Just looked for a recommended toaster that toasts bread evenly – the one with the highest score (2021) for Eveness is no longer listed on the manufacturer’s website. Could this test be done more frequently, please? I’ve not been able to purchase one YET that does brown ‘evenly’!
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It appears that the highest scorer in that test may be hard to come by.
But quite frankly as the test for toasting evenness used in the Choice testing aims for a ‘B4’ as the desirable outcome,
I would be taking no notice of that score.
I am more of a B2 or B3 person.
How about you on the B level score?
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I find the greater problems with an automatic pop up toaster are,
- Inconsistency of browning comparing each side of a slice of toast. Typically one side more burnt and the other half done. Best solved by manually interrupting the toast half way and reversing each slice.
- Different thickness and different types of bread all needing a different setting. Best solved by manually interrupting the toaster several times until target achieved.
- Imprecise and too coarse a setting of the toasting control knob. IE Lack of repeatability when changing a setting. Best solved by manually interrupting the toaster several times until target achieved.
We had a toaster oven in a self-contained in Japan. It had a large glass front that made progress easy to observe. There were two settings. One for time and one for temperature. It adapted to any thickness of bread or bun. Perfection in toasting. The one disadvantage might be the extra time it took to complete the task.
Synopsis.
There is no such thing as an automatic toaster, unless one prefers burnt toast surprise.
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Apologies for any frustration we have caused @gowinter, we are updating this review soon. I will also pass on your comments to our teams.
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B2 or B3 for me
Whatever happened to shoving the bread under the grill? 
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Weapon of last resort?
We find it extremely handy for toasting buns and melting cheese on toast, schnitzels etc.
It does require a certain temperament and attention span to avoid kitchen armageddon, aka burnt black toast with optional smoke alarm activation and or real flames. 
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Has there been an update yet? I wonder also, whether the local electricity supply has a role, because some mornings I get reasonably brown toast, on others I need to re-insert it and give it another 30 sec or so. – I live in regional Qld.
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Looking to the Choice ‘how we test’ notes on toasters. It is not evident whether the tests assess performance against variations in line voltage. It’s assumed the Choice lab uses a voltage stabilised power supply to ensure standard test conditions.
Depending on how a toaster controls the element power and determines when to end the cycle, are some more likely to produce diffetent results than others when the line voltage is higher or lower?
Large variations in line voltage are not unique to rural and regional areas.
P.S.
Curiosity is that typically the first toast cycle from cold always produces less done toast than those that follow. I set my side of the toaster to less than preferred as no two slices of bread toast exactly the same.
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Mr Z insists on pre-heating the toaster for consistent browning, which I thought was a waste of electricity, but he’s happy with the results. As we are on the end of the line our power fluctuates, sometimes the microwave slows down and speeds up, the shed compressor won’t run, but the toast seems to work, just don’t run the kettle, dishwasher or microwave at the same time.
We have a Sunbeam two slice. Only complaints - it isn’t wide enough (long) to fit bigger loaves or artisan breads, and sometimes not deep enough to do the whole slice without turning over half way. The lever to raise the hot toast barely lifts a cm, so small items are hard to get out. Despite brown outs, knobs falling off etc, it has worked a long time, every day.
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Likewise. Its browning has always been inconsistent. On most occasions I get a #1 (as in the graphic above) on one side and #4 on the other. I’ve done all th switching over part way and have now decided its just not worth the trouble. I no longer bother with toast at all.
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Mr Z doesn’t rely on the toaster cycle / setting. He stands over it, turning, until it has just the right patina of carbon and then hits the Cancel button. I guess in times of low power it just takes a little longer.
My other gripe is the crumbs. Far more get stuck in the body than fall through to the tray. I turn it upside down and give it a long, multi-directional, vigorous shake, and get half a cup full, when there is only a teaspoonful of dust in the tray.
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