Breville Precision Brewer Thermal Coffee Maker

10 reviews for Breville Precision Brewer Thermal Coffee Maker

1. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   The Dawg – April 13, 2023

   5.0 out of 5 stars

   The Best Coffee Maker I have Owned (Comparison to Technivorm Mocha Master)

   Yes, this is an expensive coffee maker. Yes, it is worth the pricetag. This is going to be lengthy review, but I really had to dig deep to decide to spend $300 on a coffee maker and wanted to weigh my options with you. For me, I only seriously considered 3 makers: the Breville (which I bought), the Technivorm Moccamaster, and the Bona Vita.I love coffee, and several other makers (french press, espresso machine, etc.) this is hands down the best maker. I had gotten really mad with drip brew makers over the years. I had 2 Mr. Coffee in college, since have used two different Cuisinart makers. This maker has restored my faith in good drip-brew coffee. I recommend 2 different sources to help you shop for a coffee maker. James Hoffman on YouTube did a review of this maker that really persuaded me to get this particular maker. America’s Test Kitchen/Cook’s Country Gearheads reviewed their coffee makers (although a year or so before this particular product was launched). Between those 2 sources I was in between the Technivorm Mocca and the Breville Precision Brewer. The America’s Test Kitchen Review of drip brew coffee makers is what inspired me to look at a higher end product, as they identified so many of my issues with previous makers that I have used. America’s Test Kitchen also cited the SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America) and their “Golden Cup” standards for a good cup of coffee, these include consistency of temperature of brew water and ground coffee to water ratios. My big issue with the Mr. Coffee and Cuisinart products is that they just do not hold enough grounds to make a great pot of coffee (our Cuisinarts had to be loaded lightly to avoid having the grounds spill over into the pot and water tank). America’s Test Kitchen identified the ground capacity along with water temperature issues as a key in making a consistently good cup of coffee. Again, even though they did not review this specific coffee maker, the details of their segment on this helped me with the decision process, especially pointing me towards the SCAA Golden Cup info.Without getting into a deep comparison, here is why I chose the Breville over the Technivorm and Bona Vita. The primary factor was the volume of brewed coffee. The Moccamaster and Bona Vita make 40oz of coffee. I live by myself now, and 40oz is a perfect amount for me, but should I have guests over, 40oz could go pretty quick, and who have to make multiple pots of coffee… The Breville will make up to 60oz at a time and has the option to make less coffee that is still of high quality for 40oz. So this was the biggest draw for me. I personally drink 2-3 12-14 oz cups a morning, so any of these makers would be enough, but I wanted the extra capacity. I mentioned that Breville has an option to make more volume of coffee or less. This is achieved with a cone filter insert (that is included) that fits a standard #4 cone filter paper. Breville recommends this insert for 40oz (8 cups) or less of coffee, and you simply remove the cone filter holder insert and use either the included gold mesh basket filter or large basket filters.Breville also offered an option that the Moccamaster did not (unsure of BonaVita) and that was the option to do a delayed brew, I can load the grounds before bed and wake to freshly brewed coffee (I have used this feature once, but it is nice). The Breville adds a little more options and customization to the mix compared to the Technivorm. The Breville offers 5 preset brew options: FAST, GOLD, STRONG, OVER ICE, COLD BREW. It also offers the option to tweak and adjust and create a personalized brew setting manually adjusting temperature, speed of brew, soak time, etc. The GOLD Brew Setting meets the parameters set forth by the SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America), the Technivorm meets these standards as well. The Technivorm has an on/off switch. The friend who owns one has attached a timer to the machine so he can load it at bedtime.Having had hands on both the Technivorm and the Breville, there is a good build quality on both products, neither feels cheap. The Technivorm is more solid, and I would expect that it will last much longer due to the simplicity and quality. The warranty is also better for the Technivorm. Ultimately the ability to adjust the settings and the 20oz of extra brew capacity sold me on the Breville.I have had this product for a month and a half and still love it. I don’t think that I will ever be able to go back to a cheap coffee maker. I have used this with my favorite variety, some local varieties, but I have also used my favorite cheap coffee (Wholefoods 365 Pacific Rim $11 for 1.5lbs). This really does elevate coffee. I previously had only used the hot plate and glass carafe brewers, and I do think the insulated carafe helps significantly.Bottom line: do you spend $300 on this coffee maker? Yes, if you drink and use your coffee maker almost daily, I think that this is worth the investment. Especially if you are a bit of a coffee snob. If you simply want coffee to taste warm and brown or use Folgers, I would look at a less expensive machine. If you do not need timed brew, and more than 40oz capacity, I would choose the Technivorm over this product. If you just cannot spend 300 on a brewer, the Bona Vita is good option.

