I love playing with the best espresso machines. Every time I unbox a new model, I can barely hold back my excitement. Making flat whites and Americanos and lattes for my colleagues is one of my favorite things to do — it reminds me of my barista days.

As a result, I write a lot about espresso machines. I recently asked you to tell me your favorite espresso machine — and it brings me great pleasure to announce the winner of the poll.

Drum roll, please....

The Breville Bambino Plus!

Yes, the Breville Bambino Plus is your favorite espresso machine. It took a huge 27% of the vote, 6 percentage points higher than the runner-up, the Breville Bambino. Casabrews came in third, the De'Longhi La Specialista Arte Evo and De'Longhi Stilosa joint fourth, and the $3k Breville Oracle Dual Boiler in last place.

Even after testing 43 coffee makers (yes, 43...), the Breville Bambino Plus is my favorite, too. Here's why I agree with you.

The results

Why I love the Breville Bambino Plus too

The Breville Bambino Plus is the perfect espresso machine for both coffee enthusiasts and coffee beginners. Despite being incredibly easy to use and boasting an automatic milk frothing mode for total newbies, it's also stuffed with features that'll please even the snobbiest of coffee nerds.

I have the Bambino Plus at home, and it's perfect for my household — me, the coffee snob, and my boyfriend, the give-me-hot-bean-water-and-give-it-to-me-now coffee drinker.

You can customize pre-infusion time — when the machine soaks the coffee using low-pressure water — to unveil new subtle notes in your beans. You also benefit from a PID controller, which is a nifty piece of tech that controls water temperature at every stage during the extraction.

This all combines to make a barista-quality espresso that'll whet the appetites of coffee snobs, coffee connoisseurs, and coffee casualists alike.

It's not just espresso that makes the Bambino Plus a near-perfect machine, though. The 4-hole steam wand is intensely powerful and can make barista-level latte art without breaking a sweat.

Despite being such a tiny machine, the steam wand packs a major punch. You can easily create the all-important 'vortex' to texturize the milk as skilfully as a professional barista.

But if you can't be bothered to make your own milk — don't fret! The Bambino Plus has an auto-milk frother that steams your milk hands-free. All you have to do is fill the jug, put the steam wand inside, and press 'go'. The machine starts and stops the entire process.

Personally, I never use this mode, but my boyfriend only ever uses it. It just depends on your barista style.

Another feature I love is the auto-purge. On most other espresso machines, you need to manually purge the steam wand after use, and it's quite easy to forget if you don't have this drilled into you from over three years working in coffee shops.

But not the Bambino Plus. As soon as you turn off the steam wand, it purges into the drip tray. Sure, this means you have to empty the drip tray more often, but you don't want to be leaving nasty stagnant coffee/milk water in your lovely, expensive espresso machine, do you?

Finally, we have the accessories. As much as I love the $299 Breville Bambino — and it is by far the best espresso machine in its price class — the tamper doesn't have the same sturdy heft as the Bambino Plus's.

The Bambino Plus comes with a weighty, mostly metal tamper and weighty, high-quality portafilters. No flimsy plastic accessories here. Breville's milk jugs are the best milk jugs I've ever used, too — the angled spout helps with latte art so much.

You get this angled spout with the Bambino, too, but you don't get the weighty tamper or weighty portafilters with the $300 machine.

What do you think about the Breville Bambino Plus? Is it your favorite espresso machine? What would you recommend instead?

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When I unboxed the new-ish De'Longhi Linea Classic, I was a little stumped. "Huh," I thought to myself as I pinched the wide steam wand between my fingers. "Well, I'll be."

This type of steam wand is called a Pannarello wand. These wands are aimed at beginners. As you might be able to tell by looking at it, Pannarello wands are thicker and wider. These styles of wands force air into the milk continuously, so you don't have to do any fancy-schmancy vortex-making or aeration.

While this may be good for some types of home baristas, a Pannarello wand is my worst enemy. As a former barista turned coffee snob, I'm a sucker for the thinner, commercial-style steam wands. For an espresso machine to be crowned one of the best espresso machines, it needs to be usable for beginners and semi-pros alike. As easy to use and attractive as the Linea Classic is, it's just not for me. If you're a bit of a coffee snob yourself, I'll tell you exactly what you should get instead.

What's wrong with the De'Longhi Linea Classic?

As I said earlier, the Linea Classic isn't an inherently awful machine. Actually, if you value a sleek, modern appearance and usability over fancy coffee, then it might be perfect for you.

As per my coffee snob status, I need an espresso machine that can help me relive my coffeehouse days. A powerful steam wand, single-walled portafilters (or compatible third-party accessories) and premium features like pre-infusion and PID controllers are my non-negotiables.

Unfortunately, the Linea Classic just isn't for me. It falls at the first hurdle: its steam wand.

Take a look at these two images below. The first image shows the steam wand on the Breville Bambino (just $70 more than the Linea Classic): the second shows the steam wand of the Linea Classic.

As you can see, the steam wands look completely different. You might think this is just a superficial aberration, but you'd be wrong. The Bambino has a powerful jet of steam that aerates milk delicately. However, the De'Longhi Linea Classic can only froth the milk violently.

If you're a cappuccino addict, you might not even notice the difference. Historically, cappuccinos are made with drier (frothier) milk, so I know that's what the Linea Classic's steam wand is designed for. However, it's not for me. It's just not versatile enough.

When I'm at home, I don't just make flat whites on my Breville Bambino Plus. I make chai lattes, matcha lattes, and hot chocolates using my Bambino Plus' steam wand. If I had the Linea Classic instead, I wouldn't be able to do this.

So what do I recommend instead?

Thankfully, there are loads of other espresso machines available. I've reviewed every single one of these, so you know my recommendations are genuine. Personally, I'd go for the Bambino if you can spend a little more but want a barista-worthy machine, or you could splurge on the $499 Bambino Plus or La Specialista Arte Evo.

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Which entry-level Breville espresso machine is worth it? Are Brevilles truly the best espresso machines money can buy? With such a hyped reputation in the coffee world, it can be tricky to figure out if Breville machines are as good as everyone says they are.

In short, everyone's right. I've reviewed tons of espresso machines — and I'm an ex-barista — and I've yet to test a Breville I don't like. Thanks to their premium design, user-friendly functionality, and top-notch espresso, Breville espresso machines are one of the best ways to get barista-level coffee at home.

So, the next problem is figuring out which machine to buy. Is the Bambino Plus worth the extra $200, or is the Bambino good enough? I put Breville's two beginner machines head-to-head to see which one reigns supreme.

Breville Bambino vs Breville Bambino Plus: Specs

Breville Bambino vs Breville Bambino Plus: Pricing

The Bambino and Bambino Plus are Breville's entry-level machines, and they're priced to reflect this.

In the U.S., you'll find the Breville Bambino for $299 on Amazon. You'll find the Bambino Plus for $499 on Amazon.

In the U.K., Breville is called Sage. You'll find the Sage Bambino for £329 at AO and the Sage Bambino Plus for £399 at Amazon U.K..

In the U.S., the price difference between the Bambino and the Plus makes the Bambino better for most people. $299 feels much more digestible than $499. Is having an auto-milk function and a more powerful steam wand worth $200?

However, in the U.K., I'd recommend just spending an extra £70 and getting the best of the best — the Bambino Plus.

Overall, though, the Bambino wins here.

Breville Bambino vs Breville Bambino Plus: Design

As with every espresso machine under Breville's belt, the Bambino and the Bambino Plus are both breathtakingly gorgeous. Breville has really mastered the art of making cheaper products look — and feel — like their much pricier counterparts.

Both the Bambino and Bambino Plus are available in silver (pictured). The Plus also comes in blue or red, although these colorways seem less popular than the silver or black versions. Regardless of color, the Bambino and Bambino Plus feel much pricier than they are.

What separates the Bambino and the Bambino Plus from Breville's other machines is size. In comparison to other espresso machines, the Bambino and Bambino Plus Plus are compact, coming in at 6.3 inches and 7 inches wide, respectively.

Seeing as I've tested espresso machines as wide as 15.2 inches, which I'd only recommend for abnormally large kitchens. The Bambino and Bambino Plus are much better suited to the average kitchen.

Despite this compact size, the water tanks on both the Bambino and Bambino Plus are still large enough to see you through a decent number of drinks.

Anecdotally, I rarely fill my water tank all the way as I never get through the water fast enough. I fill it to the minimum amount every day — I'd rather use fresh water anyway.

However, if you're making loads of coffees every day, you'll be pleased to know that the Bambino and Bambino Plus will be able to keep up.

The Bambino has a 46-ounce tank and the Bambino Plus boasts a 64-ounce tank. As the Plus is a touch wider and taller than the Bambino, it makes sense that this extra space results in a larger water tank.

Although the Bambino Plus has a larger water tank, both it and the Bambino have a similar-sized drip tray: around 5 fluid ounces (150ml). Some users see the small drip tray as a hindrance. Boo-hoo, they have to empty their drip tray after every use! What a travesty.

To that, I say, "Do you really want stagnant, dirty water sitting in your ~$500 espresso machine for days at a time?"

Presumably, the answer is no. I empty my drip tray after every use, and I'd recommend you do, too. Unless, you know, you have a particular desire to stain your machine, attract flies, or live with gross coffee-milk water.

Water tanks and drip trays aside, the Bambino and Bambino Plus have a few more important differences.

Primarily, the control buttons. While the Bambino has just two large buttons — single and double shot — the Bambino Plus is controlled via three large buttons. On the Plus, you control the steam wand via a large circular button on the front of the machine, too.

The Bambino's steam wand is activated with a small button off to the right, alongside a button for hot water (that dispenses from the steam wand). The Bambino has a much more flexible steam wand, capable of rotating what feels like a full 360°.

Comparatively, the Bambino Plus's steam wand mostly just moves up and down, and there's no hot water button. I always just boil water in my kettle, because I'm British and they're very common. If you have no kettle, though, this may be a concern.

I'll round off this section by quickly discussing accessories. Both the Bambino and the Bambino Plus come with dual-walled and single-walled portafilters in both single- and double-shot sizes.

Both come with Breville's excellent milk jug. Thanks to its angled spout, I find pouring latte art really easy with Breville's jug. I like Breville's jug much more than De'Longhi's.

You get a tamper, too, of course. The Bambino Plus's tamper is metal and weighty, whereas the Bambino's is more plasticky, but still good. Finally, the Plus comes with the "Razor" tool, which basically levels your grounds before tamping. I don't ever use this, though, so take from that what you will.

The winner? Ooh, it's so hard. Due to the higher-quality tamper, I think the Bambino Plus just takes this one. However, for just $299, the Bambino deserves some admiration, too. Oh, let's just say it's a draw.

Breville Bambino vs Breville Bambino Plus: Espresso

Right, let's get into what you're really here for: Espresso. How does the coffee actually taste?

With a bit of finesse, there's no reason why you won't be making professional-quality espresso on both the Bambino and the Bambino Plus. As a former professional barista, I can genuinely say that the Bambino and Bambino Plus could go head-to-head with the espresso you get at specialty coffee shops. Trust me, I used to work at them.

However, that doesn't mean you can make barista-quality espresso straight away on either machine. You need to understand the principles of coffee: heat, ratio, and pressure. Without one of the best coffee grinders or best coffee scales, you probably won't be able to make barista-quality shots.

All that being said, the Bambino and Bambino Plus are both phenomenal machines to learn on, and that's for two main reasons: PID controller and customizable pre-infusion.

A PID controller basically controls water temperature at every stage of the brewing process. Breville machines are factory set to operate at 200°F. You can make espresso in confidence, knowing that the machine will always use optimal-temperature water.

Pre-infusion is another nifty premium feature. This basically seeps water through your coffee grounds at low pressure for up to 10 seconds before increasing the pressure for the extraction.

You control pre-infusion by holding down the respective shot button, and release when you want to ramp up the pressure. This is a fantastic feature to see on an entry-level machine — some coffee snobs will tell you that pre-infusion is the most important part of the brewing process.

As you can see from the pictures above, both the Bambino and the Bambino Plus make divine espresso. You can see the rich, creamy crema and the gorgeous caramel color on both shots. Pictures speak a thousand words, so there's little point me saying much more about these photos. Simply look and admire the delicious espresso.

When it comes to espresso, it's practically impossible to choose between the Bambino and Bambino Plus. As both machines use pretty much all the same tech, the differences aren't stark enough for there to be a winner.

As a result, I'm going to announce this round as a draw. If you treat 'em right, both the Bambino and Bambino Plus will be able to make Ambrosia-like espresso.

Breville Bambino vs Breville Bambino Plus: Milk

The only major difference between the Bambino and Bambino Plus lies here, within the steam wands.

The Bambino uses a 1-hole steam wand and has 9-bar pressure, whereas the Bambino Plus boasts a 4-hole steam wand with 15-bar pressure. Now, espresso only needs 9 bars of pressure, so the extra 6 bars in the Plus is irrelevant in terms of espresso.

However, the Plus's steam wand majorly benefits from those extra bars of pressure. The Plus's steam wand could genuinely go head-to-head with much pricier machines — it's more powerful than any of the steam wands in De'Longhi's La Specialista series. The La Specialista Arte Evo and La Specialista Opera both have a 1-hole steam wand; neither is anywhere near as powerful as the Bambino Plus's.

Here are two photos of the milk texture I achieved on the Bambino and Bambino Plus, respectively.

Please don't judge the latte art in the second photo — it's pretty shoddy because I used a too-small mug. Forgive me, coffee gods.

As you can see from the photos, the milk texture on both drinks is great. Both show delicate, thick, shiny milk with no large bubbles. Considering the Bambino photo shows oat milk, I'm really proud of this texture and resulting art.

The differences between the steam wands don't end in pressure and number of holes, though. The Bambino Plus also has an auto-milk function and auto-purging. This would be great if you're the kind of home barista who always forgets to purge the steam wand, or if you need a little extra help behind the bar.

I personally never gravitate towards the auto-milk function, but my boyfriend uses it every time he makes a coffee. It's a great feature to have if you so desire, but for me, I'm happy to skip it.

Even so, I can't deny that the Bambino Plus's steam wand is much more powerful than the Bambino's. If you want to go head-to-head with the latte art masters of the world, then I'd recommend the Bambino Plus.

But, as I said earlier, is a more powerful steam wand worth an extra $200? It's your choice. The Bambino's steam wand is great — but the Bambino Plus's steam wand is outstanding.

For me, the winner here is the Bambino Plus.

Breville Bambino vs Breville Bambino Plus: Storage & maintenance

Many people overlook cleaning and maintenance while considering espresso machine options. Maintaining your machine is just as important as making coffee on it. A poorly maintained machine will never live as long as a well-cared-for machine.

As with every other appliance that comes into contact with water, you need to descale your espresso machine often. Every three months in a soft water area, but every month or so in a hard water area.

Descaling is easy with Breville's $14 descaling solution, and both the Bambino and Bambino Plus come with a water filter holder. You can buy the water filters for $16 from Breville. I'd recommend cleaning your machine with Breville's provided cleaning tablets, which are also $14 from Breville.

While these cleaning products are pricey, this is a necessary evil when maintaining espresso machines. Breville's descaler is actually around the same price as De'Longhi's, so one brand isn't particularly cheaper than the other.

There's little to compare to here, as both the Bambino and Bambino Plus require the same maintenance. Let's call this one a draw.

Breville Bambino vs Breville Bambino Plus: Verdict

Asking me to choose between the Breville Bambino and the Breville Bambino Plus is like asking me to choose which of my eyes I'd most like to lose.

As a former barista and now a professional espresso machine tester, I'm in constant awe of Breville's two entry-level machines. This is a bold statement, I know, but both the Bambino and Bambino Plus behave like prosumer models. They're both capable of pulling professional-quality shots and steaming award-worthy milk. I would be more than happy to spend the rest of my life drinking Bambino/Bambino Plus coffee. Actually, I would be honored to.

However, this is a face-off, and you're here for one reason, and one reason only. You want me to crown a winner, right?

It depends on where you are in the world. If you're in the U.S. and you aren't too fussed about auto milk steaming, then I'd recommend saving $200 with the Bambino.

However, if you're in the U.K. (and therefore know Brevilles as Sages), then I'd suggest spending an extra £70 and getting the Bambino Plus.

Even so, both machines punch well above their weight and are capable of going head-to-head with some near-$1,000 machines. I don't think you could go wrong with either of Breville's entry-level espresso machines.

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I'm an ex-barista, and now I'm putting my coffee skills into reviewing espresso machines for a living. I test all of the best espresso machines — and the worst ones, but we don't talk about those — and I'm on a mission to help you spend your money wisely.

If you're even a little bit into coffee, you've definitely heard of Breville and De'Longhi. The espresso machines made by these two companies are some of the best-value home coffee makers, crammed with premium features that'll impress espresso purists and beginners alike. I'm a huge fan of both of these brands' machines, and there's one key reason.

All Breville espresso machines and most De'Longhis have a PID controller — and I would never buy an espresso machine without one. I'll tell you exactly what a PID controller is and why it's such a good feature.

What is a PID controller?

"PID" stands for "Proportional-Integral-Derivative." If that makes your eyes go funny, then, yeah, me too.

A PID controller effectively controls the temperature of water at every stage of the espresso-making process. If the controller detects that the water is too hot or cold, it will instantly adjust boiler power to reach the optimal temperature.

All Breville espresso machines have one. The PID controller in a Breville ensures the water is at 200°F consistently. If the machines didn't have a PID controller, the water might wobble between 198°-212°F and result in a weird-tasting coffee.

Why is a PID controller so important?

Espresso is made up of two things: water and coffee. If you use old coffee, it's not going to taste good, right? So why would you use cold/boiling water?

Coffee should be brewed between 200°F-212°F. A couple of degrees out, and you'll have either weak or burned coffee. That's why a PID controller is so important — these devices ensure accurate water temperature at every point along the brewing process.

Imagine baking a cake. You've made your batter with high-quality flour, eggs, sugar, milk, and vanilla. Then, you bake it in an oven at 450°F rather than 350°F. What's going to happen? It's gonna taste nasty, that's what.

Coffee works exactly the same. You need to brew espresso at the correct temperature; otherwise, it'll be burned or weak. Grind size is the most important aspect, but water temperature is essential too.

Which espresso machines have PID controllers?

I've tested 30 espresso machines in the past 12 months. One thing you need to know is that a PID controller doesn't automatically make a good espresso machine. Super-budget machines like the Gevi Espresso Machine with Grinder and the Casabrews CM5418 Pro both have PID controllers, but I wouldn't recommend either of those for serious baristas due to a low-quality grinder and boiler issues.

I do, however, know which PID-controlled machines are worth your money. They are the Breville Bambino, Breville Bambino Plus, De'Longhi La Specialista Arte Evo, and the Breville Barista Express.

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As an ex-barista and now professional espresso machine reviewer, I get my hands on a lot of the best espresso machines. I've reviewed $99 machines, $200 machines, $800 machines, all the way up to $3,000 machines (yes, the Breville Oracle Dual Boiler is three grand.)

But what is the one thing none of these machines have managed to do? Earn my perfect 5-star rating, that's what.

Enter the Breville Bambino. At first glance, an unassuming little thing, just 6.3 inches wide, weighing just 11 pounds. Yet as soon as I put this teeny machine in the ring, I realized I'd underestimated it. The Breville Bambino is a heavyweight espresso machine, capable of brewing barista-quality shots and steaming silky smooth milk without breaking a sweat — or getting its teeth knocked out.

The Bambino can go up against world champions like the Gaggia Classic, Breville Barista Express, or De'Longhi La Specialista Maestro, and it won't go down without a fight. Here's why the Breville Bambino is a perfect espresso machine.

Instant K.O.

I wrote a hefty 2,000+ word review on the Breville Bambino, and that was after reigning myself in. I could easily spend 5k words waxing lyrical about this monstrously talented machine.

For the sake of your poor thumbs (imagine scrolling through 5,000 words), I'll keep it brief.

Like all other machines under Breville's belt, the Bambino has a PID controller. A PID controller is a nifty piece of tech inside your machine that controls the temperature of the water as it flows through the coffee. This temperature is factory-set to 200°F, which is within the ideal range of 200°F-212°F for espresso extraction.

Other, more expensive machines like the Smeg EMC02 have a customizable PID controller, but that privilege can set you back nearly $2,000.

And another feature you might be surprised to see on a cheap machine? Customizable pre-infusion time. This is where low-pressure water seeps through the grounds for up to ten seconds, before the machine ramps up the pressure and extracts the espresso. Pre-infusion can dramatically alter the taste and bring out more nuanced flavors.

Considering the Bambino is a comparatively measly $299, these are majorly impressive features to have. Just look at this delicious espresso shot I made on the Bambino.

I guzzled that shot. If I don't mix my espresso with milk or water, you know it's delicious. And I drank it raw. It tasted complex, layered, yet balanced, with top notes of florals and juicy citrus and a well-rounded, toasty, malty flavor at the back end. Utterly delectable.

But espresso isn't the only thing this machine can do. It can also steam a mean milk. As an ex-barista with three-and-a-half years of slinging shots and steaming milk behind me, I long for the domestic machines that'll get me pouring latte art like I'm still behind that bar.

The Bambino is one of them. Not only can you switch between espresso and milk in under four seconds, but it also boasts a crazy powerful steam wand. I was able to get the all-important 'vortex', resulting in shiny, melted-ice-cream texture milk. This photo shows an oat milk latte, which is trickier to steam than dairy.

Although not my most aesthetic pour, you can see the texture of the milk clearly. It's soft and weighty but without being stiff. This latte tasted as good as it looks.

Oh, and like Breville's pricier machines, the Bambino comes with the iconic angled spout jug, which means it's easier to pour barista-quality latte art.

Enter the opponents

The Breville Bambino does what many other espresso machines try and fail to accomplish: Barista-quality coffee at budget pricing.

Although I know $299 sounds like a lot of money — it is a lot of money — if you're familiar with the price of espresso machines, it's actually incredibly reasonable. If you want a high-quality compact espresso machine, you're looking at around $500 for the Breville Bambino Plus or the Gaggia Classic.

I've tested the $129 Casabrews 3700 Essential, which, in my mind, is a clear Bambino dupe, right down to the layout of the buttons. I've also tested the $299 Casabrews 5418 Pro, which is more like a Bambino Plus-level dupe.

Both machines are good, but neither breaks into "I would buy this for myself" territory. This is due to a plethora of reasons: no single-walled portafilter accessory, frustrating forced boiler purging, and flimsy accessories.

This is where the Bambino shines. You can tell it's made for coffee enthusiasts and beginners alike. As I mentioned earlier, you get tons of high-end, coffee-snob-worthy features for your $299. You get customizable pre-infusion time, a PID controller, and a barista-quality steam wand.

Thanks to these features, the Bambino is head and shoulders above the rest of the rather bloated beginner-friendly espresso machine crowd.

If you're willing to spend a bit more — or having a built-in grinder is a non-negotiable — then you sacrifice some of these features for the convenience.

I utterly adored the De'Longhi La Specialista Arte Evo, and it's the best-value bean-to-cup on the market right now. But it stumbles where the Bambino excels: the steam wand. Although powerful, all of De'Longhi's La Specialista range suffers from the same inflexible steam wand, which means I wouldn't really want to buy one for myself.

The La Specialista range also lacks a PID controller, which is an essential feature if you want a reliable, high-quality espresso machine that'll pull consistent shots.

On top of that, the coffee snob crowd would berate me in the comments if I didn't tell you that built-in grinders are inherently inferior to standalone grinders. It's true, but some people just want the added convenience of a built-in grinder.

The Bambino's biggest competitor is kind of... itself? Breville also makes the $499 Bambino Plus, which is my personal espresso machine. I'd recommend splurging on the $500 model if you want a four-hole steam wand more than you want two hundred smackaroos left spare, but if you want to spend as little as possible, it's gotta be the Bambino. It's a perfect espresso machine.

I challenge you to show me another model that can do more for less.

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The Breville Bambino is the best espresso machine for coffee lovers on a budget. At just $299, you’d be hard-pressed to find a similarly powerful machine for less. I’ve tested 30 coffee makers this year, and there’s nothing I’d recommend more than this for cost-conscious coffee lovers.

Although I adore its older sibling, the Breville Bambino Plus, the Bambino’s $299 price tag (compared to the Plus’s $499 price tag) is much more digestible for beginners. But don’t think this is a machine just for newbies — it’s stuffed with tons of premium features like a PID controller and a powerful steam wand.

So, is this machine for you? Short answer: yes. 100% yes. But if you want the long answer, well, you’ll have to keep reading this Breville Bambino review.

Breville Bambino review: Cheat sheet

• Who is it for? Compact homes, beginner baristas, or coffee snobs alike
• What does it do well? Everything — PID controller, powerful steam wand, the lot
• What are its weaknesses? I’ve been wracking my brain, and… no?
• Anything else to know? Yes: buy it. Buy it now

Breville Bambino review: Specs

Breville Bambino review: Price & availability

The Breville Bambino is $299 from Amazon U.S., while in the U.K. it sells under the brand Sage and will set you back £329 from AO. In the U.S., this is a fantastic deal — it’s $200 cheaper than the Sage/Breville Bambino Plus, which is Breville’s next-step machine.

In the U.K., the Bambino Plus is just £399 — that’s a difference of £70. I’d recommend getting the Bambino Plus over the Bambino, as you get a more powerful steam wand and auto milk frothing for just £70 extra.

The Bambino is the cheapest machine offered by Breville, and my overall recommendation for budget-conscious coffee lovers. You could also check out the $149 De’Longhi Stilosa, $229 De’Longhi Classic, $299 De’Longhi Dedica Duo, or the $129 Casabrews 3700 Essential if you’re looking to save as much $$$ as possible, but honestly? The Bambino is the best bang-for-buck option amongst these options.

Sure, it’s $150 pricier than the De’Longhi Stilosa, but for that extra investment, you get a premium, pure metal finish and a PID controller, which are both key markers of a high-end product.

However, if you want more of a “serious” espresso machine on a relatively small budget, I’d recommend checking out the Gaggia Classic ($499). This machine is famous in the coffee world for its repairability and modability. You can install a PID controller yourself and switch out the steam wand should you so desire.

Breville Bambino review: Design

As with every other espresso machine under Breville’s belt, the Bambino is utterly gorgeous. It comes in silver and black, which is fewer colorways than its older sibling, the Bambino Plus, but as you can see from the photos above, being plain doesn’t always mean being unimpressive.

Breville’s Bambino range is the cheapest, most compact series the brand offers. At just 6.3 inches wide, the Bambino is even dinkier than the Plus (7 inches), so I’d recommend the Bambino for super-small households. Like the Plus, the Bambino weighs around 11 pounds, so much, much lighter than other espresso machines on the market.

Despite being very similar, the Bambino and Bambino Plus have a few key design differences, most notably the steam wand controls. While the Bambino Plus has three circular buttons on its front — single shot, double shot, and steam — the Bambino has just two. These control single and double shots.

If you want to activate the steam wand, you have to press a little button on the right side of the machine. There’s also a hot water button (the resulting hot water spurts out of the steam wand, so ensure your wand is purged if you want a milkless Americano, for example).

There’s also no auto milk function on the Bambino. Personally, I never use the automatic milk frothing function on my Bambino Plus, but my boyfriend, who is less of a DIY barista and more of an I’d-be-happy-with-an-automatic barista, uses the auto function all the time. It just depends on your preference.

Overall, the Bambino looks like a compact Breville machine, and I mean that as a very high compliment. Breville has really mastered the suave yet usable aesthetic. There’s a reason why you see so many Brevilles/Sages in Instagram and TikTok videos.

Breville Bambino review: Espresso

I mentioned earlier that the Bambino has a PID controller. If your eyes kind of glazed over that, let me explain exactly what that means now.

A PID controller is a nifty piece of tech built into premium espresso machines. Personally, I would never buy an espresso machine without one. Some really fancy machines (like the Smeg EMC02 that I dream about on a semi-regular basis) have a custom temperature control, but Breville’s PID controller is factory-set to 200°F. This means all the water used in espresso extraction will be precisely 200°F. Not a degree hotter or colder.

A PID controller basically ensures that you get consistent, technically accurate espresso every single time. You won’t have any burned or undercooked shots, which is paramount if you want to seriously get into coffee. Keeping as many core variables the same as possible each time allows you to get scientific with your shots and tweak the variables you do want to change individually, when you want to experiment.

Now, I’ll talk about the Bambino’s ability to make espresso. In short: awesome. Damn, this is such a good machine. This machine’s functionality vs. cost is darn near unbelievable.

For just $299 and a little practice, you can pull barista-quality shots every single time. Every espresso I made had a rich, thick crema and deep, intense flavor with no bitterness and no sourness. Here’s a photo of a particularly delectable shot I made on the Bambino. This shot was extracted in 28 seconds to a ratio of 1:2 (18g in, 36g out) with artisan Ethiopian beans.

As you can see, the crema is perfectly caramel-colored and thick. It tasted divine, with a bright, punchy top note and a malty, toasty base note. I guzzled this shot with no milk or water, which is how you know it was a delicious shot of espresso.

You can also customize pre-infusion time. I pulled another shot with a custom pre-infusion time of 10 seconds, and then extracted 36g. When it was finished, the time on my Wacaco Exagram Pro scale read 34 seconds, which means it poured a touch too quickly, but tasted divine just the same.

Although you can do all these fancy-schmancy things on the Bambino, like custom pre-infusion time and custom shot volume, please don’t let that put you off if you’re a beginner. My parents have a Bambino at home and they get on with it perfectly, using the included pressurized baskets and (shudder) pre-ground coffee from the grocery store.

You can also just use the Bambino as it comes, with the preset shot volume and pre-infusion times. That’s the beauty of this machine: it’s so versatile. The ideal machine for a household with a coffee snob (guilty) and a hot bean juice guzzler who doesn’t know what pre-infusion is, let alone care about customizing it.

Breville Bambino review: Milk

After pulling your shot, the Bambino takes just four seconds to switch from espresso to steam. This is the same speed as my Bambino Plus, the same as the De’Longhi La Specialistas I’ve tested, and much faster than the Gaggia Classic, which requires a tedious, time-consuming process called “temperature surfing”. Thanks to the Bambino’s ThermoJet boiler (basically Breville’s name for a Thermoblock), you can switch between espresso and milk and back in no time. Casabrews’ machines require boiler purges after steam, which gets very frustrating.

Despite this speedy ThermoJet heatup time, I was a little skeptical of the Bambino’s one-hole steam wand. A one-hole basically has less power than a four-hole, as there are fewer holes from which steam can come. However, I love to be proved wrong, and oh boy, was I proved wrong.

The Bambino’s steam wand is super flexible, much better than the De’Longhi La Specialista Arte Evo and Opera’s low-lying and inflexible steam wands. The Bambino’s wand has a ball joint rather than a prescriptive up-down joint. Consequently, I’d recommend the Bambino over the La Specialistas if you want to seriously perfect your milk texture.

With the provided milk jug (complete with Breville’s standard angled milk spout for easier latte art pours), I was able to get beautiful latte art. This is with oat milk, which is famously trickier than dairy milk.

As you can see, the milk is shiny and creamy, with the ideal texture of melted ice cream. I was able to get the all-important vortex while steaming this milk, which is the marker of a powerful steam wand.

Although not quite as powerful as the Bambino Plus’s four-hole steam wand, the Bambino’s steam wand is still a force to be reckoned with. You can easily get barista-quality milk texture with just a little practice.

Breville Bambino review: Storage & maintenance

One of the best aspects of the Bambino is its compact size. This is an ideal espresso machine for small households. If you’ve only got one countertop of space, I’d recommend the Bambino or the Bambino Plus. The Bambino is just 6.3 inches wide, 0.7 inches smaller than the Bambino Plus.

In terms of cleaning, the Bambino is very easy to maintain. The drip tray is completely removable and has a little red tab that pops up when it’s due to be emptied. I found it very easy to just clean it in the sink with some warm, soapy water.

If you live in a hard water area (like me), then you’ll need to be on top of descaling. I descale my espresso machine once a month. You can get a water tank filter, which will assist with the everyday maintenance of the inner pipes. These are $16 from Breville and should be replaced every three months. De’Longhi’s water filters are $19 from Amazon, which is a touch pricier than Breville’s. Filtering your water is an expense, I know, but it’s worth it in the long run.

With proper maintenance, Breville machines can last years, although when they do break, they’re harder to fix than all-metal boiler-fed machines like the Gaggia Classic and Rancilio Silvia — which have a stellar reputation for reliability and repairability.

If the Bambino breaks within a year, you’re covered under warranty. This is the same as Casabrews and De’Longhi but less than Ninja’s 2-year warranty.

Breville Bambino review: How does it compare?

If you want a professional-quality coffee for as little money as possible, you have no other options. It’s gotta be the Bambino. I guess you could go for the Bambino Plus too (my personal espresso machine), but this is an extra $200. The Bambino is much better value — that’s not an opinion, it’s a fact.

So, if you want to save as much money as possible, I’ll chat about a few more options. The De’Longhi Stilosa can brew delectable espresso for just $149, but it looks a little plasticky, and there’s no PID controller. In terms of PID-controlled machines on a budget, you’re looking at the Gevi Espresso Machine with Grinder ($349), but I wouldn’t recommend this machine for serious coffee lovers due to the disappointing steam wand and poor grinder.

You could also check out the Casabrews CM5418 Pro ($299), which is 100% (in my mind) a dupe of the Bambino. However, it only comes with dual-walled portafilters, which is a major ick. Breville supplies you with single- and dual-walled portafilters with the Bambino, so you know it’s a machine designed for coffee lovers on a budget.

Breville Bambino review: Verdict

If you couldn’t tell from the zero “cons” listed at the top of this review, the Breville Bambino is an excellent espresso machine. It’s quite literally the dictionary definition of perfect.

Considering it’s just $299, I’d recommend the Bambino for those looking to save as much money as possible without sacrificing on quality. You can very easily brew barista-quality espresso and steam barista-quality milk — trust me, I spent 3 ½ years behind the bar of various coffee shops. I would happily open a cafe with the Bambino as the head barista.

If you want delicious, quality coffee at home, then I wholeheartedly recommend the Breville Bambino. Those looking to spend a little more might be better off with the Bambino Plus, but I’d be content with the Bambino. Thanks to its PID controller, customizable pre-infusion time, and a powerful steam wand, the Breville Bambino is a must-have in every coffee lover’s household.

Just when I thought toasters didn't need smart settings, an iconic brand has proven me totally wrong.

