I take my toast seriously. I expect my toaster to nail a crisp golden-brown slice without having to lower the carriage again. And I can’t stand when a toaster turns my breakfast into a smoky, ashen mess. So when Breville announced its latest toaster, which claims to have solved these age-old issues, I had to try it.
As a contributing analyst in the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen & Cooking Lab, I’ve tested 10 of the 80+ toasters we’ve assessed in the Lab. Most recently, I ran the new Breville Eye Q Toaster through our series of standardized tests to see whether it’s as high-performing and easy to use as the brand claims. Here’s how it went.
What makes the Breville Eye Q Toaster different?
The toaster has optic (hence the eye) sensors inside one toast slot that check the color of your bread 10 times a second while the carriage lowers. As soon as the sensors detect that the toast has reached the desired shade, the carriage lifts.
The toaster has seven browning levels that work with various types of bread, including frozen (without a special defrost setting). It also has a sourdough mode for thicker artisan slices and a timer mode if you prefer to toast the old-fashioned way (by time, not by sensors).
How does it perform?
During testing, I toasted white sandwich bread on four levels to assess the range of colors the toaster can produce. The lowest setting produced almost no color, but the bread was slightly dried out; the highest setting toasted it to an even, deep brown, with a little extra color around the edges.
The toaster leaves slight grill-like marks on your bread, but the browning is largely even from top to bottom and side to side on each setting.
In our speed test, the Eye Q scored top marks. This toaster works fast; even on the highest setting, my toast was done in less than two minutes.
Finally, I tested the toaster’s ability to stay consistent. I made five consecutive pieces of toast on the medium setting to see how well the machine maintained the same level of browning as it got progressively warmer. The five slices of toast were almost identical, which is impressive.
In addition to performance, I also considered ease-of-use features, as we do with all kitchen appliances in the Lab. The Eye Q has many of the features we look for in a top-rated model: easy-to-read, easy-to-use controls; a high rise so you can grab toast without singeing your fingertips; a cancel feature; and slots large enough for a bagel (even a poorly cut bagel).
However, the toaster is on the bulky side (perhaps because of the internal sensors). It takes up more countertop space and isn’t as sleek or demure as the more design-forward toasters we’ve tested.
Pros
- Works very fast
- Evenly toasts bread of various sizes
- Produces a wide range of toast colors
Cons
- Bulkier than other toasters
- Design is not super sleek; this toaster calls attention to itself on the counter
The bottom line
If toast is a big part of your life and you’re tired of constantly putting it down again (or losing another burned slice to the trash), this might be the toaster for you. For larger households, Breville also makes a four-slot model.
Why trust Good Housekeeping?
Lizzy Briskin is a contributing analyst in the GH Kitchen & Cooking Lab. She tests and writes about kitchen gear, develops recipes, and contributes to the print magazine. She’s tested 10 toasters in the Lab and uses hers nearly every day.
