Most efficient would be a heat pump, but only by a little; the cost would be considerable. So, for economic purposes, an immersion heater with reasonable insulation (which ever since the "space age", Dewars have been not just practical, but rather cheap even), is about as good as it gets.
Another comparison might be natural gas direct (stovetop teakettle), versus power station plus distribution plus whatever kitchen appliance is used; but this isn't a very interesting comparison as a very small fraction of energy (in either form) is used for heating beverages. :-)
Tim