Breville, renowned for its range of premium home and kitchen appliances, has recently launched the Eye Q Auto toaster. What sets the Eye Q apart from Breville's lineup of toasting appliances is that it abandons the traditional timer method in favor of monitoring your bread's color to achieve your perfect toast. Whether you prefer pale, lightly warm bread or a beautifully crispy golden crust, the Eye Q can do it for you.

Breville's smart toaster uses optic sensors to detect color change in your bread 10 times every second, and stops toasting once the desired shade, out of the seven presets, is reached. The Eye Q also has a specialized Sourdough mode and Crumpet/Bagel mode to perfectly crisp up dense, thicker slices of artisan bread. But how does the Breville Eye Q actually fare when it comes to toasting? We put it to the test to find out.

Breville Eye Q Auto: Price and availability

Right now, the Breville Eye Q is available exclusively in Australia, starting at AU$469 for the two-slice and AU$629 for the four-slice. Breville hasn't confirmed when the toaster will be available in other markets just yet.

When it comes to pricing, the Eye Q is definitely on the more expensive side, given that it houses optic sensor technology and an automatic lift, instead of a manual chute. The toaster comes in four colors: Brushed Stainless Steel, Noir (which is launch exclusive), Black Truffle and Sea Salt.

Breville Eye Q Auto: Design

The Breville Eye Q Auto lets you toast different types of bread — be it toast, sourdough, or bagels, or a combination of all — at their own ideal color and density setting. It does come in a 2-slice model; however, if you opt for the 4-slice, you'll need to be wary of countertop space. Measuring 12.9 x 12.4 x 7.5 in / 33 x 31.7 x 19.1 cm and weighing 12.5 lbs / 5.7kg, it's certainly a heavy toaster, taking up more room than Breville's Bit More 4-Slice. This also applies to the toasting slots, as they are seemingly wider to accommodate longer and denser slices of artisanal bread.

The design is where the Breville Eye Q really shines, as it was aesthetically pleasing to look at, let alone use. The slots are controlled by the Toast Shade Selector, which allows you to choose your preferred color, and it'll toast your bread to that level. To use the machine, you need to press the LED play/pause circular button. The button displays different colors depending on the mode in use. For normal toasting, it'll glow green, sourdough mode will be blue, and for timer mode, the button will be red.

To toast your desired carb, all you have to do is select your preset using the plus (or minus) buttons, and either press or hold the circular button depending on your preferred mode. If you find your chosen shade isn't right for you, you can press the 'A Bit More' button for an extra bit of toasting. There's also no need to worry about defrosting your bread, too, as the sensors will take care of it for you.

The Eye Q's optic sensors monitor one slice across a pair, indicated by the little bread icon on the farthest slots. This is because Breville's research shows most users toast the same kind of bread in both slots, so the sensor only needs to monitor one slice, and the toaster's tech will ensure even heating throughout. In the instance of toasting one piece of bread, you'd pop it into the marked slot.

With automated one-touch lowering, the Eye Q will slowly raise and lower your bread when you press the button, eliminating the toaster's popping sound. And as a bonus for Breville fans out there, the toaster will play the iconic music when switching it on/off. To cancel your toast, you'll need to press the play/pause button and wait for the toaster to raise your slice.

Breville Eye Q Auto: Performance

As for performance, the Breville Eye Q has three modes for toasting — Normal (for sliced regular bread), Sourdough Mode (for sourdough and artisanal breads), and Crumpet Mode (for crumpets, bagels, and English muffins). For this review, I trialled all modes, using bread or toastable items with the desired settings as specified by Breville's instruction manual.

Now, it’s worth noting that there is a Timer Mode setting on the Eye Q, just in case you prefer counting the minutes until your toast is done. This mode is also great for toaster waffles or Pop-Tarts, as these items don't necessarily change color while toasting.

Normal mode

Utilising all slots of the machine, I loaded up four slices of white bread, testing the lowest, middle and highest color setting on the Shade Selector.

I was thrilled with my initial results, with each batch delivering consistent coloring across all pieces of toast. The toasting shade was consistent with settings in almost all cases in terms of brownness and evenness. On the lowest setting, the slices were lightly warmed, with minimal browning, while the fourth setting and the highest setting were crispy brown, but not burnt.

Sourdough Mode

As for Sourdough mode, I was particularly intrigued by the premise of the Eye Q, as Breville claims it reduces the chance of burnt crusts on artisanal breads. Switching on Sourdough mode is a little different to toasting as normal on the Eye Q. You need to hold the button and wait for the toaster to change into the mode before toasting your sourdough slices.

During the initial test, I was subject to some burnt crusts on our test sourdough. It was rather unfortunate, too, as everything else about the slices was ideally crisp, café-quality sourdough. That said, once I settled on slimmer sourdough slices, the results were perfection.

During our secondary tests, all four slices of sourdough were crisp and even colored, particularly when using the middle and highest settings.

Crumpet/Bagel mode

Crumpet mode provides additional heat on one side to perfectly toast specialty items. To activate the setting, just press the crumpet button and adjust the shade to your preference.

Crumpets are a bit of an odd item to toast, as most toasters have just enough width to pop in a pair without it being a total fire hazard. That said, the Eye Q had plenty of space around each crumpet for it to slide in and out without raising any alarms.

Now the Eye Q did a superb job of toasting crumpets; however, the real test was toasting dense bagels. Overall, the toaster performed well in terms of evenness and consistency. When it comes to testing toasters for bagels, I look for an appropriate amount of browning on the front and less color with soft warmth on the back.

The Eye Q Auto excelled in both categories, which, after testing the machine, came as no surprise. That said, it did suffer a similar fate to my initial sourdough tests, where one thicker bagel crisped up too much on the backside, causing some burn spots. Other than that, the Eye Q delivered consistency and evenness on the other test bagels.

Breville Eye Q Auto: Ease of use and cleaning

The Breville Eye Q is extremely easy to use, with all controls illuminated, and the 'A Bit More' button allows you to add a small extra amount of toasting if your original shade setting isn't quite enough.

The cleaning tray fits seamlessly into the sleek design, making it hard to spot at first glance, as it's located under the machine. A small ledge just underneath the toaster easily pulls out to allow you to empty the crumbs. There's also a storage compartment at the rear of the toaster that neatly houses the cord when not in use.

If you're unsure, the Breville includes a comprehensive manual that explains the toaster's structure and functions in detail, complete with illustrations and instructions.

Breville Eye Q Auto: Verdict

The Breville Eye Q Auto is a great, smart addition to any kitchen appliance lineup, especially if toast or toasted items are a large part of your daily breakfast routine. Now, it can be a bit tricky to find your desired shade using the selector, but Breville makes it easy to add 'A Bit More' if you find your shade isn't quite right.

Once you do find your preferred hue, your next piece of toast will be exemplary, as the Breville delivered evenness and consistency throughout the shades I tested. The same goes for using the toaster for bagels and crumpets.

Where the toaster truly shines, though, is in its Sourdough mode, which creates a cafe-quality slice at home with ease. Again, opting for a thinner sourdough or artisanal slice helped avoid any accidental burnt crusts, but once that niggle is sorted, you'll have consistent color and toastage on your sourdough.

I'm an ex-barista and now a professional coffee snob, and I'll be the first person to tell a coffee newbie of the horrors of using pre-ground coffee. But there's only so much I can say.

If you've got one of the best coffee makers — like the Breville Luxe Brewer — or the best espresso machines — like the Breville Bambino Plus — you can easily make barista-quality coffee from the comfort of your kitchen. And I'm here to help!

The most important thing? Grinding coffee correctly. It can be really hard to know what the correct grind size is. But for the sake of science, I purposefully used the "wrong" grind size for espresso, drip, and pour-over. This is what happened. Don't make the same mistakes as me!

Can you use the same coffee grind for everything? The methodology

For this experiment, I used the best coffee grinder in the world: the Comandante C40 MK4. If you make coffee at home, I recommend buying a grinder. This ensures you know exactly what size your coffee is being ground to.

The Comandante C40 MK4 is pretty pricey, though, so I've included some cheaper options here.

I ground three rounds of coffee beans: Fine, medium-fine, and medium.

Espresso calls for a fine grind, pour-over calls for medium-fine, and drip coffee calls for medium.

I used three coffee makers for this experiment: the Breville Bambino Plus, Breville Luxe Brewer, and the Hario V60.

After grinding all my beans fine, medium-fine, and medium, I then made three coffees on each coffee maker — using all three bean sizes.

Can you use the same coffee grind for everything? The results

Here I'll go through all my results, including each brewing process, flavor, and overall thoughts.

Espresso

Espresso is probably the most rigid brewing method. By "rigid", I mean the brewing method where you have to follow the rules; otherwise, you'll get nasty coffee, or no coffee at all.

I weighed out 18g of coffee, tamped, and pressed the double-shot button. I was aiming for 36g of espresso out in 25-28 seconds. If your espresso reaches double its weight in under or over that window, it will be under-extracted or over-extracted, respectively. This will result in sour, watery, or bitter, burned coffee.

Here are three photos of espresso. Can you guess which ones used finely ground beans (the correct size), medium-fine (too coarse), and medium (way too coarse)?

If you guessed: 1 = medium-fine, 2 = fine, and 3 = medium, you'd be correct. Take another look at the espresso. Look at the top of number 2, and compare it to number 1 and 3. The fluffy crema on espresso 2 shows that it has been extracted correctly, and the shot has been pulled with the appropriate degree of pressure.

The lack of crema in pictures 1 and 3 means that the coffee was ground too coarsely, as there was no pressure, and the coffee oils weren't extracted adequately.

As you might have guessed, espresso 1 and 3 tasted horrible. They were both sour and watery, which means under-extracted.

Take another look at the coffee scale underneath, too. I used the Wacaco Exagram Pro, which is the best budget coffee scale for espresso. The time on picture 1 was 20 seconds, and the time on picture 2 was 25 seconds. Compare these to the time on picture 3 — just 13 seconds.

As I said earlier, I was looking for 36g of coffee in 25-28 seconds. It's not just the timings that are way off, though. Look at the weights. Espresso 1 weighs 46g, espresso 2 weighs 37g, and espresso 3 weighs 52g.

You want to get 36g of espresso in 25-28 seconds, not 52g of coffee in 13 seconds. This means that espresso 1 and 3 were ground much, much too coarsely.

If you want to get the best espresso at home, you need to use the correct grind size. Espresso 2 is what you want — you want the coffee to pour like honey.

Pour-over

I used my tried-and-true Hario V60 and Hario's unbleached #2 papers for this experiment. As with the espresso section of the test, I used espresso grind, pour-over grind, and drip grind with the V60.

V60 is better for experimentation. Only super-fine coffee will clog the filter, so you can usually grind finer or coarser depending on your personal preference. If you ask me, too-fine and too-coarse coffee results in bitter or sour tastes, but obviously you do you. If you like bitter or watery coffee, be my guest. Unlike espresso machines, which physically cannot pull shots with too-finely ground coffee, you will at least get some liquid out of it.

I dosed 15g of coffee in each cup, and was aiming fro 270g of water (sometimes I over-poured slightly, oops).

I took three photos, each with the weight and times visible. From the brewing time displayed on the coffee scale, can you guess which coffee used which grind size?

If you guessed: 1 = fine, 2 = medium, and 3 = medium-fine, you'd be right!

As you can tell from the times, picture 1 is very over-brewed, picture 2 is very under-brewed, and picture 3 is just right. Although picture 3 took an extra couple of seconds to pull through the final dregs of water, this was the best coffee overall.

I gave the over-brewed and under-brewed coffees to my boyfriend (he's not picky in the same way I am) and I drank picture 3. It tasted delightful, just as I'd expect from a V60, with delicate floral notes and no bitterness whatsoever.

My boyfriend had to put milk in picture 1 because it was so bitter, and he said picture 2 tasted like dirty water.

Sounds yummy, right?

This is why using the right grind size is so important: you get the perfect balance of coffee flavors for your brewing method.

Drip

Drip coffee is probably the most forgiving brewing method out there. Unlike espresso or pour-over, drip has a reputation for being just "standard" coffee and isn't expected to have as much flavor finesse.

As a result, you can pretty much grind your coffee from about 600-1,400 microns and you probably won't upset that many people. For this experiment, I ground my coffee to a medium size, like standard white sugar size.

I brewed using the Breville Luxe Brewer, using around 12 ounces of water (so a Starbucks Tall). The Breville brews all sizes in 3 minutes, so there was no difference in brewing time.

Here are three photos of the resulting coffee. Can you guess which is which?

If you guessed 1 = medium, 2 = medium-fine, and 3 = fine, you'd be right! As I said, this one is a little trickier as you can't see the difference as clearly as you can with the espresso and pour-over.

Drip coffee is more forgiving, but I was actually quite surprised when all three of these coffees tasted more or less the same. Picture 3 was a touch bitterer than picture 2, and picture 1 was the most "faithful" coffee flavor, but all three were drinkable.

I would still err on the side of medium-to-medium-fine with drip coffee, though, as a French press grind will result in watery and weak coffee. I tested one drip batch with French-press-ground coarse beans, and it was like drinking brown water. Nasty.

But there's a catch...

So, how do you know if your coffee is ground perfectly?

Unfortunately, there's no one answer. Different coffee beans — various roasts, washing styles, bean size, and even humidity — can affect the required grind size. As a result, you're going to have to use a little trial and error the first time you use new beans or a new machine.

For espresso, I recommend you grind your coffee to around baker's sugar or fine salt texture. It should stick to your fingers. You don't want it to be like powdered sugar (too fine) or kosher salt (too coarse).

If you want to get super science-y, it needs to be around 200-500 microns. As I said, different beans will call for different grind sizes.

This isn't going to help you, but I'll tell you exactly the perfect grind size for the beans I used in this experiment. I used click 12 on my Comandante C40 MK4 with natural Kenyan medium-roast beans. For espresso, this gave me the perfect 1:2 ratio in 25 seconds.

For pour-over, you're going to want something a little more like sand. Some sticks to your fingers, but some doesn't. You'd want something more like 700-1000 microns for V60, and even coarser — up to 1,100 microns — for Chemex. I used click 25 on my Comandante C40.

For drip coffee, you want medium-ground. This is around the texture of standard white sugar. In microns, this would be around 700 to 1,200 microns. I used click 30 on my Comandante C40.

This all depends on your beans, though. Lighter roast beans need a finer grind than dark roast beans. Washed beans can benefit from a finer grind than natural beans.

Didn't I say it was unhelpful? There's no one answer to the age-old question of "What grind size should I use?" Unfortunately, you need to get a good grinder and use trial and error to find the perfect grind size for your beans. Each grinder's user manual will have information on which grind setting is best suited to each brewing method.

I can tell you, however, that it's definitely not the pre-ground French press coffee from the grocery store.

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If any brand can do anything and do it well, it's Breville. And that sentiment rings true to its latest invention, which, surprisingly, is a smart toaster that's perfect for toast connoisseurs.

Breville, synonymous with all things premium home and kitchen appliances, recently dropped the Eye Q Auto toaster, which ditches the traditional timer method and keeps an eye on your bread's color to deliver your ideal toast instead. Whether that's pale, slightly warm bread or a nice crispy golden hue, no matter what shade, the Eye Q can do it for you.

So how exactly does the Eye Q work? Breville's smart toaster uses optic sensors to detect color change in your bread 10 times every second, and stops toasting when the desired shade, out of the seven presets, is reached. Breville has also included a specialized Sourdough mode and Crumpet mode to correctly crisp up dense, thicker slices of artisan bread.

Right now, the Breville Eye Q is available exclusively in Australia, starting at AU$469 for the two-slice and AU$629 for the four-slice. At the time of writing, U.S. and U.K. availability has yet to be confirmed. I jumped at the chance to get my hands on one, picking up the four-slice in the gorgeous Sea Salt colorway. I haven't owned a toaster in years, opting to use my trusty sandwich press anytime I needed something toasted. And as one would assume, the results were often flatter than a pancake.

In the past two weeks, I've put the Breville Eye Q Auto to the test, trying out its key features, which may or may not have changed my mind about owning a toaster after all this time. Here are my initial thoughts on the smart toaster.

The perfect hue

The most obvious (and brilliant) feature of the Breville Eye Q is the Toast Shade Selector, which allows you to choose your preferred color, and it'll toast your bread to that level. All you have to do is select your preset using the plus (or minus) buttons, and voila, you've got toast. There's also no need to worry about defrosting your bread, too, as the sensors will take care of it for you. Plus, with automated one-touch lowering, if you're anything like me, you won't get a little frightened by the popping sound normal toasters make, as the Eye Q will slowly raise and lower your bread when you press the button.

I was a tad hesitant to give the toaster a go, especially since I prefer very slightly toasted, pale bread, and I've often been burnt by toasters in the past with too much toastage. My husband, on the other hand, prefers a definitive crunch in his first bite, opting for a more medium shade.

For our first attempt, we tried a few plain white bread slices and white low-carb bread, as we often opt for it. We both utilised the four slots of the machine, but it's worth noting that the sensors are exclusive to the two marked outer slots. This is because Breville's research shows most users toast the same kind of bread in both slots, so the sensor only needs to monitor one slice, and the toaster's tech will ensure even heating throughout. For my bread, I used the first setting, and my husband used the fourth on his side.

I was beyond thrilled with our initial tests, delivering consistent coloring across all pieces of toast. I was particularly delighted by the toasting of the low-carb bread, as I had anticipated that it would burn to a crisp due to its thinness. But thankfully, I was wrong.

My slices were perfectly white, with a touch of firm toasting, exactly how I like them. My husband's toasts were just as good on the first attempt; however, he found the fourth setting to be a bit too crispy, and after a few more attempts, the third setting seems to be his go-to over the following weeks.

Now, it’s worth noting that there is a Timer Mode setting on the Eye Q, just in case you prefer counting the minutes until your toast is done. This mode is also great for toaster waffles or Pop-Tarts, as these items don't necessarily change color while toasting.

Smart Sourdough

As for Sourdough mode, I was particularly intrigued by the premise of the Eye Q, as Breville claims it reduces the chance of burnt crusts on artisanal breads. Breville was kind enough to send me a sourdough loaf to toast, and it was heavenly. I was somewhat petrified to toast the loaf, though, as I was worried that the Eye Q wasn't up to delivering great sourdough toast like you'd get at a café.

Switching on Sourdough mode is a little different to toasting as normal on the Eye Q. You need to hold the button and wait for the toaster to change into the mode before toasting your sourdough slices.

During the initial test, I was subject to some burnt crusts on our test sourdough. It was rather unfortunate, too, as everything else about the slices was ideally crisp, café-quality sourdough. It even made for a perfect avocado toast — minus the burnt bits, of course.

That said, once I settled on a lower setting and an ever-so-slimmer sourdough slice, the results were perfection. Easily, the thing that terrified me the most was solved in a slight adjustment of settings, and I've never been more confident in toasting sourdough.

Crumpets, crumpets, crumpets!

Induction cooking is a hot topic at Tom’s Guide, and we love getting our hands on products to review. However, we also recognize that while cooking with induction delivers excellent results and is easy to use, many people are still reluctant to make the swap to induction. and are hesitant to give up their gas range or electric range.

If you are nervous about investing in a built-in induction cooktop, there's a great solution. A portable induction cooktop offers a more affordable option and serves as an excellent compromise. You’ll get the chance to try out induction cooking before making a big commitment — and enjoy extra cooktop space when you’re entertaining a crowd, like during Thanksgiving.

Imagine no more juggling pans to get everything cooked on time. Below is our current lineup of three portable induction cooktops we’ve tested, along with pros and cons of each — to help you decide which is the best fit for your needs.

Best budget

We’re big fans of IKEA at Tom’s Guide, and appreciate how the Swedish brand makes stylish furniture and home goods at affordable prices. However, it’s not as well-known for its kitchen appliances, even though it has an extensive range — including refrigerators, microwaves and even a portable induction cooktop.

While IKEA's built-in induction cooktops start at $599 for the FLACKSTA, the brand has made induction cooking more accessible with its portable version, the TILLREDA, available for $74 at IKEA. Even though the Amazon Basics portable induction cooktop is a just $51 at Amazon, IKEA beats Amazon on style — which isn’t surprising.

Although IKEA’s induction cooktop is on the affordable side, I wasn’t disappointed with its performance. It doesn’t have the extra features of the Smeg or Breville, but at this price point, that’s to be expected. Plus, it gives you the chance to try out induction cooking before you buy a built-in version at a much steeper price. Whether you decide to upgrade or not, you’ll still have an extra cooking zone when needed

The TILLREDA portable induction cooktop takes on a cube-like design. While it’s not as sleek as the Smeg version, it's still compact. It also comes with two color options — a white or black base. I also like that it has a hook, so you can hang it up above your countertop, saving valuable counter or cabinet space if storage is limited.

The touch controls are very basic — it has a child lock, an off/on button and the temperature is controlled by ‘+’ and ‘-’ buttons. This all makes it super easy to use. If you place the wrong type of pan on the surface (they need to be magnetic), a ‘U’ icon will appear on the display, so you won’t be second-guessing why your induction cooktop isn’t working.

What impressed me most about this portable induction cooktop is despite its price it’s still just as responsive to heat adjustments as other induction cooktops. However, because it doesn’t offer the power boost function, it will take a whole minute longer than Smeg’s portable induction cooktop to boil a one liter of water. You might be waiting a few more seconds, but you’ll be saving $275.

Read the full IKEA TILLREDA Portable Induction Cooktop review

Best for most people

Smeg’s portable induction cooktop isn’t cheap at $349 from Williams Sonoma, but it gives you a good taster of what you’re missing out on.

With Smeg’s portable induction cooktop you get a sleek, lightweight appliance with a matte black surface and brushed silver aluminum surround, and touch controls. Although it's also available with a matte white or matte jade green surround, It’s also incredibly easy to set up — just plug it in. What’s more, you get two options with the control, either a slider control or touch +/- buttons.

One of my favorite features is the power boost function, which is perfect for boiling water fast for your pasta or vegetables. You’ll pay more for this feature, but once you’ve used it, it’s hard to go back.

You also get three cooking modes — Keep Warm, Barbecue, and Fry. And you can check the temperature while your food is cooking, with the option to set an alarm when it reaches the desired heat. It even includes a built-in temperature probe, which saves you relying on a separate meat thermometer. I found this super helpful for checking the temperature of a variety of foods, including melted chocolate.

I’d previously used a built-in induction cooktop at Smeg’s test center, and found the portable version just as responsive regarding heat control. Additionally, the portable appliance features an automatic switch-off function. The Keep Warm function will run for two hours, power level nine will switch off after 90 minutes, and the unit turns off after 30 seconds if no pan is detected.

Overall, it’s an excellent appliance with far more functionality than you’d need for a camping trip, but it would make an excellent additional cooking surface, or be ideal for a compact kitchen or small apartment.

Read the full Smeg Portable Induction Cooktop review

Best premium

The Breville’s Control Freak Home portable induction cooktop might have a strange name and its price might make you freak out . At $1,499 at Crate & Barrel it’s one of the most expensive portable induction cooktops on the market. However, when Tom’s Guide’s U.S. Editor-in-Chief, Mike Prospero, tested it during a kitchen refit, it convinced him to buy an induction range as his next major appliance upgrade.

However, it doesn’t look as sleek as Smeg’s portable induction cooktop. In fact it’s quite chunky, and instead of a touchpad for temperature control it has a knob. But while it’s a heavyweight in the design department, it packs in a lot of functionality — including an HD touchscreen display screen that not only shows the current temperature but also allows you to select the ideal cooking temperature for specific foods.

Whether you’re cooking meat or fish, you can enter your food type and choose a preferred method, like poaching or searing. The cooktop will then automatically set the optimal cooking temperature. I’m beginning to realize why it’s called the “Control Freak”. Of course, if you want to do things your way, you can use the manual setting by turning the control knob.

Prospero used the Control Freak Home settings when cooking eggs and steak, achieving perfectly cooked eggs and a beautifully seared crust on his steaks. He was also able to make good use of the temperature probe to ensure his proteins reached a safe internal temperature.

And while he was impressed by the cooking results — especially how quickly the pans heated up and maintained a consistent temperature — he did notice a few pitfalls. For a pan to register on the cooktop, a small sensor needs to be depressed, and he found his smallest pan had to be repositioned a few times before it registered. He was also surprised to discover that there wasn’t a setting for boiling water, even though there were presets for other liquids, including boiling sugar.

It is a high price to pay for a portable induction cooktop, but using the automatic settings does take the guesswork out of cooking.

Read our full Breville Control Freak Portable Induction Cooktop review

The verdict

If I were choosing a portable induction cooktop out of the three above, I would rule out the Breville Control Freak Home straight away. Why? At close to $1,500, it's incredibly expensive for a portable option, and I’d prefer to use that budget towards a fixed appliance.

However, out of the remaining two, there’s no doubt that the Smeg portable induction cooktop is the best product. The power boost function is a quarter of the price of the Breville.

With that being said, it is still pricey for a portable cooktop, so you need to think hard as to whether it’s the best choice for you. Nonetheless, if all you want is to get a feel for induction cooking, and at this stage aren’t worried about any fancy extras, then you can’t go far wrong with IKEA’s TILLEDRA portable induction cooktop at $74.

More from Tom's Guide

• Induction cooking is easier than you think: Experts share their 7 top tips for success
• Induction vs. gas cooktop: Which is best for you?
• Induction experts share 6 cooking tips to unlock your induction cooking potential

I'm an ex-barista and now a professional espresso machine reviewer, so I've spent a ridiculous amount of time making coffee both behind a bar and in the comfort of my kitchen. All that coffee experience means that I also know how hard mastering the craft is. Yeah, I'm pretty good at making coffee, but I wouldn't say I've mastered it, even though I've been doing it for years.

At home, I use my Breville espresso machine (the $499 Bambino Plus, which is the most affordable model on this list, and the best espresso machine IMHO), which my inexperienced boyfriend can use, too. I've also had a De'Longhi La Specialista Opera, and have tested a Breville Oracle Dual Boiler at home, both of which he loved using too.

If you're a complete beginner, you might be wondering why there are no Nespresso coffee machines on this list. Well, that's because they're bad not espresso machines. The best Nespresso machines are a completely different type of machines, but are generally easier to use than espresso machines.

Before we start, jargon buster!

I use a few coffee nerd terms in this article. The most common is portafilter, which is the metal contraption (basket) where you put the coffee grounds. It looks like this.

There are two types of portafilter: on the left is a dual-walled, which is a pressurized basket. This basket type forces the coffee through a tiny hole and aerates it as it extracts, which obliterates delicate notes and complex flavors. Ideally, you don't want this.

On the right is a single-walled portafilter, which you do want. This portafilter helps the coffee extract with the desired delicate aroma you'll expect from specialty coffee shops.

Next: a grinder is the most important part of making coffee. Two of these espresso machines have grinders built in, so you don't need to worry. I think beginners can do well with a bean-to-cup espresso machine. The grinders in these machines don't tend to perform as well as separate grinders, but having too many moving parts can be too confusing for beginners.

If you decide to go for a machine sans-grinder, I'll recommend the Baratza Encore ESP, which is the most affordable decent espresso grinder I've ever used.

The long and short of it is this: coffee is a really confusing hobby at first. There are so many contradictory and opinionated people in the coffee world, so I know it can be overwhelming. Some people will tell you not to buy a bean-to-cup, but I think they can be a decent introduction into home espresso making without making you count clicks on manual grinders or start talking about microns.

(I told you — confusing.)

The smallest option: Breville Bambino Plus

The Breville Bambino Plus is the smallest — and most affordable — option on this list. It's also my personal espresso machine, so I can attest to how instantly usable and manageable it is.

At $499, it's a considerable amount of money, but this is relatively low for an espresso machine. Some machines go for up to $5k, so $500 doesn't feel as bad by comparison.

I've got a 2,500-word review on the Breville Bambino Plus, but I'll give you a quick run down here.

The machine is so easy to use because everything you need comes in the box — a single-walled portafilter, non-flimsy tamper, and milk jug being the most important things. Some budget brands (coughCasabrewscough) don't ship milk jugs with espresso machines, so you have to go out and buy one separately before you can use it.

Once you've got everything unboxed, it's as simple as putting 18g of finely ground coffee in the single-walled portafilter, tamping as hard as you can, and putting the group handle in the group head. Then you press double shot (or single, but you should only put 12g of coffee in and make sure you've got the right portafilter basket!) and watch the honey-colored liquid pour.

The steam wand is also easy to use. It has four holes, so is more powerful than single-holed steam wands, but isn't too aggressive in its aeration. Yes, you'll have to concentrate while you're using it for the first few times, but isn't that the joy in taking up a new hobby? You get to go back to school for a while.

The Bambino Plus has an auto-steaming feature, too, which makes it even easier to use. All you have to do to activate this is fill the milk jug, put it on the drip tray over the 'auto milk' sensor, and the machine will do everything else for you.

But despite all these user-friendly features, I think the number one reason is the Bambino Plus's size. Or, lack thereof. You don't have to clear a space in your kitchen to fit this tiny little machine. It could easily fit next to the kettle or air fryer, and that makes it super beginner-user-friendly in my book.

The cheapest bean-to-cup option: De'Longhi La Specialista Opera

So this is the espresso machine I used to use. And don't get me wrong, I loved it. But it was simply too big for my kitchen, which is why I swapped it out for the Bambino Plus.

If you've got the space, though, the La Specialista Opera is a great mid-range beginner option. Thanks to the built in grinder, you don't need to fork out an extra $200 on a budget grinder (or $600 on a high-end grinder). So, while the La Specialista Opera's price might make your eyes bulge like a cartoon cat, it's actually not that much higher than a Bambino Plus + grinder (about $700).

So the main thing that jumps out as a "beginner-friendly" feature is the smart tamping system. Unlike the Bambino Plus, you don't have to tamp manually on the La Specialita Opera. This results in less mess, more straightforward usage, and less confusion about tamping pressure or angles.

Beginners sometimes wonder what on earth tamping should actually do, so the La Specialista Opera takes that worry out of the equation. The machine sorts out everything for you.

Once you've got your coffee tamped on the smart tamping system, all you have to do is put the group handle in the group head and press the single or double shot button. You'll get a delicious barista-quality drink in seconds.

When I was testing this machine last year, I loved playing around with all the different settings. The La Specialista Opera can make cold brew and 'cool espresso', which sounds like it shouldn't taste good, but it actually kind of... does?

The steam wand is a little low lying, which was my only downside when reviewing the machine last year, but I was able to use it with just a little re-angling of my body during steaming. And the best part for beginners? The steam wand stays cool during use, so if you accidentally touch it (been there, done that) then it — hopefully — won't burn you.

Obviously test this on your model. Please don't trust me wholeheartedly with your finger skin.

The oh-so premium option: Breville Oracle Dual Boiler

Alrighty, this is the most premium machine on this list and the most expensive espresso machine I've ever used.

But that's for a reason. The Breville Oracle Dual Boiler is an absolute Titan. It's a behemoth. It's a beast. It's all of the hyperbolic nouns that mean "this is a big machine".

As with all the machines in Breville's Oracle range, the Oracle Dual Boiler is kind of an automatic and manual machine in one. It has an auto mode and a manual mode, so the automatic mode could be used while you're getting to grips with the machine, then you could switch to the manual mode once you feel more confident with coffee-making.

The Oracle Dual Boiler is, for all intents and purposes, the easiest espresso machine I've ever used. But the price isn't exactly conducive for complete beginners: why would you spend $3k on your first espresso machine?

Yes, it's a premium machine. I'm fully aware of that, and the price means I could never buy it for myself. But that doesn't mean it's a bad machine, or a user-unfriendly machine.

Actually, it's the most user-friendly machine I've ever used.

As I mentioned above, I reviewed the Breville Oracle Dual Boiler last week and gave it 4 stars. There are so many things to love about the Oracle Dual Boiler: the full-color touchscreen that makes you feel like you're using the newest smartphone; the auto-milk-frothing function that works well for beginners; the fact that the machine grinds, doses, tamps automatically, so you don't have to mess around with coffee grounds or measuring or weighing anything.

You can select your drink using the touchscreen; the machine will tell you exactly how to make it. This is ideal for beginners who might not know the difference between a cafe crema and a long black (a cafe crema is a supersized lungo shot, and a long black is an upside-down Americano), but who want to learn.

There are tons of options, including an espresso martini and even hot chocolate, so you'll be the master of the coffee world in no time.

Finally, there's one more reason why I think the Oracle Dual Boiler is great for beginners. The Oracle Dual Boiler is, you guessed it, a dual boiler machine, which means you can steam milk and make espresso simultaneously. This is ideal if you've got loads of people to make coffee for in quick succession, as you'll be able to make drink after drink without the boiler giving up.

This also means you don't have to 'purge' the boiler or prevent it from overheating, which is a major downside of many budget espresso machines I've tested (coughCasabrewscough). You won't have to learn any annoying quirks to use the Oracle Dual Boiler, which is great for your frustration levels.

The secret fourth option: De'Longhi Stilosa

So the reason why this machine isn't on the main list is that the U.K. and the U.S. models are different, so I can't say for certain that it's easy-to-use. In the U.K., the Stilosa comes with single-walled portafilters, whereas in the U.S. it doesn't.

As a result, if you were to use this in the U.S., I'd recommend making a secondary purchase to get a bottomless portafilter accessory, which immediately makes it not beginner friendly. If you have to purchase something to make a machine usable, it's therefore not usable out of the box.

However, if you want to save as much money as possible, I wholeheartedly recommend the Stilosa. With an extra $30 or so, you'll be able to make coffee worthy of a Bambino Plus on a $149 machine.

In the U.S., the Stilosa requires an extra purchase to make "technically" perfect coffee: a bottomless portafilter.

Thankfully, you can get a third-party bottomless portafilter for just $29 on Amazon. With this accessory, the machine will cost you $178, which is still $321 cheaper than the next cheapest model on this list.

So, with the Stilosa and a bottomless portafilter, you'll be able to make barista-quality coffee for just $178. This is an unbelievably low price for an espresso machine of this quality. There was a reason I was shocked during my testing period with the Stilosa: it's simply marvelous.

More from Tom's Guide

• You might be using your espresso machine wrong — I'm an ex-barista and here's what you need to do
• I'm an ex-barista — here's my top 3 espresso machines for every budget
• I'm a barista and I ditched my Breville Bambino Plus for this $129 espresso machine — is the $370 saving worth it?

It goes without saying that dual boiler coffee machines regularly top most people’s best espresso machines lists. Dual boiler espresso machines aren’t for everyone, though: generally, they’re pricier and much, much bigger.

The Breville Oracle Dual Boiler is no different: it’s frankly gargantuan, at a massive 15 inches wide and 17 inches tall. This is not a machine for small kitchens. Heck, this is barely even a machine for large kitchens. This is a machine for a kitchen with a dedicated coffee corner.

