Best of The Best 2 Slice Toaster – Bodum 10709

Toasting bread seems like a simple operation. You put the bread in, the toaster heats up and the bread toasts. Very simple stuff, right? Well… not so much.

Not all toasters are created equal!

When researching for this site, we found out that there are hundreds of models of toasters on the market, and while most of them do a respectable job, some of them are simply rubbish (as my UK friends would say).

Surprise number 1: Cost didn’t make a huge difference. I think this surprised me more than anything. There were just as many bad toasters in the $100 dollar and up price range as the $30 and under price range, AND there were just as many good ones in both price ranges as well. The biggest difference between the price points was more in design than in actual function.

Surprise number 2: Our best of the best toaster is moderately priced AND has some of the best design we’ve seen. We’ve done some extensive toaster research, and went into it expecting one of the more expensive brands (Cuisinart or Breville) to sweep the Best of the Best designation in all categories, but that just wasn’t the case. While both of these companies put out good products, the Bodum toaster is an absolute stand out.

What to look for in a toaster?

The obvious thing that a toaster should be good at is making toast. It should make perfect toast every time, with the utmost reliability. We know this sounds obvious, but not all toasters do this well. In fact, some are really lousy at it. Some other features that a great toaster should have.

Makes perfect toast (We know we said this before, but this is THE most important feature in a toaster)
Cool touch exterior so you don’t burn your hands
Place to hide cord
Beautiful design – who doesn’t like beautiful products?
Bagel settings
Lift to get small items out without tongs
Frozen food settings
Durability

After discovering just how many toasters produce inconsistent toasting results, we decided to go on a quest for a toaster that was super consistent, every time. That is when we stumbled across the Bodum. I personally had never heard of the company before, but soon discovered that they are well known in the coffee and tea markets for high quality products that delivery great results with both form and function. The Bodum 10709 is no exception to their reputation, and is the best 2 slice toaster we have found for super consistent toasting results.

Bells and Whistles Don’t Make Better Toast

Sometimes bells and whistles are awesome and sometimes they are just a distraction. When it comes to toasters most of the “extras” that many companies offer are simply distractions. After all, if the toaster doesn’t produce consistent, perfect toast, what is the point?

That is why we were so delighted when we found the Bodum toaster. It simply delivers consistent, great results – without a lot of complicated controls, and happily the controls it does have work like a charm.

In fact, one of the most remarkable things about this product is that the heat settings actually mean something. In many toasters there is no real difference between the heat settings on the toasters, in fact some we found simply went from toast to burnt depending on the setting you used.

The Bodum is different. The precise control that the settings give means that you have real control over how your toast turns out. The highest setting does give very dark toast though, so if you are used to having to crank your toaster up to get it to toast be sure that you set it at medium to start and go from there.

Here are some of the things that people are saying about the quality of toast that the Bodum produces…

“It perfectly toasted my english muffin in one shot (no turning, retoasting, etc.!!) Wow, I can put bread in, press down the lever and toast pops up, evenly browned and beautiful! Oh yeah, that’s what toasters are supposed to do, I had forgotten!”

“The bread, any bread, comes out quite evenly brown without those tell tale stripes of dark and light. Completely toasted bread. What a joy.”

“The toaster does a beautiful job handling thawing foods evenly.”

Toasts Everything You Want:

This toaster does toast well, but can also handle most bagels (the biggest ones need to be cut down), and English muffins with ease. The frozen setting works great on toaster strudels, and it even has a bun warming setting that you actually use the top of the toaster for. So it can handle all of your toasting needs with ease.

Burnt Hands are a Thing of the Past

Not only should toasters toast perfectly evenly, but they should also be well designed. In our mind a good toaster should not burn you during the toasting cycle or when you are retrieving the toast.

This toaster has two features that keep it cool to the touch and easy to use.

#1. The exterior is a rubberized coating. The rubberized exterior provides the insulation needed to keep the Bodum toaster cool to the touch on the outside. Which is a huge plus for anyone with kids in the house!

#2. It pops up toast nice and high and has an extra high carriage lift for smaller pieces. Have you ever had to reach into your toaster (with fingers or tongs) to get out an English muffin or other small item? If so you will LOVE the design of this toaster, because it eliminates that problem. It pops normal bread up nice and high and has extra room at the top of the lever to pop up smaller pieces higher. No more burnt fingers .

It May Be Vain, But We LOVE The Design

We’ve seen toasters with great design and ones with great function, but this toaster combines both. From the retro look to the crazy colors this two slice toaster looks fantastic, but in addition it also has some really smart design features. Here are the things we like about the Bodum.

#1. Pedestal base gives the cord a natural storage place. Why do so many manufacturers see the cord as an afterthought? In this toaster the base and the cord are both black, so you can wrap the cord around the base and it virtually disappears from site.

#2. Nice big knob. The setting knob on this product is nice and big, making it easy to adjust so you always get the perfect toast.

#3. Cancel button. Have you ever wanted to stop toast halfway through it’s cycle? You can do that easily with the Bodum. It has a cancel button that will pop the toast mid cycle.

Any Negatives?

This toaster gets overwhelmingly positive reviews (average 4.5 of 5 at Amazon.com), but there is one thing that we noticed as a consistent complaint. The colors are sometimes not quite what people expect. The pictures aren’t completely accurate in most cases. It is easy to fix though, just take a look at the descriptions below to get a more accurate idea of what to expect.

Accurate Color Descriptions

The black, off white, and chrome are pretty much what you would expect. If you have a conservative style these are a great choice and will go with nearly any decor.

The green is less intense than what the pictures typically portrait. It is still pretty bright, but not quite the vibrant lime green you see online.

The red is more of a brick red rather than a true red.

The pink is very bright and not as pastel as it comes across in the picture.

The colors do match the other Bodum products, so if you have one of those you will know exactly what color you are getting. Otherwise just go with the descriptions above and you should be good to go.

Where to Buy.

This Bodum Retro Toaster is available in several color choices and for one of the best prices we’ve seen at Amazon.com. It also currently qualifies for free shipping at Amazon as well (and who doesn’t like free shipping?).

More Options In Toasting:

This toaster with egg cooker by Back to Basics will give you that morning breakfast sandwich without hitting the drive through.

The Procter Silex Cool – Touch Toaster will provide you with the all the functions you desire in addition to being safe for you and your family.

If you’ve never considered a toaster oven before this West Bend 76026 Quick Serve oven will not only give you great toast up to 6 slices at a time but also makes those frozen dishes in a snap.

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