For Fast Suppers, Better Notes and Coffee That Travels | Vol. 35

The Ninja CRISPi MW101UKBK1 is aimed at the particular domestic irritation of choosing between speed and crispness. The ordinary microwave wins the lunchtime race, then produces leftovers with the structural morale of a damp flannel. An air fryer can help with the crisping, but now the worktop is hosting another large black object with ambitions.

Ninja’s answer is a countertop microwave and air fryer with 14 functions: eight microwave presets, five air-fry presets and FusionCrisp Technology. The named air-fry side covers Air Fry, Crisp, Air Roast, Air Bake and Air Grill. That makes it a plausible main kitchen appliance for people who want a less fragmented routine, rather than a novelty machine built around one very photogenic potato.

The more considered bit is the flatbed microwave design. There is no turntable, and Ninja specifies 20% more usable cooking space than a 33 cm diameter turntable. It comes with a 5.2-litre CleanCrisp glass cooking dish and removable crisper tray, so the appliance has the necessary supporting cast rather than asking you to discover, mid-hunger, that the useful bit was sold separately.

We think it earns a prominent place because the proposition is unusually coherent: microwave convenience, air-fry presets, dishwasher-safe glassware and a two-step child lock in one unit. The catch is refreshingly physical rather than mysterious. At 51.56 cm long, 44.6 cm wide and 35.81 cm high, this is for a countertop with actual spare territory, not the narrow strip between a toaster and a pile of unopened post.

The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft 32GB is aimed at a very particular modern nuisance: the person attempting to read a book, mark up a document and write a note without hauling three separate objects around like a travelling stationery department. Its answer is an 11-inch paper-like colour display with a front light, plus writing in a built-in notebook, documents and books.

We think that combination gives it a more useful job than a screen that merely displays things. A reading device can quietly become a place for notes; a digital notebook can sit alongside the documents it relates to. It is the sort of organisational ambition that makes a cluttered desk briefly look like an administrative failure of the past.

The selected Graphite version is identified as the newest generation, model PA2MA5, and uses a rechargeable lithium-ion battery. That is enough to establish the practical shape of the thing without inventing a heroic tale about productivity. Paperwork will still exist. It may simply live in fewer locations.

There is, naturally, some grown-up admin. Amazon specifies an operating range of 0–35 °C and advises keeping the device away from liquids, leaving battery replacement to a qualified provider, and not disassembling it. This is a composed desk companion, then, rather than the thing to fish from the bottom of a rain-soaked tote bag.

There is a particular sort of kitchen ambition that begins with buying fizzy water in bottles and ends with wondering why the recycling bin appears to contain its own glass mountain range. The Smeg SKC01EGM soda maker exists for that moment, giving tap water a controlled burst of bubbles without asking for electricity, an app, or a new charging cable to lose behind the bread bin.

This Emerald Green model is a manual machine: insert a compatible screw-in CO₂ cylinder, use the front knob to start carbonation, and adjust the level yourself. It is refreshingly direct for a countertop object with this much visual presence. The 13.5 cm-wide body also avoids the usual small-appliance land grab, although its 42 cm height deserves a quick glance at any low cupboards.

Smeg has treated the details with unusual seriousness. The plastic appliance body is joined by an aluminium knob ring and upper base, stainless-steel bottle bottom and cap, silicone anti-slip feet, plus a drip tray with a magnetic cover. This is the sort of object designed to make a plain glass of water look as though it has a better diary than we do.

We think it earns a place for households that want fizzy water on demand but have no appetite for an electric gadget solely devoted to making water behave differently. The catch is mercifully obvious rather than hidden in small print: the CO₂ cylinder is separate, so the machine does not eliminate the supply chain; it merely makes it less bulky and considerably greener-looking.

The modern coffee run has acquired an absurd amount of admin. There is the queue, the lid that never quite fits, the desk mug with a tea-bag fossil at the bottom, and the small but persistent chance that a bag will become a cappuccino crime scene. We think the Thermos Icon makes a tidy case for bringing your own containment strategy.

This Peony Pink version is a 470 ml stainless-steel travel tumbler with a lid and non-slip base. The selected listing calls it leakproof and gives it a stated 7-hour hot and 22-hour cold retention. Those are the relevant numbers for someone who prepares a drink before a train, school run or first calendar notification and would prefer it not to become an archaeological artefact by lunch.

It is not merely a coffee prop, either. The listing positions the Icon for tea, water, gym use and camping, which makes sense for anyone tired of assembling a different bottle for every vaguely outdoorsy intention. At 9 cm wide and 19.5 cm high, with a listed weight of 0.3 kg, it is a defined bit of kit rather than an infinitely adaptable lifestyle abstraction.

Our interest lies in the unusually sensible balance: a colourful reusable tumbler with clearly stated temperature credentials, without demanding a full expeditionary flask. The compromise is equally clear. Its 470 ml capacity is for a substantial drink, not all-day hydration, so the devoted water-sipper will still be making return trips to the tap. Civilization survives.

Beans on toast are meant to be quick, yet the standard routine still involves a toaster, a saucepan, several minutes of badly timed optimism and the inevitable moment when one component enters a sad holding pattern. The Tefal Toast n Bean TT552842 is Tefal’s extremely specific answer: a two-slice toaster that can reheat beans and prepare eggs alongside the toast.

We think its appeal lies in its complete lack of embarrassment. Rather than pretending to be a sleek all-purpose kitchen system, it commits to the weekday plate: up to 200 g of baked beans, toast browned across five levels, and an egg if the morning has somehow become aspirational.

There is practical kit behind the joke. The supplied accessories include an egg holder, water-heating bowl, steam accessory, transparent cover, measuring beaker and a pan for beans and eggs. The appliance can also steam-heat pre-cooked bacon, ham or sausage, so a leftover breakfast can be organised without covering the hob in tiny pans.

That said, this is not a miniature fry-up machine. Raw bacon, ham and sausage are explicitly off limits, and the toaster shares the usual hostility towards buttered bread, sugar-coated bread, croutons and slices thick enough to jam. The Toast n Bean earns its cupboard space only when beans on toast is a repeat offence, not an annual act of nostalgia.