Cuisinart 4-Slice Toaster Model CPT-180: Review

Features: The Cuisinart 4 Slice Toaster, Model CPT-180 allows you to toast up to four slices of bread at once. Six browning settings allow you to toast your bread to your personal specifications, ranging from 1-6 on an easy to turn hand dial. Each side of the toaster has its own dial. If you and someone in your family prefer your toast browned to different extents, this toaster makes it easy to do. This has proven to be a wonderful option in my house, where I prefer darker, more well toasted toast and my husband prefers lighter, less well done bread. Now we can both have the doneness level of our choice, and be able to eat at the same time, without having to wait. The Cuisinart 4 Slice Toaster allows you to toast on different brownness levels at the same time; it just adjusts the browning intensity without you having to adjust the time it takes for you to get your toast the way you like it. The Cuisinart 4-slice toaster toasts very well, so the first time you use it, you may want to start at a lower browning level to see how browned you want your bread. I personally like mine on 4 or 5 and find that setting browns the bagels or toast very well. Lighter toasting settings should be set at between 2 and 3.

In addition, four different settings are available to you at the mere press of a button after you push the toast lever down: bagel, defrost, reheat and cancel. The bagel feature allows even toasting of bagels, which are thicker and larger than the average slice of bread. Reheat allows you to reheat bread without browning or toasting it. Defrost allows you to quickly defrost a frozen bagel or slice of bread before toasting it. Cancel allows you the option to cancel your toasting at any time prior to it popping up. These settings provide versatility that other toasters on the market do not. I love the bagel feature especially because it thoroughly toasts the bagel without burning it from having to keep pushing it down to get it toasted all the way through as I used to have to do with other toasters. It just perfectly toasts a bagel each time. The defrost button is also a wonderful feature as you can easily eat any bread that is frozen in a matter of minutes without having to wait for it to defrost on the counter. So, if you like to keep your bread in the freezer to maintain freshness or if you decide to pull a frozen bagel out, simply press the defrost button, allow the bread to defrost in about 2-3 minutes.

The Cuisinart 4-slice toaster provides ample room for assorted sizes of bread, with thicker slots than any toaster I have previously used or compared to most on the market. The slots are 1 ½" thick, which are large enough for bagels, large rolls or other types of thick sliced bread without having to squish the bread down, or worry about it getting stuck and burning. LED indicator lights allow you to easily see if there is toast in the slots.

This attractive toaster is brushed stainless steel, with black accents on the dials and toaster buttons, which makes a beautiful addition to your counter top. The dome shape of the toaster makes it easy to store items on top when it is not in use or to just merely to look attractive and stand apart from other typical toaster shapes with its retro look. The Cuisinart 4 slice toaster fits neatly into the corner, even though it may be larger than other more compact toasters. There are two slide out crumb trays, one for each side which allows for very easy clean up. Simply slide them out, tap crumbs off into a sink, and if necessary wipe down with some water and soap; dry and replace.

Cord storage for the Cuisinart 4-slice toaster is at the bottom and allows you to wrap around the excess cord. There is a limited three year warranty. You can also purchase additional crumb trays at Cuisinart's web site for $5.00 should you need to replace your current ones.

Cuisinart truly thought about their customers and how they use toasters when they came up with the extra lift carriage control feature for the Cuisinart 4-slice toaster. The extra lift carriage control lever allows you to lift up even smaller slices of bread without having to stick your fingers or a knife inside and risk injury. This is perfect for bread such as raisin bread or thinly sliced bread.

Cons: While the slide out trays are wonderful, it does not get all of the crumbs that drop down and some still get stuck inside the toaster. This means when cleaning your toaster, you still must unplug it and shake it upside down over the sink. However, I have noticed that it does catch more crumbs than any other toaster I have previously owned. The nature of stainless steel is that smudges and fingerprints will easily show, and the Cuisinart 4 slice toaster is no different. However, with a simple wipe of a sponge, and a polish with a soft towel, they come off easily. The only color this product comes in is brushed stainless steel, so if you do not like this color, this may be a downside. Personally, it is a big plus for me. The cord at the bottom is not easily apparent as it is underneath the toaster and not really practical. I do not use the cord storage as I tend to leave the plug hanging behind the toaster for easy access.

I highly recommend the Cuisinart 4 Slice toaster, Model CPT-180. It is an expensive purchase initially, but well worth the money in attractiveness, and most importantly, quality and reliability. So often cheap toasters are purchased that only need to be replaced after a year or so time. I have had this toaster for the last few years and it has never failed me yet. I am thoroughly happy with the Cuisinart 4 Slice Toaster and love the way it looks on my counter, the way it toasts and its versatility for a variety of breads.