   318 people found this helpful
2. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Michael J. Moreno – April 14, 2023

   5.0 out of 5 stars

   The juice is worth the squeeze

   This will be my initial product review based on unboxing it and having tried it out once. I will update in 6 months and then a year. Let’s get the major concern some may have with this machine, the sticker shock. Yes, it is pricey. Yes, the juice is worth the squeeze on first impressions. I have owned a number of coffee makers over the years (Cuisinart, KitchenAid, most recent was a Keurig Duo Plus) so this review is in comparison to those. I decided to replace the Keurig as it was no longer making a full pot no matter how often I descale it and I am diligent on doing that. It was also leaking water, from where I could not determine, but that might explain why it would not brew a full pot despite the water tank still having plenty in it.This coffee maker is solidly built. The thermal carafe is heavy, so it is properly insulated. The water tank is big with a big opening and clearly marked and legible water level indicators. The basket filter basket is big and easy to insert and it does not have to go in any specific way. It will click in place if you insert it straight on, sideways, maybe just not upside down. Much more solid feeling than the Keurig. It fits perfectly under my cabinets as well and despite it’s size and heft, takes up less real estate than the Keruig or any of the others I have had.Set-up is easy, just read through the manual first, which has clear and concise instructions. Measuring your water hardness is easy as well. The dial on the front to set the time, water hardness, brew style, filter basket style, etc is easy to read and navigate. Setting up the auto-start function is also a breeze (yes, heretical as it may seem to java purists, I use this setting during the week to have my coffee ready by the time I am out of the shower and ready for my first cup while I log in to work). The Keurig was pretty much easy to use to brew coffee but set-up was not. The method to set the time was not the easiest. Setting the auto-start time was very convoluted to say the least.Brewing coffee – I used the Gold setting as that is the express purpose of this machine and other top-tier machines, brewing coffee according to SCA standards. We use Farmers Brothers coffee as that is what most restaurants in our area use and we like the taste of that particular coffee (again, java purists will be mortified, but like with wine or beer, drink what you like). While the coffee in our previous makers was good, it never achieved that restaurant flavor (most restaurants use the Bunn coffee brewers and while I have not seen them indicate they brew to SCA standards, the quality of their brew is pretty dang good). With the Breville, the taste matched what I taste from this brand of coffee at restaurants. It was delicious! And it was hot! With the Keurig, I would have to microwave my creamer to warm it up, otherwise the coffee would cool down too much. Not with the Breville. Furthermore, I drink a cup at home and on the days I have to go to the office, I pack a cup to go in a Contigo cup. With the Keurig, when I got too work, about a 20 min ride, the coffee would be warm but not hot. Today, I arrived at the office and the coffee was still hot. And still as tasty as the first cup I had at home.First impressions are important and the Breville has made a good, strong first impression. Time will tell if it can maintain the lofty standard it set but I will update review.If you are on the fence. buy it. The juice is worth the squeeze.

   49 people found this helpful
3. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Galactic Bard – April 21, 2023

   5.0 out of 5 stars

   Love, love, LOVE this coffee maker.

