I've owned, used and at the end of the day, managed to break more toasters than I've had slices of toast, almost, so I have had a vast experience in toaster and what they are capable of doing.
Some toasters I have used have been pretty expensive, considering that they are only designed for one purpose, but after many of those costly toasters breaking down in no time at all I decided that I would then just buy the cheaper range toasters and, as I have no luck at all with the bread browning machines, wouldn't be as bothered when the inevitable happened and I had to replace the thing.
And it is one of those cheaper range toaster, one which I owned a while back, and one which, yes you guessed it, broke down on my after many many slices of bread had passed through its jaws of heated metal wires.
The toaster that I am talking about is not a shops own brand, nor is it a name that you've never heard of. It is fact from a well known company called Breville with the actual toaster being called the Brevill VTT222.


So what does it look like then..?

It has a lovely white plastic body, with a few curves in just the right places, sitting on a grey base which is raised slightly by four rubber none slip 'feet'. with the whole unit measuring a mere 260mm wide by 160mm deep and 180mm high, weighing in at a lightweight 1kg, or there abouts.
The white casing is untainted apart from the Breville name and logo on the long side and the controls on one end.
Those controls are simple to understand and even easier to use, those being, (top to bottom)...
* Defrost
* Re-Heat
* Cancel

Then, on the right of these buttons there is the 'slider' which take the bread into the toaster, and finally, there is the browning setting which consists of a dial with numbers surrounding it, this dial controls the length of time that the bread stays in the toaster, which gives you the choice of how 'toasted' you want your toast.
At the top there is the two slots for the bread to be placed into, using the traditional method of sliding the bread up and down using the 'slider'.
And it has a removable crumb tray which slides out from the underside.

That's it... that's the toaster, nothing special I grant you but it certainly does exactly what it is designed to do... toast bread.


My Opinion...

As I said, I have no luck what so ever with toasters, or kettles, so I was expecting the same sort of results with this one, and I wasn't disappointed in what I thought, although after a while I was disappointed in this toaster.

At first it worked like a trooper, well, worked like a toaster anyway. Managing to brown the bread evenly on both sides without any 'white' patches left behind, which was good, and it lasted for what seemed like a million and one slices of toast.
The buttons, when in use, have a nice red glow around them to let you know what is happening, even though there's not a lot happening really, it is only a toaster after all.
The removable crumb tray, which is designed to catch any falling crumbs but, as with all toasters I have had the pleasure, and I use that word loosely, of using, most of the crumbs end up either on top of the toaster or all over the floor, with the dog scurrying around lapping them up with his tongue.
The cord that comes with this toaster is a good length so that you're not stuck to having it situated right next to the nearest plug socket, and when you've finished with it you can wrap the cord around the bottom of the toaster for easier storage, although do make sure it's cooled down of course.

Sadly though, as per usual with me and toasters, once it started to fail it was downhill from then on, beginning with the bread only being toasted in patches, maybe on one side only, or in some cases actually burning the bread until it was the same shade as a slab of coal. So I had no choice but to add this to my collection of broken kitchen appliances and go out on the hunt for yet another cheap and cheerful toaster, knowing at the back of my mind that what ever toaster I bought would no doubt end up on the same pile as all the others.

But maybe it's not the toasters I buy, maybe it's me that just has no luck with them, which could be down to the fact that I do tend to make a lot of toast, so don't be put off from buying this cheap and cheerful toaster.
As for the price, this sells for around £15.00 which isn't too bad really, I just hope they don't all fail after a few months of use.

© Blissman70 2012