I've got a little story about my previous toaster which I'd like to share. I cannot remember the make of the last model but about six years ago I woke up early on a Saturday to watch some kids TV and put some toast on for breakfast. Spy Kids 2 started and and I got sucked in. About an hour later I realized that I hadn't got my toast yet and looked at the kitchen. A thick cloud of gray smoke was coming through the gaps in the door. Panicking I ran through and discovered that the toaster had somehow managed to toast itself in the process! Minutes later after being cooled by the cold water tap it found a new home in the bin. This prompted my parents to get a replacement; specifically the Breville TT9.
So far we have had this toaster for six years and I'm happy to report that so far it has not set itself on fire or attempted to turn my bread into charcoal! This toaster really is as simple as it gets. There's a lever for you to press down to start toasting, and there's a button marked cancel for you to press if you want your toast out early! As far as toasters go, that's all you really need one to do in this day and age.
It's simple and easy to use, just plug it in and you're on your way. There's a dial setting from 1 to 6 for how crispy your toast can be made. 1 is barely toasted and 6 is 'Oh My God get the fire estinguisher out!'. There is no practical reason for the 6th option to be there! Who would want charcoal toast? God knows I wouldn't!
The optimal setting in my opinion is just between 2 and 3, which makes the bread reasonably toasted but soft enough for butter to be smoothly spread on and sink in. Just the way I like it, yum! What I will say is don't stick in the big bits of bread from the ends of the loaf since chances are they'll get stuck and you'll spend a minute of your time trying to pry it out with a knife!
I really can't fault this little toaster. It's a hell of an improvement on the previous model we had and I've never had a problem with it at any point. It's reliable and easy to use - what more could a guy want? Don't you dare say charcoaled toast!
I have owned and used this toaster for around ten years; this alone says something about the longevity of the device. Yes, it certainly cooks toast - but it has lost just one function along the way. More of that later.
I bought this toaster mostly because it looked good in my new kitchen; it was a shiny chrome finish and I wanted it to match my cooker and plug sockets! The price would also have had something to do with it - I cannot remember exactly how much it cost but - it certainly would not have been exorbitant as I would not have bought it. It was probably around the £12 mark.
The toaster has a shiny chrome finish and black sides where the toast controls are. The design is pleasing to look at and functional. Unfortunately, to keep the toaster looking pristine, regular polishing of the chrome finish is required. I am not inclined to do this regularly and so the toaster looks a little grubby at times! Also, as I have had mine a long time, the metal area between the toast slots looks old, stained and marked due to reapeated use of the toaster; nice chrome finish - ugly functional middle bit.
The device has an arrangement on the bottom of the toaster, to wrap the cord - leaving just the right amount out to reach your plug socket. This makes the toaster look neat when it is on the work surface: an important consideration.
Generally, I think the toaster looks quite good.
The toast can take four slices of bread. It does not deal well with hugely chunky slices which can burn. This is because the device is not one of those designed to take thick or thin slices; however, it copes well with moderately different sizes. There is a control on the side of the toaster which offers different settings ranging from 2 - 5. There are two settings beyond the numbers: 'Light' being before 2 and 'Dark' being after the 5; it is fairly self explanatory really. The number I cook an average sized slice on is 3. The toast that is produced is great!
The toaster also has a button that allows you to stop the toaster mid action; a sort of ejector seat button. I liked this function as I could poke it if I smelled that an irregular sized slice was catching a bit. I write 'liked' as it ceased to function quite a few years ago. Never mind - I can achieve the same function by merely turning off the toaster at the wall!
The toaster has a crumb plate at its base which you can pull out to remove crumbs. This is easy to do; it just slides out and can be slotted in again when emptied. I have never found that this is enough on its own to remove crumbs. The whole device can be picked up and vigorously shaken over the bin. I do this now and again but not nearly enough. I recently saw Kim and Aggie (of 'How Clean is Your house') slagging off someones toaster crumb state. I noted that the crumb build up was extremely similar to my own! I concluded that they are rather anally retentive about breadcrumbs!
Clearly, this has been a well used and well loved toaster - and it is still going strong. It will have to explode before I replace it. The device is named 'Coolwall'. Does it live up it its name? I suppose it does. I have never felt the toaster to get over heated on the outside but I would not expect any toaster to do this. Would I recommend this toaster? Still going well and looking good - of course I would! There are probably much more modern models out there now - but this model has proven to be a decent one.
I've been through my fair share of toasters in my time, and the most recent one I've owned is the Breville TT9 Chrome Coolwall.
Well it has the standard 4 slice toaster dual slot set up, nothing special there, and it has a shiny crome main body, with black plastic ends and base. It looks pretty good, and wouldn't look out of place in any modern kitchen. Simple, but classic.
The level of browning can be controlled by the knob on the side of the toaster, and with evenly shaped breads, it provides a good evenly toasted result. It heats up quickly and produces your toast in a couple of minutes on average. If you think that you've given bread too long, you just hit the cancel button and the toast pops out. You can also raise the toast out of the toaster even higher by pulling the lever on the side up, which lessens the chance of you burning your hands taking the toast out. It also helps if you've put too large a slice of bread in and the toast seems stuck. The high lift facility will come to your aid!
It comes with a removable crumb tray, which easily slides out to be emptied every so often. The base has no slip feet to keep the toaster in place. The cord length can be adjusted to your own personal preference by wrapping it around the underside of the base. This provides a safe and tidy discrete alternative to excess trailing cable.
Price & Availability
You can buy this model for between 10 to 15 pounds if you shop well, and it's available from various electrical outlets.
Short name: Breville TT9