   I’ve always used cheap $20 Mr. Coffee makers, and they’ve lasted me for many years. I only decided to replace the last one because the water chamber was getting gross from over a decade of use. I was going to buy another cheap coffee maker, and my wife convinced me to buy a nicer, higher end coffee maker, and I’m so glad I did!It’s been a bit of a journey, as this is the third coffee maker I’ve bought. The first one was a Mr. Coffee “Optimal Brew” coffee maker that I returned because I got an obviously-used coffee maker with a broken piece and greasy fingerprints all over it. The second was a Cafe Grind and Brew, which honestly is an over-priced piece of junk that leaks all over the place due to a glaring design flaw (see my review on that machine for more). So that one got sent back as well.I finally settled on this beauty, and I love it. It is of much higher build quality than the Mr. Coffee, which was a cheap mostly-plastic machine that I doubt would’ve lasted long, and I doubt even more that it would make better coffee than the $20 machines I’ve had in the past. It’s also much nicer build quality than the Cafe machine, which although it was nicer than the Mr. Coffee, was poorly designed and not build to last.This machine is built to last, and it’s very thoughtfully designed. There are so many little features that make this so nice to use, and it’s obvious a lot of thought went into the design. The water chamber isn’t removable, but it’s large enough it won’t be difficult to clean. It also has markings not only in “cups” but also in ounces, which is super helpful. It also has markings for maximum fill for a single cup cold brew, cone filter brew, and max size flat-bottomed filter brew. It also comes with a reusable flat bottom filter for brews of 9-12 cups, as well as an insert to use cone filters for 1-8 cups. You can also use flat-bottomed paper filters for the 9-12 cup brews. It also came with 10 flat-bottom paper filters, which is nice because they’re larger than the ones I had for my previous 5-cup machine. The only things it doesn’t come with are paper cone filters and a reusable cone filter. The paper filters would’ve been nice, but they’re not expected, and I prefer a paper filter to the reusable filters anyway.I love that this machine can make iced coffee and cold brew coffee, which is a really cool feature. You can only make 4 cups of coffee with those two methods, though. But 4 cups of iced coffee (which really comes out to more 2 cups of coffee minus the water you lose to the grinds) is enough for my wife and I to each have an iced coffee once you fill the glasses with ice (which you definitely want to do, as the iced coffee is brewed at double strength).It has a clock and a timer that can be set for a future brew. It has the SCA gold standards set in, which is what I’ve been using, but you can also set up your own specifications for water flow rate, water temperature, and bloom time. Combined with a good grinder, you can really dial in your perfect cup of coffee.It even came with a test strip to test my water hardness, so I know how to set up the machine. It has, I think, 4 different hardness levels you can set, which controls how often the machine reminds you to do a cleaning with a descaler. It’s really nice that it reminds you, as I never remembered to descale my previous machines as much as I should have. (I also used to descale with vinegar, so that tells you how much I didn’t know about coffee!) No other machine I tried came with a water test strip or way to set your water hardness in the machine.The thermal stainless steel carafe is much nicer than the Mr. Coffee and Cafe ones were. It keeps coffee hot for hours, especially if you preheat the carafe with hot water first as recommended in the manual. My coffee is so hot it steams my glasses when I drink it! No more having to reheat my coffee in the microwave halfway through a cup.The thermal carafe is also a game-changer compared to previous machines I had with glass carafes and a hotplate. The coffee ended up tasting nasty after an hour or so of hold time. With the thermal carafe, the last cup of coffee is just as tasty as the first. The lid of the carafe is also much better designed than the Cafe one, which would get water trapped inside you couldn’t get out, that would’ve become a breeding ground for black mold.No this does NOT have a hotplate, because it has an insulated carafe! All those people who complain about it not having a hotplate are exposing their ignorance, as no machine with an insulated carafe has, or should have, a hot plate. If you don’t understand why, do some research, which you should be doing anyway if you’re going to bother with, and spend the money on, a more advanced coffee maker like this.Clean up isn’t too bad with this machine either, and much easier than the Cafe machine. The Cafe had too many pieces, all of which were cheap plastic destined to break in time (as all GE products are). Yes, this machine has plastic pieces, but they are a higher-quality, thicker, denser plastic than the Cafe and Mr. Coffee machines.This machine is much more on par with the commercial grade coffee makers I used when working in restaurants in the past. Yes, it is more expensive than the other two machines, but money spent on the Mr. Coffee and Cafe machines is wasted money, as they have low build quality and are designed to break much sooner than you’d like. This machine will last years and years, and is money very well spent if you love coffee.