While, yes, the Oracle Dual Boiler is huge, that’s expected for an espresso machine of this caliber. It’s a dual boiler — inherently large — and makes commercial-grade coffee (with some quirks). Is it worth $3,000, though? I’ll discuss everything in this comprehensive Breville Oracle Dual Boiler review.

Breville Oracle Dual Boiler review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? The Oracle Dual Boiler is a powerful espresso machine with a quad-core processor (yes, really), touchscreen (yes, really), and Wi-Fi (yes, really)
• Who is it for? It’s for serious home coffee lovers, but not espresso purists. Confused? Let me explain. The Oracle Dual Boiler has a built in (and lackluster) grinder, which won’t impress coffee snobs
• What does it do well? Well, it makes cafe-quality drinks, if you’re a chain coffee addict
• What are its weaknesses? Its inability to dial-in light roasts won’t impress all coffee drinkers
• Anything else to know? If you love dark roasted coffee and espresso machines more intelligent than 5-year-olds, then this is the machine for you

Breville Oracle Dual Boiler review: Specs

Breville Oracle Dual Boiler review: Price & availability

The Breville Oracle Dual Boiler is very expensive. It’s the most expensive espresso machine I’ve tested to date.

You can find it for $2,999 at Breville U.S.. In the U.K., Breville products go by the name Sage, so you’ll find it listed as Sage Oracle Dual Boiler. It’s £2,499 at Sage U.K.. and £2,499 at John Lewis.

Breville/Sage has a ton of espresso machines, all with similar naming conventions. I’ll quickly explain the difference between the various models. It’s all very confusing.

So the Oracle range of espresso machines basically refers to automation. If a Breville espresso machine has “Oracle” in the name, it has some degree of automation. Obviously it’s not a superautomatic machine, but it’s more of an automatic machine than, say, a Bambino Plus ($499, the best entry-level Breville).

The Oracle Dual Boiler is the flagship model. Further down the Oracle line, you’ll find the Oracle Jet, which is $1,995, so is a cheaper introduction into an automated Breville machine.

The Oracle Jet is not a dual boiler, so you can’t steam and extract at the same time. Breville does, however, make a non-Oracle dual boiler (I said confusing, didn’t I?), which is just called the Breville Dual Boiler. This machine has no grinder and no automation, so would be better for the more traditional coffee snobs in the house.

So while the Oracle Dual Boiler is the most expensive Breville machine on the market, it’s also the most “intelligent” — if you like that sort of thing. You’re essentially paying $3,000 for a computer + coffee machine.

Breville Oracle Dual Boiler review: Design

As you’d expect from a Breville/Sage machine, the Oracle Dual Boiler is beautiful. And massive. It’s 15 inches wide, 14 inches deep, and 17 inches tall, so it’s an utter behemoth.

The design is pretty standard for a bean-to-cup, but it’s definitely one of the most modern machines I’ve ever seen. The edges are rounded, which just carries an air of modernity, and there’s a 6 x 3 inch touchscreen in the center of the machine.

This touchscreen is bright, responsive, and colorful, exactly what you’d want to see on a premium espresso machine like this. You can choose light or dark mode (I chose the dark side) and you can adjust screen brightness to your liking. Each drink recipe has a full-color high-res illustration depicting the drink, which is really helpful for coffee beginners who might not know the difference between a latte and a flat white.

To the left of the touchscreen is the power button, and to the right is the Breville/Sage logo. This facade has a really clean, easy-to-use design, and will look beautiful in any kitchen.

Above the touchscreen is the flat top of the machine; the grinder and hopper is on the left, and the right side is empty so you can store your milk jug and portafilter there between uses. I will note that it gets quite warm, so it could be a good location to store your mugs if you like them pre-heated. The machine doesn’t vibrate much when it’s heating up so I doubt there’d be an overt risk of the mugs falling off.

Now onto the actual coffee-making area of the machine. As you’d expect, the grinder is on the left, the group head is in the middle, and the steam wand is on the right. It’s a nice left-to-right process, just like reading.

I’ll discuss this fully in the ‘Grinder’ section below, but the grinder basically does everything for you. All you need to do is put your portafilter in the grinder; the machine grinds, doses, and tamps automatically. Some coffee snobs will say this isn’t the right way to make coffee, and that’s fine, but this machine isn’t for them. This machine is for serious coffee lovers who also want the process to be as easy as possible.

The group head in the middle tends to be a little stiff; I found that I needed to use two hands to get my group handle slotted in properly. This could be because the machine is new, though, and might get easier with time. Unfortunately I’ve only got the machine for a short testing period, and the machine only released last week, so I’ve not been able to test this fully.

On the right side of the machine is the steam wand, and oh boy, is this steam wand a beast. It’s about a half an inch thick, with a red loop so you can move the wand without burning yourself. It doesn’t have a ball joint like the Smeg EMC02, but it was easy to find the angle sweet spot regardless. The steam wand also unscrews so you can clean under the tip.

At the bottom of the machine is the removable drip tray. This has a mesh layer under the silver grill so you can really get in there and clean. There’s also a secret hiding spot behind the drip tray to store things like extra portafilters and cleaning products, should you so desire.

All in all, this is a beautiful, modern machine that I think will look fresh for years to come. It’s incredibly well made.

Breville Oracle Dual Boiler review: Grinder

The Breville Dual Boiler uses Baratza European Precision burrs as its grinder. These burrs have 45 grind settings. I’ve used and reviewed the Baratza Encore ESP. I gave it a 4-star rating in my review, but the main reason why it got such a high rating is because of its value-to-cost ratio. I found it struggled to grind fine enough for some light-roasted beans, which is still an issue with the Oracle Dual Boiler’s Baratza burrs.

While Breville doesn’t specify which Baratza burrs the Oracle Dual Boiler uses, the most expensive Baratza grinder is the $899 Forte, which has ceramic burrs. As the Oracle Dual Boiler doesn’t specify ceramic burrs, I’m inclined to believe the machine doesn’t have those specific ones.

General hearsay online (on Reddit and Home Barista) purports that the Oracle Dual Boiler has the same burrs as the Baratza Encore ESP. Now, this is an unverified rumor, but if this is true, then that’s majorly disappointing. You’re telling me I’m paying $3k for a $200 grinder? If true, that’s kind of unacceptable. You should be getting a high-quality grinder with a premium machine. I’d expect at least the aforementioned Forte ceramic burrs. I’ve reached out to Sage/Breville for clarification, but have yet to receive a response.

Now that’s out of the way, I’ll actually talk about the grinder’s ease of use. I love getting all nerdy and technical with grinders (if you read my grinder reviews, I have multiple mathematical tables with uniformity and retention), but as the Oracle Dual Boiler grinds, doses, and tamps all internally, I have no way of measuring retention and uniformity.

So, we’ll just have to go off taste and ease of use.

As I mentioned briefly above, the Oracle Dual Boiler is good at figuring out dark roasted coffee. Medium roast and light roast? Well, you’re on your own there.

I found it near-impossible to dial in my light-roasted beans. I used an entire 250g bag of light-roasted beans trying to dial in my shot. Yes, an entire bag. It was $10.

Dark roast, however? The Oracle Dual Boiler figured that out in one shot. If you primarily drink dark coffee, then this is the machine for you. As someone who loves light-roasted beans, though, I would definitely skip this machine personally, for the sole reason that its grinder just can’t wrap its head around them.

The grinder is, as you might expect from an automated Oracle machine, absolutely painless to use. All you have to do is put the 58mm portafilter into the grinder. The machine automatically doses the coffee (you choose the grind size, or it can choose automatically) between 18-22g, but I found it mostly dosed 22g.

I’d recommend getting one of the best coffee scales — I use the Wacaco Exagram Pro — to measure exactly how much coffee the machine dosed. I weigh the portafilter, then tare the scale, then let the machine dose and tamp. Then I weigh the portafilter again to see the coffee dose.

The Oracle Dual Boiler takes about a minute to finish tamping, and it makes a strange whirring sound during. The first time I used the machine, I thought this was the sound of an empty grinder, and stopped tamping halfway through by mistake. So heed my warning: it is tamping, it just takes longer than you think.

Of course, you don’t have to use the built-in grinder. If you’ve got your own grinder, you can grind, dose, and tamp (as long as you have a 58mm tamper on hand). But then why wouldn’t you just buy the Bambino Plus, the Barista Express, or the non-Oracle Dual Boiler?

Breville Oracle Dual Boiler review: Espresso

The Breville Oracle Dual Boiler has a huge range of drink ‘recipes’ you can choose from. I’ll list them all here: espresso, cafe crema, americano, latte, flat white, hot chocolate, latte shakerato, espresso shakerato, cortado, piccolo, espresso martini, babyccino, cappuccino, latte macchiato, mocha, tea, and ‘custom’.

Yes, you can make your own recipe and save it to the homescreen. I made my own little flat white recipe, with a 35ml shot volume and oat milk texture ‘6’, temperature 140°F. The default flat white has a 60ml shot volume, which is a bit too much for me.

Don’t get me wrong — the machine is intelligent, sure, but it’s not more intelligent than you, the human barista. This is all fun and games, but the machine also has a manual mode, which I did gravitate towards most of the time.

If you use the automated setting, the machine doesn’t actually make the drinks for you. You still have to make the drink: the machine just tells you how to do it. For example, if you choose a latte, the screen reads: coffee double shot, milk 140°F. You just follow its instructions. This is great for first time users — but then again, would first time home baristas really spend $3,000 on an espresso machine — or people who want homemade coffee but with a little extra help.

Anyway, now that’s out of the way, I’ll actually talk about the espresso flavor. If you read the ‘grinder’ section, you’ll know that the Oracle Dual Boiler doesn’t really know what to do with light roasts.

As a result, I’d only recommend you get this machine if you’re a dark roast fanatic. Love Starbucks coffee? Then this is likely the machine for you. Love light roasts? Then you’ll probably need a machine sans-grinder like the Dual Boiler ($1,599). It’s an old machine now, but it’s stood the test of time.

I tested with both light and dark roasts and the dark roast provided a more consistent shot. Here’s a photo of a dark roast shot.

As you can see, there’s nice thick crema and a deep brown color to the espresso itself. This espresso tasted as you’d expect: strong, bitter, and a little chocolatey. This shot was 45g and extracted in 23 seconds, so a little too fast, but still good in a caramel latte.

In automatic mode, the Oracle Dual Boiler extracts via volume, not time. So if you’ve ground your beans too fine, it’ll take up to 40 seconds, if your beans are too coarse, it can take just 17 seconds. You want the sweet spot of 23-28 seconds.

You can easily switch to manual mode though, and you start and stop extraction yourself. I’d recommend getting a coffee scale if you’re going to use this mode.

All in all, the espresso is great. I don’t think it’s worth $3,000 — it’s just as good as the espresso my Bambino Plus can make, which I think is the best espresso machine for pure espresso taste.

But it’s all down to personal preference: if you want a super fancy, techie machine like this, then yeah, it’ll make you delicious espresso. With dark roasts, of course.

Breville Oracle Dual Boiler review: Milk

As I mentioned above, the Oracle Dual Boiler is, you guessed it, a dual boiler machine, which means the steam wand and the group head use different boilers. I found it super easy to steam milk and extract espresso simultaneously.

Thanks to this dedicated boiler, the steam wand is really impressive. It’s about a half an inch thick, and oh-so powerful, and is perfect for experienced baristas, or those wanting to level up their latte art. I found it really easy to make beautiful art in pretty much every drink I made.

Here’s a photo of an oat milk latte I made on the Oracle Dual Boiler.

As you can see, the milk is perfectly textured, with velvety microfoam and delicate aeration. This is quite hard to achieve on non-dairy milk, so I am really impressed with the steam wand here.

Here’s a photo of a dairy milk latte I made.

As you can see, the milk is shiny, velvety, and smooth. My latte art isn’t great, but that’s because I didn’t fill the jug enough. That’s my fault. The milk texture itself is perfect, definitely something you’d expect to be served at a coffee shop.

This is one of the best steam wands I’ve ever used — beaten only by the Smeg EMC02 — and I have no doubt that any home coffee enthusiast would adore using this machine.

Interestingly, there’s a feature on the Oracle Dual Boiler that I’ve only really seen on fully-automatic machines before.

The Oracle Dual Boiler has something called “AutoMilQ” for automatic milk steaming. This feature is supposed to adjust its power for different types of milk, including: dairy, almond, oat, and soy.

I tested this feature with oat milk (Oatly Barista), and I did not like it. It made the steam wand way less powerful and made it more difficult to mix in the larger bubbles. I would never use this feature again.

Presumably, AutoMilQ makes the steam less powerful for non-dairy milk as it tends to be more delicate and prone to over-aeration. I understand that this could be a useful feature for non-barista non-dairy milk.

Also, I suppose if you want hands-off milk steaming, then MilQ could be good for you. Personally, however, I’m very happy to baby my milk through every step of the process. I actively enjoy steaming my milk manually, so I’m not the ideal candidate for automatic steam wands.

Breville Oracle Dual Boiler review: App

Yes, the Breville Oracle Dual Boiler has an app: Breville+/Sage+. I write that with a strained rictus grimace plastered on my face. My eye is twitching. I can hear my heartbeat in my ears. I may or may not be biting down on my tongue so hard I can taste blood.

Right, that’s all a bit of hyperbole, but seriously, the fact that this espresso machine has an app is just a bit much. And the worst part? The app literally doesn’t do anything. Sure, you can turn on the machine from your phone. Sure, that saves you two minutes in the morning. But seriously? I do not need my espresso machine to have Wi-Fi. No thank you.

This could be my personal preference, though. What do you think? Do you love the idea of being able to preheat your coffee machine from bed?

Anyway, here’s a few screenshots from the app so you can see for yourself.

You can change the machine’s name in the app, but there’s quite a strict character limit. I tried to name it “Caffeiney McCaffeineyface” ala Boaty McBoatface, but there wasn’t enough room. Sigh. It’s now called “hot bean juicer 3000”, which doesn’t have the same ring to it.

But that is it. This app’s got all my data for that? Right, okay, makes sense. I think this is a bit of a gimmick and I will not be using this app regularly. It would be so much better if the app took some inspiration from Acaia’s Brewmaster app, which plots your espresso extraction on a graph and has a great notepad section where you can track the notes of your espresso shot.

Breville/Sage, if you’re listening, I’d love for the Breville+/Sage+ app to behave less like a remote control, and more like Brewmaster. Thanks!

Breville Oracle Dual Boiler review: Storage & maintenance

As I mentioned earlier, this is a massive machine. I’ve referred to it as the Titan of espresso machines before, and I think that’s such an apt name. It truly is the Titan of espresso machines.

It’s a huge 15 inches wide, 17 inches tall, and 14 inches deep. You will either need a massive counter free in your kitchen — with no cupboard above — or a dedicated coffee station. This machine took up a whole counter in my kitchen and I found myself getting a little stressed out by how cluttered it looked during my testing period.

All that being said, if you’ve got a big kitchen or somewhere spacious to store the machine, this won’t be a problem.

I will note that the Oracle Dual Boiler is power-hungry. I noticed that when the machine was heating up from cold, my electricity usage (I have a live electricity usage monitor in the kitchen) jumped up from about 4p an hour to about 50p ($0.68) an hour. This will obviously depend on where you live and your electricity provider, but it was noticeably higher for me. Although, if you’ve bought a $3,000 machine, I doubt a 50p ($0.68) electricity cost will be an issue for you.

The Oracle Dual Boiler has an array of self-cleaning modes: it can rinse the steam wand, deep clean the steam wand, group head cleaning, descaling, and water filter switching information, and more. Obviously it’ll prompt you when you need to do certain cleaning tasks.

The machine also comes with a cleaning disc and cleaning tablets, which I appreciate. If you run out, though, you can easily buy more supplies from Breville direct.

Day-to-day maintenance is very straightforward, but also essential for longevity. I’d recommend you empty the drip tray every day and purge the steam wand before and after use. Make sure you wipe down the machine so it stays looking fresh and sparkly for as long as possible.

Most of Breville’s cleaning advice is just common sense, too — descale when required, put in a water filter, etc. You can also buy WDT tools and tampers from Breville, but the whole point of this machine is that it does it for you, so these aren’t essential purchases.

Breville Oracle Dual Boiler review: Verdict

The Breville Oracle Dual Boiler is a premium, high-tech espresso machine perfect for one kind of home barista. This isn’t for beginners, and it’s not for coffee snobs, either. The Oracle Dual Boiler is for those who are serious about coffee, but not necessarily serious about technical coffee.

If you love dark roast and you love playing around with different drink styles, this is the machine for you. The proclivity for dark roast bodes well for syrup lovers, and I can definitely see the Oracle Dual Boiler’s espresso tasting particularly good with pumpkin spice or toffeenut syrup.

While this machine is expensive, big, and a little frustrating if you like light roast, if you’re in the aforementioned coffee-lover-but-not-necessarily-coffee-snob category, you will love the Oracle Dual Boiler.

I'm an ex-barista and now I review espresso machines for a living. Hard life, I know. I've tested everything from $3,000 dual-boiler coffee machines from Breville (Sage in the U.K.) to $99 super-budget espresso machines you can only really buy at Amazon.

All this testing and tinkering, though, means I've got a thorough understanding of what makes an espresso machine good. And, most importantly, which espresso machines are actually worth your hard-earned money.

I've had a long, hard think about it, and I've finally decided on the three best espresso machines for each budget. There's an affordable option, a mid-range option, and a premium option in this list.

1. Best budget espresso machine

This is the best budget espresso machine: the Casabrews 3700 Essential. While my review isn't yet live, I have completed my testing and written the full piece. Here's a sneak peek: I awarded the 3700 4 stars.

There's a lot to like about this machine: its compact 5-inch size, its powerful(ish) steam wand, and its low-profile design. It's also not as ugly as you might expect from a $129 (but often $99) espresso machine.

The price, though, is by far the best part. The Casabrews 3700 Essential is just $129, but regularly discounted to just $99. At this price point, there's very little competition. It's 3700 Essential or bust.

A word of warning: the Casabrews 3700 Essential only ships with dual-walled portafilters (which pressurize the coffee during extraction and make it taste bad, in short), but Casabrews sells a bottomless portafilter (which doesn't pressurize the coffee and therefore makes it taste good) for $38 on Amazon. Unfortunately, it also doesn't come with a milk jug, but you can get a Casabrews milk jug for just $15 on Amazon.

If you get the 3700 Essential with the $38 portafilter, that's still only $137, which is a huge saving versus alternative machines. If you add on the milk jug, that's still only $153.

The 3700 is the best cheap espresso machine on the market, but it's not perfect. Unfortunately, you'll have to spend a little more to get technical perfection, which brings me to my next model.

2. Best mid-range espresso machine

There's very little competition. At this point, I'm not really sure why other manufacturers bother. The Breville Bambino Plus (Sage Bambino Plus in the U.K.) is, hands down, the best mid-range espresso machine money can buy.

This is my personal favorite espresso machine, and I use it every single day. Of all the machines I've tested, this is my top pick.

The Bambino Plus has a PID controller, which is basically a temperature regulator inside the machine. The PID controller ensures all the water is at the optimal temperature to prevent coffee from tasting burnt or weak.

This is a premium feature, and it's always nice to see affordable(ish) machines with this technology.

While you can't customize your extraction temperature to the degree like you can on my premium pick below, the Bambino Plus doesn't really need that feature. Every shot of espresso I pull on this machine is delicious, delectable, decadent, divine. It's just so good.

It's not just good at making espresso, though. The steam wand is one of the most powerful I've seen on a home espresso machine. It has 4 holes to create the perfect 'vortex' in milk. Other cheaper espresso machines (like some Casabrews and Gevi models) suffer from weak steam wands, but the Bambino Plus is capable of steaming fluffy, textured milk worthy of a specialty cafe.

I will never give up my Bambino Plus, and I can't recommend it enough.

3. Best premium espresso machine

Alright, I know for most people this espresso machine is a pipe dream. But if I had a) space and b) money, this would be the machine I'd get. I love my Bambino Plus, but the Smeg EMC02 (also known as the Smeg Semi-Professional espresso machine and Mini Pro in the U.K.) is on another level. The Smeg EMC02 was made with La Pavoni, which is the brand that (apparently) invented espresso as we know it. How cool is that?

When I was testing this espresso machine back in April, one of my colleagues said the latte I gave him was the "best coffee I've ever had." I'm not gonna brag, but come on. That is a pretty great soundbite.

In my 4.5-star review of the Smeg EMC02, I praised almost everything about it. Firstly, you can select the extraction temperature to a degree. Secondly, it has a built-in timer, and you can adjust pre-infusion and infusion to your heart's desire. Thirdly, the steam wand is the closest I've ever gotten to a commercial steam wand (well, since I was a barista).

As the Smeg EMC02 has three boilers, it can switch from espresso to steam and back to espresso again with no heating-up time. You could even extract espresso and steam milk simultaneously.

The group head is designed to look like an iconic E61, although it's not actually an E61; it's electric. This means while it heats up in minutes rather than hours, it does get very hot to the touch. That's perhaps my only negative feeling towards the EMC02, and it's not even that negative. Just don't be silly like me and touch the massive hot piece of metal.

More from Tom's Guide

• You're probably using your espresso machine wrong — I'm an ex-barista and here's what you need to know
• I'm a barista and I ditched my Breville Bambino Plus for this $129 espresso machine — is the $370 saving worth it?
• I've been testing the new Breville Oracle Dual Boiler — here's my first impressions of this $3,000 espresso machine

If you hadn’t heard, Breville (known as Sage here in the U.K.) just released an updated version of its Oracle Dual Boiler espresso machine, intended to be all things to all people… as long as they have $3,000 to spare.

The Oracle is designed in large part for cash-rich individuals who enjoy specialty coffee and milk drinks, but who don’t have the desire, time or patience to learn how to make espresso manually.

If you want it to, it'll do everything complicated about espresso for you. It grinds, doses, tamps, pulls shots and even textures milk. All you need to do for a flat white is press the flat white icon and then put the portafilter and jug where you’re told. Et voilà: you have a flat white. No dialling-in. No shot analysis. No texturing milk yourself. No skill required at all.

The thing is, Breville doesn’t market the Oracle exclusively to those people. This machine boasts a slew of features designed to pique the interest of genuine espresso enthusiasts as well. “Enjoy the best of both worlds,” says Breville. “Select Auto mode for automation at every stage or go for a hands-on barista experience with Manual mode.”

Like I said, the Oracle is supposed to be all things to all people: if you have both an espresso nerd and an uninterested coffee lover in the house, the Oracle is intended to serve both.

Only, it doesn’t. It really doesn’t. I’ve spent the last two weeks testing the Oracle. Unfortunately, if you’re an espresso enthusiast this machine will simply not hold up, which is a huge shame given a) how close it came, and b) the price.

So what’s wrong? Just like most espresso problems, it all comes down to the grind.

A plethora of nerdy features

I don’t want to be a total negative Nancy, so I’ll get the many positives down first. If anything, this serves as useful context — when you know how well the Oracle’s other features perform, its negatives are even more annoying.

As I mentioned up top, the Breville Oracle has plenty of really cool features that I’d want to see in a $3,000 machine. First up, emblazoned across its frontage are the words “DUAL BOILER”.

Now, this may be an unpopular opinion, but most people (even hardcore enthusiasts) don’t need dual boilers. Most home brewers rarely need to make more than one or two drinks at a time. A single boiler or thermoblock machine with a PID is more than capable of that. But that fact doesn’t stop me wanting one!

Dual boilers are like the endgame for coffee nuts. Car guys ‘n gals do just fine with their modified Miata, but if they had the money the endgame would be a Porsche 911 GT3 RS. Bikers do just fine with their 1995 600cc Honda, but the endgame would be a Ducati Panigale V4. I do just fine with my Rancilio Silvia V6, but my endgame would be the Diletta Mio. If you have the money one day, why not get the best?

And besides, dual boilers let you steam milk and pull espresso at the same time without one affecting the other, which is inherently useful to all espresso lovers: neither sits around while you sort the second, risking your crema deflating or your milk congealing.

The new Oracle also has a manual mode offering lots of cool features for nerds. Pre-infusion, blooming and brewing stages are all manually controlled, as are brew temps, and there’s a built-in shot timer for you to keep an eye on how long each of your stages lasts. All are great to have, giving plenty of fine control over espresso shots.

Sectumsempra!

The wand is also excellent. Pull it towards you and it enters manual mode, which is a joy. It has an interesting quirk where it pumps air at a super fast rate to begin with, spewing large bubbles into your milk. But I’ve found a quick pre-steam purge solves the issue, and thereafter it’s perfect for texturing everything, from flat whites to cappuccinos.

The wand also has a temperature sensor, so you can avoid overheating the milk and destroying the texture. And it’s powerful enough to take on large quantities of milk for oversized lattes or two-to-three smaller drinks.

…But

But — and it’s a big “but”, I cannot lie — all of the above is totally undermined by the Oracle’s grinder. In manual mode, I’m not exaggerating when I say it’s completely unusable.

The only way this grinder works is in the automatic dial-in / espresso mode. In auto, the Oracle’s group uses sensors to determine how well a shot is pulling and adjusts the grind accordingly for your next shot. The grinder likewise has sensors to calculate dose volumetrically, all to meet the correct pour time the machine wants to hit for its preset water volumes.

And it works! Run a couple of shots through, let it change grind size for you, and it doses on point from thereon out. But that ain’t gonna make an espresso nerd happy, is it?

For many, the whole point of getting into espresso is to control this stuff yourself. Breville knows that, and says the Oracle is capable enough to suit. Put the machine into manual mode, though, where you set the grind size and grind time, and the Oracle’s grinder is utterly woeful.

In manual mode, the machine is no longer sensing the volume of coffee dosed into shots. But that shouldn’t matter, because that’s the point of manual mode — you dial-in based on weight out, finding the correct ‘dose/grind size’ combo for the output you want. From then on, with your dose and grind size set, you can start to tweak variables for your desired output. That’s the fun. But your grinder needs to keep set doses and grind sizes consistent for everything to work.

Not a problem, right? If your grind size is the same and you’re dispensing for the same amount of time, it stands to reason the grinder will deliver the same amount of coffee each time. That’s how other timed-dose grinders like my Eureka Mignon Specialita work.

Dosage woes

Unfortunately, that’s not how the Oracle’s grinder works. In manual mode, the grinder is laughably inconsistent, to the point of being unusable. Using my Felicita Arc scale tared to the weight of the portafilter, I dialled in some light/medium roast coffee. At a grind size of 12 for 20 seconds of grinding, my dose was just over 18g. With a 35-second brew time and a 36g output, the espresso was spot on. The drink was good.

The next morning, however, using the same beans, the same grind size, the same grind time, my dose was… 13g. This was perhaps a one-off, I thought, or due to the grinder needing a purge last time around. So I left the grinder at its settings and simply ground a little more, stopping it after a few seconds until I had around 18g. The next shot later that morning — same beans, same grind size, same grind time, same day — 22g. That’s a 9g swing. Wild.

Perhaps it was the beans? Online discourse is damning about the original Oracle’s grinder, particularly when using light and medium roasts. So I switched to a medium/dark roast. Same problem. I dialled back in to 18g only to find a 3g swing to 21g the next day, with a further swing back to 16g later that morning.

So, I went even further, to a properly dark espresso roast — 100% Arabica, just to keep things as bog-standard as possible. Unfortunately, it was more of the same story. After dialling-in to 19g this time, the next morning I found myself with a 23g dose. Then back to a 17g dose. Then a 21.7g dose.

It’s unusable.

Auto-only

Every espresso enthusiast knows the most important piece of kit is the grinder. Breville knows this, too. To my mind, then, it’s completely unacceptable that a product marketed as suitable for automatic and manual use, especially when it costs $3,000, features a grinder this poor. What’s even more damning is that the grinder was also an issue on the previous model. This isn’t a novel problem. Breville owns Baratza (and the Oracle features Baratza burrs), so it knows how to make a good grinder. It could’ve solved this.

You can get around the issue by using the auto dose/espresso mode to fill your puck, then switching to manual mode to control pre-infusion, bloom and shot time. But that gives you no control over your puck. And where’s the fun in that?

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I'm an ex-barista, so I have a lot of experience in the world of coffee. Whether it was working the Christmas rush in my local Starbucks (don't remind me) or lovingly crafting artisanal flat whites at an independent coffee shop (please, do remind me), I've been there, done that.

Now, I'm on a mission to make the best home espresso I possibly can. I've got my arsenal of the best espresso machines, including Breville coffee makers and De'Longhi coffee makers, and Eureka grinders behind me. Hard life, right?

But growing more closely entwined with home espresso machines has made me realize that most people don't actually know how to get the most out of these machines. There's nothing wrong with that — espresso machines are confusing — so let me show you exactly how to level up your espresso and impress yourself.

You should customize shot volume

If you use your espresso machine right out of the box, it's likely that the shot volume is programmed to about 50ml. This is, to put it politely, a bit wacky.

The general rule of thumb is that espresso should follow 1:2 ratio. So if you dose 18g of coffee grounds, you should get 36g of espresso out. This means that the default shot volume of ~50ml is way too much.

As a result, you'll have a weak yet bitter espresso, with undesirable burned notes.

"But how do I know when my espresso is at 36g?" Let me introduce to you the best coffee scales. I've reviewed way too many coffee scales to count, and this is the affordable model I use every single day.

You could either place the coffee scale under your mug every time you pull a shot and manually stop the extraction once the espresso reaches your desired weight, or you could customize the shot volume manually.

If you want to customize the automatic shot volume, you'll need to consult your machine's user manual. Each espresso machine has a different way to do this: for example, on the Breville Bambino Plus, you have to hold down two buttons and then run water through the machine. There's little point me telling you how to do it on your machine as they all differ.

Personally, though, I don't have time for that. Especially when, depending on uncontrollable factors like bean porosity, humidity, grind evenness, this shot volume will differ day-to-day. As a result, I just manually start and stop extraction by pressing my machine's shot button.

You shouldn't use dual-walled portafilters

Most machines come with both single- and dual-walled portafilters, but some just come with dual-walled. If you're not sure on the difference or what any of this means, let me give you a quick rundown.

The portafilter is the metal basket where you put the coffee. There are many different types: the most common are single-walled and dual-walled. These are also known as unpressurized and pressurized respectively.

You don't want to use dual-walled/pressurized portafilters because they physically cannot make proper espresso. These metal baskets force the coffee water through a tiny little hole and aerate the liquid as it extracts. This means the flavor will be completely off, and the texture will be way too fluffy.

Here's what you should be looking out for.

As I said earlier, most espresso machines come with both portafilters. I want you to take the dual-walled portafilter and put it in the back of your kitchen drawer where no light shall shine upon it again. It's what she deserves.

If your espresso machine doesn't come with single-walled portafilters, don't worry. There's a workaround. Many espresso brands also sell first-party single-walled or bottomless portafilters. Bottomless portafilters are basically flat on the bottom (so no 'spout' like you might be used to) and look really, really cool.

If you've got a Casabrews machine, Casabrews sells bottomless portafilters for $38 on Amazon. If you've got a De'Longhi (the Stilosa doesn't come with single-walled portafilters in the U.S., for example), you can get third-party compatible portafilters on Amazon for around ~$40.

Usually, though, you won't have to buy another portafilter. Most machines I've come across do ship with both types of portafilter. Just make sure that you're using the one with the little grate on the bottom, not the single hole.

You'll definitely notice a difference in the flavor of your espresso, unless you're using pre-ground coffee, which brings me onto my next point...

You (probably) shouldn't use pre-ground coffee

Now, don't get me wrong, this is just me being a bit of a coffee snob. If you enjoy using pre-ground coffee, then that's fine. But I could never use pre-ground. It won't have the tart, juicy, fruity notes that I look for in coffee.

I hate dark roasted coffee, and, unfortunately, that's usually what you'll find in the pre-ground section. I am the kind of person who'd rather drink no coffee than bad coffee, so I'll only buy wholebean, specialty coffee.

To test coffee machines, I used a local coffee roaster called Hard Lines, and every single roast is utterly divine. If you're in the U.S., though, you won't be able to get Hard Lines beans.

My colleagues in the U.S. have recommended Atlas Coffee Club in the past, which is a nationwide coffee subscription/online delivery service.

If you start using wholebean coffee, you'll need a grinder. While most great grinders are expensive, I've tested enough now to know that there are a few exceptions to that rule. This is one of the most affordable grinders out there.

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I'm an ex-professional-barista and now a home espresso enthusiast. One of my favorite parts of my job is reviewing the best espresso machines — every model from the basic all the way up to $3,000 dual boilers and beyond — and I have an utter blast doing it.

But what's my favorite espresso machine? Probably the Breville Bambino Plus ($499). It's compact, intelligent, and brews delicious espresso. It's everything I would want in an espresso machine. It fits in almost any kitchen and levels up my coffee game.

So when I tested out the $129 Casabrews 3700 Essential, I couldn't help but compare it to the Bambino Plus. To me, the 3700 Essential looks and behaves like a Bambino Plus duplicate, so I thought I'd swap out the machines and find out if the $370 savings are worth it.

Espresso extraction

The Casabrews 3700 Essential only ships with dual-walled portafilters, which are pressurized baskets intended for use with pre-ground coffee. While this is a decent starting point for complete beginners, I wouldn't personally recommend using dual-walled portafilters or pre-ground coffee.

If you're not sure what the difference between dual-walled (pressurized) and single-walled (non-pressurized) portafilters are, let me show you a picture.

So, as the Casabrews Essential 3700 only comes with dual-walled baskets, if you want 'proper' espresso, you'll have to make an additional purchase. Thankfully, this additional purchase is only $38, and you can easily add it onto a Casabrews order.

So now that the playing ground is a little more even, we can compare the Casabrews 3700 Essential's espresso and the Breville Bambino Plus's espresso. Yep, it's a little annoying you have to buy a separate portafilter to get decent espresso from the 3700 Essential, but, come on, it's literally $129. Here are two side-by-side shots of Bambino Plus and 3700 Essential espresso.

As you can see, the Bambino Plus's espresso shot is bright amber, with a fluffy layer of crema. The 3700 Essential shot has thick crema, too, and you can see the layers between the body and the heart of the shot.

I'm not going to hold the darker color against the 3700 Essential, as I took the photo of the espresso about ten seconds after extraction finished, as opposed to one or two seconds on the Bambino Plus. That wouldn't be fair.

Now, I'll talk about flavor. Obviously there's no evidence I can show to support this claim, but the Bambino Plus's espresso tastes better. It is true — not surprisingly — that the Bambino Plus makes superior espresso to the Casabrews 3700 Essential.

