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Customer Review
- Reviewed in Canada on April 4, 2021Likes: Good quality. Minimalist design, very easy to use.
Dislikes: Dorky steaming wand.
If you like espresso machines to look like a cross between a beer brewery and the cockpit of a 747 look elsewhere. This espresso maker has the absolute minimum number of knobs and switches on it, its pure simplicity is perhaps its best feature. It does one thing and does it well: make espresso (okay, it steams milk too). Simplicity means its easy to use, there are fewer things to break or fail, and more can be invested in higher quality components.
The top of the unit is cast metal and it has a lip around the rim making it convenient to keep clean cups there to prewarm them. The machine takes between 2 and 3 minutes to warm up when first switched on. Water is heated in a "thermoblock" rather than a boiler. No water gets heated until the pump starts pumping. This means that there is no chance of all the water evaporating from the boiler tank when the machine is left on for a long time, as can happen with a boiler type design. The pump is strong, quite a bit stronger than on my old machine (which was an Estro Profi). But the downside of that is it vibrates quite a bit and can be a bit loud in noise-sensitive environments. But you'll get that with any espresso maker.
Through clever design of the filter basket the coffee grounds and heated water are highly pressurized before any significant amount of liquid leaves the filter, making for a consistent brew with a nice crema every time. The strong pump is fairly forgiving of variations in how much the coffee is tamped. Just remember that you're only tamping to take a bit of the fluffiness out of the coffee, not compacting a roadbed for paving.
The main thing I dislike is the "For Idiots" steaming wand. To steam milk with a "real" steaming wand all you have to do is keep the tip of the wand right at the surface of the milk and you get volumes of rich creamy foam every time. Anybody that can't figure that out shouldn't be allowed to use sharp objects. This steaming wand will foam milk but all you get is a modest quantity of rather dry thin foam. And it doesn't heat the milk as much as I'd like.
Hey Breville, if you're reading this, I have some suggestions to make this product awesome.
1. Include a normal steaming wand in the box as an optional attachment the buyer can install if desired.
2. Apply some cushioning tape under the metal lid where the water tank goes so it doesn't rattle so loudly.
3. The machine apparently has a CPU in it already based on how the pump behaves when steaming, so the machine could readily be designed to regulate water temperature far better, at minimal added cost.
I considered rating this at 4 stars because of the steaming wand, but someone could argue that that's just a reflection of personal preference and not a product deficiency. Whatever floats your boat. For making espresso it's awesome. Very solid and simple machine, I expect to be enjoying it for may years.