   61 people found this helpful
4. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   S Porter – June 15, 2023

   5.0 out of 5 stars

   At long last, a keeper!

   For some reason this suddenly went down to $199 (perhaps briefly), so I grabbed it. Now that I’ve tried it, I’m with other reviewers who’ve said “Adios forever, K-cups, and good riddance.” It makes deliciously tasty coffee right outta the gate. The controls are reasonably intuitive; I gave it a shot right out of the box without reading the manual’s control operations, just to see how easy it is to set, and it was a total breeze. It makes the hottest coffee of any machine I’ve ever had, by far. I use the customizable “My Brew” setting most often, on ‘medium’ flow rate, because it seems to me that the faster flow rate is too fast for best extraction and the slowest tends to be a little too strong. I use a bloom time of 45 secs, having read that it’s ideal for many varieties of coffee, and it works out perfectly for my taste. Don’t forget to go into settings and change the filter setting to “cone” or “basket” depending on which you’re using; the unit brews slightly differently for each.The loudness of this machine is exaggerated in reviews. It’s not that loud, though could cause a problem if you put the coffee maker on your bed pillow and brew a pot at 4 am next to the ear of your sleeping mate. And a small bit of water remaining in the tank after a brew: who cares? It’s a non-issue. If you’re using the thing all or most days of the week, that little bit of water isn’t gonna go stagnant or become tainted in some way with the lid on. I’ve read reviews on here where people actually returned it for that reason alone, which is utterly ludicrous. “If you travel a lot, or don’t use the machine regularly, it could be a problem.” Oh, shaddap & siddown. 1) If you travel a lot, then simply empty it out before you go. Takes 2 seconds. Then your OCD will be satisfied and you can have a pleasant trip without worrying about a few ounces of water in your coffee maker. 2) If you’re buying a machine this expensive but not using it, then a little bit of water left over in the tank may not be your biggest problem in life. My gosh, find something else to worry about that has some significance.As for the thermal carafe, it’s excellent: 3-4 hours of good flavor & heat. Coffee is gonna lose a lot of its flavor in that time anyway. (It’s better than leaving a glass carafe on a warming plate for that length of time and ending up with burned coffee on the bottom that you have to scour out.) Time is always your enemy when it comes to coffee flavor. Best thing about the carafe: not one drop spills while pouring. That alone is worth money to me after all the leaky carafes I’ve endured in my lifetime!It’s a solidly made machine, extremely versatile, intuitively easy to program & use, and bottom line, makes sophisticatedly tasty coffee.I bought a #4 Medelco permanent gold filter for the cone attachment, and it’s a perfect fit. I prefer to brew 7 cups or under with the cone filter, but I do have to say, the mesh basket filter that comes with this machine is the best I’ve seen; sturdy & well-made. I only use that for 8-12 cups, since it’s much less prone to overflowing than the cone filter is with a lot of grounds in it. All grounds so far using either filter have been thoroughly soaked, no dry spots (no matter what the OCD reviewers say, who apparently use a magnifying glass to scrutinize the grounds for that one granule that didn’t get wet. Nothing is perfect.) The shower head on this unit has adequate dispersal (could be a wider spray though, admittedly) and I really like that you can easily remove it for cleaning. I don’t use paper filters because they weaken the coffee somewhat and “round off the edges” as I put it, meaning it results in blander & less distinctive coffee. Permanent filters give you full flavor & strength, no question. (Granted, I drink my coffee soulfully black & like it somewhat strong.) Yes, there will always be a bit of sludge in the bottom of your cup, but there is a very simple solution for that: don’t drink the last gulp.

