Although it gets the job done, there is nothing special about this toaster that would make it as expensive as it is. The build quality is mediocre, as there are plastic parts inside that are affected by heat and will require you to repair or change the toaster down the line. The design is quite boring. And there aren't a lot of different cooking modes like in some other toasters.
The toaster, especially the purple variety, really stands out among the majority of toasters and kitchen appliances in general due to the unusual coloring and the peculiar rounded shape.
You can use this toaster for bread, as well as for buns, bagels, and frozen waffles. There are seven toasting modes that include defrosting, reheating, and different browning settings.
The Jelly Bean produces toasts that are always browned well (according to the setting you chose) and evenly. This is because it has sensors that take into account the current temperature of the toaster and the voltage and then adjusts the toasting time for each individual batch of toasts.
The toaster has four functions in total for toasting, preparing frozen items, cooking bagels, and reheating your toasts. You can further customize how crunchy your toasts are with six power settings.
You can easily clean the housing from smudges and fingerprints with a cloth. There also is a removable tray that makes it easy to deal with bread crumbs.
Even on the maximum setting, the toasts come out a dark-brownish color and a little bit soft, so if you're a fan of very crunchy toasts, this isn't the best option for you.
The toaster doesn't beep or notify you in any other way that your toasts are ready. So if you're sitting in another room, waiting on your toasts, you will have to come and check on them periodically.
For what it costs, this toaster provides very good value. Although it can sometimes toast the bread somewhat unevenly, overall it's reliable and convenient to use.
The problem with toasting smaller bagels or slices of bread is that they're hard to get out of the toaster. Hamilton Beach solved this problem by making ready toasts be lifted much higher than with an average toaster.
The housing of the toaster is made out of stain-proof stainless steel that makes it easy to wipe off fingerprints. There's also a small removable tray embedded at the bottom that collects all the crumbs and makes it much easier to keep the toaster neat and clean.
The handles are made out of aluminum and so, get hot during use. You should be careful not to burn your fingers and avoid preparing the next portion of toasts immediately after the previous.