That could be due to the Bambino Plus having a PID controller, which regulates water temperature to prevent espresso burning, and the 3700 Essential does not. Alternatively, it could be because the Bambino Plus has better pressure control, or maybe even because little goblins live in the Bambino Plus and inject every espresso shot with deliciousness serum.

Whatever the reason is, the fact of the matter is that the Breville Bambino Plus makes espresso better than the Casabrews 3700 Essential. I mean, are you surprised? I'm not. Breville is widely regarded in the coffee world as one of the most trustworthy and reliable (semi) affordable espresso machine manufacturers.

Even so, that's not to say that no one should buy the Casabrews 3700 Essential. I don't think the Bambino Plus's espresso is superior enough to justify a $370 price increase, especially if you're a beginner. While I, personally, would rather spend $499 on the Bambino Plus than $129 on the 3700 Essential, that doesn't mean everyone has to follow suit.

In a pinch, I could certainly see myself using the Casabrews machine and having a good time while using it. Among all the Casabrews models I've tested now, the 3700 Essential is probably the only one I would personally buy based on espresso taste.

Milk steaming

Right, now I'll talk about the steam wand on both the Bambino Plus and the 3700 Essential.

The long and short of it is this: when I was using the 3700 Essential, I longed for the sweet, sweet Bambino Plus steam wand. Make from that what you will.

The Bambino Plus has a 4-hole steam wand, whereas the 3700 Essential has just the one hole. While it's not a hard-and-fast rule, usually, the more holes, the stronger the steam, and the easier it is to texturize milk.

Here's some visual representation of what I'm talking about.

As you can see, the texture of each milk is, initially, comparable. However, if you look closely, you can see some more uneven bubbles in the 3700 Essential's milk. The Bambino Plus's milk is more structured and shiny.

It's much easier to get 'perfect' milk texture on the Bambino Plus, but some beginner baristas I've spoken to actually prefer the weaker steam wands of machines like the 3700 Essential. This is because it takes longer to steam the milk, and therefore there's more time for learning and self-correction.

Personally? As an experienced barista, I'm craving commercial-level steam wands like you'd find on the Smeg EMC02 and the Breville Oracle Dual Boiler.

For that reason, I was so happy to go back to my old faithful Bambino Plus. But that begs the question, is the difference between the steam wand of the Bambino Plus and 3700 Essential worth $370? Is the Bambino Plus capable of making $500 milk? Or is this just down to personal preference? What about for beginner baristas — do you actually want a lower-power machine to learn how to use one first?

You should consider longevity

Now, this section is my personal speculation, so please feel free to take with a pinch of salt. I've only had my Bambino Plus for six months, and I only used the 3700 Essential for a week.

However, I do know a thing or two about maintaining an espresso machine.

The Bambino Plus comes with a bunch of cleaning products: a cleaning disc, some brushes, and Breville has a huge range of aftermarket solutions available for purchase on its website. There's also a horde of information online about how to tinker with your Breville machine.

Comparatively, Casabrews doesn't ship a single cleaning product in the 3700 Essential's box. I actually pawed through the box a few times, desperately searching for — at least — a cleaning disc.

Then, in the 3700 Essential manual, it actively warns against unscrewing the shower screen. But how are you supposed to clean the mulch inside the shower screen? I've unscrewed my Bambino Plus' screen a few times and cleaned the inside, and it's often been a bit vile.

So it makes me a little wary that you are told not to clean the shower screen.

Also, the 3700 Essential's boiler is prone to overheating, and you often have to purge excess steam from the wand before pulling a shot of espresso. What does this mean for its longevity? Will the boiler be able to handle years of slinging shot after shot?

Both the Bambino Plus and the 3700 Essential have removable water tanks, so you'll be able to clean both well, and removable plastic drip trays. The exterior of both machines is very similar, so it's not the exterior I'm worried about.

However, the Casabrews 3700 Essential is just $129... so, theoretically, if one machine lasts two years, you could buy 3.9 3700 Essentials for the price of one Bambino Plus... which works out to eight years of service. Eight years is usually the lifetime of a Breville espresso machine (according to users on sites like Reddit).

Would I make the switch permanent?

The short answer is no, but the long answer is, well, long. You've just read 1,500 words of explanation.

I would rather pay $370 extra for a more powerful machine, so I am happy to go back to my Bambino Plus now. I've got over three years of barista experience under my belt, so, personally, I want a machine that can match the power of the commercial machines I cut my teeth on.

However, I think if you're a beginner, and you want your first espresso machine, then you should get the Casabrews model. If you've already had an espresso machine and you want to level up, then you should get the Bambino Plus.

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I'm a huge fan of Sage espresso machines. Combining automated features with the power of a souped-up manual brewer, they allow anyone to feel like a pro barista right at home. And best of all, they're capable of extracting the very best espresso out of every single bean.

And today, Sage has released its most impressive creation to date. The latest iteration of its most premium Oracle line, the Dual Boiler uses the high-performance tech of a coffee shop machine which will allow you to brew coffee and steam milk at the same time. It's a win for speed and efficiency, but also a sign of just how powerful this latest release can be.

The Oracle Dual Boiler is also Sage's most expensive ever machine, retailing for just shy of £2,500. That's £500 more expensive than the Oracle Touch, which first hit markets nearly a year ago.

What's new?

The Sage Oracle Dual boiler has the classic look of a traditional Sage machine. It's, in a word, gorgeous. But the control panel does remind me of a speedometer, almost like it's a supercar that's accelerating as it extracts your espresso.

It's a smart parallel to draw, because the Oracle Dual Boiler does seem like the Ferrari of espresso machines. With a dual boiler design that allows you to brew and steam all at once, it's firing on all cylinders with every use, and you'll never have to worry that your coffee is over- or under-extracted, because it doses, tamps, and extracts automatically.

All you really need to do is follow the instructions on the screen to ensure you've got the right grind size, and you're good to go.

You can switch between Auto and Manual modes when using this new machine, allowing you to cruise on sports mode for a guaranteed tasty coffee with minimal effort, or dial in for a fully manual experience, including hand-steaming and working with your own ratios.

If you opt for Auto, you can choose from a selection of pre-loaded recipes for everything from a simple espresso or latte to an oat milk flat white. And the machine will even tailor the temperature of your milk depending on your preferred type, using its Auto MilQ hands-free microfoam settings.

We've already tried the Sage Oracle Dual Boiler espresso machine in our own testing centre, and if our first impressions are anything to go by, Sage is onto a winner with this new machine. Reviewer Erin Bashford says, "This is one of the most impressive steam wands I've ever used", and enjoyed making flawless latte art from her very first use.

Another feature Erin loves is the in-built tamping. "If you're the kind of barista who hates dealing with coffee grounds all over your kitchen, or you hate the idea of having to buy a separate grinder, then this is the machine for you."

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The Breville Oracle Dual Boiler (Sage Oracle Dual Boiler in the U.K.) released on Monday, September 15. You can purchase the machine for $2,999 from Breville U.S. and £2,499 from Sage U.K..

Yep, this is a top-of-the-range espresso machine. But is it one of the best espresso machines? Well, it's certainly one of the best Breville espresso machines I've used. The Oracle Dual Boiler straddles the line between an espresso enthusiast/prosumer coffee machine. Some espresso evangelists might not be impressed, and that's fine, but I think the Oracle Dual Boiler is awesome. It's the Titan of the espresso world.

I've not written my full review yet — that will be coming soon — but I've compiled a few of my first impressions here. Spoiler alert: this is one of the most intelligent espresso machines I've ever used. It's like a smartphone and a coffee machine rolled into one beautiful, ingenious piece of tech.

The king of all steam wands

My favorite thing about the Breville Oracle Dual Boiler? The steam wand. This is one of the most impressive steam wands I've ever used. It's about a half inch thick, so already sturdier than most other home espresso machines I've used. The steam itself is expressed through four holes, rather than the one hole you might find on cheaper machines.

The steam wand is powerful, but it's also very precise. I found it very, very easy to get barista-quality microfoam. I've worked at artisan coffee shops and chain coffee shops, and the Oracle Dual Boiler's steam wand is near-identical to one you'd find on a commercial machine. The closest comparison is the Smeg EMC02 Mini Pro, which is one of the most impressive steam wands I've ever used.

Take a look at an oat milk latte I made on the Oracle Dual Boiler. Bear in mind this is oat milk, so not as velvety as cow milk, and I used manual mode, not the AutoIQ setting (which I've not tested fully yet — I'll discuss that in my upcoming review).

I can't lie, I'm really proud of that latte art. This is probably the closest I've come to my barista-level latte art I used to bash out every day.

Here's a photo of cow milk latte art — this was the first drink I made on the Oracle Dual Boiler.

I know the milk is a little too bubbly, but as I mentioned above, this was the very first drink I made on this machine. I think for a first attempt, this is pretty good.

The steam wand also self-purges, like other Breville machines, and has a live temperature sensor so you don't scald your milk. How cool is that?

The Oracle Dual Boiler is (if you hadn't guessed) a dual boiler machine, which means it uses separate boilers for espresso and the steam wand. You'll be able to steam milk and pull shots simultaneously, which means you should be able to sling drink after drink should you so desire.

I'm so excited to drink way too many coffees this week as I test every aspect of the Breville Dual Boiler — it's been thrilling thus far.

Mess-free self tamping

When I first unboxed the Breville Dual Boiler, I was about ten seconds away from messaging customer service, demanding why the machine had shipped without a tamper. I jest — I was more confused than anything — but, yeah, it's worth noting that this machine doesn't come with a tamper.

You'd easily be able to buy a Breville 58mm tamper should you so desire, but the Oracle Dual Boiler isn't designed to require a tamper.

The tamper is built in to the machine itself. Unfortunately that means I can't show you a photo lest I deconstruct the machine, but here's a photograph of the group handle while grinding and tamping.

The machine doses, grinds, and tamps all automatically. (I'll get into this later, but dialing in is a bit of a nightmare.) If you're the kind of barista who hates dealing with coffee grounds all over your kitchen, or you hate the idea of having to buy a separate grinder, then this is the machine for you.

From experience, the grinding takes a while. The first few times I used this machine, I stopped the tamping before it had finished, as I thought I had done it wrong. It takes a good forty seconds or more to grind and tamp. Just let the machine do its thing — it knows what it's doing.

Once I got used to this feature, though, I enjoyed it. I loved not having to clean up my counter after making a coffee.

The self-tamping is akin to the "Smart Tamping System" found on the De'Longhi La Specialista Opera, but with a little more automation. The De'Longhi version requires the barista to pull on a handle and tamp internally, but the Breville version literally does everything. You put the group handle in, and a minute later, you've got a perfectly tamped puck, ready for extraction.

Sure, coffee purists will criticize this and say it's not as good as a human barista, and that may be true. Some coffee purists decry all built in grinders, and, again, that may be for good reason. But the Oracle Dual Boiler isn't for that kind of home barista, and that's fine.

Espresso worthy of a specialty coffee shop

But there's a caveat to this one, which I'll get into below. Once you're dialed in (which is finding the perfect grind for your beans), the espresso is utterly marvelous. I used the provided 58mm single-walled portafilter and the espresso was divine.

The espresso is rich, balanced, and juicy, with a beautifully thick crema and layered flavors. Say goodbye to unpleasant bitterness and weak shots, because once you've found the right grind, the Oracle Dual Boiler will pull espresso worthy of the fanciest specialty coffee shop in your city.

While I don't think the espresso tastes any different from the Breville Bambino Plus ($499), the Oracle Dual Boiler and the Bambino Plus have different use cases. The Bambino Plus is intended for smaller spaces, and doesn't have a grinder.

The Oracle Dual Boiler is the Titan of the coffee world: it's massive (18 inches high, and takes up a whole countertop in my kitchen), with an 81-fluid ounce water tank, and a Baratza grinder built in.

As the use cases are so different, so is the target demographic. If, like me, you have a small kitchen and are happy using a hand grinder, you'll get Oracle Dual Boiler-level espresso with the compact Bambino Plus.

But if you want size and substance, you'd definitely find yourself right at home with the Oracle Dual Boiler.

But... it's a dialing-in nightmare

As promised, the aforementioned caveat. Once I got myself dialed in, the Oracle Dual Boiler pulled espresso delectable to serve to angels. Espresso ambrosia, so to speak.

Even so, the process of dialing myself in was so frustrating and so time-consuming that I wanted to give up. I've only had this machine for three days, and I am learning how to use it as we speak. I know this will not be an issue further down the line, once I'm more familiar with the Oracle Dual Boiler's inner workings.

However, dialing in my light roast beans took 23 minutes and almost a full 200g bag of coffee.

Let me just say that I know most coffee drinkers tend to gravitate towards dark roast beans, so perhaps Breville designed the Oracle Dual Boiler with that in mind.

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I recently got my hands on one of the newest and most exciting drip coffee makers: the Breville Luxe Brewer.

It's a drip coffee maker, not a coffee percolator, French press, moka pot, or pour-over coffee maker— they are all different —and works by submerging coffee grounds with nearly-boiling water and then 'dripping' from the filter into a serving jug or carafe.

So the Breville Luxe Brewer words by submersion rather than agitation, and in my opinion, makes delectable coffee 10 times faster than you'd expect. I was able to make 12 cups of hot fresh coffee in 3 minutes.

Now, I know espresso and drip coffee have inherently different flavors. Coffee brigade, please don't come for me. However, I also know that learning how to use an espresso machine is actually quite tricky.

Sometimes you don't want to fiddle with pressure and tamping and dosing; sometimes you just want hot caffeine bean juice and you want it now. So if you want homemade coffee but you don't like espresso machines, here's why the Breville Luxe Brewer just might be the machine for you.

One-touch super-fast coffee

The Breville Luxe Brewer is so fast. Like, blink-and-you-miss-it fast. Well, assuming you blink for 3 minutes and 15 seconds.

The Luxe Brewer does what no other drip coffee machine has ever done before (not one I've seen anyway): it brews 12 cups of black coffee in 3 minutes and 15 seconds. No, that's not a typo. I know, I was shook too. In the office we were so surprised that we thought we were doing it wrong.

But there's not really anything you can do wrong. The Luxe Brewer is as easy as this: pour ground coffee into the filter basket, fill the water tank with your desired amount, and press 'Brew'. Yes, that's literally it.

Whereas the best espresso machines require: coffee ground to the perfect size for pressure and speed, tamping, dosing, a coffee scale, and more. It can be a bit of a headache for some people, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Personally, I prefer the flavor of espresso over drip coffee, but if you want speed and convenience over flavor, then a drip machine might be more your vibe.

Even so, the Luxe Brewer makes delicious coffee. I've tested a few drip brewers by now — the Moccamaster and Aarke Coffee Maker are perhaps the most famous of the bunch — and none really brewed delectable coffee like the Luxe Brewer.

It's worth noting that the Luxe Brewer is SCA-accredited (Specialty Coffee Association), which basically means the machine meets a certain number of fundamental design and functionality requirements. This doesn't guarantee perfect coffee every time, but it means it's a little easier thanks to the built-in PID controller (temperature control).

An experimenter's dream

Are you familiar with the concept of a 1950s American diner? Well, of course you are. In my mind, I associate drip coffee with a big-haired, wide-eyed waitress wearing a little white apron and announcing in a syrupy-sweet, "Refills are on the house, y'all." No? Just me?

Anyway, I was fully expecting to live out my 1950s dreams with the Luxe Brewer. I anticipated coffee so black and so intense I'd wince with every sip. But I was wrong.

The Luxe Brewer is so easy to experiment with. You aren't restricted to specific doses or grind sizes. You can use one of the best coffee grinders and best coffee scales to ensure you get the optimal ratio of coffee:water (I went for 1:18, which some would say is too weak, but for me it's perfect).

If you like intense brews, I'd recommend dropping the ratio to as low as 1:15. Of course, you can grind your beans finer as well to get an even more intense flavor. Personally, this style of brewing wouldn't mesh with my light-roasted beans very well, so I will stick to my 1:18 ratio of medium-coarse ground coffee.

But that's what makes the Luxe Brewer such a great stress-free brewer. You don't need to dose a certain amount or be able to reach a certain level of pressure like an espresso machine.

If you're patient enough to wait for the water to drip through, you could theoretically make an ultra-strong blackest-of-black coffee with finely ground beans and a small amount of water. It would taste vile, but you can do it, and that's what makes this machine so fun.

Want cold brew? No problem

Cold brew isn't that rare of a brewing mode these days — many of the best coffee makers, like the older Breville Precision Brewer, have a cold brew mode. The Luxe Brewer has a cold brew setting too, which is a nice touch.

But do I think it's necessary?

Hmm, not massively. You can make cold brew in a French press (I use the Espro P7 to make cold brew) without needing to sacrifice using your drip brewer for however long it takes the cold brew to steep.

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The Breville Luxe Brewer — called Sage Luxe Brewer in the U.K. — came out in May 2025, and is the newest drip brewer on Breville’s lineup. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m 99.9% sure it’s the fastest brewer on the market. The Luxe Brewer can make 60 ounces of coffee in 3 minutes and 15 seconds. No, that’s not a typo. 3 minutes 15 seconds. I know — I’m shook.

And it’s not just speed over quality, either. Breville’s coffeemakers are ‘SCA approved’, which basically means the machine meets standards set out by the Specialty Coffee Association. This is something you’d want to look for if you are serious about coffee.

So is the Breville Luxe Brewer one of the best coffee makers money can buy right now? Short answer: yes. Long answer… keep reading this Breville Luxe Brewer review.

Breville Luxe Brewer review: Cheat sheet

• Who is it for? Drip coffee enthusiasts
• What does it cost? $349 / £249
• What does it do well? It brews a full carafe in 3 minutes!
• What are its weaknesses? It’s quite expensive and doesn’t have as many impressive features as the Fellow drip brewer
• Anything else to know? The Breville Luxe Brewer is the fastest drip brewer I’ve ever seen

Breville Luxe Brewer review: Specs

Breville Luxe Brewer review: Price & availability

Breville currently makes two drip coffee brewers: the Luxe Brewer — available since May 2025, which is $349 from Amazon U.S.; and 2017’s Breville Precision Brewer, priced at $329 from Amazon U.S..

In the U.K., the Sage Luxe Brewer (same product, different name) is £249 from Amazon, which is much more affordable than in the U.S. (for some reason).

The Luxe Brewer comes with both glass and metal carafes: I tested the metal carafe, which is thermally-insulated and keeps coffee warm for 4 hours. The glass is $319 and the thermal is $349, and I think it’s worth the extra $30 if you want your coffee to maintain temperature for a long time.

Ninja has a similar coffeemaker: the Hot and Cold Brewed System, which came out in 2018 and is $229. The Ninja option also makes tea, so could be a preferable option if you’re a huge tea drinker. However, the Ninja is 3 inches bigger than the Breville Luxe Brewer, so not optimal for small spaces.

The Fellow Aiden is our best coffee maker overall. While quality doesn’t come cheap — it’s $399 — it’s still pretty hard to beat. With a gorgeous construction and app compatibility, the Aiden is the top-of-the-range coffeemaker, but isn’t necessarily the best option if you want a straightforward machine.

Breville Luxe Brewer review: Design

As with other Breville/Sage products, the Luxe Brewer is gorgeous. It’s quite large, at 16 inches tall and almost 15 inches wide, so make sure your kitchen has enough space before purchasing. The Luxe Brewer fit on the kitchen countertop in our office, but wouldn’t fit in my home kitchen.

On top of being objectively beautiful, the Luxe Brewer is also well designed. There are three moving parts: the water tank, the filter basket, and the carafe. As I mentioned in the ‘Price & availability’ section above, the carafe is available in glass or thermal. I tested the thermal.

The water tank is a huge 60 ounces (1.8 liters) and is fully removable, so it’s very easy to empty and refill. There are measurements on the side of the tank so you can fill the desired amount simply. I found it easy to clean, too, thanks to the removable lid and wide opening. The tank slots nicely onto the brewer itself.

As you’d expect from a drip brewer, the coffee filter basket slots in above the carafe. I had no problems slotting the basket in accurately every time. There were no sharp edges, unlike the Aarke Coffee Maker ($349).

There are actually three filters: a reusable mesh filter, a 10-cup filter basket (that requires a paper filter, provided), and a conical filter (that requires V60 #2 filters, not provided). I mostly used the reusable mesh filter, but obviously I tested the brewer with all three filter types.

The mesh filter is obviously best for the environment — yes, the paper filters are compostable, but the mesh filter prevents them from being manufactured in the first place, which is undoubtedly better for the planet — which is why I gravitated towards it. I’ll admit, though, that the #2 V60 filters result in a better-tasting coffee.

On the whole, I love how the Luxe Brewer looks. While not much has changed from the Precision Brewer, I don’t think that’s a bad thing. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Breville Luxe Brewer review: Performance

The main difference between the 2025 Luxe Brewer and 2017 Precision Brewer is the range of brewing modes. The 2017 Precision Brewer has ‘Fast’, ‘Gold’, ‘Strong’, ‘Over Ice’ and ‘Cold Brew. Comparatively, the Luxe Brewer has just two modes: ‘Brew’ and ‘Cold Brew’.

But don’t assume the Luxe Brewer is slacking — the reason it has fewer modes is because it doesn’t need them. The Luxe Brewer takes just 3 minutes and 15 seconds to brew 60 fluid ounces of coffee. There’s no point having a ‘Fast’ feature if its default setting is, well, fast.

If you want to achieve the Precision Brewer’s ‘Gold’ or ‘Strong’ modes, then you’d just put more or less coffee in the filter basket. There are handy diagrams for optimal doses in the user manual, so I’d recommend playing with these to find out your personal preference.

As I mentioned earlier, the Luxe Brewer is SCA-approved. This basically means it meets standards set out by the Specialty Coffee Association, such as including a PID controller to ensure optimal water temperature. This doesn’t mean every single serving of coffee it makes will be automatically delicious, though — you’ll still need to understand ratios and grind sizes to get perfect results.

Even so, having this SCA approval is good peace of mind. You’ll be safe in the knowledge that the machine is at least capable of brewing technically-perfect coffee. Other machines with this approval are the: Aarke Coffee Maker ($349), Fellow Aiden ($399), OXO 12-Cup Coffee Maker ($299), and the Braun MultiServe Coffee Maker ($239).

As you can see, all of these coffee makers are over $239. Even though the Luxe Brewer is $349, this still feels expensive for a one-trick-pony machine, especially in this economy. Don’t get me wrong, the Luxe Brewer performs exceptionally well, but this is still a considerable amount of money. I’ll discuss its performance in detail so you can come to a well-informed conclusion.

Brew

Using the Breville Luxe Brewer is very straightforward: fill the basket with your desired amount of coffee, fill the water tank with your desired amount of water and press ‘Brew’. The machine takes care of everything else. It’s really as easy as that. If you want consistent, reliable, and fast coffee, then I’d recommend this machine wholeheartedly. This is definitely worth it for those days when you just want to guzzle hot coffee and guzzle it now.

Yes, the Luxe Brewer has just one hot brewing mode — ‘Brew’. As I mentioned earlier, there’s little point in having a ‘Fast’ setting, as the entire pot brews in just 3 minutes and 15 seconds. This is a game-changer for small coffee shops — you’d be able to serve fresh drip coffee in 3 minutes.

This brewing time is faster than the Aarke Coffee Maker’s 7 minutes, the Ninja Hot and Cold Brewing System’s 10 minutes, and the Technivorm Moccamaster’s 6 minutes. The Breville Luxe Brewer is, by far, the fastest drip brewer I’ve ever seen.

I really can’t fault the brewing process: it’s completely streamlined and negates user error. While, no, I don’t think the taste is as complex and as nuanced as espresso (but I am an espresso girlie), it’s very adaptable. You can easily fiddle with the grind and ratio to achieve a flavor you like.

The Luxe Brewer has a keep warm feature, but this only works on the glass version. The metal carafe keeps coffee hot for over 4 hours so you don’t need the keep warm feature at all.

Taste will obviously depend on your personal preference, but I went for a ratio of 18:1. If you like a stronger coffee, drop the water, and if you like a weaker coffee, increase the water amount. Grind will also depend on your personal preference, but I opted for a medium-coarse grind.

The Luxe Brewer doesn’t do anything new in terms of flavor — it’s drip coffee and it tastes like drip coffee. But is there anything wrong with that? Not at all. I primarily drink black coffee these days and I can’t fault the taste. It’s delicious, not too strong or intense (but can obviously be adjusted with ratio and grind). There’s a very slight oil on the surface, which I personally like because oil is where lots of flavor is held, but this can be eradicated with paper filters.

While the Luxe Brewer is primarily a hot coffee machine, it also has a cold brew setting, which I’ll discuss now.

Cold brew

I found the cold brew feature a little baffling at first. As Breville’s user manual is a series of uninformative hieroglyphics, it took me a few attempts to actually figure out what on earth I was doing.

So the cold brew feature can run from 30 minutes to well over 24 hours. As I didn’t have time for 24 hour cold brew — and if I did, I’d make cold brew with a French press in the refrigerator as I normally do — I let the cold brew steep for one hour.

I put 17g of coffee and about 10oz of water in the Luxe Brewer, then I selected ‘cold brew’ and changed my time from the default 24 hours to one hour. You have to remove the carafe lid to prevent the water from pouring straight into the carafe. After your allotted time, the Luxe Brewer will release the cold brew into the carafe.

I was curious how the Luxe Brewer would fare with one-hour cold brew, but I was pleasantly surprised. It tasted how you’d expect one hour cold brew to taste — pretty weak and pale in color — but the juicy fruity notes from my beans came through nicely. I would recommend letting the coffee steep for more than one hour (12 is the minimum I’d usually steep cold brew for), but if you’re in a rush, this is a pretty neat feature.

However, the Luxe Brewer is primarily a hot coffee machine, and while the cold brew setting is nice to have, I don’t think I’d ever reach for it. I always make cold brew in a French press (my Espro P7 is my go-to, or the Instant Cold Brewer we awarded 4 stars). Personally, I wouldn’t like being unable to make hot coffee for however long my cold brew was steeping for.

Breville Luxe Brewer review: Storage & maintenance

Thankfully, Breville offers a 2-year warranty with the Luxe Brewer. However, this is not industry leading. Aarke offers 5 years, Braun offers 3 years, and Fellow offers 3 years. I’d like to see Breville upgrade this warranty to at least 3 years to maintain competitive warranty periods.

In terms of cleaning, the Breville Luxe Brewer is very easy to clean. As I mentioned above, the water tank is removable so it’s easy to clean. The mesh filter basket is easy to clean too, as is the conical and wide filter basket. The carafe opening is big enough for my hand so it’s easy to clean. No parts are dishwasher safe, so I’d recommend only cleaning by hand.

Breville provides you with 10 paper filters, but afterwards you’ll need to buy them separately. The conical filters are $7 for 100 Hario V60 #2 on Amazon and Amazon Basics flat-bottomed paper filters are $2 for 200 (although I’ve not used these personally).

Alternatively, you could simply use the reusable mesh filter provided with the Luxe Brewer. I mostly gravitated towards that, although I know some coffee evangelists will say it’s not as good as the paper filter due to sediment (I didn’t find it sediment-y though).

I was super impressed to see that the Luxe Brewer comes with a Claroswiss water filter (or, mine did, anyway). This will help prevent limescale buildup, but you should still descale depending on your area’s water hardness (the brewer comes with a hardness test strip).

Breville Luxe Brewer review: How does it compare?

If you want to get really granular with your brew and understand your coffee on a deeper level, it’s got to be the Fellow Aiden. However, at $400, this isn’t a cheap machine, but it could be worth the extra $50 compared to the Breville Luxe Brewer.

The most affordable SCA-approved drip brewer is the Braun MultiServe Coffee Maker (just $239), and it’s around the same size as the Breville option. I would recommend this if you wanted to save as much money as possible, and it appears as easy to use as the Breville. However, I’ve not tested it myself so I can’t wholeheartedly recommend it.

If you don’t want an electric drip brewer, you should check out our best pour-over coffee makers. The most similar to the Breville Luxe Brewer is probably the Chemex, which can brew up to 10 cups at once (as long as you buy the 10 cup version, obviously), but it’s a little trickier to use, and requires more patience and finesse.

Breville Luxe Brewer review: Verdict

Having tested a fair amount of coffee gear (feels like almost the entire industry!), I’m confident that the Breville Luxe Brewer does something no other machine is capable of. It can make hella coffee hella quickly. And you know what really surprised me?

It actually tasted really, really good. Usually I’m ambivalent about drip coffee, but not the drip coffee I made on the Luxe Brewer. It was balanced and layered in flavor without being weak. The delicate floral notes from my medium-light roasted beans came through, and it didn’t taste burnt or stale after four hours in the thermal carafe.

The Luxe Brewer is by far one of the quickest and easiest ways to brew coffee. I’d recommend it for any low-effort home barista. Don’t feel like learning how to use an espresso machine, or don’t like using an espresso machine? The Luxe Brewer is for you.

I thought the Breville Bambino Plus was overrated... until I reviewed it. I tested the iconic Bambino Plus back in April and immediately was obsessed. So obsessed, in fact, that I have since ditched my De'Longhi and got the Bambino Plus.

Breville is often considered one of the best (if not the best) home espresso machine manufacturer. The brand makes a range of other machines: the Breville Barista Express, Breville Barista Touch, Breville Dual Boiler... you name it, the machine likely exists. The Barista Express is the most affordable high-end Breville option.

But what do all these machines have in common? They all suffer from the same malady as the Bambino Plus: imperfect default shot volume. But don't worry, I'm going to teach you exactly how to reconfigure your Breville machine — in seconds — to get the perfect espresso every time.

What's the problem?

So, out of the box, Breville espresso machines are programmed to run a set amount of water for single and double shots. On the Bambino Plus, the single shot default volume is 30ml, and the double shot default volume is 60 ml.

Breville recommends an 8-11g dose for a single shot and a 16g-19g dose for a dual shot.

Ideally, you want your espresso at a 1:2 ratio. So, for every one part of coffee, you're putting two parts water through it. For 5g of coffee, you'd want a 10ml espresso. Now, let's do a bit of math (sarcastic 'yay' inbound).

If the single shot volume is 30ml, I should be dosing 15g of coffee. Then, if the double shot volume is 60ml, I should be dosing... 30g coffee?

Hmm. That doesn't sound right.

If I'm drinking a 60ml shot with only 16g of coffee, that's not an espresso. That's basically a lungo to the max. This will result in a mild yet bitter flavor, and won't taste great in a latte or flat white.

Take a look at these two photos to demonstrate exactly what I mean. Both shots used the same beans, same grind, both dosed 18g.

The first picture is default shot volume (which ended up pulling 55.5g of espresso); the second is my customized shot volume (which ended up pulling 37.1g of espresso).

In my opinion, the second shot looks much better. The honey-colored crema is thicker and fluffier, and the body of the shot looks stronger. The second shot tasted more delicious, with tarter, juicier flavors, without any of the stale bitterness of the first shot.

(After taking a sip, I gave the first shot to my boyfriend. He is less of a I-can-taste-the-grapefruit-notes-in-this-espresso coffee drinker and more of a hot-bean-juice-energize-me-now kind of coffee drinker, so he didn't mind.)

Personally, I would never drink the first shot of coffee. But I am picky. If, like me, you want artisan-level barista-pro coffee, then you'll probably rather drink the second shot too.

Alright, how do I fix it?

Thankfully, it's really easy! All you'll need to do is configure your Breville espresso machine to pull double the water to the amount of coffee you usually use. Do you go for the traditional 18g double shot dose? Then set up your machine to pull 36g of water.

Tend to go for a 12g single shot? Then dose your machine to pull 24g of water.

It might take a few attempts to get it perfect, and I'd recommend getting one of the best coffee scales to know the exact amount of coffee.

(When I say 'shot button', I mean the button on the front of the machine with a cup or two cup icon. If you're changing the single shot volume, press the single shot button. If you're changing the double shot volume, press the double shot button.)

Here's exactly how you do it on the Bambino Plus: press and hold the single and double shot buttons for 2 seconds, or until they flash.

Press the shot button to start extraction. When your coffee reaches the desired volume, press the shot button again to stop extraction.

On the Barista Express, you do it the exact same way, but you press the 'program' button instead of the shot buttons.

If you've got a different Breville machine, consult the user manual. Some fancier machines (like the Oracle Jet) have a dedicated 'Menu' button for settings like this.

More from Tom's Guide

• I just discovered this simple hack to tell if you're brewing good espresso — and I wish I learned it sooner
• Best espresso machines 2025
• 3 tips for making the perfect coffee at home — from an ex-barista

I'm on a mission to try out every single one of the best espresso machines. I don't think I'm a crazy coffee lover until I start going through my list of dream espresso machines: like the more traditional Rocket espresso machines or Lelit espresso machines, the Breville Oracle Jet, or the as-prosumer-as-prosumer-gets Slayer espresso machines.

But to get great coffee you need a great grinder, whether that's a Baratza Encore, Comandante hand grinder, or a budget Breville option. Thankfully, I've tested loads of 'em, too.

But even though I review countless espresso machines, my heart always yearns for one. One small, unassuming, special little machine: the Breville Bambino Plus.

What to look for on espresso machines

Before I tell you exactly what machine I recommend for most people, there's a few details you should know about.

Don't buy a budget espresso machine without checking for important features first. These features are integral to a good machine. You'll want a PID controller, which prevents your coffee from burning or tasting weak, a powerful steam wand, and single-walled portafilters (not dual).

Thankfully, the machine I'm about to recommend has all three of these, and is under $500.

Of course it's the Breville Bambino Plus. Every coffee I make on this machine is delectable, delicious, decadent. It steams milk like a pro. And it's just so easy to use.

But I know espresso machines are a big purchase, which is why there are a few more things you should probably take into account before you buy one.

What to think about when shopping for espresso machines

Firstly, you'll need to come up with a budget. While some machines are as cheap as $150, they won't perform well without a good grinder — which start from about $150.

Secondly, you'll need to think about your home. Do you have a small kitchen? Do you have a dedicated countertop for the espresso machine + coffee setup? Will the coffee machine be out all of the time?

Thirdly, you'll need to figure out what you want in an espresso machine. Do you prioritize delicious espresso over milk texture? Or do you want to be able to pour Instagrammable lattes?

Once you've got these figured out, you'll be able to choose an espresso machine with confidence. But, as I said in my headline, there's only one machine I would choose over and over again: the Breville Bambino Plus.

The only espresso machine you need to buy

If I spent the rest of my days waxing lyrical about this espresso machine, it wouldn't be enough. I need to praise this machine until I'm blue in the face — maybe that'll really get my point across.

I adore the Breville Bambino Plus.

Everything about this machine is perfect for me. Obviously, you may have different requirements, but for most people, I'll always recommend the Bambino Plus.