   286 people found this helpful
5. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   RoadRider – July 16, 2023

   5.0 out of 5 stars

   Amazing flavor!

   Very well packaged, instructions are easy to follow for initial setup, and customized settings.This appears to be very well made, certainly more metal than the coffee maker I’m replacing. I like that it has stainless steel supply lines in the brewer.After initial setup, I brewed 20 oz of coffee using the manufacturer’s measurements and selecting the Gold setting. Coffee was perfectly hot, the flavor was just right without any bitterness. I mix my own coffee using equal parts of Dunkin medium roast and Starbucks Pike Place. I also use water from a reverse osmosis system. I discovered several years ago filtered water makes a significant difference in the flavor of the coffee. Even an inexpensive pour thru water filter pitcher makes a big difference by removing chlorine and other tastes.It is a little noisy when brewing; almost like the pumps on an espresso machine, it won’t wake someone up, but it does make some noise.It took me a minute to discover when the lid is in the pour position, you need to push down on the spring loaded carafe top to get the coffee to pour. I probably missed it in the directions!If you’re on the fence about this coffee maker, I highly recommend splurging for this!
6. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Steven H – July 22, 2023

   5.0 out of 5 stars

   Outstanding coffee maker

   This is a quality coffee maker with a number of nice features.First, it produces a quality cup of coffee.The Breville has a number of convenience features and settings to tune the coffee to your taste. So far, it seems well built and of high quality. We’ve been using it for over a year now. It makes a full 12 ounces but can make smaller amounts if needed.We had a Mochamaster but returned it. Honestly, I think the Breville is the better coffee maker and it is not even close.The Breville carafe keeps the coffee warm much longer. I can remove the carafate midbrew without having to manually pull some lever and then put it back in place. It also has basic features missing from the Mochamaster and also a number of more advanced settings to adjust dwell times and brew strength also not present in the Mochamaster. The Breville is also is easier to use and seems less likely to break or have parts go missing.Recommend

   One person found this helpful
7. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   LaneM – September 17, 2023

   5.0 out of 5 stars

   Best Quality Brewer I’ve ever used!

   The media could not be loaded.

