The typical toaster is ALWAYS going to produce darker toast the second time it is used during a meal because the mechanism is a simple timer. After the first use the heating elements are already hot, and so the second "round" of toast ALWAYS gets more toasted (typically: very much darker than the first round). Toaster ovens suffer from the same flaw, but have the advantage that you can toast more slices of bread at once, possibly eliminating the need for a second round of toasting. *** These two web sites give really good reviews in my experience. Note that they have the flaw of reviewing relatively few products, which is why they don't agree when there are a huge number of available products (such as with toasters) {{ https://www.thespruceeats.com/best-toasters-4066087 }} {{ https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-toaster/ }} Consumer Reports tested **74** two-slicers and **37** four-slicers. That's a lot! Two-slicers that get all "excellent" scores (in order): Breville Bit More BTA720XL * Breville BTA820XL * Bella Pro Series 90062 * Cuisinart Countdown Metal CPT-415 * Oster 2-slice Stainless Steel TSSTTRJB2S (the Oster is a Consumer Reports "best buy") *** Four-slicers that get all "excellent" scores (in order): Breville Bit More BTA730XL * Cuisinart Countdown Metal CPT-435 * Oster 4-slice Stainless Steel TSSTTRJBS4 (This Oster is also a Consumer Reports "best buy".) *** Warning: don't trust Consumer Reports completely. Always check Amazon reviews before buying a toaster.

Doesn't it have an adjustment setting on it somewhere? Maybe its pushed all the way dark. Or you could try setting a timer and lifting the handle manually.

all toasters have a setting from light to dark