Bring the barista at home!

Author's Rating:

Pros: great foamy cappuccino, included classy stainless cups

Cons: plastic water tank, filter assembly too low for big coffee mug

The Bottom Line: 
Definitely worth buying for commercial tasting espresso in home situation

Author's Review
After unsuccessfully trying out a a few different machines the Breville was a very pleasant surprise - restaurant quality espresso at home!

The package contents are: esspresso machine, 2 stainless steel cups and saucers for espresso, one small milk pitcher, coffee stomper, 3 casings for different serving/brewing sizes, manual.

This machine has different casings for double, single and POD, so whatever dosage you want to use, you should be covered. The POD technology for those that do not know is basically little vacuum sealed coffee bags, similar to the way tea has been packaged for years. You can make either coffee for 1 or 2 people or brew from coffee pods, which in the case of a POD only a single esspresso. The downside is that you can only make 2 single coffees at a time but that is good enough for usual everyday home use. I can see a problem when there is a party raging and everyone wants coffee...

The stomper/scoop works great to stack that coffee in real tight for maximum crema. For those that don't know what "crema" is - it is the creamy substance extracted under pressure that forms on top of a perfect cup of espresso.

The only downside I see to this machine is the plastic tank that might not hold up for a very long time but hopefully it will prove me wrong. In order to wash/clean the plastic tank you need to take it out from the top via a flimsy handle and you'd have to be careful not to break it as it does look fragile. Water can be put on top without having to clean the tank for every refill so hopefully this should not be a problem.

Other features on this machine are the separate espresso and milk steaming functions. As opposed to cheaper machines where the steam is routed to the milk frother when the coffee is being being brewed, this one has a settings that works with the frother separately which allows you to steam it as long as you'd like, or steam separately in case you want steamed milk for hot chocolate.

This machine also has a cup warmer on top - it is a good idea to turn the machine on a let it warm up for a bit (about say 10 minutes), it will also warm up the cups for a more pleasant coffee drinking experience. While warming up the machine has a "warming up" light which means that it is not ready to brew coffee.

There are two lights on the face of the unit - one to indicate the machine is on and a warming light which the manual suggests has to go away when the machine is ready. If you decide to brew while the machine is not warm you will not achieve optimum results.

The machine has great looks (brushed aluminum) and a cup warmer on top. As an extra bonus you also get 2 stainless steel cups and saucers that you can warm up on top of the machine. You also get a mini milk pitcher to froth your milk with.

IN USE
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This pump machine has a water tank so water doesn't need to be poured each time you make espresso or foam but it is always a good idea to check and make sure there is enough water so you won't ruin the coffee in the filter. As suggested in the manual, one should wait for the machine to warm up and then make an espresso run. To save time sometimes I do a fake run to warm up the parts - thus saving on the warmup time and ensuring that all the metal parts are at the right temperature. I then load the espresso (either one or two cups in the proper filter) and do a "live" run. What results is a perfect cup (or two) of a high grade espresso provided that you let the water run for the right amount of time. Usually that is when the provided stainless steel cups (or cups in case of running 2 coffees) are about 3/4 full.

The coffee I've used so far is Illy Espresso grind ($13) or the World Market Italian Blend ($10). Personally I don't notice the difference and for $10 I get one pound bag as opposed to the 250mg of Illy.
I grind the World Market coffee at home with my own grinder because so far the commercially available ones at the stores usually provide a grainier product. The way I discern a well ground espresso is if it looks like play-sand.

On to making cappuccino...
Milk frothing is easily available through the foam selector and you can hold your milk as long as you wish. This machine provides the perfect frothing for milk.