The PID controller means every single shot is perfect. The steam wand can turn milk into delightfully smooth foam in under a minute. It's compact enough to fit in most kitchens. And it's beyond easy to use. Perfect for beginners, casual coffee drinkers, and enthusiasts alike.

More from Tom's Guide

• I asked an expert why automatic espresso machines and manual espresso machines taste different — and I'm really surprised
• Best coffee grinders 2025
• 3 tips for making the perfect coffee at home — from an ex-barista

I'm pretty much useless until I have my morning cup of coffee. I need that little jolt of caffeine to get me going. And lately, I've been wanting to treat myself to a nice espresso machine.

There are a ton of Prime Day deals on coffee makers of all stripes, but after much deliberation, I've decided to go with the Breville Bambino Plus, which is $100 off on Amazon for Prime Day. Here's why.

I've tested a handful of the best coffee makers and espresso machines over the years, and while I've found a lot of great models, I've generally gravitated towards Breville. Its kitchen products are excellent — I also have a much-loved toaster oven that's been going strong for nearly a decade — and I've used some of the company's other espresso machines, like the Barista Express.

But don't just take my word for it: In our Breville Bambino Plus review, we gave it 4.5 stars and an Editor's choice, and named it the best espresso machine under $500.

So why didn't I opt for a model with a built in grinder? A couple of reasons.

The first is that I don't always want an espresso or cappuccino in the morning. Sometimes, I want a big pot of joe, so I turn to my trusty French Press and by Fellow Stag Kettle (on sale for $135 at Amazon).

I also have a separate coffee grinder, so I can switch between coarser or finer grounds based on what I'm making.

And I have pretty limited counter space, and the Bambino Plus' 12 x 7.6-inch footprint means it won't dominate my kitchen.

Lastly, the Bambino Plus lets you adjust the microfoam when making lattes. I still struggle with frothing milk just right, so any help I can get in this department is welcome.

Today is the last Amazon Prime Day, so it's worth jumping on this, as well as any other deal, as you're not likely to see sales like this until Black Friday.

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It's a well-known fact that Breville makes some of the best coffee makers on the market, but while most of these are espresso machines, it's also in the business of making drip brewers.

And its newest addition, the Luxe Brewer, joined Breville's premium line-up in May offering the "next generation" of one-touch filter coffee at home.

And I'm pleased to reveal that while it's only been on the market for a few months, it's just been released in four new eye-catching colors.

Sea Salt, Olive Tapenade, Black Truffle and Damson Blue are now available, meaning you can choose between a soft neutral shade, earthy green, deep charcoal or rich tone blue.

All for the same $319.95 price at Breville.com, unless you opt for the thermal carafe, in which case it's $349.95.

Colorful kitchens

Breville is one of the many brands embracing a pop of color in the kitchen. When I discovered Breville's brass accents range recently, I was immediately obsessed. And now, it's brought those four new colors to the Luxe Brewer.

It's a serious trend right now across kitchen appliances. For coffee makers, the Fellow Aiden released in Matte White and Moccamaster introduced a new calming Ocean colorway are both wonderful options.

But, it doesn't stop at coffee, Ninja dropped a pink model of its popular Ninja Crispi air fryer, alongside Mint and Periwinkle and KitchenAid announced their color of the year, Butter Yellow.

After choosing a dark matte gray for my kitchen cabinets a few years ago, I've been desperately searching for colors to add a vibrant pop to my cooking space.

I toyed with a bright tile backsplash, considered some colorful chairs round the kitchen island, but I realized the answer lay in my pick of appliances.

For the Luxe Brewer, I'm lured in by the Olive Tapenade or Damson Blue for their sleek and stylish looks. But, I still feel like they could be bolder.

While I'm holding out hope for those Butter Yellows and Pinks to make it to the coffee world, I'll be sure to see what earthy green looks like on my kitchen moodboard.

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Sage's Barista Express is one of the most iconic coffee machines ever created, and it's currently under £500 in the Prime Day sales.

As an SCA-qualified barista, I'm always asked what the top espresso machine for beginners is. My answer? The Sage Barista Express. And it just so happened to be my entryway into specialty homemade coffee!

This machine has it all: a quality grinder with an in-built tamper for mess-free pucks, excellent extraction with the guidance of a pressure gauge, and an ultra-powerful steam wand that's ideal for getting to grips with latte art.

Typically, this legendary machine will cost you £629, but it's currently just £474 at Amazon when you buy it in the Black Truffle colourway. And if you want Stainless Steel? It's still 13% off at £547.

• See all Amazon Prime Day Deals right now!

Why I recommend it

Like I said, this is the machine I bought when I was first getting into quality coffee, and there's a reason it's achieved such an iconic status in the coffee world. In our 4.5-star review of the Barista Express (written in the U.S., where the brand is called Breville), we praised everything from the iconic design of the machine to its faultless, premium performance.

The machine comes with 15-bar pressure, meaning it's perfectly equipped to deliver the optimum extraction for espresso after espresso. It also comes with a quality hardened steel precision grinder with 16 grind sizes, allowing you to get close and personal with tailoring your brew to your specific roast.

While £474 is no small amount to spend on any kitchen appliance, you really will struggle to spend less when finding a quality beginner setup. Because the Barista Express features everything you need to go from bean to cup, and does so without cutting any corners, it's an investment I couldn't recommend more if you're hoping to get started with quality home brewing.

Just make sure you add to basket while it's on sale, because discounts like this don't happen often!

Sage is the king of the U.K. coffee scene, and while it's best known for its espresso machines, the brand also offers a number of excellent drip machines which make refined pour-over, and come at a comparatively affordable price.

Perhaps Sage's best-known drip coffee maker is the Precision Brewer, and eight years after its initial release, Sage has given it a well-deserved upgrade. Meet The Luxe Brewer.

Retailing at £249, the Luxe Brewer features a range of new features including a strong brew and even cold brew concentrate setting, but the feature I'm most excited about is its removable water tank.

Users of the original Precision Brewer will know that it can be annoying to have to use a jug to top up your coffee maker, so this simple update will make an instant difference to the user experience.

What's new?

The Luxe Brewer already launched in the U.S., where it has both a thermal jug and a glass carafe. This U.K. launch is called the Luxe Brewer Thermal, offering a double-walled carafe that will insulate your coffee for four hours without any additional heat. Which is better for flavour, as hot plates can degrade the taste of your brew.

Carafe aside, Sage has added a jazzed-up new interface to the Luxe Brewer, which allows you to tweak your bloom volume, bloom time, brew temperature and flow rate for full control of your coffee.

There's also a range of pre-set modes: Gold Cup Standard and even Cold Brew. I don't know about you, but it's been a few weeks since I touched a hot coffee, so the addition of a cold brew setting is very welcome!

We'll be testing the new Sage Luxe Brewer in the weeks to come, but in the meantime you can buy it direct from Sage for £249. That's actually less than the OG Precision Brewer, which sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

More from Tom's Guide

• How to make cold brew coffee at home — no fancy equipment needed
• Sage's new espresso machine will save you from watered-down iced lattes this summer
• I was a drip coffee skeptic until I tried this super-smart coffee maker — now my beloved espresso machine is gathering dust

I'm an ex-barista, so I like to think I know a thing or two about coffee. While spending 8 hours a day slinging flat whites, americanos, and mochas is way different to just making myself one espresso drink every morning, I'm still just as enamored with barista-ing now as I was during my days behind the bar.

As a journalist, I'm now on a mission to find the best espresso machines on the market. I've tested loads now, from the biggest names in coffee — think De'Longhi, Breville (Sage in the U.K.), Smeg, Casabrews, KitchenAid.

When I reviewed the Breville (Sage) Bambino Plus, I immediately fell in love. I thought, "This is it. This is the espresso machine I want until I die." But then I tested the De'Longhi Stilosa — and while, no, obviously the $150 De'Longhi doesn't perform like the $500 Breville, I was utterly blown away. I couldn't believe how fantastic the Stilosa was, for just $149.

So, which is the best affordable espresso machine? Better yet, which is the better compact espresso machine? Let's figure it out.

Price

I'm not being funny: there's a clear winner right off the bat. It's the De'Longhi Stilosa. Why, I hear you ask?

Well, the Breville Bambino Plus is $499 from Amazon, whereas the De'Longhi Stilosa is $149 from Amazon. That's a price difference of $350 — enough to buy about 22 pounds of specialty coffee beans. Think of how many drinks that could do!

There's a reason why the Stilosa is so cheap, though: it's really ugly. While the Breville Bambino Plus could walk the runway of espresso machines, the Stilosa would be hiding in the back corner.

I suppose you can't ask for much when you consider the Stilosa is literally $149. It's cheaper than most coffee grinders. If you decide to skimp on the espresso machine, though, make sure you spend on the coffee grinder. It's way more important, and I'll chat about that in the 'Espresso' section below.

The winner: De'Longhi Stilosa. There's no competition at all.

Design

Alright, I've already let the cat out of the bag, haven't I? I wasn't exactly positive about the De'Longhi Stilosa's looks in the 'Price' section.

While the De'Longhi Stilosa has a cheap, plasticky construction and weighs literally 9 pounds, the Breville Bambino Plus has an all-metal exterior and a nice weighty 11 pounds. In writing, the difference doesn't sound too massive, but I've carried both the Stilosa and Bambino Plus and the latter just feels better.

Both machines are incredibly compact, so perfect for small kitchens. I'd recommend both in terms of size.

Just look at that gorgeous construction. The metal drip tray (unlike the Stilosa's plastic drip tray) is much easier to clean, and the steam wand feels sturdier. On top of that, the buttons are tactile and easy to press, which I find much more user-friendly than the Stilosa's dial.

Although I found the Bambino Plus tarnished a little too easily, the steel finish is hardier than the Stilosa's plastic body.

The winner: Breville Bambino Plus. Its metal exterior, weightier construction, and metal drip tray pave way for longevity more than the Stilosa.

Espresso

This is it: the big guns, and the reason you're here (hopefully). A picture speaks a thousand words, so I'm just going to share two pictures of the espresso I pulled on both the De'Longhi Stilosa and the Breville Bambino Plus.

As you can see from the images above, the Breville Bambino Plus generally pulls a thicker, creamier espresso. The De'Longhi Stilosa took me multiple tries to get a decent espresso, which I think would be tricky for someone more inexperienced with espresso machines.

I'll walk you through my processes for both machines, so you can see the necessary finesse for both.

Bambino Plus

• Dose 18g of finely-ground coffee, ground in the Comandante C40 MK4
• Tamp with the provided tamper with approximately 20kg of weight
• Attach portafilter to group head and press the double shot button
• Allow water to run through the espresso until 36g has been reached — should be 25-28 seconds including pre-infusion

Now I'll go through my Stilosa routine — it's mostly the same, but with a few tweaks.

De'Longhi Stilosa

• Dose 18g of very finely-ground coffee, ground in my Comandante C40 MK4
• Tamp with the provided tamper multiple times, ensuring the plastic doesn't warp the puck. I found this tamper very tricky to use, so would recommend getting a 51mm third-party metal tamper (from about $10 on Amazon)
• Clear coffee dust from portafilter (as the tamper is extremely poor) and slot into the machine
• Allow water to run through the coffee until 36g out, should be around 25-28 seconds including pre-infusion

As you can see, I needed a little more finesse with the Stilosa. I recommend giving away or repurposing the scoop/tamper accessory and just getting a metal 51mm tamper from Amazon — I recommend IKAPE's 51mm tamper, $33 on Amazon.

I was really happy to see that the Stilosa comes with single-walled portafilters (non-pressurized) for 'true' espresso. Most cheap machines come with dual-walled (pressurized) portafilters to mimic crema, to distract from the fact that the machine isn't actually that good. The Bambino Plus comes with single-walled portafilters, too, obviously.

As I mentioned earlier, I recommend getting a really high-quality grinder to ensure your espresso tastes as good as you'd want it to. Personally? I use the Comandante C40 MK4, but it's really expensive.

The Baratza Encore ESP is just $199 and works really well. Or, you could check out the $199 1ZPresso J-Ultra, which is another hand grinder, but much cheaper.

Wondering how I know I'm dosing exactly 18g of coffee and getting 36g out? I have one of the best coffee scales — the Wacaco Exagram Pro.

So while the Stilosa can still make excellent espresso, it needs a little more nurturing than the Bambino Plus. And for that reason...

The winner: Breville Bambino Plus. It's better right out of the box.

Milk

I feel like milk steaming is where a lot of people who've never been professional baristas struggle. That's not a bad thing — it's just an occupational hazard. Or, in this case, a lack of occupational hazard. Here's two side-by-side photos of my milk texture and latte art on both the Bambino Plus and the Stilosa.

But beware: the Stilosa doesn't come with a milk jug. I used the Bambino Plus's milk jug during testing.

Where the Bambino Plus and Stilosa differ is the former has an auto-milk function and the Stilosa doesn't. However, I don't really like the Bambino Plus's auto function. Sure, it's good if I just want to steam milk and forget about it, but I'm not that kind of barista. I love babying my milk. I love making it go tss-tss-tss and creating the necessary vortex for melted-ice-cream texture.

As you can see from my latte art, too, there's a clear winner in terms of appearance. And that's the $149 De'Longhi Stilosa.

However, that's just my opinion. I like the Stilosa more because I'm a do-it-yourself barista. But if you want an auto-milk function? Then it'll be the Bambino Plus taking the crown.

The winner: Up to you. Mine is the Stilosa, but yours can be the Bambino Plus.

Maintenance

Now, this is where it might get controversial. Some long-term De'Longhi users report that their machines break after the warranty period, and that De'Longhi machines aren't built to last.

However, I beg to differ. My parents bought their De'Longhi Icona Vintage (U.K. only, I believe discontinued now) in 2015 or 2016, and it's still going. It still pulls espresso, it still steams milk. So, I think it just depends on how well you look after the machine, and how hard your area's water is.

As I mentioned earlier, the Stilosa has a plastic drip tray, which doesn't really bode well for longevity. You'd need to ensure you cleaned this daily to prevent buildup, as plastic can be trickier to clean properly than metal.

Comparatively, the Bambino Plus has a metal and plastic drip tray, which is easier to clean in the long run. The Bambino Plus also has a metal-and-plastic water tank, whereas the Stilosa's is plastic.

In terms of longevity, I'd go with the Bambino Plus, but that machine is almost quadruple the price of the Stilosa, so it's kind of a given.

The winner: Breville Bambino Plus

Verdict

So, what did I learn? Well, I learned that price doesn't mean anything. Just because an espresso machine is expensive, it's not guaranteed to be good. Conversely, just because an espresso machine is cheap, doesn't mean it's going to be awful. Some decent machines are cheap, and some awful machines are expensive (case in point: Smeg EMC02).

Have you ever seen those YouTube videos like "A professional barista and a home barista swap machines — who will win?" and it's always the pro who wins? That's because it's not all about the machine. The barista is the most important cog in the machine of coffee.

If you put in the effort, get some better accessories, and most importantly a decent grinder, there's no reason why the De'Longhi Stilosa won't make excellent espresso.

However, if you want a better machine right out of the box, I'd recommend the Bambino Plus.

What you choose will be up to you. But me? I'd be happy with the Stilosa and a Comandante C40 MK4 grinder, any day. The Bambino Plus is a little out of my price range at the moment.

Breville makes some of the best coffee makers on the market, period. But while the brand is best known for its espresso machines, it also offers a number of outstanding drip brewers.

Released 8 years ago, the Breville Precision Brewer has been the brand's most popular drip brewer for the best part of a decade. But now there's a new drip brewer on the market: The Luxe Brewer.

Breville, which U.K. readers will know as Sage, calls this drip coffee maker "a new standard for at-home drip coffee". Among its huge range of smart features, there's one element that fixes the most annoying part of the original Precision line. Finally, this drip coffee maker comes with a removable water tank.

The price? $319 for the Luxe Brewer Thermal, which comes with a dual-wall thermal carafe or $349.95 for the Luxe Brewer Glass with a glass carafe and upgraded warming plate, both available at breville.com. Here's what's new with the Luxe Brewer.

Gold standard

The Breville Luxe Brewer is the Precision Brewer, but better. Improving on the much-loved features of its predecessor, its the "next generation" of one-touch filter coffee at home.

And while you'll get all the same features as the Precision Brewer, you'll also get a lot more. This is a Luxe experience, after all.

Boasting the same quality results as its predecessor, it's got a revamped interface, removable water reservoir, directly brewing for single-serve cups and three primary modes: a Gold Cup Standard, Cold Brew, and Custom Brew.

There's also a choice between two carafe options, with a varying price. The dual-wall thermal carafe will keep your coffee hot for up to four hours with no additional heat.

The glass carafe with an upgraded warming plate will maintain a consistent temperature for up to six hours. If you don't need the carafe, you can brew directly into your mug.

Amongst all these new shiny features though, there's also a dedication to Gold Standard coffee with the same Speciality Coffee Association (SCA) Certification as the Precision Brewer.

Gold Standard coffee sounds fancy, and it is. This means, once again, that Breville has successfully followed the guidelines for quality. So, you're guaranteed a well-balanced, well-brewed and perfectly ratioed cup of Joe.

How does it compare?

Drip coffee machines are a super popular choice given how simple and easy-to-use they are, resulting in consistently delicious coffee achievable from the comfort of your home. And with their popularity, it should come as no surprise to see a wide range of drip machines appearing amongst the best coffee makers on the market.

There's the Fellow Aiden, the Braun Multiserve Plus, GE Profile Smart Grind & Brew, and the OXO Brew 8-Cup all excellent options covering a range of prices and specs.

For the best value option, Braun's drip coffee maker comes in at under $150 – an excellent pick for those on a budget in comparison to Breville's over $300 price tag.

And in terms of spec, the Luxe Brewer fits in closely alongside our favourite drip machine, the Fellow Aiden. Both boasting pre-programmed brewing, single-cup to whole carafe servings and keeping coffee hot for around 4 hours (or 6 with the Luxe Brewer's glass carafe and warming plate).

For AI-powered drip coffee, the GE Profile Smart Grind & Brew is a clever machine with an abundance of settings and the Gold Cup standard, coming in at a similar price.

Then, OXO's coffee maker boasts the same SCA certification while also managing to stay compactly-sized, but notably without the removable water tank and ability to program.

Each machine will have features that suit your needs, but fortunately they're all capable of making you flavorful brews with customization to suit your tastes.

Of course, we also have to compare the Luxe Brewer to the Precision Brewer considering Breville say its the predecessor's upgrade. And since we gave the Precision Brewer four-stars, we're going to hold our thoughts until we've sufficiently tested the newer model in our full review, coming soon.

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I'm going to go out on a limb and say that my favorite part of my job is testing the best espresso machines.

Whether that means playing with super-expensive prosumer gear like the Smeg EMC02 Manual Espresso Machine or testing classic, long-standing machines like the Breville (Sage) Bambino Plus, it's always a good time.

While I (naturally) like some machines more than others, it's rare that I say "this espresso machine is perfect for everyone". Every single one of you have different requirements, so there is no one perfect espresso machine. Some people don't have enough counter space for an espresso machine with a grinder, and some people dispel anything other than a dual-boiler as a waste of money.

The Breville (Sage in the U.K.) Bambino Plus falls into that "not for everyone" category. I'll explain why — and who it is perfect for — in detail. So, is the Breville Bambino Plus for you? Let's find out.

Teeny-tiny machine for teeny-tiny homes

I live in a pretty compact 1-bedroom apartment. I don't have a massive amount of space for a huge espresso machine in my kitchen. My personal espresso machine is the 17.5-inch De'Longhi La Specialista Opera — and I had to buy an expensive freestanding counter to fit it into my kitchen. (And, if I'm being honest, it still doesn't really fit, and I'm always walking into it.)

If you, like me, have a tiny kitchen, you're restricted in what espresso machines you can have.

So, what is one to do?

Enter the Bambino Plus.

The Bambino Plus is just 7.6 inches wide, which is massively smaller than my huge 17.5 inch La Specialista Opera.

True, there are other compact espresso machines, but a lot of these machines sacrifice purity and pressure for size. The Bambino Plus is not one of those machines — it can brew technically perfect espresso that will impress casual coffee drinkers and enthusiasts alike.

However, some espresso purists may not be impressed.

Quirky is as quirky does

As with almost every espresso machine, the Bambino Plus has some quirks. For starters, you need a super fine grind. I'd say even finer than my De'Longhi La Specialista Opera. I'd recommend one of the best grinders to use with the Bambino Plus. I got best results with the Eureka Mignon Specialita.

On top of that, there's the tiny drip tray that needs emptying after every use. Well, I can put up with that, as I don't desire to have dirty water standing in my house like some kind of coffee-swamp anyway.

I also had an issue with the static steam wand. It's physically incapable of moving out to the side, so you're stuck steaming milk at a prescribed (uncomfortable) angle.

Then there's the janky group head. I seriously had to yank the group handle to get it in and out of the group head. Right, I can overlook that too, as long as my coffee tastes good.

Thankfully for the Bambino Plus, all these quirks were ignorable when the espresso tasted as good as it did. However, I'm not going to mislead you and pretend that this machine is 10/10 perfect, because it's not. Be wary of these quirks if you do choose to get the Bambino Plus.

No dual boilers here

Then we come onto the more intrinsic shortcomings. Again, these aren't massive downsides, just things to be aware of — and why this might not be the machine for you.

As this is a ThermoJet machine, it's not as 'technically' advanced as other espresso machines on the market. Most cheap espresso machines have a thermoblock heating system, which is literally just a block that heats up. Thermoblocks aren't all bad, though — they can heat up in seconds, as opposed to a dual boiler's 30 minutes.

The Bambino Plus, however, doesn't have a thermoblock or a dual boiler. It has something called a "ThermoJet", which is a trademarked Breville creation. ThermoJet is, in my opinion, pretty similar to a more common thermoblock. In testing, I didn't find any major improvements compared to my De'Longhi La Specialista Opera. Both a thermoblock and the Breville ThermoJet physically cannot control temperatures to the degree (unlike the Smeg EMC02, which has three thermoblocks that most certainly can).

Even so, I think these cheaper heating systems are adept enough for most users. Obviously, serious coffee purists will disagree.

There are some coffee lovers who will only ever use dual boiler espresso machines. If you don't know the difference between your standard, cheaper compact espresso machines and dual boiler machines, let me walk you through it.

Dual boilers have (you guessed it) two boilers. These boilers tend to be larger than thermoblocks. Dual boilers also have better stability and therefore make better espresso — but there's a catch. Dual boilers start from around $1,500 on a good day. Breville's Dual Boiler is an eye-watering $1,599.

However, if you're short on space (and $$$) like me, dual boilers are a pipe dream, and we've gotta make do with compact thermoblocks.

With great power comes great responsibility

But, despite these quirks and lack of dual boiler, there's a reason the Bambino Plus is so iconic. It's lauded online as the best compact espresso machine, and the best entry-level espresso machine. And now that I've tested it thoroughly, I can attest to that. This is the best entry-level espresso machine.

One of the best things about the Bambino Plus is its premium features stuffed into its tiny 7.5-inch size.

The Bambino Plus has a PID controller, which you'll find on much pricier machines like the dual-boiler Breville or the widely-adored Bianca Lelit. A PID controller, in simple terms, manages water temperature throughout brewing. If the water is too cold, the espresso won't extract properly, and if it's too hot, it'll burn the coffee.

Remarkably, the Bambino Plus has a PID controller, despite being $499 (which is still expensive, but that's neither here nor there). Some would say a PID controller is almost redundant on a thermoblock machine, as thermoblock heating elements basically increase in temperature throughout brewing and are pretty hard to control in the first place. As I discussed earlier, only dual boiler machines (upwards of $1,500 on a good day!) can really control this.

While you can't adjust the temperature of the espresso you brew, I never found this to be a problem. Every single shot of espresso I brewed with the Bambino Plus was utterly divine — even when I was still getting to grips with the machine and pulling shots that made my inner barista wince.

There's enough on the Bambino Plus to impress both non-coffee-nerd family members and espresso purists alike. You can fiddle with pre-infusion times and set dosage times, the steam wand is powerful enough to make barista-quality microfoam, and the Breville branded milk jug is great for latte art.

In short, the Bambino Plus is pretty easy to master, so should be attainable for even the most inexperienced baristas around (and enthusiasts alike).

If you want an espresso machine that brews close to barista-quality espresso without breaking the bank or occupying half your kitchen, there's nothing like the Breville Bambino Plus. Other compact machines tend to make sub-par espresso and can't steam milk as deftly. I would be 100% happy using the Bambino Plus as my only machine, and I bet you would too.

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If you’re an espresso purist, look away now. This machine is probably not for you. But if you’re the kind of person who just wants fresh, delicious, properly-made espresso, and you aren’t worried too much about the craft of it all, then oh boy, is the Breville Bambino Plus right up your street.

While I doubt this machine would impress experienced espresso connoisseurs (a dual-boiler is better for that), the Bambino Plus is hands-down one of the best espresso machines for beginners. It’s breathtakingly easy to use — no calculating ratios or counting seconds here — right out of the box.

I would recommend this machine for those who want a reliable, easy-to-use machine at home, or those just getting into coffee as a hobby. If you’re a more experienced user who wants the creature comforts of a more powerful, perhaps dual-boiler machine, this is not the product for you. Although its compact size may well suit advanced users with cramped kitchens.

However, the Breville/Sage Bambino Plus is the reigning champ of entry-level espresso machines for a reason. I’ll discuss everything in depth in this Breville/Sage Bambino Plus Espresso Machine review.

Breville Bambino Plus review: Cheat sheet

• Who is it for? Beginners and new enthusiasts who are just getting into ‘proper’ espresso
• What does it do well? It’s a stress-free way to make fresh espresso and steam milk competently at home
• What are its weaknesses? Lacks the hardcore features many experienced users want
• What should you use it for? Experimenting with coffee, getting to grips with making espresso yourself, and learning about the craft

Breville Bambino Plus review: Specs

Breville Bambino Plus review: Price & availability

In the U.S., the Breville Bambino Plus is $499 at Amazon, but it’s often on sale for just $399. In my opinion, $399 is a much better deal, so I’d wait for it to go on sale (it’s on sale as I write this!).

In the U.K., there’s a name change and a price change. Breville goes by Sage across the pond, so it’s the Sage Bambino Plus, available for £399 from Sage. But, similarly, it’s often on sale for around £349.

Given that this is an entry-level espresso machine, I’d expect to see a lower price than this. Other entry-level machines like the Casabrews 3700 start as low as just $129. The De’Longhi Dedica Maestro is just $299 for around the same specs as the Bambino Plus.

Even though I think $499 is pretty pricey for an espresso machine of this caliber, the Bambino Plus does have an automatic milk steaming mode that works (and that’s the key here), which could entice some users away from alternative beginner machines. So, if you want an auto milk function, the Bambino Plus has taken pole position here.

Breville Bambino Plus review: Design

One of the most appealing aspects of the Bambino Plus is its design. This is the ideal espresso machine for someone who wants a compact yet highly capable product. If you don’t have space for something like the Diletta Mio, De’Longhi La Specialista Opera or the Breville Barista Express, the Bambino Plus could be a decent compromise.

At just 3.1 pounds and 7.6 inches wide, the Bambino Plus would have no problem fitting on most countertops. This is the ideal choice for those short on space who don’t want to sacrifice quality — but I will mention that the exterior metal is easily tarnished.

I will also note that the machine vibrates a lot during extraction and steaming, so I wouldn’t recommend keeping the spare portafilters and accessories on top of the machine, and also keep your mug well-balanced so it doesn't vibrate off the drip tray.

The drip tray itself is very easy to clean. It has a plastic bottom and metal top. Simply pull it out and empty it through the handy gap on the top left. It’s very small, so I’d recommend emptying it out after every usage. There’s a little red buoy that pops up when the tray is full, but I found that this was quite delayed with alerts, so I’d just empty it after every use to prevent leaks.

My biggest issue with the Bambino Plus is the janky group head. It’s actually really hard to get the group handle and portafilter into the group head. You have to grip onto the machine with your other hand for some resistance, and even then it’s still tricky. This is the only major downside to the machine, so be aware of that if you decide to get it.

Breville Bambino Plus review: Espresso

The Bambino Plus uses a 54mm portafilter. I wish Breville/Sage had built the Bambino Plus with a 58mm portafilter, as the larger size is the commercial standard. Buying accessories and parts is a little trickier with 54mm portafilters.

The proprietary ThermoJet system heats up pretty quickly — less than 10 seconds from cold (as in, not used for at least 8 hours) and around 4 seconds on standby. I always run a little water through the machine before slotting my group handle in just to make sure it’s hot enough.

Obviously, ThermoJet will never be as ‘good’ as a dual-boiler system like the Breville Dual Boiler ($1,599), but for those short on both space or budget, the Bambino Plus is an incredible option. The difference between more common thermoblock systems and ThermoJet is that thermoblock heats water in a block, and ThermoJet heats water as it passes through a heating element for faster heat up time.

The Bambino Plus can be both manual and automatic. The machine is set up to extract on auto mode out of the box, which means it doses a set amount of water through coffee grounds regardless of coffee dose. Breville says it runs 30ml on single and 60ml on double, but in reality, I found this produced around 32-35g of espresso.

It’s easy to change this: simply hold down the shot buttons and let the water run for your desired time. The machine will then remember that time for future extraction. I found my perfect extraction time was 25 seconds for my light roasted coffee, but this will change based on the beans and your personal preference.

To turn back to auto mode, simply reset the machine using programming commands outlined in the user manual. I found these commands easy to use, much simpler than the Smeg Espresso machine.

I will note that the Breville (Sage) Dose Control Pro cannot grind fine enough to reach 25-28 seconds extraction time on auto. Even when I adjusted the inner burr, it only ground fine enough to extract in 15 seconds. Don’t get me wrong, those shots still tasted good, but I would recommend a more robust grinder like the Comandante C40 MK4 and the Eureka Mignon Specialita.

With the Comandante and the Eureka grinders, I was able to extract 36.1g of espresso in 25 seconds on auto mode. Here’s a picture of the espresso.

As you can see, the espresso has delicious thick crema and you can see the shot’s layers. It also tasted divine. The black heart is only that large because I couldn't grab my phone quickly enough for an instant picture.

This took a decent amount of dialing in the first time around, as you’ll find is often the case when you start using an unfamiliar machine, so I’d recommend you dedicate some time to figuring out the best dosage, grind, and beans for your taste.

What you like will be different to me. There is no one way to pull espresso. The timings and dosage will depend on grind size, coffee roast, heck, even water hardness. This is why I much prefer making espresso at home as opposed to patronizing cafes now.

The bottom line is this: the Bambino Plus makes perfect espresso that tastes utterly divine. Yes, you’ll need to experiment to find the optimal extraction time, perfect grind, and water dosage, but this is the case with any espresso machine worth its salt.

Breville Bambino Plus review: Milk

The Bambino Plus has an auto milk steaming function, which some people may love, some people may loathe. The good news is that you don’t have to use the auto feature — you’re welcome to manually steam milk.

The auto function relies on a small metal-topped button on top of the drip tray. To use the auto function, all I had to do was fill the jug, insert the steam wand, and press the steam button. It took 1 minute and 10 seconds to steam 200ml of milk.

Here’s a photo of the latte art I managed to pour with the auto-steamed milk.

The eagle-eyed amongst you will notice that the milk is a little thicker than ideal. I’d say this milk texture is more akin to a cappuccino than a flat white or latte, but it still pours smoothly enough to create latte art.

Although I appreciate this feature, I’m more of a do-it-yourself barista, so I tended to gravitate towards the manual steaming. Using the Bambino Plus’s steam wand is mostly pain-free, but one thing about it really bothered me.

The steam wand is quite static: you can only move it up and down. It doesn’t go out to the side, so you have to steam milk at a prescribed angle. Due to this lack of movement, I could only steam milk without the group handle in the group head.

Manual steaming takes around the same time as auto steaming — just a minute or so, depending on how aggressively you tend to steam milk, or how hot you like it. The heat-up time between shots and milk is just a couple of seconds; I was able to use the steam wand almost immediately after pulling shots.

Here’s a photograph of my manually-steamed milk.

Yes, I know the art is pretty poor here, but that’s a result of my under-filling the jug rather than the machine itself. The jug is actually very helpful when pouring milk.

I absolutely love the Breville/Sage milk jug. Unlike other brand milk jugs (I’m thinking De’Longhi and KitchenAid), the spout is super narrow and angled just right. This makes pouring latte art much, much easier. If you’re struggling with latte art, it might not be you — it might be your jug.

Here’s what I mean.

As you can see, the spout is moulded in a sharpish point, so it controls the flow of milk and creates a narrower stream for more defined art.

As far as practicality goes, the Bambino Plus has a fantastic auto-purge function, too. After every milk steam, the wand will automatically purge itself once you return the wand to its original position. This is great because it’s one of the most important steps that a lot of people forget.

Breville Bambino Plus review: Storage & maintenance

As discussed in the ‘Design’ section, the Bambino Plus is very compact and ideal for smaller kitchens. This fit perfectly on my kitchen countertop and I had no issues moving it around as and when I needed.

If you’ve ever cleaned an espresso machine before, the Bambino Plus is basically identical to that. The stainless steel exterior tarnishes quite easily, so could do with a gentle wipedown or polish after every use. As mentioned before, the drip tray is quite small, so be wary of it overflowing.

Thankfully, Breville/Sage provides you with cleaning tablets. You can purchase extra cleaning tablets on Breville/Sage’s website for $14, and descaling solution for $14.

To prevent excess limescale and bitter flavors in your coffee, you can use Breville’s ClaroSwiss water filter. It’s $16 and needs replacing every 90 days or 40 liters of water — whichever comes first. There’s a water filter holder in the Bambino Plus’s box that slots perfectly into the water tank.

Something very unique to Breville is the temperature-displaying milk jug, which is $24 direct from Breville. This jug basically shows the live temperature so you don’t burn your milk — this is a must-have for beginner baristas.

Breville Bambino Plus review: How does it compare?

Seeing as this is an entry-level machine, it’s more comparable to something like the Casabrews 3700 than the Breville Barista Express.

If you’re after an entry-level or compact machine that is actually really good and brews delicious espresso, then look no further than the Bambino Plus. The machine has a PID (temperature control) to ensure the coffee doesn’t get burnt, plus a high 15-bar maximum pressure, but it isn’t as robust as a larger machine might be.

If you’re super serious about espresso, I would recommend a dual-boiler machine, as these allow you to brew espresso and steam milk at the same time, so no waiting around or downtime. The Smeg EMC02 actually has a triple-thermoblock system for simultaneous milk and espresso preparation, but is very pricey.

