Breville, Excellent Quality Espresso Machine from Down Under

I recently decided to retire my Proteo Barista espresso machine purchased from Starbucks ten years ago. I was thinking of replacing it with the same machine but wanted to see what was out on the market comparable in features and price. The old Starbucks Proteo machine is made in Italy by Saeco and distributed by Estro or maybe it’s the other way around. At any rate, this machine was robustly built out of a couple of heavy gauge pieces of sheet metal curved to shape and welded together. This machine was finished in white enamel paint. A couple of small areas where the water reservoir slides in and out is exhibiting some wear and has begun to rust.

Operationally this machine was quite simple, so simple that I was able to re-build the barista machine each time it required replacement parts. These parts include the rubber seal gaskets that eventually dry out from heat cycles from daily use as will the porta-filter baskets clog from coffee resins forming when the coffee is pressed through. The quality of the coffee that this machine would produce varied somewhat depending on finest of grind, amount of tamping humidity and how well you know the machine. The amount of crema (light brown foam “head”) would vary even for my self having owned and used this machine for the ten years.

I’ve seen several machines, if you choose to pay the price that will grind and pack the coffee into the porta-filter, press your espresso and empty it of the old grounds. The only thing you need to do for these machines are reload the coffee beans, empty the old grinds and maybe add water if the machine isn’t plumbed directly to water.

Technologically, not much has changed on this level of espresso machines over the last decade. I will admit that consider myself a purist when it comes to espresso coffee drinks and prefer the relative simplicity that this level of machine affords. I’ve refused to buy into the pre-packaged coffee “pod” machines. I grind my coffee that I purchase whole bean, just before it is pressed or brewed, in not a blade grinder but a burr type grinder for a perfect consistency in the coffee grounds.

While shopping for kitchenware last fall, I happened to notice the Breville espresso machine at a William Sonoma store and what caught my eye was it had a distinctive bluish white glow from the power on/off and steam buttons as well as from the inside of the water reservoir. Knowing that I would be renovating my kitchen soon and knowing that some appliances would be replaced, I thought what the heck, I’ll give this machine a second look.

I recently learned that Breville is an Australian appliance company, established in the early 30’s. They mainly manufacture highly designed juicers, slow cookers, indoor grilles, and espresso machines. In fact this very espresso machine won a 2006 Housewares Design "Best in Category" Award. The Breville name appears embossed "depressed into a surface" twice on the machine, once large on the backside and of course centered on the front of the control surface. I thought the Breville espresso machine’s appearance was eerily reminiscent of my old Starbucks machine it will replace, so much so that the controls and fittings are in similar positions on both machines. The only obvious differences are the construction of the exterior body and the location of a steam control knob.

The Breville machine is made of a diecast metal which is molten metal cast in a form and then finished with a “brushed” or matte finish with stainless steel components. Many of the sub assemblies like the water heating thermo block and the steam valving are made in Italy and later assembled in China. Breville has utilized the recent technology and trend of using LED’s for illumination evident in the bluish white light illuminating the water reservoir and around the control buttons.

I finally took the plunge and purchased the Breville espresso machine and the first thing I noticed was the weight of the box. The adhesive carrying strap that the sales person applied to the box barely made the trip from the store in the mall to my car. Unpacking the machine or any new product really reveals how thorough a company designs their products. The instruction manual and plastic coffee scoop and tamper was on top in a plastic bag. The manual, about the size of a manual for a small car was in French and English for the North American market. It covers the usual warnings followed by orientation of the machine, machine use, trouble-shooting followed by drink and espresso recipes.

The machine was tightly packed in Styrofoam halves with the porta-filter, filter and accessories stowed in specific openings toward the outside. The machine held an unexpected surprised when a small cubic box fell out in the void area between the top control section and the drip tray. In this box was a stainless steel Breville frothing container mug (what a unexpected bonus) which I had to buy separately when I bought the Starbucks machine. Also included was a coffee pod holder which I quickly ditched for reasons stated above.

The machine was plugged in and I proceeded with removing some tape holding the water reservoir during shipping. All of the parts were washed or wiped down with dishwashing detergent. The reservoir like the Starbucks machine before, made of plastic, had a very strong plastic odor that had to be washed and rinsed off. I even squeezed the juice of a lemon in just to get rid of this new plastic odor.

The controls are laid out across the top of the machine from left to right, the on/off switch, a red “heating” lamp, steam/neutral/brew selector knob in the center, and illuminated hot water only button and steam only buttons to the left.
With the reservoir cleaned and filled with fresh cold filtered water, I depressed the power button and the machine came to life with a brief grumble of what sounded like the water pump. The power switch glowed as well as an adjacent red light telling you that the machine was in its heating mode. The body of the machine warmed as well as the coffee demitasse that I placed on top of the housing to warm.

I ground some of my favorite Italian Lavazza beans and packed them into the double size filter cup in the porta-filter handle. I decided to experiment with the tamping (compression of the grinds in the filter) I tamped it firmly but not very hard. Insert the porta-filter into the base of the flange and with a quarter turn to the right, seats the filter and your ready to “pull” or “press” your espresso.

When the red light turns off, proceed with milk frothing. I like to use low fat milk, be sure it is cold and fresh. Pour it into the vessel and under the frothing nozzle it goes. With the steam button depressed and glowing, the selector knob turned to the steam side, had the milk bubbling and the froth growing as the milk is heated. The bubbles in the froth were dense and fine, the best I’ve seen from a home machine without really trying. Be sure not to overheat or scald the milk.

With a stiff head of foam completed, the selector was returned to the neutral setting and with a whooshing sound, a word of warning, the machine automatically purges out the excess steam and water into the drip tray so keep your hands face, kids and pets away when this happens just in case a bit of scalding water spatters out. This purge ensures that the water that will be directed through the grounds will be at the optimal brewing temperature.

Place a cup under the porta-filter and turn the selector switch to the brew side and in a couple of seconds espresso will flow down in the form of a light brown frothy column into the cup. Once filled to the amount desired, turn selector back to neutral. Add milk froth and/or hot milk to the espresso and enjoy the rich flavor from a perfectly pulled espresso. On subsequent cups of coffee I varied the amount of pressure I used to tamp down the grounds and to my astonishment, found that from a firm amount of pressure to absolutely too firm of pressure yielded a great cups of espresso. This machine seemed to be “fool proof”!

Cleaning the machine was pretty straight forward. To clean the steam nozzle, remove the stainless frothing tube and steam a hot cup of water to remove the layer of milk stuck to the nozzle and wipe. Replace the tube. Twist the porta-filter to the left to release the filter basket and empty spent grinds and rinse. The drip tray has an ingenious device that rotates when the water level raises and reveals a red “Full” message in an opening in the stainless steel drain grate. Empty and rinse this tray daily as well as replenish the fresh water in the reservoir. Keep the machine clean with a quick wipe down with soapy dishwashing detergent and this machine I would expect will provide many years of service and provide a “cool” glow around that part of the kitchen counter.