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Customer Review
Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2015
I rarely write online reviews of products I buy, but I am so impressed by this machine I must share with people who are contemplating this purchase.
BOTTOM LINE:
This is an extremely good value for the price, and I would HIGHLY recommend this machine to anyone regardless of their experience level with making espresso-based beverages. Read on for more detail...
BACKGROUND:
I am very careful when buying products in this kind of price range, and thus do a lot of research before buying. This is especially true with something you can't truly "try before you buy". I read over 100 of the reviews on this product, and although there are some complaints the major theme is very positive. I have been using the Breville daily now for almost two months and feel I understand it's pro's and con's very well.
As a coffee person, my focus is on espresso, Americano, and lattes. I was never a drip-coffee person, but I have been a hardcore Starbucks latte guy for 6 years. I have talked at length to baristas over the years to get a more technical understanding of what makes great coffee, and previously owned a fully automatic machine from Saeco (about a $600 machine). When it came time to buy a new machine, I felt that I was ready to make the jump to a semi-automatic machine.
Lastly, I come from a technology background (e.g. Apple employee) and feel that I am a good judge of design, manufacturing, user interface, etc.
DESIGN:
This is an extremely well designed product. Every little detail, from the exterior & interior packaging to the controls on the front of the machine, is very thoughtfully done, well executed, and serves its intended purpose. From the beginning you see that it is a high quality product, and Breville spent money where it matters. The materials are visually appealing as well as sturdily built, with the kind of craftsmanship and heft you would expect from a much higher priced machine. Nice touches like having the tamper store in a magnetized hole in the top of the machine, having the top surface of the machine stay warm from the boiler to keep your portafilter and coffee cup warm, and creating a hidden accessories tray in the base of the machine are signs of top notch designers. Overall, the product is relatively compact and will fit into any size kitchen situation. Lastly, the user instructions are extremely well done and very helpful - READ THEM.
PERFORMANCE:
The espresso produced is extremely consistent, and only changes as your beans age (although a pretty small difference). The water boiler heats up very quickly and you will be drawing a shot less than 2 minutes after hitting the power button (part of this time is grinding the beans). The controls are easy to use, and the movable items such as the portafilter and steamer wand are holding up well and I have zero concern about long term reliability. The steamer wand, compared to my previous Saeco, seems to create much richer milk foam, which is important for lattes and cappuccinos. There are a number of "complaints" from people on these reviews about how difficult it is to get good espresso, but I can tell you my very first shot was good and has been ever since. I think these people are creating the wrong impression, as this machine is incredibly easy to use. However, it's critically important that you read the instruction manuals FIRST to help ensure you get it right. The grind level is the only thing you really need to set, and that will be personal preference to some extent but for my beans it seems best at 4. The other thing you control is how hard to tamp the grounds in the portafilter, and I will tell you that if you give it a good strong press (I use two hands on a hard flat surface), it will be just fine. Don't overthink this machine!
BEANS:
I strongly suggest you find a local shop that roasts their beans on-site so you can have truly fresh beans. You want espresso whole beans, and they need to be 100% Arabic and NOT the "oily" kind. Otherwise, you will gum up your grinder.
CLEANING:
Terrific design makes this a breeze to clean. The water and grounds catch tray just lifts out in one piece, and you can take everything to the sink without making a mess. A quick rinse and you are ready to put it back. One thing that cannot be avoided is that some of the coffee grinds will spill out of the portafilter during the grinding process, and may even fall off the coffee maker and onto the counter (or floor). I shake the portafilter mildly while its grinding to even out the grounds to minimize the mess, but even that doesn't eliminate it completely. The other mess creator is tamping the grounds and levelling off the dose size, this will cause grounds to be spilled. Up to you how to contain this, although I just turn the dosing blade upside down and use it to scrape the grounds off my counter and into a bowl I use to catch the grounds when I level the dose. Overall it is quite minor and requires less than 5 minutes of clean-up a day.
BOTTOM LINE:
This is an extremely good value for the price, and I would HIGHLY recommend this machine to anyone regardless of their experience level with making espresso-based beverages. Read on for more detail...
BACKGROUND:
I am very careful when buying products in this kind of price range, and thus do a lot of research before buying. This is especially true with something you can't truly "try before you buy". I read over 100 of the reviews on this product, and although there are some complaints the major theme is very positive. I have been using the Breville daily now for almost two months and feel I understand it's pro's and con's very well.
As a coffee person, my focus is on espresso, Americano, and lattes. I was never a drip-coffee person, but I have been a hardcore Starbucks latte guy for 6 years. I have talked at length to baristas over the years to get a more technical understanding of what makes great coffee, and previously owned a fully automatic machine from Saeco (about a $600 machine). When it came time to buy a new machine, I felt that I was ready to make the jump to a semi-automatic machine.
Lastly, I come from a technology background (e.g. Apple employee) and feel that I am a good judge of design, manufacturing, user interface, etc.
DESIGN:
This is an extremely well designed product. Every little detail, from the exterior & interior packaging to the controls on the front of the machine, is very thoughtfully done, well executed, and serves its intended purpose. From the beginning you see that it is a high quality product, and Breville spent money where it matters. The materials are visually appealing as well as sturdily built, with the kind of craftsmanship and heft you would expect from a much higher priced machine. Nice touches like having the tamper store in a magnetized hole in the top of the machine, having the top surface of the machine stay warm from the boiler to keep your portafilter and coffee cup warm, and creating a hidden accessories tray in the base of the machine are signs of top notch designers. Overall, the product is relatively compact and will fit into any size kitchen situation. Lastly, the user instructions are extremely well done and very helpful - READ THEM.
PERFORMANCE:
The espresso produced is extremely consistent, and only changes as your beans age (although a pretty small difference). The water boiler heats up very quickly and you will be drawing a shot less than 2 minutes after hitting the power button (part of this time is grinding the beans). The controls are easy to use, and the movable items such as the portafilter and steamer wand are holding up well and I have zero concern about long term reliability. The steamer wand, compared to my previous Saeco, seems to create much richer milk foam, which is important for lattes and cappuccinos. There are a number of "complaints" from people on these reviews about how difficult it is to get good espresso, but I can tell you my very first shot was good and has been ever since. I think these people are creating the wrong impression, as this machine is incredibly easy to use. However, it's critically important that you read the instruction manuals FIRST to help ensure you get it right. The grind level is the only thing you really need to set, and that will be personal preference to some extent but for my beans it seems best at 4. The other thing you control is how hard to tamp the grounds in the portafilter, and I will tell you that if you give it a good strong press (I use two hands on a hard flat surface), it will be just fine. Don't overthink this machine!
BEANS:
I strongly suggest you find a local shop that roasts their beans on-site so you can have truly fresh beans. You want espresso whole beans, and they need to be 100% Arabic and NOT the "oily" kind. Otherwise, you will gum up your grinder.
CLEANING:
Terrific design makes this a breeze to clean. The water and grounds catch tray just lifts out in one piece, and you can take everything to the sink without making a mess. A quick rinse and you are ready to put it back. One thing that cannot be avoided is that some of the coffee grinds will spill out of the portafilter during the grinding process, and may even fall off the coffee maker and onto the counter (or floor). I shake the portafilter mildly while its grinding to even out the grounds to minimize the mess, but even that doesn't eliminate it completely. The other mess creator is tamping the grounds and levelling off the dose size, this will cause grounds to be spilled. Up to you how to contain this, although I just turn the dosing blade upside down and use it to scrape the grounds off my counter and into a bowl I use to catch the grounds when I level the dose. Overall it is quite minor and requires less than 5 minutes of clean-up a day.