A slightly cheaper alternative is the Diletta Mio, which combines a PID-controller boiler with a thermoblock steam element — the placement of the boiler results in fast heat up, as does the thermoblock steam system, so the Mio combats one of the main issues of dual-boiler machines: their long startup times.

If you’re in-between, then the Breville Barista Express or the De’Longhi La Specialista Opera machines will treat you well. They can both brew delicious, complex, and technically great espresso and steam milk beautifully. They’re just a lot bigger and pricier than the Bambino Plus, naturally.

Breville Bambino Plus review: Verdict

For those looking to get their first proper espresso machine, then the Breville/Sage Bambino Plus is a great option. I have no reservations about recommending this with my full chest. It can brew delicious espresso, steam milk both manually and automatically, and is nicely compact.

However, if you’re a bit of an espresso purist, you will probably want a dual-boiler machine. You’d be better off with something like the aforementioned Smeg EMC02 or even the very expensive Bianca Lelit.

More ‘technically’-superior espresso machines tend to cost upwards of $1,500 (on a good day), though, so are out of reach for a lot of us. In that case, there’s nothing wrong with the Bambino Plus for everyday brewing. I would happily use this as my main espresso machine and have absolutely no regrets. The Bambino Plus is the reigning champ of compact espresso machines for a reason.

Thanks to a new and improved design, Sage's Barista Touch Impress espresso machine just got even better.

I'm a huge fan of the Sage Barista Touch Impress. Combining a range of automated features for mess-free grinding and tamping with a highly responsive touch screen, it strikes the perfect balance between ease of use and professional-quality features.

Available to buy in time for summer, this espresso machine now includes a new cold extraction setting that can make cold espresso and cold brew alongside its existing menu of hot coffee drinks.

And even better, if you buy right now, you'll get a free Sage Shake & Take travel coffee cup and shaker for all your espresso martini needs.

Crazy for cold brew

I review dozens of espresso machines every year, and if there's been one major shift in the market in the last 12 months, it's the increase in cold brew settings. In fact, whether it's De'Longhi or Ninja, I can't remember the last time I tried a major machine launch without some form of cold brew capability.

So it's no wonder that Sage is in a rush to update its range of machines to include this latest tech. The first to get the cold brew treatment was the Oracle Jet, which I reviewed last year.

I was really happy with the cold brew I achieved with this machine, but at £1,699, it's far from cheap.

Although the £1,199 price tag of the Barista Touch Impress with Cold Extraction is hardly an affordable option, it's a promising sign that Sage is planning to expand its cold brew capabilities into its more entry-level offerings.

"More than ever, people are seeking exceptional experiences when crafting food and drinks at home - and coffee is no exception," says Michael Bell, Beanz Manager EMEA at Sage Appliances.

"Cold coffee has unlocked new possibilities, allowing more people to enjoy high-quality brews in innovative ways. We’ve seen a rising demand for barista-level results at home, and the Barista Touch Impress is our answer. Designed for coffee lovers, it offers an effortless way to craft precision-brewed cold coffee - whether it’s the perfect start to the day or a refreshing pick-me-up on the go."

I'll be testing the Barista Touch Impress with Cold Extraction in the next few weeks, but as a fan of the original, I'm expecting great things.

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We love Breville (known as Sage in the U.K.) for making market-leading luxury appliances. But, if you're a gold-lover, you may have found yourself feeling a little disappointed over the years by the silver options on offer.

That's why I was so excited when I discovered the brand's brass accent range, which spans its much-loved appliances, from coffee makers, juicers, toaster ovens, and kettles. And it's available right now, with prices ranging from $229 to $1699.

So, if you're looking to elevate the aesthetic of your kitchen with brassy tones, then Breville has stepped up to the plate. And their collection comes in three unique colorways — Sea Salt, Damson Blue and Olive Tapenade.

Looking luxe

Breville's brass accent range should come as no surprise, considering it's incredibly on-trend to have such a color palette running through your home right now. And, why wouldn't it be? Brass is glamorous, sophisticated and most alluringly, a warm tone. While cooking can sometimes feel like a chore, buying appliances you're proud of can certainly lighten the load — and many celebrities have jumped on the movement, introducing brass tones in their own kitchens.

Personally, I'm a huge fan of brass (if you couldn't tell already). To me, it screams vintage, yet luxurious and it's that twist between the modern and the past that I find fits right in to most home aesthetics.

But, while I'm eager to include brass in my home, I already have appliances that work. So, replacing them with a whole new brass range feels a little wild, yet I'm still sorely tempted. The choice doesn't end there either. Then, I'd have to decide which of Breville's impressive colors to go for out of the three on offer. For me, it's easily Sea Salt. For my mom, it'd easily be Olive Tapenade. For you, well, that's up to you.

Colorful kitchens

Being colorful is clearly in right now. Unfortunately, I bought all my kitchen appliances when black was in. So while I'm off trend, you don't have to be. Brands across the world are launching products that adhere to the new love of color — with some channelling more confidence and boldness than others.

Let's talk about the Fellow Aiden released earlier this year in Matte White. While that's not a particular color pop as such, it's a bold move from the brand that once only released it in Black.

Then, there's the iconic Moccamaster in Ocean. A much bolder entry to the busy world of coffee makers and, in turn, perfectly capable of an impressive brew. And the SMEG color of the year, Jade Green.

There's clearly a trend emerging in 2025 and it's saying that color is in and the dark saturation of blacks and greys are taking a back seat.

Well, I sure wish someone had told me before I picked entirely slate grey matte kitchen cabinets.

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I've been on a mission to make more meals from scratch, but it can be time-consuming to do all the chopping, slicing and grating by hand. So if you're also on a mission to make more wholesome meals, investing in one of the best food processors would be a wise decision.

The Sage / Breville Paradice 9 came out in 2024, and I've been using it religiously ever since. The Paradice 9 comes with an adjustable slicing blade, along with a reversible grating attachment and a dicing blade that's great for making fruit salads or breakfast potatoes.

There's also a dough and a chopping blade, and they're all stored inside the main bowl of the food processor, meaning you won't be looking for any extra storage space to keep all those add-ons.

This food processor has become an everyday staple in my house since its release last year. If, like me, your kitchen is short on space but you don't like to cut corners when meal prepping, this could be a great solution.

Price and availability

If you're reading in the U.S. or Australia, this product is called the Breville Paradice 9. The brand operates in Europe under the name Sage, so it was Sage's U.K. office that sent me the Paradice 9 for review.

But the product itself is the same in all regions, and available for $399 / £299 / AU$529 at the brand's own website, as well as Amazon, and affiliates like John Lewis or Williams Sonoma.

There are three colorways to choose from. I tried the classic stainless steel color, but there's also a white and a black option.

Design

Most food processors that come with a range of attachments will include them in a separate container. And this includes the Paradice 9's big brother, the Paradice 16. These attachment boxes are great, but they take up a lot of space, which is at a premium in my kitchen.

So when I saw that the Paradice 9 houses all of its attachments inside its mixing bowl, I was super excited to try. It's a clever container system.

There's a clear plastic shell that has a slot for each and every add-on, from the grating disc to the dough, and it's not too tricky to figure out which attachments slot into the different grooves.

Speaking of attachments, let's run through everything that's included:

To start, there's an adjustable slicing attachment that can be increased and decreased using a dial on the handle.

There's also a dicing attachment which has 0.5 inch dicing cubes. Combined with its pusher and the feeding chute, you could easily put a large potato or a large fruit thorough this attachment. But just to warn you, the brand says you can't use sweet potatos with this attachment, which is a shame.

Other attachments include a dough blade, a chopping blade, and a grating disc which is reversible, meaning you get two grating options in one.

Performance

Making a dip

My Lebanese friend has told me off for calling this dip hummus, so let's instead call this recipe a 'butter bean dip'. Either way, it's very tasty and I make it all the time!

Although it's decidedly not a hummus, I use a similar recipe. I added a tin of butter beans (also known as lima beans), some olive oil, tahini, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, and lemon juice into the bowl and blitzed for around a minute.

I was pretty happy with the result. You can see in the finished photo that it was a little grainy, which might be down to the fact that I skimped on the olive oil, but I was happy to find that my mix hadn't stuck to the side of the bowl.

With other food processors, I've often had to go in and scrape down the side of the bowl multiple times to ensure that my ingredients were all incorporated, but I didn't have this problem with the Paradice 9.

Slicing and shredding

I meal prep a slaw most weeks. It keeps really well in the fridge, especially if I keep my dressing separate, but it can take a lot of labor when I use my mandoline to do it. Since I gave it a go in my Paradice 9, I've genuinely not used my mandoline since.

The 12cm / 4.5-inch feeding chute on this food processor can fit most veggies in without having to chop them first, and I've found that it will happily handle a quarter of a cabbage at a time.

The one caveat is that your need to lock the pusher into place in order to turn on the blending, which is probably a good thing, because you could definitely fit your hand into that chute and this step prevents you from accidentally turning on the food processor while adding ingredients.

Once you've locked the pusher into place, the food processor will slice it in well under 10 seconds. I've made a huge bowl of slaw in under a minute using this setting, which has saved me so much time over the past year.

The same can be said for grating items like carrots or cheese. The good news is, you can use the removable insert from inside the pusher to fit in smaller ingredients such as carrots and cucumbers through the blades, and you don't need to lock your pusher into place to do this.

It also keeps your ingredients upright during slicing to prevent any wonky results.

Chopping cauliflower rice and blending breadcrumbs

I used to make cauliflower rice with a grater. It's one of the easiest and healthiest food swaps you can make, but if you're grating a cauliflower by hand, it's going to get messy.

After roughly breaking down my cauliflower, I put the entire head, stalk and all, into the bowl and started pulsing. After a few pulses, I had an evenly chopped bowl of cauliflower rice with no obviously large pieces, and no mushy mulch that had been over-processed.

After the success of my rice, I decided to turn up the pressure and blitz some dried-out sourdough crusts into homemade breadcrumbs. This sourdough was absolutely rock-hard. I'd broken it into chunks before leaving it to dry out for breadcrumbs, so I added enough to fill my bowl halfway and pulsed to create my crumbs.

This would've been a challenge for any of the food processors I've tested, and it took longer than I'd expected to break down my bread into crumbs. By the end I had some dust at the bottom of the bowl but some very large chunks at the top, so I filtered out the smaller crumbs to continue to grind up my sourdough.

It took longer than I'd hoped to get the consistency I was looking for, but the end results was definitely worth it. And of all the food processors I've tested, there are very few I think could've managed this task.

Making a creamy sauce

I typically put wet sauce in one of the best blenders I've got at home, but seeing as I'd already made my slaw, I decided to make my dressing in the food processor too.

Using the chopping blade, I combined basil, yogurt, lemon juice, salt, pepper, pickled jalapeños and honey and blended for about 30 seconds.

I think I'd have got a creamier consistency in a blender, but this still came out very smooth after just a short blitz, and saved me getting another appliance dirty!

There were no chunks of ingredients left un-blended, and I didn't need to scrape down the sides between blending.

Dicing potatoes

Finally, I was excited to test the dicing attachment. This is a feature that's usually reserved for more large and expensive appliances, so I really liked that Sage / Breville found a way to include it in this more compact design.

Fitting the attachment to the top of the bowl was a bit more finicky because it has two parts: a side that rotates to push sliced veggies through a second half-inch cubed blade.

The whole experience went very smoothly, and I was able to make some delicious breakfast potatoes with my cubes. But the trouble started when it came to cleaning, and it's an issue I've had with every cubing attachment I've tried.

There is always a slice of potato or fruit that's left un-cubed at the top of the (sharp!) metal grid, and getting it out can be tricky and also a bit dangerous.

The brand does include a pusher you can lock on and press down to push your remaining ingredients through. In theory, this is a great idea, but it didn't work on every slice of potato I used and I still had to resort to using a wooden spoon to push the rest of my potato through into the bowl.

How does it compare?

The most obvious point of comparison for this food processor is its larger alternative, the Paradice 16, which we reviewed when it came out last year. It comes with all the same attachments as the Paradice 9 and then some. Alongside the dicing attachments, it also comes with a french fry attachment which we really enjoyed when testing. However, it's a more expensive and larger alternative that comes with two big boxes full of attachments.

Our top-rated food processor is the trusty Cuisinart 14-Cup, which has been one of the most popular models on the market for a long time. From dips to slices, it performed really well in all of the tests we threw at it, and it also costs $250, which is less than the Breville's $399. However, this option does require additional storage space for its attachments and doesn't have a dicing attachment.

Verdict

Among the best food processors, there are more budget-friendly options on the market, and it's also worth considering a mini chopper such as the KitchenAid 3.5 Cup if you're extra-restricted on space, but this food processor will be ideal for most households.

If I were looking for a new food processor, I'd highly consider purchasing the Paradice 9. It's powerful, capable, and storage-friendly. However, if the dicing attachment is the main appeal for you, be prepared to put in some extra work to clean it after use.

Getting the perfect espresso shot requires precise control over your grind size. Breville and Sage espresso machines (which are the same brand, just named differently in different markets) come with built-in grinders that allow for adjustment.

For espresso enthusiasts, especially those working with lighter roasts or specialty beans, grinding fine enough can be a constant challenge. Even when you've dialed your grinder to its finest setting, some coffees still extract too quickly, resulting in weaker or sour espresso. That's where the inner burr adjustment comes in.

Fortunately, your Breville's hidden inner burr setting can be adjusted in just a few minutes without special tools. This simple modification can transform your espresso quality and open up possibilities for brewing even the lightest, most delicate specialty coffees. Here's how to grind even finer by adjusting the inner burr.

What is an inner burr?

The inner burr is a critical component of your espresso machine's conical burr grinder system. Espresso grinders use two burrs to crush coffee beans into grounds — an outer burr that remains fixed and an inner burr that rotates. The distance between these two surfaces determines how fine your coffee is ground.

While the external grind selector on your machine (the dial on the side) adjusts the grind size to some degree, the inner burr setting gives you more range. By adjusting the inner burr, you effectively shift the entire range of your grind settings finer or coarser.

The default factory setting for the inner burr is typically 6, but this can be adjusted to create an even finer grind when needed — particularly useful for light roasts that often require a finer grind to extract properly.

How to adjust the inner burr

Before you begin, we recommend emptying all coffee beans from the hopper, run the grinder until no grounds remain, and power off your machine for safety.

When to adjust your inner burr

Before making any adjustments to your inner burr, consider whether it's necessary. You should only adjust the inner burr if:

• You've been using the finest grind settings (1-5) consistently
• Your espresso is still running too fast (extracting in less than 20 seconds)
• Your coffee tastes sour or under-extracted
• You're working with light-roasted coffee beans that require a finer grind

Now you've learned how to adjust the inner burr on your Breville or Sage espresso machine, why not explores some of our other articles? For chilled coffee lovers, check how to make cold brew coffee at home. And to keep your coffee maker in the best condition, take a look at how to descale your Breville coffee maker and how to clean a coffee grinder for a better brew.

I've tried many gadgets in 2024, but I'll end the year in style with the Breville InFizz Fusion. Many carbonators, such as SodaStream and the Ninja Thirsti, don't endorse adding anything other than still water to a bottle (although, if you ask me, I think a one-off exception for some emergency fizzy wine wouldn't hurt), but Breville actively encourages it.

When I went to an event for the Breville InFizz Fusion back in April (known as Sage in the U.K., where I'm based), I drank exclusively carbonated white wine and genuinely couldn't have guessed that it wasn't prosecco or champagne.

So if you find yourself running a little low on the fizz this New Year's Eve and you happen to have an InFizz Fusion, your guests will be none the wiser that those bubbles don't come from the fermentation process, but a 30-second pulse on a carbonator machine.

How does it work?

The InFizz Fusion has a special lid that lets you pulse and release pressure from your bottle before opening it outright, preventing it from fizzing over. This means you can add some fizz back to flat soda, or even prosecco, or create your own bases from iced tea to mocktails and not have to overly dilute them with sparkling water.

Can I use my SodaStream?

SodaStream says no, as does Ninja's Thirsti machine. This is because adding anything other than water could impact the long-term performance of your appliance.

But while I can't recommend trying this hack in other carbonator brands, I can guide those in a pinch and need some sparkling wine, stat.

The trick is to fizz your drink in very short bursts and release pressure between these pulses. If you carbonate for too long at a time, you'll risk creating too much fizz and causing leakage or excess pressure inside the bottle.

How does it compare?

Notice how I've not called this a hack for making homemade prosecco? That's because the fizz in prosecco comes from fermentation, so making this from home is impossible.

My recommendation? Use all the good stuff first (saving a bottle for a New Year's toast), and by the time your party's in full swing, your guests probably won't be able to tell you've switched to an improvised prosecco.

You'd be better off calling this drink a faux-secco, and although I couldn't taste the difference when I used regular white wine in my InFizz Fusion, I don't want to start my 2025 with an inbox full of angry sommeliers.

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Ninja hasn't been subtle about the fact that its Luxe Café espresso machine is designed to compete with the Breville Barista Express. When the machine first launched, the brand ran marketing material that literally compared it to "other espresso machines" on a range of specs, and what image did they use to represent "other espresso machines"? That's right, an image of the Breville Barista Express. And while these machines are ultimately created with the same aim in mind — to make great home espresso — they are incredibly different.

I'm a newly SCA-certified barista who's been reviewing the best espresso machines for five years, and while I love all things Ninja, me and the Barista Express go way back. I persuaded my parents to buy it for me for Christmas five years ago, and it's still a much-loved member of their kitchen. It's an absolute classic, and despite how many innovative and brilliant espresso machines Breville has released since the Barista Express came out, it's still one of the top-selling machines on the market.

The Luxe Café came out in mid-2024, and while it's currently in stock, it sells out frequently. While Ninja doesn't have the espresso pedigree, it does have legions of fans who love the brand's consistent innovation, from its air fryers to its ice cream makers. We reviewed both, we gave both 4.5 stars in our reviews, so if you're considering buying an espresso machine, either would be a Tom's Guide-approved choice. But which is best coffee maker for you, and which should you buy? Let's put them head-to-head.

Ninja Luxe Café vs Breville Barista Express: Specs compared

Ninja Luxe Café vs Breville Barista Express: Price and availability

There's no world in which $500 is not a lot of money to part with for a new kitchen gadget, but in the world of espresso machines, it could be a lot more. I'm reluctant to say that the Ninja Luxe Café is a great value machine, because it's one of the most expensive things Ninja's ever sold, but for the price, it does offer a huge amount above the industry standard.

By comparison, the Breville Barista Express retails for $700 at full price, but at major trading events like Black Friday and Prime Day, you'll typically see it on sale. I got mine for $500 in 2019, but it's definitely gone up in price since then.

Winner: Ninja Luxe Café

Ninja Luxe Café vs Breville Barista Express: Looks

Purely on looks, I'd go with the Barista Express over the Luxe Café. Speaking as a huge Ninja fan, I think we can all accept that their appliances don't always win in the aesthetics department, and it's the advanced features that often swing the dial in their favor. It's the same story with this espresso machine.

When you think of an espresso machine you probably think of something that looks like the Breville Barista Express. It's all buttons and dials, stainless steel (although it does come in other colors) and features a pressure gauge that, even if you don't really understand how it works, makes you feel like a professional when you use the machine.

Winner: Breville Barista Express

Ninja Luxe Café vs Breville Barista Express: Interface

The Ninja is about the same size, with a black and white LCD display and buttons. It features a mix of black and stainless steel and offers some smart housing on either side of the machine to allow you to access the tamper (which is attached magnetically next to the grinder on the Barista Express) and the Luxe basket, which allows you to make drip coffee.

As opposed to making you feel like a pro, the Ninja machine makes you feel like it's helping you make a good coffee. It suggests grind adjustments, tells you if your shot went well (as opposed to showing you with a pressure dial) and features an assisted steam wand that still gives you the feeling of pouring your milk into your coffee, but doesn't really let you steam it like a professional.

Winner: Ninja Luxe Café

Ninja Luxe Café vs Breville Barista Express: Coffee grinding

There are two very different grinders at play here. Ninja is weight-based, meaning it weighs the coffee as it grinds, and it will suggest changes to your grind size depending on how long your coffee takes to extract. By contrast, the Breville has the more conventional approach of allowing you to determine your volume of coffee, and while it can't assist you, you can make your own call as to whether your grind size is right depending on the pressure level and the speed of your extraction. This characterizes the essential difference between these machines — Breville leaves you to figure it out for yourself, and the Ninja will give you a helping hand at every stage.

One really clever feature of Ninja's grinder is its motor-supported grind adjustments. When you change grind size, you'll often want to purge a bit of coffee between adjustments to prevent your next shot from having an inconsistent grind. The Ninja tackles this by automatically shaking out grounds between adjustments to prevent you needing to do this manually.

On paper, the fact that the Ninja has 25 grind settings compared to Breville's 16 may seem like a big advantage, but there's a reason for this. As I point out in our best coffee grinder guide, you'll struggle to find a grinder that can make grounds fine enough for a really good espresso, and coarse (but even) enough for quality drip coffee. But for a machine that claims to do both, I wouldn't expect 25 grind settings to be enough. As coffee reviewer extraordinaire James Hoffman found when he tried the Ninja Luxe Café, the machine can just enough handle a fine enough grind for espresso, but created a very inconsistent grind for drip coffee.

The Breville has an easier job to do. Its 16 grind settings are geared toward espresso, which you can expect to make smaller changes with its steel conical burrs to allow you to really fine-tune your coffee. It will definitely get the job done, but it's a bit loud and whiny when in use.

It's hard to pick a winner here. The Barista Express does one thing perfectly well, but the Ninja does more, albeit with a less puritanical focus on espresso that could drag down its overall grinding quality. Due to the clever added features of the Ninja Luxe Café such as its volumetric grinding though, I think it offers better value for most people.

Winner: Ninja Luxe Café

Ninja Luxe Café vs Breville Barista Express: Coffee

You can make a great espresso in both of these machines, but they work a little differently. Ninja does away with single baskets entirely, just using a double or a luxe basket that works for drip coffee and a quad shot. It's a machine that's designed for American-sized venti coffee! The Barista Express has four baskets to choose from: a single-walled or pressurized version of both a single and double shot. These baskets are stored in a tray that slots behind the drip tray for easy access.

Ninja also offers both cold brew and drip coffee, which is pretty clever. Many modern machines (including Breville's latest machine, the Oracle Jet) offer cold brew settings, but you'll usually have to spend $1k+ to get a setting like this in an espresso machine, and Ninja manages it for $500.

You won't find the drip coffee to be as high-quality as the likes of a dedicated grinder and drip setup, but it's more than enough to satisfy the majority of coffee drinkers, and it's an impressive extra that will perfectly suit households like mine where one person is more of an espresso drinker and the other likes long black coffees.

Winner: Ninja Luxe Café

Ninja Luxe Café vs Breville Barista Express: Milk

If I were buying an espresso machine, I wouldn't bother with one that steams automatically. I'm on a mission to perfect my latte art since going to barista school, and I'd probably find the Ninja Luxe Café a bit annoying for hand-steaming.

But, for most people, the Ninja will make milk steaming easy. It features a unique jug that has a whisk built into the base. This will circulate your milk and make texturizing easy for the automatic steam wand, and it also means you can create cold foam to top up your cold brew.

Again, it comes down to what you're prefer. Ironically, the more versatile machine will probably be a better choice for a less capable home barista, whereas someone who really wants to perfect the basics of home brewing will be able to learn on a machine like the Barista Express a lot better than the Ninja Luxe Café.

Winner: Ninja Luxe Café

Ninja Luxe Café vs Breville Barista Express: Verdict

They may look quite similar, but these are incredibly different machines, and they're designed for different users. So instead of picking one overall winner, I'll instead offer some advice from a keen home barista who bought the Breville Barista Express back when she didn't know anything about coffee.

For keen home baristas: Buy the Breville Barista Express. It has been and continues to be the perfect machine for those who want to learn on a capable machine that won't detach them from the brewing process. As an added bonus, there are so many brands that created add-on gadgets (such as bottomless portafilters and single-dose hoppers) to mod this machine and really make it your own. A beginner will struggle to do this machine justice, but if you're keen to learn about coffee, learn on this iconic machine.

For coffee-lovers who just want a great brew: The Ninja Luxe Café clearly wins on features. It can make espresso, drip and cold brew coffee, as well as automatic, manual and cold foam milk. It also offers a heap of assisted settings to help you optimize your brew without having to learn about complex stuff like ratios, grind size and pressure.

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If you've invested in a Breville coffee maker, you've chosen one of the best coffee makers on the market. But even high-end machines need some TLC from time to time to keep brewing great coffee. Just like knowing how to clean a coffee grinder is essential for fresh-tasting brews, descaling your Breville is key to maintaining your daily cup's quality.

Don't worry if you're new to this — it's simpler than it sounds. In fact, once you get the hang of it, you'll find it's not much more involved than learning how to clean a Ninja coffee maker. Regular descaling removes mineral buildup, keeps your machine running smoothly, and ensures your coffee always tastes its best.

Whether you're dealing with the popular Barista Express, the compact Bambino Plus, the versatile Precision Brewer, or the convenient One Touch, each model has its own specific descaling needs. Ready to give your Breville some love? Let's walk through the descale process step by step, so you can keep enjoying that perfect cup of coffee at home.

Now that you've learned how to clean your coffee grinder, you should be ready to elevate your coffee game. Discover how to make espresso like a barista, find the best coffee maker, or learn how to make iced coffee in 4 simple steps.

Sage has just launched a swanky new espresso machine that comes with a super-sensitive touch screen, light and dark modes for early morning brews, and even the ability to brew cold brew and cold espresso.

At £1,700, the Sage Oracle Jet is actually cheaper than its forebears, the Oracle (£1,800) and the Oracle Touch (£2,100). It's not a budget-friendly option, but coffee buffs will know that you can burn through £2,000 fairly quickly when shopping for the best coffee maker.

I got the chance to try the Sage Oracle Jet hands-on for a month ahead of the brand's latest launch, making smooth, fruity cold brews and (almost) mess-free espresso to see if it's worth that high price tag. I really enjoyed the automatic features which will guide beginner to intermediate coffee brewers towards making the perfect shot of coffee, with grinder advice and smart dosing that will ensure you get the most out of every bean. Here's what you need to know about the Oracle Jet.

3 things I liked about the Sage Oracle Jet

1. It's easy to get a good brew

The Oracle Jet was designed for people like me. I really like coffee, and I'd spend a big lump of my paycheck on a swanky new machine, but I'm not one of those enthusiasts who like to control every tiny detail about my espresso. You won't catch me weighing my beans, checking my ratio, or using a WDT tool before tamping my grounds.

The Oracle Jet really does take all the messy and tedious parts of making espresso out of your hands. From first use, it calibrates your grinder to optimise your perfect ground size, measuring the extraction time to tell if the pressure is right, and it will continue to make grinder suggestions as you switch between beans or make different coffee drinks.

This machine also tamps for you. If you've used a traditional espresso machine like the Sage Barista Express, you'll know that the grounds can get everywhere when you have to tamp by hand, so I've really enjoyed letting the machine do all the hard work. One complaint though — there's always a scattering of loose grounds sat at the top of my tamped puck when I go to put it into the group head.

2. It's designed with user experience in mind

I'm all about mood lighting, even from my coffee machine. Jura machines, for example, use different color lights depending on what you're brewing, and it's such a simple way to elevate your brewing experience.

The Sage Oracle Jet has both a light and dark mode, and it illuminates the area under the group head so you can see your drink being brewed even if you're making your coffee first thing in the morning, perfect for those winter mornings when it takes a while for your eyes to adjust.

Another user-friendly element of the Sage Oracle Jet is its steam wand. It comes with pre-set drink options for making latte, cappuccino and flat white, and will adjust the froth level and temperature depending on your choice of drink and choice of milk type. I'm partial to an oat milk latte, so being able to switch to oat milk mode, which will keep temperature lower to prevent your milk from burning, is a huge win.

The wand steams automatically, so all you need to do is insert the jug and watch the whirlpool start to form. Then, pour and enjoy. If you do prefer to hand-steam, it also has a Manual mode.

3. Delicious cold brew

I was so excited when I heard the Sage Oracle Jet can make cold brew and cold espresso, because I love iced coffee. There are a number of machines that can make cold brew, including the De'Longhi La Specialista Maestro, and while they're not able to replicate the process of slowly steeping coffee grounds over 12+ hours, they do a pretty good job of recreating that flavour.

The Sage Oracle Jet extracted a glass of long cold brew in under three minutes, and it was light and fruity. I also enjoyed making iced lattes with a cold espresso, meaning my ice wasn't immediately melted when I poured my shot over it. Come the summer months, I'd be making this my regular drinks.

1 thing I didn't like about the Sage Oracle Jet

1. Say goodbye to dual boiler

The Sage Oracle Jet is an upgrade on previous Oracle machines in a number of ways, but it's lacking the dual boiler design. Dual boiler coffee machines can extract espresso and steam milk simultaneously, meaning they can be real time-savers, and they replicate that professional design you might expect from a high-end espresso machine.

Instead, Sage has introduced its ThermoJet system. This allows you to go between espresso and steam relatively seamlessly, so much so that you can start to brew your coffee, insert your milk wand into your pitcher, and queue your milk so that it starts to steam almost immediately after your espresso is brewed.

I wasn't using a dual boiler machine before I tested the Oracle Jet, so I actually found that this machine was a level-up in terms of efficiency from my standard semi-automatic machine. However, if I'm finding fault, this would be the biggest loss in the latest iteration of the Oracle line.

Food processors are often underappreciated kitchen appliances, as many people don’t realize just how much you can do with them. The best food processors can be used for basics like chopping veggies and making purees, but many also come with special attachments that let you quickly slice or shred ingredients, too.

However, the Breville Paradice 16 takes that versatility a step further, allowing you to streamline your cooking even more. This high-end food processor comes with the most comprehensive selection of accessories that I’ve ever seen, including tools for dicing, slicing French fries, kneading dough, and much more. It has an extra-large bowl capacity of 16 cups, but it also comes with a small 2.5-cup bowl insert and mini blade for smaller recipes.

To see if this versatile food process is worth the splurge, I tested out the Paradice 16 in my kitchen, using it to make everything from hummus to chopped salad. Here’s what I thought about this heavy-duty appliance and who I think should buy it.

Breville Paradice 16: Price and availability

The Breville Paradice 16 is available in the US for $699.95. You can purchase it through the Breville website or from retailers like Williams Sonoma or Sur La Table.

In the UK, Breville is known as Sage, and you can buy the Sage Paradice 16 for £579.95 at the Sage website.

In Australia, the Breville Paradice 16 is available for AU$899 on the Breville website.

Breville Paradice 16: Design

When the Breville Paradice 16 arrived on my doorstep, I was shocked at both the size and weight of the package. It was triple the size I expected for a food processor and weighed around 60 pounds. I actually needed help bringing the box inside because it was so large and unwieldy—something to keep in mind if you need to carry it up stairs to get it into your home. At the other end of the spectrum is KitchenAid's 3.5-Cup Food Chopper, it doesn't have all the bells and whistles that the Breveille Paradice boasts, but it is mini and mighty.

When I unboxed the product, I quickly realized why the box was so big. In addition to the food processor itself, the package contains two storage boxes full of accessories, each of which measures around 8.3 x 12.6 x 10.9 inches. One box contains all the blades for the food processor, including the s-blade, dough blade, mini blade, as well as the main and mini spindles. This box also stores the adjustable slider, reversible shredder and French fry discs. The second box houses the Paradice kit, which includes three dicing discs, a dicing distributor, and a dicing gearbox.

The boxes have clear lids so you can see what’s inside, and there are also little cards stashed in the back of the box that show the purpose of each attachment. The pieces are also conveniently color-coded to help you select the right spindle for each tool. The storage boxes do stack on top of each other, but they still take up a lot of storage space, so this isn’t a product for anyone with a small kitchen.

The food processor itself is also quite large and heavy, making it quite substantial to move around. The work bowl has a capacity of 16 cups, but it also comes with a mini bowl that holds 2.5 cups and can be inserted into the larger bowl when you’re working with smaller quantities. The work bowl is made from BPA-free plastic and has measurement markings on one side, and the chute is 5.5 inches wide. There are three pusher sizes to accommodate all types of ingredients—from whole potatoes to slim carrots—and the smallest pusher actually doubles as a liquid measuring cup when you remove its lid.

The control panel on this food processor is fairly simple. It has a power button, a start/pause button, and a pulse button, as well as up and down arrows that let you adjust its digital timer. When you turn on the blade, the screen automatically starts a count-up timer, letting you know how long you’ve been processing the ingredients, but you can also change it to a count-down timer, if you prefer.

Breville Paradice 16: Performance

Making lemon bars

I made several different recipes with the Paradice 16 to test its different abilities. I started with one of my favorite dessert recipes—lemon bars—which uses a food processor to mix up the buttery crust quickly. I tossed the flour, almonds, lemon zest and cold butter into the work bowl, then pulsed it several times to combine. I was quite surprised at how easily the food processor was able to chop up the cold butter. Thanks to the appliance’s powerful motor, I only had to pulse the mixture a few times before the ingredients were uniformly mixed, and it made the task look like light work!

Making hummus

The next recipe I tried was a classic hummus recipe—something that’s generally made in a food processor. It was a fairly small batch, so I used the small work bowl insert and mini blade. I love that all the pieces are color-coded, which makes it quick and easy to find the ones you need.

With the garlic, chickpeas, and seasonings in the bowl, I turned on the food processor and slowly added in the olive oil. The ingredients quickly turned into a uniform puree, and I added in a small amount of aquafaba while the processor was running to make it extra smooth. The final result was absolutely amazing—it was some of the best hummus I’ve ever had, and there wasn’t a single chunk to be found.

Dicing vegetables

Of course, I wanted to test out the unit’s dicing kit, so I found a recipe for Chop Chop Salad on the Breville website. It contains lots of chopped vegetables, all of which you’re able to dice up right in the food processor. I started by cutting up the lettuce with the adjustable slicing blade—I cut each head of romaine in half and fed it straight into the chute. It did a good job creating perfect bite-sized pieces, but the ends of the lettuce tended to end up in larger chunks that I ended up pulling out.

The next task was dicing the cucumbers and tomatoes. The recipe recommended using the red 12mm dicing grid and disk, and it did take me a few minutes to figure out how to set up the pieces in the bowl. The setup includes a spinning disc that cuts off slices of the ingredient, which are then pushed through the dicing grid and distributed into the bowl with the dicing distributor underneath. It’s a cool concept, and it worked pretty well on both ingredients. However, I did find that the last few slices don’t get pushed through the grid, so you have to manually push them through using the matching “cleaning cap,” which attaches to the bottom of the biggest pusher. It’s not a big deal, but it does take away from the overall convenience of the attachment.