   I’ve put the Breville Precision Automatic Coffeemaker to the test!What I discovered was amazing coffee in every batch! I was very hesitant to spend $300 on a coffeemaker. I was hoping that for that price, it would also wash, dry and fold my laundry, but no such luck. Instead, I settled for a perfect cup of coffee, which I think is a pretty good trade-off if you ask me.This well-made brewer impressed me at almost every step. I fell like the price is worth the money for this coffeemaker. I’ll give you a simple run down and you can decide for yourself!Sturdy designThe water reservoir and body are hard sturdy plastic.The thermal carafe is large with a large opening for easy cleaningThe lid is very sturdy and very easy to use with a flow-through brew and no adjustments before pouring.The filter basket is deep, wide and sturdy and moves in and out of the machine as smooth as butter.OptionsThis baby has all the options you could ever want! Seriously, there is something for EVERYONE.You like a mesh filter – comes with oneYou like a cone filter – comes with oneYou like cold brew – does itYou like iced coffee – doneYou like strong coffee – there’s a setting for thatYou like your coffee exactly as it’s recommended by the SCA – yeah, you guessed it, there’s a setting for that!You like it hotter, cooler, faster, slower, longer bloom time, no bloom time – you can you the “My Brew” settings and get EXACTLY what you want! I LOVE THIS.Oh did I mention that it’s also got an auto-start?Do you think the only way to brew perfect coffee is a pour-over method? Well, my friend, it can do that too! (but this does require additional equipment)Features worth mentioning:Due to the unique water boiler design, the water remains at a steady temperature throughout the brewing cycle so all of your coffee is perfectly extracted, and you CAN tell a difference.The fact that the brewer gets the water to 195 – 205 is another reason the coffee turns out so amazing.The water reservoir has lines that are easy to read, so you know exactly how much coffee you’re about to brew. This tells you how much ground coffee to add to the filter.It comes with a scoop that coincides with the number of cups that are marked on the water reservoir. You are brewing 4 cups, use 4 scoops… 6 cups, 6 scoops and so on.Selecting the options using the dial are very intuitive and easy to use.What it’s missing from this machine:The maid/butler to deliver you a hot cup of coffee in bed.A telepathic genie that will push the button for you.A grinder to grind the beans.Someone to sit with you and chat while you’re enjoying an amazing cup of coffee.A coffee subscription to Bean Hoppers coffee (that would be a perfect world).My personal cons (but are really small gripes):The water reservoir does not come off for filling up the water to your desired level, and it would really make it easier to clean the reservoir. But since the opening is really wide, it’s easy to wipe out from time to time, plus I could descale it.The lines on the reservoir are in 5 or 10-ounce increments. In the USA, 6 ounces is considered a cup and we’re used to measuring 2 TBSP of coffee per 6 oz of water, but in the UK, 5 oz. is a cup. But they do provide you with a scoop that holds less than 2 TBSP and I’ve used it (heaping) and it really does taste great using their measurements too!The lid to the carafe gets water stuck inside it and potentially it may not dry out.Cost – very expensive, but I also think it’s very well made and the cost is justified by the experience and the quality of the brewer and the amazing coffee it makes.It doesn’t wash my laundry… just sayin.MY FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT THIS MACHINE:The water temperature is perfect and EASY to adjust.The settings are intuitive and easy to figure out and navigate.The water reservoir is easy to open, easy to see and has multiple methods of measure. (which is amazing!)The carafe is easy to clean.The filter basket is easy to clean.It really makes amazing coffee.It literally has something for everyone, no matter how you like your coffee.Overall I highly recommend the Breville Precision Brewer and would rate it a 9 out of 10 even at this price.Only because I haven’t tried some other really nice brewers on the market that I’m still going to try. But I’m not sure how it could get much better.

   356 people found this helpful
8. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Michalec – October 13, 2023

   5.0 out of 5 stars

   Better than I wanted it to be.

   I am really unhappy with this coffee pot. 🙁 I have a Ninja Coffee pot that I have loved for years but after doing some coffee research and looking into the gold certification stuff which I assumed was marketing BS, and since it was on sale for prime day, I decided to buy this one just to test it with the full intention of returning it. I did a few tests using the exact same amounts of coffee with the exact same amount of water with both the carafe and k-cup/oz measurements. I am very disappointed to say that the coffee made by this coffee pot is way better than that made by the ninja. It’s not even close. I love the features of the ninja. I can fill it up with water and just select how much coffee I want to make where as with this one you put the amount of water you need and it makes that much. Unfortunately, great coffee wins over cool features. Anyway, I am going to go back to somewhat begrudgingly drinking this fantastic cup of coffee.
9. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Taylor L – October 22, 2023

   5.0 out of 5 stars

   Great for Coffee Nerds

   I’ve had this for a little over a month now, and I really love it. First off I don’t think it is for people that don’t care to experiment with their coffee. I’ve noticed that a lot of reviews talk about its complexity. If you’re a “coffee person” like myself who wants to control temperature and bloom times, also flow rate, this automatic maker is for you. I got this on sale for $200 and think it’s very much worth that. I’ve seen in several reviews that it can leak on the counter. I haven’t had that happen at all. I came from the OXO 9-cup to this, and this is definitely an upgrade for sure. If you want more control over your brews then maybe the Fellow brewer might be the right choice.
10. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Lola Star – March 3, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Good coffeemaker!

    Got on a Deal of the day which made me like it more!Makes good coffee, a pot or a cup. Good coffeemaker