Gaggia Brera Bean to Cup Coffee Machine

Product Information

I’m also very impressed by the quality of the espresso you get from ground coffee – though not a patch on beans, it really is lovely. Be sure to turn the machine on a few minutes before using it, so it can properly warm up. This guaranteees a perfect extraction of all coffee aromas. Is the de-scale sign on your Brera still appearing, even after de-scaling the machine using the instructions? The compact Brera trades angled sides for rounded corners, which gives this machine a softer aesthetic. Included Accessories: Measuring scoop, Water hardness test strip, AquaClean filter, Lubricant, LatteGo storage lid

I’ve reviewed plenty of compact automatics lately, but I think the Gaggia Brera might just take home the trophy here. At just over 12 inches (30 centimeters) tall and weighing less than 20 pounds (8 kilograms), you’d be hard-pressed to find a smaller competitor. Of course, the manufacturer insists you use Gaggia Decalcifier during the cycle. I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether or not to use a different product. Setting up the Gaggia Brera was a piece of cake, and I was off to the races within minutes. Plus, I barely had to open the user manual – the machine is as intuitive as you could want. Use the Optiaroma function to set the quantity of ground coffee used. It is possible to select among 3 different settings: light, medium, strong. Press the button; the new setting will be saved with the first espresso brewing. The control panel is designed to be simple and intuitive to use with just four buttons for on/off, water quantity and coffee strength. There is also a dial for selecting the mode.Press and hold the button you wish to program (in this case, the small button), until the cup icon blinks on the screen-release the button.

The Magnifica ESAM 4200 is a couple of cm taller (just under 36cm), slightly wider at 28cm wide, and 38cm deep (so 4.5c less depth with the ESAM 4200). Do I wish the Gaggia Brera had multiple user profiles to make organizing coffee preferences easier? Of course! That’s just one less thing to worry about when you’ve got a house full of coffee drinkers with specific tastes. The more regular maintenance is all manual stuff. This includes pulling out the drip tray, rinsing out the water tank and wiping down the bean hopper. When cleaning these components, I’d recommend using a damp cloth and a mild cleaner. Nothing hardcore, and make sure you steer clear of the dishwasher. Descaler : https://www.gaggiadirect.com/cleaning-products.html#!/Gaggia-Liquid-Descaler/p/15014701/category=5922063 All of the true bean to cup machines that I'm aware of have Panarello wands, but it's usually very easy to remove it & use the steam pipe as a single hole steam tip.One feature we really like on the Gaggia is the standby mode. This automatically activates after an hour and uses less than 1W/hour, saving you money on your energy bills.

Adjustable Coffee Dosage,Bypass Doser,Cup Volume Control,Energy Saving Design,Low-Water Warning,Pre-Infusion,Programmable Brewing Of course, if you want to use that steam wand to make milk based espresso drinks, you’ll need to pair it with a stainless steel milk pitcher. Gaggia seems to have forgotten about milk pitchers, but I haven’t! Specialty Drinks

Anyway, I’m glad to see the folks at Gaggia share my opinion. Rather than sideline pre-infusion to a programmable feature, they’ve made it a default setting on the Brera. Brew Group Now, about that brew group I mentioned earlier in my Gaggia Brera review. Since it’s removable, that means you will need to clean it. You won’t be able to rely on a cleaning program to take care of it like you would with a Jura coffee machine. There are fewer buttons & dials on the front of the Brera than there are on the ESAM, and the Brera has an LED display. If you have plenty of height free but you're struggling for depth in the area you want to put your coffee machine, then the Magnifica may work out better for you. Gaggia Brera Vs Magnifica 2: Looks. The Brera will notify you when it needs to be descaled. There are some excellent YouTube videos for descaling the Brera, and we recommend following these to keep your machine in top condition. There are also instructions on how to use a brush to clean the brew head. Other Features