IKICH 4-Slice Long Slot Toaster - CP144A

The IKICH CP144A is a long-slot toaster rather than a conventional four-slice one, and the difference is the whole point of it. A standard four-slice toaster gives you four short slots sized for sandwich bread. This one gives you two long slots instead, each of which swallows two ordinary slices end to end — or one long cut from a sourdough or artisan loaf that would otherwise stick out of the top and toast unevenly.

Control is deliberately simple. A rotary dial marked 1 to 6 sets the browning level, and three illuminated buttons sit above it for Reheat, Defrost and Cancel. Reheat brings cold toast back up to temperature without taking it any darker, Defrost gives frozen bread the longer, gentler cycle it needs, and Cancel lifts the carriage the moment you decide it has had enough. There is no screen and no programming, which is worth knowing before you buy: this is the classic version of the CP144A, not the later model with the LED countdown.

Above the slots sits a wire warming rack that lifts into place when you push the rear lever down. Croissants, buns and pastries are the things that do badly in a toaster — too thick for the slot, too delicate to drop in — and the rack is what handles them, warming them over the elements rather than in them.

Cleaning is the part that usually gets neglected on a long-slot toaster, because a longer base collects more crumbs than a short one. Here the tray simply drops out from underneath and empties into the bin, and the cord winds away under the base so the slack is not left lying across the counter.

The shell is brushed stainless steel with black end panels. Brushed rather than polished is the practical choice on an appliance that lives on the counter and gets handled every morning, because it does not hold fingerprints the way a mirror finish does.