Making French fries

Finally, I wanted to test out the food processor’s French fry disc, which looks similar to the slicing disc but has vertical blades, as well. After setting it up, I simply put full-size russet potatoes down the food processor’s chute and used the pulse button to chop up each one. The disc worked really well, creating uniform potato slices in a matter of seconds. I was able to slice up three potatoes in around a minute—much faster than hand-chopping, and much safer than using a mandoline. Some of the larger fries were a bit curved due to the rotation of the blade, but they still tasted great when air fried.

Cleaning

Whenever I’m testing an appliance with sharp blades, I pay close attention to how it’s supposed to be cleaned. After all, if you have to hand-wash something like the dicing grids, there’s a high risk of cutting yourself. The good news, however, is that the majority of this food processor's components are dishwasher-friendly.

The blades, disc attachments, spindles, food pushers, and dicing components are all safe to put on the top rack of the dishwasher, which makes them easy to clean after use. The work bowl and lid are also technically dishwasher safe, but the brand recommends hand-washing whenever possible to minimize the chance of damaging the plastic. I found that if you rinse it out right after use to get rid of any food residue, it’s easy to hand-wash these pieces and store them back on the base of the appliance.

How does the Breville Paradice 16 compare?

In terms of versatility (and price), the Breville Paradice 16 is in a league of its own. It has an extra-large 16-cup capacity, powerful 1,450-watt motor, and an unmatched set of accessories, but it’s also one of the most expensive food processors out there today, retailing for $699.95.

If you want the same versatility in a smaller, more affordable package, the brand recently released the Paradice 9, which is a better option for those with limited space. It doesn’t include quite as many accessories, but you still get a dicing kit, S-blade, reversible shredder, adjustable slicer, and dough blade, all of which can be stored inside the work bowl. This smaller version has a 9-cup capacity, and it’s more affordable at $399.95.

Alternatively, if you want the larger capacity but don’t need the dicing kit, the Breville Sous Chef 16 has a virtually identical design to the Paradice, complete with a 1,450-watt motor and 16-cup work bowl. The main difference is that the accessories package is smaller, but it is notably less expensive at $499.95.

Should you buy the Breville Paradice 16 Food Processor?

If you’re looking for a powerful food processor that can do it all, the Breville Paradice 16 is worth the splurge. This appliance is unmatched in terms of versatility thanks to its comprehensive accessories package, which includes attachments for dicing, cutting French fries, and so much more. Plus, its powerful motor makes quick work of even the toughest ingredients, and its 16-cup capacity is ideal for cooking in bulk.

That said, this food processor isn’t well-suited for anyone with a small kitchen. The appliance itself is large and heavy, and its two accessory storage boxes take up a lot of space.

The Breville Bit More 4-Slice Toaster is a minimalist and sophisticated looking appliance that’s covered in a brushed aluminum body. It features four-slice toasting for anything from plain bread, bagels, and English muffins to frozen pancakes and waffles.

i tested the Breville Bit More 4-Slice Toaster, and it’s one of the best I’ve reviewed, thanks to its handy lift and look feature, customizable alarm and smartly designed plug. But it’s not perfect. 

Breville Bit More 4-Slice Toaster review: Price and availability

The Breville four-slice model is available for $99 from Amazon, with an original list price of $149. You can also find it in Best Buy for $99. 

Breville Bit More 4-Slice Toaster review: Design

When designing a four-slice toaster, the choice is to go either short and thick or long and slim. Breville however, chose the latter — at 16.1 inches wide by 7.6 inches high and 8.1 inches deep at a minimal 5.5 pounds. And while the longer footprint takes up more counter space (roughly the length of an average toaster oven), this toaster is versatile. It accommodates not only two regular slices in a single slot but single slices of specialty breads that might be longer than traditional breads.

Typically, rye breads and special larger bakes either must be toasted twice from both directions or cut in half to toast, but the Breville accommodates those longer length foods just fine.

The toaster’s easy-to-use slide setting bar glows a bright orange LED indicator extending to wherever you set the browning control. Each lamp advances one-half setting with the last two lamps at a dimmer shade. As the toast cooks, the lamps dynamically count down to the low end of the setting bar, getting shorter and shorter, so you can see exactly where your toast is in the cooking process.

While there are five main settings, the slider and LED lamps indicate at least 12 separate settings available if you want to place the slider in between settings. Just a few seconds before the toast automatically pops up, the Cancel button starts to blink, alerting you that your toast is ready and then makes a short beeping sound as it pops up. 

Four buttons at the top of the settings bar light up bright blue to clearly indicate A Bit More, Bagel, or Frozen settings. You simply push to activate any of the settings or push again to deactivate them, regardless of whether toast is currently in process. A Cancel button at the right glows red like the setting lamps, in case you want to wait on your toast.

The bread descends into the unit like most toasters, with a mechanical lever. Even before the toast pops up, however, a “Look and Lift” feature lets you survey your toast’s shade without interfering with the toasting cycle. Although, I found with smaller items, the lift was not high enough to see much of anything.

Just in case you’re challenged on how to load a bagel into the slot, the Breville has an embossed instruction right at the top telling you exactly how to position your bagel to shade on one side and warm on the other.

The Breville was toasty to the touch, but not excessively hot as to cause injury. Measured from both the front and side during and right after toasting, exterior temperatures ranged from 79 to 120 degrees in the front and 81 to 112 degrees on the side, depending on the setting and toasting time. 

Breville Bit More 4-Slice Toaster review: Performance

Unlike some four-toast competitors like the KitchenAid and Cuisinart, the Breville does not allow you to toast at different levels. There’s one long slot for each two slices, so if someone wants a darker slice, they can use the A Bit More button to give the toast an extra 30 seconds or so of cooking time, or just change the shade setting with the slider for a second go.

The toast we cooked was more or less consistent with our expectations based on the setting, though there were some variations. Toasting shade was consistent with settings in almost all cases in terms of brownness and evenness. Toast at low settings looked extremely light while medium and high settings were appropriately brown. The Breville is consistent between slices and settings with both two and four slices toasted, yielding nearly the same results.

Bagel tests were similarly accurate with both browness and evenness at the levels expected for light and medium settings. The Frozen setting did not toast our waffles to a similar browning level, even with extra time given for toasting from the freezer. Instead, the results were consistently a shade lighter than expected. That should not be a problem since it’s easy to compensate with a slightly higher setting for bread, English muffins, and pancakes and waffles that go into the toaster directly from the freezer. 

One possible downside with a long two-toast slot is that it may not be big enough for some larger specialty sliced breads to load upright and side-by-side. In this case, loading two at a time next to each other in the slot may cause some overlap and toasting gaps. 

Breville Bit More 4-Slice Toaster review: Ease of use and cleaning

The Breville couldn’t be any easier to use as all of the controls are lit, and the shade timer dynamically counts down. The A Bit More button lets you add a minimum amount of extra toasting to your bread if your original setting is not high enough. 

The cleaning tray integrates so well into the sleek design that it may be hard to spot at first glance — you may have to just watch the instructional video to figure out where. Hint: It’s on the bottom side opposite the toast lever. A small ledge right underneath the toaster easily pulls the cleaning tray out so you can empty the crumbs.

If in doubt, the Breville comes with a comprehensive manual that goes into great detail about the toaster structure and function, complete with illustrations and instructions. 

Breville Bit More 4-Slice Toaster review: Special features

Not every toaster has special features, but the Breville does. The toaster is equipped with an unusual Assist plug attached to its moderate 35-inch cord. The grounded three-prong plug is designed with a generous finger hole that makes it easy to both plug and remove the plug from the wall socket without risking damage to the cord or your hand. It is the only toaster we tested with this kind of plug, which protects it from users who tend to yank rather than gently pry the plug loose.

Breville also lets you adjust the volume of the Toast Ready alert. The default is pretty loud, so if you want to let the kids sleep while you make breakfast, you can use a combination of the Cancel button and the Bagel, Frozen, or A Bit More buttons to raise, lower, or mute the alert. 

Breville Bit More 4-Slice Toaster review: Verdict

The Breville is a sleek and stylish addition to any kitchen and will give you the toast you ask for evenly and consistently. Although, you might have to allot extra time for the defrosting feature to get the proper shade. 

The A Bit More control made things easy to get toast shading just right. Cool extras such as the safety plug and the alarm signal adjustment make the Breville a friendly item for the whole family. And if you’re not concerned about separate controls for the four-slice feature, the Breville is a fine choice. 

More from Tom's Guide

• Best toaster ovens
• Best air fryers
• Best juicers

Once you've switched to using a food processor, you'll never go back. Remember when you used to chop onions by hand? Remember when you grated cheese and carrots using a box grater? Those were dark times, but with the best food processor, you can leave that all behind.

Keeping one of these nifty multitaskers on your kitchen counter will unlock a new level of efficiency that will have you feeling like a chef in a professional kitchen. Food prep is quick and efficient, washing up is painless, and dinner is, crucially, on the table a lot faster.

Our top pick has been in this guide for a few years, but the Cuisinart 14 Cup has genuine icon status in the cooking world. You'll see it on celeb and chef countertops alike, despite a huge range of more modern and attractive options.

On a budget? The Hamilton Beach Bowl Scraper 10 Cup will get the job done, and we loved its scraper attachment which will clear down the side of the bowl without manual intervention.

The best food processors you can buy today

Best food processor overall

The Cuisinart 14 Cup is the best food processor we tested. While many high-capacity machines are deafening, hands-on testing revealed the Cuisinart reached just 65.2 dB. This makes it significantly more pleasant for long tasks, like pureeing hummus, than its closest high-end rival, the Magimix 14 Cup, which registered a much louder 79.2 dBA.

In our tests, the 720-watt motor proved to be a workhorse. It sliced a whole russet potato in only two seconds and shredded a block of cheddar cheese in 10 seconds with zero excess food caught in the lid; a common issue we ran into when testing other models. It also outperformed other models during the difficult cookie dough test, creaming butter and sugar together more thoroughly than competitors and producing exceptionally light, soft results.

While it offers top-tier performance, its design is simple compared to more recent releases such as the Breville Paradice 9. The design focuses on simplicity and ease of use, featuring two large paddle controls for "On" and "Off/Pulse" that remain easy to toggle with slippery hands. While it lacks the multiple speed settings found on newer models or the built-in scrapers of the Hamilton Beach 10 Cup, its raw power and 14-cup capacity make it more efficient for large families and heavy prep.

Read our full Cuisinart 14 Cup Custom Food Processor review.

Best value food processor

For home cooks who want reliable performance without the premium price tag, the Hamilton Beach Bowl Scraper 10 Cup is an outstanding value option. While high-end icons like the Cuisinart 14 Cup Custom focus on heavy-duty power and quiet operation, this model provides practical innovations on a budget, including its built-in scraper to clear the bowl’s sides during use.

Our tests showed that the limited wattage on offer with the Hamilton Beach doesn't hold it back as much as you might expect. Its 450 watts chopped an onion in just three seconds and grated our block of cheddar cheese in five seconds, making it one of the fastest machines tested. It even handled sticky cookie dough with zero motor strain, though the machine’s lightweight 6.9-pound frame rocked slightly during the process.

You can't compete with more premium models like the Breville Paradice 9 at this price, but we did love the Hamilton Beach's manual bowl scraper, which saves prep time by reducing the need to stop and remove the lid. However, testing revealed a minor flaw: the scraper stops about an inch from the bottom, meaning you’ll still need a spatula for the very base of the bowl. Our tests also found that the Hamilton Beach is exceptionally loud, registering 93.9 dB. Nevertheless, for under $60, its speed and versatility make it a compelling bargain.

Read our full Hamilton Beach Bowl Scraper 10 Cup Food Processor review.

Most versatile food processor

The Breville Paradice 9 (known as the Sage Paradice 9 in the U.K.) is the top pick for versatility, offering premium features typically found in much larger, more expensive machines. Its standout innovation is a space-saving storage system that houses all attachments, including a dicing kit, adjustable slicer, and dough blade, directly inside the main bowl.

We were impressed by the Paradice 9’s ability to handle tough tasks. It successfully blitzed rock-hard dried sourdough into fine breadcrumbs and chopped an entire head of cauliflower into consistent "rice" without turning it into mush. The 4.5-inch feed chute handled large quantities of cabbage for slaw in under a minute, and the dicing attachment — a rarity at this size — made quick work of potatoes and fruit, though it required more effort to clean than simpler blades.

The Paradice 9 is significantly more expensive than budget-friendly models like the Hamilton Beach Bowl Scraper 10 Cup, but it also provides much higher build quality and a far more expansive tool kit. This is the best choice for those who want a single machine to replace multiple kitchen gadgets like mandolines. Looking for something larger? Take a look at the Breville Paradice 16, its more expensive and larger counterpart.

Read our full Breville Paradice 9 review.

Best compact food processor

For small kitchens or anyone tired of hunting for a spare power outlet, the KitchenAid Cordless Top Down Food Chopper is the ultimate space-saving solution. While full-sized models like the Cuisinart 14 Cup Custom are countertop fixtures, this 3.5-cup chopper is light, portable, and easily tucked into a drawer.

In our testing, this tiny machine proved remarkably speedy. It prepared a fresh salsa in under 10 seconds with just three pulses. Root vegetables were equally easy; it minced a carrot in seconds, though testing noted that the final chop wasn't perfectly uniform, leaving some larger chunks among the finer bits. While it excels at fast chopping, it struggled with smooth purees. Making hummus required dismantling the motor multiple times to add oil and scrape the sides, and even then, the result remained slightly chunky.

The "Top Down" design is minimalist and incredibly easy to operate via one giant power button on top. Its standout feature is the detachable battery, part of the KitchenAid Go range, which is compatible with other cordless tools like their hand mixer. However, it lacks the ingredient spout found on the corded version of the same product, making liquid-heavy recipes like pesto more tedious. At roughly $99 with a battery, it’s more expensive per cup than the Hamilton Beach Bowl Scraper 10 Cup. But for high-speed food prep without the mess of wires, its convenience is hard to beat.

Read the full KitchenAid Cordless Top Down Food Chopper review.

Most durable food processor

Magimix produced the first domestic food processor in 1971, and it brings that same innovation and quality to the Magimix Food Processor 14 Cup model, the sturdiest food processor we tested. Made in France and designed with professional-grade durability, it is backed by an industry-leading 30-year motor warranty, signaling its place as the most durable machine in the guide.

In hands-on testing, the 950-watt motor demonstrated immense power, handling a full batch of cookie dough with ease to produce a light and airy result. Speed tests showed it can slice a whole russet potato or carrot in just four seconds, and grated our block of cheese in 15 seconds with perfectly clean, consistent results.

A standout feature is the three-bowl system (6, 12, and 14 cups), which allows you to process different parts of a recipe without stopping to wash a single bowl. This innovation offers significantly more flexibility than the Cuisinart 14 Cup Custom, which only provides one bowl. However, at 17 pounds with a separate storage box for attachments, it may be too bulky for smaller kitchens. While its price is a premium over budget options like the Hamilton Beach 10 Cup, its versatility, quiet operation, and built-to-last construction justify the cost for serious cooks.

Read our full Magimix Food Processor 14 Cup review.

Best food processor for slicing

The KitchenAid 13 Cup Food Processor is the top choice for precision prep, earning its title as the "best for slicing" due to its externally adjustable ExactSlice system. This allows users to shift from thick to thin slices by simply sliding a lever, a level of customization not found even in our top pick.

This machine proved to be a time-saver for large-scale slicing. It processed a whole russet potato in just seven seconds with perfectly consistent results. While it excelled at firm vegetables, it did require some pre-cutting for carrots due to an auto-off safety feature that necessitates the chute depressor be fully inserted. It also handled onion chopping in a mere three seconds. However, its performance on sticky tasks like cookie dough and hummus was less impressive; because of the bowl’s large 13-cup capacity, ingredients often migrated to the edges, requiring frequent manual scraping to achieve a uniform blend.

KitchenAid has reimagined the traditional food processor design with a "Snap and Go" bowl and a hinged, locking lid. This eliminates the need to twist the bowl onto the base — a common frustration with models like the Magimix 14 Cup. At 9.7 pounds, it is significantly lighter than the 17-pound Magimix, making it easier to lift in and out of storage. However, its 17.44-inch height is a drawback, as it likely won't fit under standard overhanging kitchen cabinets. For smaller kitchens, the KitchenAid 3.5 Cup Chopper remains a better compact bet, but for those who prioritize effortless, customized slicing, the 13-cup model is unmatched.

Read our full KitchenAid 13 Cup Food Processor review.

Also tested

We've tested lots of food processors over the years, but not all of them can be the very best.

However, after making hundreds of cups of hummus, coleslaw, and salsa, there are some processors that could be right for your kitchen.

We've tried a huge 40-pound processor and a tiny food chopper that could be a better fit than the products above, which are exceptional but might not be the right fit.

Here are some recently-tested processors that are still worth considering.

How we tested the best food processors

We put a range of food processors through a variety of demanding tests to evaluate their overall performance, design and quality. To start, we sliced whole potatoes and carrots to assess the performance on hard everyday vegetables, and then we grated a ⅓-pound block of cheese, to see how consistently each grated and how much waste was left behind. We also chopped onions and pureed hummus, to assess the power, and then we mixed a batch of cookie dough in each food processor, which was one of the hardest tests because of its thick, sticky texture.

During each test, we looked for consistency, both in terms of chopping and slicing, and we wanted a thorough blend on the hummus and cookie dough tests. We monitored how easily each machine handled the ingredients, as well as the speed with which they completed the tests. We also made note of any difficulties that we faced.

Next, we filled up each food processor with water and ran it to test for leakage. None of the models we tested had any leaks, which is good news. We also assessed the noise of each while in operation with a sound reader. Finally, we evaluated any additional elements, like how easily the machines can be cleaned and the effectiveness of any accessories that contribute to their performance or versatility.

We also tested some food processors that don't feature in our guide because their performance wasn't on par with the rest of the models we tested. This includes the Oster Total Prep 10 Cup Food Processor and the Black + Decker 8 Cup Food Processor, both of which scored 3 stars in testing.

Food processor results

What to look for when buying a food processor

What's the difference between a good food processor and a great one? A quality processor should be able to take on whole fruits and vegetables with ease, without much time expenditure in between items. It should be safe to use and easy to store. Before you pull the trigger on a purchase, here are some features to keep top of mind.

Budget: This is always a good place to start, but remember, it's a wide range. Expect to spend anywhere from $20 to $50 on the low end for simple chopping machines and $200 to $400 — and up — for professional-grade devices. You get what you pay for, and that's not always a bad thing.

Size and type: Food processors come in a variety of styles but can generally be categorized as mini, compact or full size. Miniprocessors (i.e., "choppers") are adequate for dicing up one or two small items at a time and are easy to clean, but their usefulness is limited. The larger the food processor, the more versatile its capabilities. Premium processors come with larger storage containers, too, making them better for family-size meals.

Power: Again, it's a wide range. From 200 watts on the low end to 1,200 watts for premium models, larger machines draw the most juice. If you're shopping for a full-size machine, 500 watts or more should be enough to power through most food-processing jobs without a fuss. Weaker motors don't do a good job at uniform chopping/mixing, and they run the risk of burning out when overloaded.

Controls: While pricier machines may include LCD displays; countdown timers; and dedicated buttons for slicing/shredding, pureeing/mixing and pulsing, budget models offer less customization. If your food-processing needs are modest, though, one or two speeds is all you need.

Blade performance: Sharp blades are important, because they affect how evenly food is chopped, and some of them are reversible, increasing their functionality. Quality blades and grating disks should be super-sharp right out of the box and remain sharp for years to come.

Attachments: This is where you really need to pay attention. Different brands and models come with myriad attachments and accessories, but you're unlikely to use all of them all the time. Pick a food processor with a set of accessories that fits your lifestyle. That being said, here are a few useful add-ons we like:

Warranty: The more you spend, the longer the warranty should be. Expect one year for less expensive models and upward of three years for premium machines.

The brand KitchenAid is practically synonymous with the best stand mixer, but does it deserve its notoriety? Well, I've tested leading mixers from brands like Cuisinart, Smeg, Ooni, and yes, KitchenAid, to find out. And spoiler alert: in my tests, I found that the best stand mixer for most people is, indeed, a KitchenAid Artisan.

I've even got a KitchenAid Artisan in my own kitchen. It's been in my family for decades, which should tell you how hard-wearing these appliances can be when you treat them well.

That's not to say that the KitchenAid is the best stand mixer for everyone, though. If you're on a budget, the often-compared Cuisinart Precision is a worthy contender, offering a lot of the same functions at about half the price. And if you're a keen bread baker, or budding pizzaiolo, the Ooni Spiral ousted the Ankarsrum mixer when it was released last year as the best stand mixer for kneading bread, which is a uniquely challenging task for less powerful mixers.

For all the results of my hands-on testing (and yes, plenty of photos of cake), keep on reading.

Best overall

The KitchenAid Artisan 5-quart stand mixer is a real workhorse, so it’s no wonder that it tops almost everyone’s list of best stand mixers. It’s fast, efficient at mixing and quiet in operation. What’s more, this is the mixer I have at home, and I use it every week without fail.

This KitchenAid Artisan features a tilt-head design, which is easy to release by moving the side lever. I find it makes changing attachments, which twist and click into place, super easy, and it gives me space to remove mixture off the side of the bowl, which is particularly useful when making cake batter.

Size-wise, 5 quarts is all that most domestic bakers will need. I’ve used it for over 10 years and have a family of four, and it’s seen me through plenty of birthdays and festivities when I tend to bake bigger batches. It also has 10-speed options, which give you lots of flexibility when mixing. I start on a low level and ramp it up once the mixture starts to blend, although for kneading dough, I keep it on a steady, slow speed.

Appliance in action

Kneading bread dough
The KitchenAid Artisan produced a soft bread dough after 10 minutes of kneading at speed 2 — the recommended speed for the task. The noise level measured 77 dB. All of the mixture was incorporated well without any intervention, and I had a chance to rest my arms.

Mixing cake batter
Starting with softened butter, I creamed sugar and butter together before incorporating the eggs. At this stage, I placed the pouring shield over the top of the bowl to prevent splashes. This was easy to attach and gave adequate space to add the remaining eggs before incorporating the flour. Most of the ingredients were incorporated apart from a small amount of flour at the top of the mixing bowl, which is what I’d expect.

Whisking heavy cream
The whisk proved super fast, and I found the heavy cream I was whisking reached a thick point much sooner than I had expected. While I was busy monitoring the noise level, which was 77 dB, the cream had reached a thick set within 1 minute 23 seconds. There's nothing slow about this appliance.

Read our full KitchenAid Artisan review

Best budget

If you’re looking for a stand mixer but don’t want to invest in a KitchenAid, or similar premium brand, this Cuisinart Precision Master Stand Mixer makes a good choice. When testing, I was impressed with the ease of using the speed dial on the side of the machine and lever at the back to lift the tilt head. This made removing the bowl and adding the attachments a breeze. And with 12 speeds, you can’t fault its flexibility.

Like the KitchenAid Artisan, the Precision comes with a handy splash guard. However, I found it significantly trickier to use than the KitchenAid due to the two-part design. It's also trickier to remove when you need to stir ingredients mid-use.

Larger than the KitchenAid Artisan, it has a large 5.5-quart mixing bowl and the 500-watt oomph to mix batter for five dozen cookies. However, its bread kneading was a little lacking due to the flimisier construction of the mixer. If you’re a heavy-duty bread baker, you might want to upgrade to the Ooni Halo Pro. For its capacity, however, it is a very affordable and handsome choice.

Appliance in action

Kneading bread dough
I made a 1.5 lb loaf and found that the flour and butter blended well, and within a short time, before I added some water. Once ready to knead, I set the stand mixer at the lower end of the recommended speed, on level 5, and ran the appliance for 10 minutes. When I increased the speed to 8, the machine began to shake.

Mixing cake batter
I started by mixing the butter and sugar, but had to intervene as the mixture stuck to the bottom of the bowl. I'd already attached the pouring shield, and this was tricky to detach. I then added the eggs, and could see the benefit of a flex-edge beater that would touch the edges of the bowl, incorporating more of the ingredients. However, this inconvenience didn't hinder the end result — a light sponge cake.

Whisking heavy cream
I whisked heavy cream, starting on speed 1, before increasing it to speed 8. I measured the noise level and it peaked at 75 dB, slightly less than when monitoring the KitchenAid Artisan. After 2 minutes it had reached the consistency I required, although it had taken over 30 seconds longer than the KitchenAid.

Read our full Cuisinart Precision Master stand mixer review

Best for bread

Ooni is best known for making some of the best pizza ovens, but here Ooni has concentrated on an appliance that actually makes the dough.

It’s certainly a solid appliance, weighing in at 32 pounds, although its looks aren’t quite what we’ve come to expect from the likes of KitchenAid, as it carries an industrial aesthetic. It’s a stand mixer that means business. And that’s quite fitting, because although the Ooni is hefty, we discovered it’s up to the task of shifting 11 pounds of dough.

The Ooni Halo Pro Spiral Mixer has a tilt-head design, the same as the two other stand mixers in my top recommendations. And it comes with premium-feeling attachments made of stainless steel, including a dough hook and breaker bar, a flexible beater, and a geared whisk. All of the attachments are easy to insert into place, and you can also cover the bowl with a splash guard that fits into the tilt head, although it’s a bit tricky to attach.

At almost $800, it’s not going to be every baker’s choice. So, unless you’re making volumes of bread and hosting pizza party after pizza party, you won’t need such a heavy-duty appliance. However, if you are still looking for a premium stand mixer but don’t quite need the dough-making capacity, you would be just as well served opting for the KitchenAid Artisan.

Appliance in action

Kneading bread dough
Millie started by making a standard white bread dough in the Halo and noticed how much steadier the stand mixer remained compared to the KitchenAid Artisan. Plus, after 10 minutes of mixing at 20% speed, she was impressed with the gluten development she was able to achieve with this appliance.

She found the spiral mixing technology, usually only found in professional kitchens, to be similar to the Ankarsrum mixer. But in professional kitchens, the breaker bar (a straight metal rod that extends into the mixing bowl, positioned close to the rotating dough hook) cannot be removed, unlike this version.

Unsurprisingly, the Ooni excelled when making pizza dough. Millie followed a recipe for New York-style pizza dough and made eight pizzas using 1kg/2lbs of flour. Once again, she was impressed with the gluten development. Not only that, but she was also intrigued to see how steamy the bowl shield appeared — a sure sign of how much yeast activity the mixer had stimulated. What’s more, her pizza party guests said the pizza dough had a good chew, great flavor, and the crusts puffed up perfectly.

Mixing cake batter
Millie was concerned that the batter for her small loaf cake would spread around the bowl, making the beater less effective. However, the flex edge beater removed the stuck-on ingredients and integrated everything into the mix. She was also impressed with the mixer’s speed, particularly when it was cranked up to 100%. However, she found the bake slightly dense, and thinks it would be better to use the Ooni for layered cakes with more batter for a fluffier result.

Whisking egg whites
Rather than testing out the usual whipped cream and beating egg whites for meringue, Millie went a step further and made butter from scratch. It would be an endurance task for most stand mixers, but she found the Halo didn’t even break into a sweat.

Read our full Ooni Halo Pro Spiral stand mixer review

Best looking

The new Smeg Forte delivers steady, consistent results for everything from cakes to bread dough, making it a trustworthy pick for a wide range of baking tasks. Not only is it a powerful pick, it also looks great in any kitchen thanks to its retro-style design.

With a flex-edge beater, dough hook, whisk, and splash guard included, the Smeg covers all the essential bases and reduces bowl scraping and mess. I was particularly excited about the flex-edge beater, which scrapes the bowl as it mixes. It's an attachment I feel should be included with every KitchenAid mixer, so this small but meaningful upgrade means less scraping and more consistent results for everyday tasks.

Comparable with the KitchenAid Artisan, the Smeg Forte's 5-quart bowl is large enough for double batches or bigger loaves, but still fits comfortably on most counters, striking a smart balance for home bakers.

It's expensive, and despite its increased power, I'd still pick my KitchenAid over the Forte for my day-to-day use, but the main trade-off is its heft: at over 20 pounds, it’s not something you’ll want to move on and off the counter often. Still, based on its capacity, reliability, and ease of use, the Smeg Forte is a dependable, all-purpose choice for home bakers.

Appliance in action

Kneading bread dough
A noisier option than most, the Smeg Forte hit 84dB during my kneading tests. The bread dough test tends to be where weaker or less sturdy mixers fall down, but the Smeg Forte stated put and didn't move around. It also sounded perfectly comfortable during operation, where others such as the Cuisinart, sounded more strained.

Mixing cake batter
Using the flat-edge beater to mix my cake batter, I was struck by how low-maintenance this mixer is to use. There's no need to go in and scrape unincorporated sugar or butter into my mix, and the mixer did a fantastic job of smoothly combining my ingredients at power level 2.

Whisking heavy cream
Despite its higher wattage, the Smeg Forte took longer than my KitchenAid Artisan to hit stiff peaks on my cream whisking test. After two and a half minutes, I had delicious and smooth cream ready to be sandwiched between my cake layers, but this took over a minute longer than the KitchenAid Artisan during my standard testing.

Read our full Smeg Forte stand mixer review

Also tested

What to look for

When looking for a stand mixer I recommend you consider the following before making a buying decision.

Capacity and weight: A larger mixer will be heavier and more difficult to move around, and may take up more countertop space. So, if space is limited or you want to store your stand mixer in a cupboard, opt for a lightweight model and one with a smaller capacity.

How much can it mix?: Bigger isn't necessarily better. If you only need a smaller capacity, there's no reason to buy a larger model — you’re just paying out for something you don’t need.

Tilt-head or bowl-lift? The majority of stand mixers are based on a tilt-head design where the head of the mixer is raised. Bowl-lift models look more heavy-duty and the bowl lifts and lowers using a lever mechanism.

The attachments: Most stand mixers will come with three attachments, including a flat beater, for beating and creaming; a wire whip for whipping egg whites and heavy cream; and a dough hook for mixing and kneading dough. Sometimes you’ll also get a flex-edge beater that has a silicon flexible edge that skims the side of the bowl when mixing. Another useful accessory is a pouring shield, which covers the bowl while it's in use.

Meet our testing team

How we test

We use many indicators when reviewing the best stand mixers to see whether an appliance can deliver on performance. It can be a challenge because, in the process, we eat our way through a lot of bread and cake! However, although we put the stand mixers through a range of mixing tests, we also consider other factors.

Size and weight

When testing each stand mixer, we look at its size and weight, considering whether it will fit under a wall-mounted kitchen cupboard and how easy it is to move around. For instance, if you want to store your stand mixer in a cupboard, will lifting and moving it onto your countertop be tricky? The capacity of the bowl is another aspect — how many cookies or loaves of bread can you make in one batch?

Design

We also consider the overall appearance of the stand mixer, as we realize that looks are important if your appliance is going to be a permanent fixture on your countertop. Plus, we consider the number of color options available, as some stand mixers are available in every color under the sun.

Ease of use

We also assess how intuitive an appliance is to use — can it be unpacked and used without reading the instructions, or do you need more insight before the first go? The positioning of the controls is also important, along with how easy they are to use. And although not many of us like to think about cleaning, this is another important element that we review. Are there any hard-to-reach parts, and which accessories are dishwasher safe?

The appliance in action

During testing, we rate things like power and how well each stand mixer performs at various tasks and speeds. This includes whisking, mixing batter, and kneading bread using the different attachments. During this process, we also looked at how user-friendly and practical the appliance was to use and monitored the noise level.

The dough hook

First, we attach the dough hook and blend the ingredients for a loaf of bread. We check how well the ingredients come together before setting the mixer to knead the dough for 10 minutes. During this time, we measure the noise level in decibels and monitor how much of the stand mixer is moving on the countertop. Once the 10 minutes are up, we check the consistency of the dough to see how smooth it appears and whether any ingredient remnants are left around the edge of the bowl.

The flat beater

We then progress to making a vanilla sponge using the flat beater. While the butter and sugar are creamed together, we note how well the ingredients are incorporated, how much remains on the edge of the bowl, and whether any intervention is needed. The remaining ingredients are added, and we monitor how well the cake batter comes together within a few minutes. If the stand mixer has a pouring shield, we also monitor how easy and effective it is to use. The proof is also in the pudding, and we consider the texture and taste of the final bake.

The whisk

Our final flourish is using the whisk, which we use to whip heavy cream. We time how long it takes for the mixture to hold its shape and form a consistently that could be used for piping. We also note which speed setting was used and whether the heavy cream splashed when being mixed.

How to choose

There are lots of aspects to consider before buying a stand mixer, especially if it's your first time and you don't have previous experience knowing what to look for. So, before buying a stand mixer in your favorite color — because I know there's lots of tempting colorways to choose from — take the time to consider what you want out of the appliance. Here, you'll find lots of advice to help you decide, whether you're a novice or not.

Capacity and weight
Before buying a stand mixer, consider where it’s going to be stored. If you're using it every day, it’s best kept on your countertop rather than in a cupboard. And, if you are going to be moving it about, check its weight, as some can be heavier than others. You could end up being the baker with the biggest biceps! It’s also worth checking the clearance height if you have a tilt-head stand mixer (more on these below), whereas a bowl-lift design won't need any additional headroom.

How much can it mix?
There's really no need to buy the biggest capacity stand mixer unless you're going to use it. I use the KitchenAid Artisan 5-Quart Stand Mixer, and it's plenty big enough for my needs. I can batch bake cupcakes, knead a good-sized loaf and whip up a flurry of cream, without feeling I need a larger appliance. However, if your baking prowess goes beyond a domestic level, you might do well buying the KitchenAid Artisan 7-Quart Bowl-Lift Stand Mixer. Although with extra capacity comes a higher price tag.

Tilt-head or bowl lift?
Stand mixers are split into tilt-head and bowl-lift designs. With a tilt-head stand mixer you tilt the head back so you can look into the bowl and add ingredients. This also allows you to remove the bowl and change the attachments when necessary. Out of the two, I'd say it is the easier stand mixer to use. On a bowl-lift model, you raise or lower the bowl using a crank — it can take a little while to get used to the technique, but soon becomes second nature. Tilt-lift models tend to be less expensive, so are a good choice if you are starting your baking journey, or needing it to store it away when not in use. However, bowl-lift mixers offer more power and larger capacities.

