A cup of Tea, Toast & Honey and my Diamond Jubilee Breakfast with Morphy Richards

Jubilee Breakfast with Morphy Richards

A Cup of Tea and Toast & Honey

My Diamond Jubilee Breakfast with Morphy Richards

Several months ago I wrote a post all about my childhood dreams of having my own kitchen filled with gadgets and baking tools when I grew up…….Retro Kitchens and Vintage Kitchenalia; my post was full of memories of warm kitchens, great food, rolling pins, cake tins, toasters, food mixers and  RED KETTLES! Although most of my dreams have come true on the kitchen gadget front since growing up, there was still a missing space in my batterie de cuisine – a RED KETTLE! So, when I was recently approached by Morphy Richards (as part of the innovator scheme), and asked if I would like to receive and review one of their Colour Boutique Kettle and Toaster sets, I was genuinely delighted and thrilled………and, I KNEW that one of the colours in this fabulous range was RED!

I was given a choice of colours to choose from, but the decision was easy and had been made at least forty years ago…….the choice was without doubt, a shiny and vibrant RED! The Colour Boutique range of appliances is a veritable rainbow of colours, and some of the other colours I LOVED were plum, blue and copper in the Sparkle range. Although I could have also been tempted with the yellow and cyan in the Vibrant range……and there was even a fabulous orange kettle and toaster too. But, my heart was set on that shiny new red kettle and so it was with great anticipation that  I opened my box when it arrived a week ago. I was absolutely delighted with BOTH of them; my initial thoughts were just how stylish and elegant they were in shape as well as colour, but the proof  of the pudding is in the eating, or in this case, drinking AND eating, so a special (albeit) simple breakfast was planned to coincide with the Diamond Jubilee weekend……

Jubilee Breakfast with Morphy Richards

Just toast and honey it may have been, served with a cup of tea, but it gave me an ideal opportunity to “test drive” my beautiful shiny red kettle and toaster. My notes and observations are recorded below, as I made a little list of features that I expected or liked, as well as some points that Morphy Richards may find helpful in future range designs.

Colour Boutique Toaster & Kettle “Test Drive”:

Style & Design:

Superb – both the kettle and toaster delivered full points on style and design. The kettle is a lovely compact shape and the spout is set at a nice angle. The toaster has a  “retro” feel to it and having the knobs and controls to front is not only practical, but adds to the design too.  The colour I picked was sparkling red, and the toaster and the kettle glow with an attractive metallic shade of deep red. The shiny chrome offsets the red perfectly and the whole look is of a high quality set of appliances.  The set says “quality” and they both compliment each other in design, making a very cohesive “set”.

Practicality: 

Toaster:

I used the toaster to toast four slices of bread, but at different times, as I had my breakfast before my husband wanted his; I loved the handy four slots that are individually set to toast two slices at a time. Having the controls at the front of the toaster, (instead of hidden on the side as some toasters do) was not only very stylish in design, but was VERY practical, and made using the toaster extremely easy. I toasted thick slices of bread, and the slots were more than wide enough to accommodate them. The toast was (hallelujah!) EVENLY browned ALL over on both slices! I mention this, as I don’t know how many toasters I have used where the toast always comes out toasted on one side only or in a very patchy fashion! My marks for the toaster is a VERY credible ten out of ten, as I could not find fault with either the design or the mechanics.

Hi Lift facility
To remove smaller items from your toaster such as crumpets etc. you can use this lift on the lever to safely remove these.
Variable browning control
Allows you to set the browning of your toast so you can have your toast just the way you like it.
Removable crumb tray
To keep your toaster clean and tidy, the crumb tray can be removed to clean.

Kettle:

 A LOVELY design and also very compact and tidy. I have used this kettle for well over a week now and I am very happy with it. My ONLY observations are that it’s a bit on the small side for a large family; we share a standard “brown betty” pot of tea several times throughout the day, and I found that when filled to the maximum level, it ONLY just filled a 4 to 5 mug teapot. The spout is set at a nice angle, BUT, you almost have to turn the kettle upside down to get all of the water out! The kettle boiled very rapidly though, and also very quietly too…….my overall marks for my lovely red kettle is an eight out of ten. The kettle is perfect for us two as an “empty nester” small family, but I am not sure that it is big enough for a larger family.

1.5 litre capacity
For 8 cups
3kw Concealed rapid boil element
For fast boiling
360 cordless base
For left or right handed use
Removable limescale filter
This limescale filter will stop scale getting into your drink, ensuring you can enjoy your hot drink without any limescale bits.

Overall impressions:

Excellent British design, however, sadly not made in Great Britain, with stylish looks and available in an amazing range of colours. Practical as well as being very well designed and would enhance most modern and traditional kitchens.  A VERY useful 2 year guarantee is offered with both the toaster and kettle too. I LOVE my kettle and toaster, and would recommend them to anyone on the lookout for practical kitchen appliances with sophisticated and sleek looks.

The Kettle and Toaster both retail at £59.99 and both have a two year guarantee.

Morphy Richards Colour Boutique – Accents Red 4 slice toaster

I am VERY pleased to be able a special discount code to my readers;  If you’d like to order a set for yourself, you can get 35% discount on the Morphy Richards Colour Boutique range: this discount voucher runs until the 30th June 2012.

You can order directly from the Morphy Richards site and this is the code to use when you check out for the Colour Boutique 35% off:  CB35BLOG 

Red Kettle and Toaster Set and a Jubilee Breakfast

Disclaimer:   I was sent a kettle and toaster set free of charge to review by Morphy Richards as part of the Innovators scheme.  I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions expressed are my own. With thanks to Morphy Richards for sending me this set to test and review.