saxan lets you set the water temperature to 75°C, 85°C, 90°C or 95°C via a digital touchscreen on the boiler unit. That level of precision is handy if you're particular about brewing temperature for different teas or pour-over coffee.

The Saxan is available in five finishes: chrome, champagne gold, rose gold, brushed gunmetal and matt black. That's a reasonable range, though notably narrower than the Quantum, and there's no chilled water upgrade path available if your needs change down the line. The warranty is one year, which is worth factoring in at a price point of £499.

Aquatap Classic (Aquataps) - £499.99

The Aquatap Classic is Aquataps' mainstream 4-in-1 option, available in C-shape and D-shape spout styles. Like the other taps in this comparison, it runs a 2.4-litre boiler and delivers filtered boiling water at 98°C alongside filtered cold and standard hot and cold water.

Build quality is solid: the spout is insulated and cool to the touch during boiling water dispensing, and ceramic cartridges are used for the mixer function, which should give a good service life. The filtration system uses a nano phosphate filter that addresses limescale as well as bacteria and chlorine, with filters needing replacement every six months (or every three months in hard water areas).

At its standard price of £499.99, the Aquatap Classic sits £50 above the Quantum for a very similar specification and a narrower finish range, which makes the value comparison tricky. It's currently on sale at £399.99, which changes the equation temporarily, but if you're making a long-term investment in your kitchen, it's worth factoring in the regular price rather than assuming a sale will last.

Quooker Flex - from around £1,400

Quooker is the most established name in boiling water taps, and the Flex is their most versatile model, featuring a pull-out hose for extra reach when rinsing or filling pots. The engineering is genuinely impressive: Quooker taps deliver true 100°C boiling water, which is the one area where Quooker is technically ahead of every other brand in this comparison, and the double push-and-turn safety mechanism is well designed.

That said, the Flex as a standalone 4-in-1 requires the cold water filter kit to unlock the filtered cold water function, which adds cost and installation complexity on top of an already significant outlay. At around £1,400 as a starting point, it's in a completely different spending bracket to the other three taps here.

For buyers committed to the Quooker brand and the pull-out hose functionality, the Flex is a well-made product. But purely on value for money as a 4-in-1 boiling water tap, it's difficult to make a case for spending more than three times the price of the Quantum for broadly the same day-to-day functionality.

Our Verdict

The Hanström Saxan is a decent tap with a genuinely useful temperature adjustment feature, and at £499 it sits close to the Quantum. The Aquatap Classic is well built but harder to recommend at its standard price given what you get for the money. Quooker earns its reputation for engineering quality, but for most households the price premium over a tap like the Quantum is difficult to justify.

The Quantum 4-in-1 offers the widest finish range, the longest warranty, an upgrade path to chilled water, and the lowest entry price of the four. If you're looking for a 4-in-1 boiling water tap that covers all the bases without overcomplicating the decision, it makes a strong case.