When I was growing up, my gran refused to own a toaster, and instead flipped a thick slice of home-made bread over of the stove.

Offering it to me with a thick wad of butter, it was my favourite tea-time snack and I have never had the same experience – but I suspect this toaster may offer it.

It’s called the Balmuda Toaster, and uses steam along with heating elements to get the perfect slice of toast. On comparing his previous toaster to the Japanese creation, WIRED reviewer Joe Rae had this to say:

There was the pleasing chewiness in the Balmuda slice, while bread pulled from the traditional toaster leaned toward a cracker-like crispness at the edges.

What I realised with these slices was that the Balmuda’s magic was that it preserved more of the bread’s original springiness, encasing it in a crisp exterior, while the traditional toaster’s work felt more subtractive, trading moisture for crunchiness.

Mmm, sounds ideal.

Here’s how the toaster works:

Read Rae’s full review over HERE and if you feel like it’s a toaster you want in your life, just to make you a little bit happier, you can get it through Amazon HERE – who are selling it for $375.49 (R5 300).

While that might seem a little excessive, remember it’s a designer toasting oven, not just your average slot-toaster.

You won’t have to deal with the fact that Amazon doesn’t deliver to SA, either, because you always have the guys at Postbox Courier, who will handle all the hassle and make sure your Balmuda Toaster lands on your door step ready to go.

Here’s how they work:

Postbox Courier is reliable, quick and easy to use – just follow their simple steps:

1. Sign Up
   Register free of charge with Postbox Courier via their website. They will assign you with a Personal Postbox at each of our worldwide depots. Look out for the confirmation email which provides a link to activate your account.
2. Sign In
   Once you have activated your account, you will be able to login to view your unique Postbox addresses, by clicking the “View your Personal Postbox addresses” banner. Your addresses are permanent, so you can save them and start sending items to your Postbox!
3. Notify us of incoming items
   Each time you send something to Postbox Courier, please notify them via the Parcel Pre-Alert (in your Parcel Manager).
4. Manage your orders
   You can ship single items or multiple pieces combined into a single shipment. If you do wish to consolidate orders from different suppliers (in the same origin country), you will be able to do so in your Parcel Manager. Just notify them of each shipment that is en-route to your Postbox, and then use the ‘Group’ button to let them know which items you wish to combine.
5. Pay for shipping
   Once they receive the items that correspond with your booking they’ll let you know via email and invite you to login to your Parcel Manager and make payment, upon which they will courier your items to your door within South Africa immediately.

If you do decide to get one, please, I would love to try it. I’ll bring the butter.

[source:wired]