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Cuisinart CPT-720 2-Slice Digital with MemorySet Review

A friendly interface and cool features are perks of this toaster, but its overall performance is lacking
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Cuisinart CPT-720 2-Slice Digital with MemorySet Review
Credit: Cuisinart
Price:  $70 List
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Manufacturer:   Cuisinart
By Genaveve Bradshaw and Benjamin Hickok  ⋅  Mar 29, 2023
66
OVERALL
SCORE
  • Bread Toasting Quality - 35% 6.0
  • Ease of Use - 35% 8.5
  • Bagel Toasting Quality - 15% 4.0
  • Frozen Food - 15% 6.0

Our Verdict

The Cuisinart CPT-720 2-Slice is similar to other Cuisinart toasters but adds some friendly features and a partial digital interface. An LCD screen is intuitive and helpful, and a memory feature improves this toaster's overall convenience. Unfortunately, that modernization and ease of use doesn't translate to an equally impressive level of performance and will leave you slightly disappointed. The result is a more expensive cost than other better-performing models that a fancier interface simply can't justify.
REASONS TO BUY
Handy memory save feature
Intuitive interface
REASONS TO AVOID
Poor bagel toasting
Inconsistent performance

Our Analysis and Test Results

Performance Comparison


Credit: Abriah Wofford

Bread Toasting Quality


Our first test metric evaluated one of the most important toaster qualities, how well it can toast a slice of bread on low heat, medium heat, and high heat settings. Unfortunately, the Cuisinart CPT-720 did not do well on our tests and scored below average, based on the performance of all other models tested.

The low setting produced high heat results.
The low setting produced high heat results.
The medium setting produced even lower heat than this model's low...
The medium setting produced even lower heat than this model's low setting.
The high heat produced golden brown results on the top and a burnt...
The high heat produced golden brown results on the top and a burnt layer at the bottom.

On a low setting, this model seemed to produce toast on a higher heat than other models, while its medium setting produced toast that looked more in line with what you'd expect from a low setting. A high heat setting produced toast that was more of what we'd expect from a medium setting. All in all, this model produced inconsistent and generally underwhelming toast.

cuisinart cpt-720 2-slice digital with memoryset - the results of the toast test with the cuisinart cpt-720.
The results of the toast test with the Cuisinart CPT-720.
Credit: Genaveve Bradshaw

Ease of Use


While the Cuisinart CPT-720 toaster may be average regarding its toast-making abilities, its ease of use and interface is where it shines. In particular, with a digital LCD interface and the ability to save a preferred setting.

cuisinart cpt-720 2-slice digital with memoryset - the cuisinart cpt-720's digital screen has a modern touch, making...
The Cuisinart CPT-720's digital screen has a modern touch, making this model easy to use.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

The CPT-720 has a crumb tray with access on the back of the toaster, and while the location isn't ideal, it's easy enough to remove and replace. There is a selector for seven types of bread: white, grain, bagel, sweet, waffles, English muffin & gluten-free. The model also incorporates plus and minus buttons to control the shade of toasting with seven heat settings.

The crumb tray, located on the back side of the unit, is easy to remove and empty.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

A digital screen displays selections and a countdown timer once the lever is depressed and the toasting cycle begins.

cuisinart cpt-720 2-slice digital with memoryset - the cuisinart is 2.9 lbs and has a standard slot length.
The Cuisinart is 2.9 lbs and has a standard slot length.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

A nicety of the CPT-720 is that it incorporates a fairly simple but useful 'Memory' button to reload your favorite setting. You simply hit the memory button as soon as you turn the toaster on and it will load the previous setting.

A digital screen displays a countdown timer once the toaster has started.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

Bagel Toasting Quality


The bagel toasting performance of the Cuisinart CPT-720 2-Slice earned it a below-average score and placed it rather squarely in the back half of the models we tested.

cuisinart cpt-720 2-slice digital with memoryset - the cuisinart produced irregularly toasted bagels.
The Cuisinart produced irregularly toasted bagels.
Credit: Genaveve Bradshaw

Across all of the tests we performed, finished bagels were only lightly crisped, with one side of the bagel more done than the other, and the heat was completely uneven. We never achieved a uniform gold or golden brown color.

cuisinart cpt-720 2-slice digital with memoryset - the bagel toasting performance of the cpt-720.
The bagel toasting performance of the CPT-720.
Credit: Genaveve Bradshaw

Frozen Food/Defrosting Quality


Across our frozen foods metric, a challenge for many toasters, the Cuisinart CPT-720 2-Slice exhibited average and irregular performance compared to its peers.

Between waffles, frozen bread, and strudels, the CPT-720 did the most disappointing job preparing waffles. The results were waffles with one crispy and evenly golden brown side and an opposite side that was squishy, undercooked, and under-toasted.

This model makes up for its dismal performance on frozen waffles, which were fully cooked and crispy. Frozen bread ended up toasted with a dark gold coloring and generally received even heat for a consistent toasty crunch overall. Although, a couple of cooler, less toasted spots kept the Cuisinart from scoring even better.

Finally, on our last frozen food test, the strudel, this toaster yielded good results. It produced a flaky pastry with a warm center, but after experimenting with some heat settings produced nearly perfect strudels.

cuisinart cpt-720 2-slice digital with memoryset - the cuisinart cpt-720 is a modern looking toaster with a digital lcd...
The Cuisinart CPT-720 is a modern looking toaster with a digital LCD display.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

Should You Buy the Cuisinart CPT-720 2-Slice?


The Cuisinart CPT-720 2-Slice may have some interesting features, but nothing that can overlook its less-than-average performance in almost every other critical test metric. Because there are a number of great models that performed much better in our tests and are more affordable, we can't recommend this model.

What Other Toaster Should You Consider?


The Cuisinart CPT-720 2-Slice did not perform as well overall as other models our team tested, including the Oster 2 Slice and the Cuisinart CPT-122, which offer a much greater value. However, if a cool digital interface is something you desire, and you are willing to spend a fairly significant amount of money on a toaster, then take a look at the Revolution InstaGLO R180B with its ultra-modern interface — it also offers better overall performance.

Genaveve Bradshaw and Benjamin Hickok