Breaking down the attachments

Stand mixers now come with a host of attachments and accessories for different purposes, so many that it can be a little intimidating to a new baker. Here’s a breakdown of what the main tools do so you know which to use:

Flat beater: This attachment should come with every stand mixer. It’s used for everyday beating and mixing — great for creaming butter and sugar together for cakes as well as batters and frosting. Out of all the attachments I have, I use this the most. Some flat beaters also come with a rubber or silicone edge so they can better scrape the ingredients from the edges of the bowl. They are often called flex-edge beaters, and are worth their weight in gold. If your stand mixer doesn't come with a flex-edge beater, but there's an option to buy one, I'd definitely go for it.

Wire whip: Used for whisking, this attachment whips air into ingredients. It’s commonly used to make whipped cream or meringue and creates light and fluffy textures. Sometimes it's called a balloon whisk.

Dough hook: As the name suggests, this attachment helps mix and knead doughs, so it’s what you need to use if you plan to bake fresh bread or pizza. Dough hooks can appear in a ‘C’ shape or can also look like a spiral.

Splash guard or pouring shield: Other useful tools include a splash guard or pouring shield. These sit on top of the bowl while the mixer is running and prevent ingredients from splashing out. During our testing, some were more tricky to use than others, so it's worth checking advice and reviews before you make a purchase. I like the pouring shield on the KitchenAid Artisan as it comes in one piece and is easy to remove and replace. It's much easier than using a teacloth, which I remember my mom using to prevent flour and powdered sugar taking over the kitchen.

Extra bowls: Some brands also sell glass bowls in addition to stainless steel. With a glass bowl, you can better see the ingredients being mixed, but they are naturally more fragile.

The smart oven concept isn’t necessarily a new one, but the Breville Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro successfully tacks on some “smart” features to what was already one of the best toaster ovens and best air fryers around.

As you might have guessed from the name, this multi-purpose Breville appliance is a collaboration with ChefSteps, as in the ChefSteps Joule Sous Vide. Though the Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro isn’t a precision cooker, it does promise to take the guesswork out of food preparation. So does it deliver?

The Joule Oven app houses a collection of step-by-step recipes that automatically initiate any of the 13 total settings on your oven, offering to take some of the hassle out of getting dinner on the table. Oh, and you can use Alexa or Google Assistant to change settings or set timers hands-free whether you’re air-frying, roasting, toasting, broiling or otherwise. 

Still, as you’ll see in this Breville Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro review, a lot in terms of accessories, cooking performance and cleaning is very similar to the $399 Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro. And like most Breville gadgets, this one isn’t cheap at $499 — but it can replace your oven.

Breville Joule Air Fryer Pro review: Price and availability

The Breville Joule Air Fryer Pro is available now for $499.95 directly from Breville. It’s also sold as a Williams Sonoma exclusive.

Breville Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro review: Design and accessories

Like the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro, the Breville Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro is a fairly large, rectangular countertop appliance featuring a drop-down door and towel handle. The unit we tested is a familiar, brushed stainless steel, but it comes in a black stainless steel finish as well.

The LCD display, buttons and dials are also identical to the interface of the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro, but they’re no less sophisticated on the Joule Oven. The controls are highly intuitive for anyone who’s used a standard toaster oven.

Measuring 21.5 x 17.3 x 12.8 inches and weighing 23 pounds, the Joule Oven is more substantial than most standalone toaster ovens and air fryers, but still light enough to manage out of the box and onto the counter without help. Accessories in the box include a 13-inch non-stick pizza pan, 2 wire racks, 9 x 13-inch broiling rack, 9 x 13-inch enamel roasting pan and an air fry/dehydrate basket.

Breville Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro: Cooking performance

We put the Breville Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro through our standard series of toaster oven and air fryer tests, and it scored high marks across the board. Something the Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro fell short on was toast, but the Joule Oven offered a beautiful ombre across different shades of darkness for our multigrain bread and toasted each piece evenly on both sides.

When we baked brownies, we found the knife didn’t come out clean after the bake time suggested on the Betty Crocker box. But, after a few extra minutes in the Joule Oven, the brownies emerged cakey on the surface, slightly crisp on the edges and perfectly fudgy in the center.

Our tests included air frying two kinds of French fries – frozen and homemade. The frozen French fries offered the ideal goldeness and satisfying crunch after a standard cook time, even with the basket a bit more crowded (which, to anyone who knows how to use an air fryer, is considered one of the most common air fryer mistakes.) But, the scratch-made fries didn’t offer the same slack. A lightly over-crowded basket caused inconsistent cooking and required double the time to finish.

For two methods of cooking Brussels sprouts — air fry and roast – they came out crisp on the outside without losing moisture on the inside. Roasting them is more forgiving for a larger quantity, though air frying a single-serving of greens is quick and easy.

Our tests include preparing three different types of chicken: baking breaded chicken cutlets, roasting a whole chicken and air frying chicken wings. The chicken cutlets browned evenly and retained moisture, though we helped out the moisture levels of our whole chicken by adding a bit of water to the roasting pan as a precaution. We set the roast chicken to 400 degrees for one hour, but noticed after about 35 minutes that the skin began to char. As to save dinner, we covered the chicken loosely with aluminum foil for the remaining 25 minutes, at which point the innermost thigh successfully registered 165 degrees.

We opted to follow the Breville Joule Oven app’s recipe assistant for the chicken wings. ChefSteps “Leveled-Up Air-Fried Chicken Wings” recipe demonstrated step-by-step how to season and coat the wings, then offered a prompt to preheat the oven. Unlike the June Oven, which actually lets you preheat the oven from the companion app, we still needed to press the physical start button on the Joule Oven to begin cooking, but none of the settings were up to chance.

When the bake duration finished, the app showed how to transfer the wings from the roasting pan to the air fryer basket. It even encouraged replacing the roasting pan at the bottom-most insert in the oven to catch grease drips, which is a tip we hadn’t thought of before. 

Sure enough, after following the steps, our wings were devour-worthy. The skin crisped up nicely, while the meat was almost tender enough to fall off the bone.

Breville Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro: Ease of use and cleaning

As demo-ed by the chicken wings, the Joule Oven’s smart feature is its app and library of recipes with multi-function steps. Though we needed to switch the accessory for the wings, some recipes can automatically change the cook settings during the process — say if you want to proof then bake croissants. This option is aptly called Autopilot. The combination of the app’s recipe walkthroughs and Autopilot take some of the intimidation out of baking or making a meal.

You can also pair Alexa or Google Assistant with the oven to preheat it hands-free, though we didn’t find much use for this. Even though we have many of the best smart home devices in our house, including a voice-enabled faucet, it felt more natural (and a bit safer) to control the oven using the standard dials.

In fact, you can bypass the app/voice controls entirely and operate the oven manually using the LCD display, dials and buttons. While we love the touchscreen navigation of the June Oven, less tech-savvy family members saw it as daunting. We like how the Joule Oven is pretty effortless to learn thanks to labels though. Plus, each preparation mode clearly indicates which rack position to use, which are all printed in the exact location on the glass.

The oven light makes it easy to check on your food, and 20 seconds before the timer runs out the light turns on automatically. A buzzer lets you know when the food is done, and you can raise or lower the buzzer volume in the app if you’d like. And as we’ve seen with all Breville appliances, this oven has a cord plug with a loop to make it easy to pull the cord out of a wall socket.

One thing to be cautious about — the oven does get hot to the touch, especially on the glass and top surface. While baking the brownies mentioned above, the top surface reached 155°F and the glass measured 245°F. As it operates, the Breville has a dBA reading of 53, which is average for air fryers.

And do not put any of the accessories in the dishwasher. Breville recommends hand-washing all trays and racks, which means more time and effort cleaning. With the exception of the air fryer basket, food remnants came off easily with soap and warm water.

Breville Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro: Verdict

The Breville Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro is a rather pricey countertop appliance, but it’s also the only countertop appliance you might need thanks to the variety of cook modes. It looks great and can put an entire meal on the table.

But, if you’re not interested in the ChefSteps integrations, Autopilot function or voice assistant compatibility, you’re probably better off with the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro, which costs $100 less and comes with the same accessories. For a more affordable option, we like the Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven, though note it has a smaller capacity. 

We happen to think the step-by-step recipes of the Breville Joule app are scrumptious, simple to follow and well-informed, even with our prior cooking experience. Let’s just say we’ll never make chicken wings the same again. 

Of all the models we’ve tested, the Breville Sous Chef 12 Cup Food Processor is one of the easiest to use. It’s clear that attention to detail has gone into every element of its design, from the buttons that glow only when the lid and bowl are appropriately installed, to the adjustable slicing disc with 24 settings. 

Paired with the 1,000-watt motor that powered through all of our tests, this machine is an excellent choice for most home kitchens as you will see in our Breville Sous Chef 12 Cup Food Processor review.

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Breville Sous Chef 12 Cup Food Processor review: Price and availability

The Breville Sous Chef 12 Cup Food Processor carries a higher price point, but when you consider its overall performance and its 10-year motor warranty, it’s value justifies the price. It is available from Breville and Crate & Barrel for $299.95. It comes in silver.

Breville Sous Chef 12 Cup Food Processor review: Design

The Breville Sous Chef 12 Cup Food Processor sports a sleek, modern design. Its buttons are large and easily accessed, and they light up to indicate when the food processor is ready for use. While this machine is only available in a silver finish, it has a chic appearance that will look good on most countertops. Its push-in cord storage is a convenient feature and helps to keep your counter tidy. Attention to detail has gone into the cord design; the plug has a hole in the center that makes it easy to remove from a socket. 

In terms of its design, this machine is comfortable and intuitive to use. The large handle on the bowl is easy to grip, and it locks into the base securely with minimal effort. The lid also aligns easily. The fact that the handle faces the front-center of the unit when in place makes this machine accessible for both left-handed and right-handed chefs as well.

This food processor is equipped with three feed chute options, so you can choose the size that’s right for the job. Its adjustable slicing disc also offers plenty of customization, contributing to this unit’s versatility.

This machine features a safety braking system that quickly stops the blade from turning if the lid is opened. The motor also features overload protection to ensure its longevity. In terms of safety, it also comes with a plastic protector sleeve for the blade, allowing for safe storage.

Measuring 7.5 x 8.5 x 17 inches and weighing 16.5 pounds, this is a heavier unit but it takes up minimal counter space. It has a secure, quality feel to it.

Breville Sous Chef 12 Cup Food Processor review: Performance

Despite only having one power setting, this food processor easily handled every test that we performed. Its 1,000-watt motor was plenty powerful for every task, but the unit only reached 81.9 dBA, making it one of the quieter machines we tested. 

The adjustable slicing disc features a dial on the underside. Twisting the dial changes the thickness of the cut. We sliced a potato and carrot, and both easily fed through the chute. The machine sliced the russet potato in three seconds, and the carrot in five seconds. Both tests resulted in even, consistent slices. 

When grating a ⅓-pound block of cheese, some of the cheese did get stuck in the bottom of the lid, but was easily removed. The grated cheese was consistent, and the machine had no trouble with this test.

It also easily chopped an onion in a fast four seconds, resulting in consistent pieces and no large chunks.

This food processor particularly excelled when pureeing hummus. Even with its large 12-cup capacity, it pureed smoothly and created a consistent mix. The blade is raised up slightly, so some hummus did build up underneath it. Scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl once remedied this.

This machine also mixed cookie dough well and thoroughly. It completely blended butter and sugar in approximately 10 seconds, making it one of the fastest machines that we tested.

Its motor had no difficulty blending the flour into the wet mixture, and the finished dough was smooth.

Breville Sous Chef 12 Cup Food Processor review: Ease of use and cleaning

Plenty of details about this food processor make it a pleasure to use. Its bowl and lid align intuitively, but there are also helpful guides right on the unit to assist with alignment. Relatively little effort is required to lock them into place or to unlock them. 

All three buttons on the front of the machine also glow when the machine is ready to use. If a piece, like the lid or bowl, isn’t locked into place, you can tell instantly because the buttons won’t light up. This saves you some frustrating back-and-forth time and lets you focus on ensuring those pieces are properly aligned before trying to use the machine. 

This machine also features a convenient cord design. The push-in cord storage is helpful, but isn’t the smoothest or easiest feature to use; you have to fiddle with the cord’s alignment to get it just right. The plug on the cord does feature a handy hole through the center. This makes for a comfortable hold and allows you to easily pull the plug out of a socket without wiggling or really tightening your grip.

The adjustable slicing disc is another benefit of this machine. The disc offers 24 different adjustments, so you can choose the precise thickness of the slices. You do have to make these adjustments by hand by turning the knob on the underside of the disc. The ability to adjust the thickness with a knob on the food processor, itself, would be more convenient.

All of the components are easy to clean. The removable parts are all dishwasher safe. The base of the machine features a sleek style and is easy to wipe down.

Breville Sous Chef 12 Cup Food Processor review: Verdict

The Breville Sous Chef 12 Cup Food Processor excels in its overall ease of use, making it an ideal choice for both experienced chefs and for those who may be buying a food processor for the first time. Its motor is powerful and performed well and consistently in all of our tests. It is also a quieter unit and its features, like the adjustable slicing blade and glowing buttons, make it a pleasure to use. 

If you’re looking for a food processor with a larger capacity, consider the Magimix Food Processor 14 Cup, which was our winner. The performance between the two was similar, but the Magimix can handle a greater capacity. 

The Breville Curve Kettle features a minimalist design which couldn't be more user-friendly. The lift-out lid is easy to fit and remove, as is the limescale filter, and it's easy to control the kettle as you pour. 

This tall, spherical kettle has a ripple effect on its exterior to give it a textured finish. The kettle is made of plastic, so it's not the most premium of designs, but it is lightweight to carry.

The Breville Curve is a single temperature kettle that you can power on at the flick of a switch. The water gauge then lights up with a blue LED to show it's on the case. In terms of performance when boiling water, it was fairly middle-of-the-pack. But as you will see from our Breville Curve Kettle review, this kettle is  great value for money considering what it brings to the table (literally), which is why it makes our best kettles list. 

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Breville Curve Kettle review: Price and availability

The Breville Curve Kettle is available to buy from Amazon for £39.99, ao for £40 and Argos for £44.99. It is available in colours including grey, black, navy and white. It is currently not on sale in the U.S

Breville Curve Kettle review: Design

With a minimum capacity of 250ml and a maximum capacity of 1.7 litres, the Breville Curve Kettle can boil just enough water for a single cup of tea or provide enough to fill a saucepan. The kettle is made predominantly of plastic with chrome touches on the handle, lid and switch, with a reflective finish that makes the ripple effect stand out. 

The Breville Curve comes with a lift-out lid as well as a sizable water gauge under the handle. The water gauge is clearly marked, but the minimum capacity isn't, either on the gauge or on the inside of the kettle. We learned the minimum capacity only from reading the manual. Inside the kettle, there's a removable filter to catch limescale.

The Breville Curve is about average in size, measuring 25.8 x 23 x 16.8 cm. But it's very lightweight thanks to the plastic finish, weighing just 897g when empty. The cord measures 67cm, which is just below average, and the base can store any excess cable. There's a single switch underneath the handle to power it on — it shuts off automatically once it reaches its boiling point. 

The Breville's handle is rounded and easy to grip, but not cushioned, and it feels hollow. The quality of the kettle's design could ultimately be better, but it's adequate and serves its purpose.

Breville Curve Kettle review: Performance

The Breville Curve kettle took an average amount of time — two minutes and 13 seconds —  to boil one litre of water. While plastic kettles tend not to grow as hot as stainless steel kettles, the Breville's body still reached a temperature of 70.5°C, which is a scalding hazard. However, the handle stayed at room temperature.  

The Breville produced an average amount of noise as it boiled, with readings as high as 74.8 dB. Energy use too was average, at 0.1125 kWh to boil one litre of water. The overall performance during this test was fairly middle-of-the-pack.

When boiling water at full capacity, the Breville Curve didn't spit or leak and needed three minutes and 22 seconds to reach boiling temperature. The external temperature and noise readings were very similar to the one-litre test, at 70.1°C and 74.8 dB respectively.

We took the temperature of the water again an hour later to assess the kettle's insulation. The temperature was 66°C, which isn't great, but it's not bad either — especially when you consider the kettle's body is just a layer of plastic.

It's easy to control the water flow as you pour this kettle and it doesn't drip or dribble if you recede slowly.

Breville Curve Kettle review: Ease of use and manual

The Breville Curve's limescale filter is very easy to remove and refit, even if you have large hands. The lift-out lid can also be removed and replaced with ease — it doesn't require a lot of force, but it seals securely. We filled up this kettle through its spout via a tap with the water on full flow, which not many kettles could accommodate. The water gauge is also easy to read as you fill it up, although the handle gets in the way if you're filling the water up only to the lowest increment. 

The Breville's manual contains the necessary safety information as well as step-by-step instructions on how to use this kettle. There are useful energy saving hints and tips, as well as cleaning and descaling advice. It guides you to the website for troubleshooting advice and contact details are listed.

Breville Curve Kettle review: Verdict

Ultimately, the Breville Curve Kettle isn't a show-stopper in terms of performance. But it more than stands its ground for design and ease of use. It's our highest-scoring plastic kettle, and it doesn't actually look like plastic thanks to the textured body and chrome finish. 

Compared to our winning kettle, the Bosch Sky Kettle, this Breville Curve Kettle isn't as fast, or as quiet, or as energy-efficient, but the Breville Curve scored highly for its user-friendly design and comes at a price that's less than half that of the Bosch. It comes in a great range of colours, too, for added personalisation. This is the kettle to get if you're shopping on a budget but still want something practical and consistent.  

If you’re going to make juice, you might as well make a lot and save yourself the extra washing up. The Breville Juice Fountain Elite makes it possible to produce 34oz of juice at a time, at the flick of a switch. With two different power settings, users can process harder materials, like carrots and kale, just as easily as softer items like oranges. As a bonus, this model also retains the simple design Breville is known for, making clean-up fast and easy.

Of course, these benefits come at a price tag of $299.99. This is at the higher end of juicers on the market, although by no means the most expensive. For such a price, some customers may be disappointed by the volume of juice yielded from the centrifugal design; others in this range often deploy a masticating process, for greater yield. Nevertheless, as you will see from our Breville Juice Fountain Elite review, it juices well and the simple design works in its favor when it comes to assembly, disassembly and cleaning. For some, that balance might prove worth the price.

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Breville Juice Fountain Elite review: Price and availability

The Breville Juice Fountain Elite is available at Breville for $299.95 and at Amazon for $300.66, in silver only.

Breville Juice Fountain Elite review: Design

The Breville Juice Fountain Elite is a sturdy upright style, measuring over 15lbs despite the neat footprint of 12 x 13.1 inches. This Breville juicer consists of two separate collection points, a large pulp container and a juice jug, which connect on either side of the main body of the juicer. It can be stored easily on a countertop, due to the detachable containers, and the power cord can be wrapped underneath the model as with other Breville juicers. 

The body of the juicer deploys a silver handle for child-locking purposes, as well as a clear red “Off” button on the front of the juicer. The two power settings (Low and High) are controlled by another switch on the front of the juicer, for easy access, while the large chute ensures easy insertion of fruit. To round it out, components are dishwasher-safe for maximum convenience.

Breville Juice Fountain Elite review: Juicing performance

During each of our tests, the Breville Juice Fountain Elite performed well but it particularly shone with the carrot, ginger and lemon juice recipe, where it yielded 50%: the highest of any centrifugal design. It also surpassed expectations with an apple, kale and celery juice, extracting an impressive 70% of juice from the ingredients. It was on the harder materials that the second, higher speed setting really came into its own and enabled greater extraction than with other, simpler juicing models, although at a high volume of 87dB. 

For some reason, this impressive performance was not recreated with the beetroot, blueberry and strawberry recipe, where it scored a middling 60% yield. However, this amount was well within the average range of juice provided and so not a bad result. With the softer fruits, the amount of juice produced was less noticeably high, but still respectable: orange juice produced a 57% yield, while a pineapple, mango and orange juice recipe produced a 60% yield. These recipes only required the lower setting, which registered a very quiet 69dB, and there was no leakage or spray back throughout. Instead the pulp was neatly collected within the container and main juicing body. Overall, these yields were either average or above average, demonstrating reliability across all produce types.

Breville Juice Fountain Elite review: Ease of use and cleaning

This Breville Juice Fountain Elite is easy to assemble and clean, thanks to its simple design. With only four components, three of which can be wiped down with a sponge, this juicer is very intuitive to put together and use.

Rather than relying on extra juicing components, this model utilizes different motor speeds to process different densities of fruit and vegetables — a blessing for users who prioritize speed and convenience. There is also a cleaning brush provided for use on the mesh extraction device, which works sufficiently well. As mentioned earlier, the cover, filter, pulp container, disc and jug are dishwasher-safe too, adding to ease of cleaning.

Breville Juice Fountain Elite review: Verdict

Users of the Breville Juice Fountain Elite will likely be impressed by its consistent performance, ease of use and efficiency of cleaning. It is expensive for a centrifugal design, pricing at three times higher than Breville’s Juice Fountain Compact juicer, yet you do receive more bang for your buck — denser materials were processed much more efficiently by this model than by other juicers. At the same time, it retains the convenience of a lower-price juicer, so you won’t spend hours cleaning after every use. 

For customers who know they will mostly be making green juice or carrot juice, this is worth the investment. It’s not the most efficient product, yielding lower volumes of juice than our winning model, the Hurom HAA Slow Juicer, but it performs well across the board and is over $100 cheaper than the Hurom — a solid deal.

If you’re looking to make juicing a part of your daily routine, then you want a product that is easy to assemble, use and clean. With Breville’s Juice Fountain Compact, customers can make juice in a matter of seconds thanks to the simple three-component design and on/off setting. Assembly and cleaning is a breeze, while the 3” wide chute is able to accommodate large pieces of fruit and vegetables, reducing prep time. Some items will be able to go in whole, such as small apples, making this a great choice for families and people on the go.

While many will enjoy the smaller footprint, users may have an issue with stability and loud volume, particularly as there is only one setting. Extraction is also good, but not perfect, with unprocessed fruit pieces sometimes found in the pulp container. But, as you will see from our Breville Juice Fountain Compact review, at under $100, the Juice Fountain Compact is a solid choice for those who want juicing to be fast and easy.

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Breville Juice Fountain Compact review: Price and availability

The Breville Juice Fountain Compact is available at Amazon for $99.95 and at Breville for $99.95. It is available in silver. 

Breville Juice Fountain Compact review: Design

The Breville Juice Fountain Compact juicer is an upright model with a silver base and clear pulp chamber and chute, measuring 10.4 x 7.4 x 12.7 inches. Its compact size means the juicer can easily be stored on a kitchen counter, but reassembling and disassembling for each use is another practical option thanks to the simple three-part design. The power cord can be wrapped around the feet on the underside of the juicer’s base for compact storage, while the clear plastic juice jug fits neatly underneath the juice outlet.

Breville’s Juice Fountain Compact model has a sleek, silver child-locking handle, as well as a large on/off switch on the front for easy access. The wide chute can fit large pieces of produce, including some whole items, but the short length can lead to splash back when the produce is first dropped in. The smaller base can also result in the machine moving while in use, but this was rarely a problem in practice. Overall, it’s a very clean and simple design for fuss-free juicing.

Breville Juice Fountain Compact review: Juicing performance

For nearly every recipe tested, the Breville Juice Fountain Compact performed solidly in the middle of the pack, which is impressive considering its lower price point. There were some mild issues with achieving maximum extraction, which resulted in unprocessed fruit in the pulp container. This was particularly notable in the case of the carrot, ginger and lemon juice recipe, which had larger pieces of carrot remaining and yielded just 40% juice. The beetroot, blueberry and strawberry juice recipe also left intact pieces of blueberry, but despite this, the Breville Juice Fountain Compact was able to produce one of the higher yields of beetroot juice (67%) of any juicer we tested, suggesting that this extra pulp had little impact on the overall juice and therefore was not much of a problem.

Due to the centrifugal design, there was some difficulty in processing the kale when making apple, kale and celery juice; it is likely this would also occur with other leafy green recipes too. However, the Breville Juice Compact was still able to extract enough juice to produce a delicious result. There was some initial spray back through the chute when produce was inserted, especially when using juicier fruit such as orange and pineapple. The pusher was able to eliminate this, but there was an inevitable delay between placing the fruit in the chute and inserting the pusher. This created a little bit of mess, but the rest of the pulp was neatly stored inside the machine and required no external pulp collector — one less thing to clean! This spray back had no noticeable impact on the resulting taste or volume of the orange juice and the pineapple, mango and orange juice recipes, which yielded 56% and 59% respectively. It is worth noting that the single setting was quite loud to use, measuring 84.2dB, which is just above the average rating from the juicers we tested.

Overall, every juice we tested was successfully produced with this model and although performance wasn’t perfect, the resulting juices were always tasty and in line with the recipe. The extra time freed up by the wide chute made up for any extra cleaning that was needed for spray back.

Breville Juice Fountain Compact review: Ease of use and cleaning

This juicer had one of the simplest designs of any we tested and was very intuitive to use, disassemble and reassemble. In case of any error in assembly, the child lock will ensure that the machine will not run. With a clearly labelled ‘on/off’ switch, using the device is straightforward and the provided juice container makes it easy to collect and pour the juice. Breville includes a cleaning brush which can be used rather effectively on the extraction’s system micromesh, while the chute/lid and pulp collector can be cleaned with a sponge. As there are only three items to clean, this process is a breeze. The cover, pulp container, filter basket and juice jug are all top-rack dishwasher safe as well. 

Breville Juice Fountain Compact review: Verdict

A step above the cheapest options in the market, the Breville Juice Fountain Compact is a solid all-round performer that will deliver what you need at an accessible price point, without the bells and whistles. For less than $100, this is a great deal for anyone who prioritizes saving time without having to ditch the fresh juice; the simple design makes both juicing and clean-up very efficient. It works well enough on tougher materials, although people who mostly want to make green juice may be frustrated with the extraction levels for leafy greens. Similarly, if wasting produce is a problem for you, then this juicer might not be the right fit as we did need to discard some unjuiced materials from the pulp collector. 

Overall though, this juicer will get the job done on a range of different recipes, without breaking the bank or testing your patience. For that reason, it is tied with the Nutribullet Juicer for best value juicer. It’s louder, less efficient and with fewer extra functions than our overall winning juicer, the Hurom HAA Slow Juicer, but at less than a quarter of the price, this is still a great deal. 

The Breville Precision Brewer – also known as the Sage Precision Brewer outside of the US – is a coffee maker for the tinkerers. It includes a massive range of controls to help you find that perfect cup while also offering a number of presets that produce Gold Cup-standard coffee. 

Due to its wealth of customizable features and sophisticated tech, this Breville coffee maker commands a high asking price. But surely a machine that promises to make the best cup of coffee 'regardless of its origin, age, or roast' is worth the cost, right? Well, that's where we come in.

We spent the last month thoroughly testing the Breville Precision Brewer with glass carafe. After many cups of coffee (prepared many different ways, mind you), we're here to share our thoughts on how this premium Breville brewer fares against the best coffee makers. 

Breville Precision Brewer: Price

The Breville Precision Brewer was released in October 2017 with an MSRP of $299.99. It's currently on sale at Amazon for $225 with a glass carafe or $240 with a thermal carafe. You can save a little extra by going for a stylish glass carafe, but a thermal option generally does a better job of keeping drinks warm. 

The Ninja Hot and Cold Brewed System costs the same as the Breville Precision Brewer. Unlike the Breville, the Ninja has a built-in frother, slightly easier controls, and the ability to make tea – but it lacks the customization features seen here. 

The Breville Precision Brewer comes with a permanent mesh basket filter plus a 10-pack of flat-bottom paper basket filters for brewing at least 40-oz of coffee. Anything less than that volume will require a cone filter, which isn't included. If you only brew a couple of cups of coffee for yourself most mornings, you'll need to either purchase cone paper filters or find a compatible permanent filter for a more cost-efficient, environmentally-sound solution. 

Breville Precision Brewer: Features

The Breville brewer has a maximum capacity of 60 oz, or 12 cups. It's also capable of single brews for cups or travel mugs up to 20 oz. This is good news if you're keen to give up the coffee pods, but if you're not ready to relinquish your K-Cups, the less expensive Cuisinart Coffee Center may be worth considering at $199.99.

There’s a lot of tech packed into the Breville Precision Brewer. Under the hood is a thermo-coil heating and pump system that allows for greater temperature control. Bloom time and water flow can also be adjusted to create the optimal cup of coffee that's suited to the beans you use. 

Water is dispersed through a wide showerhead for even saturation of coffee grinds. If you typically brew single cups, you may want to opt for a more narrow pour over – but you'll have to purchase a pour over adapter separately.

For anyone who doesn't have the time nor desire to tinker with myriad settings each day, the Breville Precision Brewer includes five ready-made presets:

• Fast: Brews coffee as quickly as it can push water through the tank.
• Gold: Adjusts brewing time and temperature per SCA recommendations.
• Strong: Delivers a more robust and intense flavor.
• Over Ice: Produces a concentrated brew to be enjoyed over ice or chilled.
• Cold Brew: Steeps grinds in cold water for up to 24 hours for a smooth brew.  

There's also the My Brew preset, which you'll have to adjust to your specifications. It enables you to customize the temperature, bloom time, flow rate, as well as select the pour over setting if you have the optional adapter. 

Other notable features of the Breville Precision Brewer include an automatic start (so you can wake up to a fresh pot of coffee) plus a child-safe lock (in case your little ones become curious).

The Breville Precision Brewer is a lot, even for those who are well-versed in the science of coffee. Admittedly, it took me about a week to figure out how everything worked. Fortunately, Breville includes a couple of quick start pamphlets in addition to a full instruction manual to ease users in.

Breville Precision Brewer: Design

The Breville Precision Brewer measures approximately 12 x 7 x 16 inches. Like the Ninja Hot and Cold Brewed System – which is roughly the same size – the Breville brewer will best suit medium-to-large kitchens.

Design-wise, the Breville Precision Brewer is reminiscent of the Technivorm Moccamaster KBGV Select with the heating element and water reservoir on the left. and the brew basket and spray arm on the right. However, the Breville has a more traditional aesthetic compared to the industrial style of the Moccamaster.

The Breville brewer has a control panel that consists of a 3-inch LCD, a dial, and a couple of buttons: start/cancel and auto start. Unlike the more simplistic Braun Brew Sense, the display on the Breville is large, backlit, and easy to read. It even shows how much time has elapsed since your coffee was brewed so you're aware of how fresh your next cup will (or won't) be.

The 60-oz water reservoir is attached to the coffee machine, but there is a tank lid that lifts right off. I found it a bit cumbersome to bring the Breville Precision Brewer to a tethered water source as it's not exactly feather-light, but the fully-removable lid makes it a less burdensome process. 

Also included are a glass carafe with a locking lid, a permanent basket filter, and a 10-pack of paper basket filters. You'll need to be conscious of finding a place for these extras for when they're not in use.

Breville Precision Brewer: Ease of Use

The Breville Precision Brewer took me some getting used to due to its plethora of features. However, if you're one who likes to experiment with your coffee, getting acquainted with the Breville brewer may be an enjoyable process for you.  

Setup involves testing the water's hardness (via an included paper test strip) and flushing the reservoir. Despite following the instructions to a tee, the machine didn't completely flush the water from the tank into the carafe during my setup, leaving about 20-oz of liquid behind. I looked for a possible cause behind this, and even reached out to Breville customer support – but to no avail. (Fortunately, it hasn't happened again.)

Operating the Breville Precision Brewer is straightforward. The instructions and quick-start guides do a fine job of explaining the ins-and-outs. The most time-consuming thing about it is – once again – its wide range of settings. However, once I learned what everything was, it became a less overwhelming ordeal.

Brew times vary by preset. On the Gold setting, the Breville made four cups of coffee in about five minutes; that dropped to around three minutes and 40 seconds in Fast mode for the same amount. (Note that everything was timed from the start of the brewing process to the final drop of coffee to hit the carafe.) The Technivorm Moccamaster Select KBGV Select is still the quickest machine I've seen thus far, brewing 40 oz of coffee in under six minutes...but the Breville isn't too far behind. 

Breville recommends washing the plastic brew basket, mesh basket filter, and glass carafe with warm, soapy water. The outer housing itself can be cleaned with a soft, damp cloth. The showerhead can be detached and wiped down, if necessary. The LCD will flash 'Descale' when the machine is ridden with calcium buildup and needs to be cleaned.

Once the brewing process is complete, the Breville will emit a short series of beeps. However, those beeps may not be necessary as the relative silence that follows will be proof enough that your coffee is ready, as this machine is very loud.

Breville Precision Brewer: Performance

Overall, the Breville Precision Brewer lives up to its name. It's consistent in delivering a delicious, balanced cup of coffee – regardless of setting. I used paper filters (or the permanent basket filter), spring water, and freshly-ground coffee.

The Gold preset produced a balanced cup of coffee, whether it was a fruity-and-floral Ethiopia Nano Genji or a richer dark chocolate blend. Fast mode may have been quicker to brew but it did not negatively impact the quality of the coffee. 

Strong and Over Ice are similar in that each mode serves up a bolder, more concentrated cup. Speaking of Over Ice, I was pleasantly surprised with the smoothness of Breville's iced coffee. It does take extra time to prepare as it needs to cool to room temperature before serving – but it's well worth the wait.

Although I miss the immediacy of Ninja's 10-minute cold brew, I still anticipated waking up to a 10-hour cold brew with the Breville, although in the future I may elect to expand the brewing process to at least 12 hours for even smoother coffee.

Playing around with My Brew mode was fascinating, as there were so many variables that I didn't know where to begin. Ultimately, I settled on changing the brewing temperature to 180 degrees F for my dark chocolate roast – and I was very pleased with the results. However, I am one for convenience so I was more inclined to rely on the default settings than create my own.

What We Didn't Like

The Breville Precision Brewer is one noisy appliance. From the moment the start button is pushed, this coffee maker makes it known it's hard at work with a steady, jarring buzz that lasts until the water tank is completely empty. It wasn't the most pleasant sound to wake up to on mornings I had used the auto start feature, but at least it was effective in getting me out of bed.

Whenever I remove the carafe from the brewer, a drop or two of coffee seems to fall from the showerhead without fail. I'm not sure if this is a user error, although the drip stop lever that sits between the carafe lid and the showerhead doesn't seem to be obviously compromised. I just don't like having to keep wiping the hot plate.

This is a relatively minor quibble, but as someone who only really makes enough coffee for 1-2 people I have to ask: why is there no cone filter included – either mesh or paper? This point may be moot as I already had plenty of cone paper filters on hand, but that may not be the case for someone else who has similar drinking habits or is buying their very first proper coffee maker. It's an odd omission.

Should You Buy the Breville Precision Brewer?

If you think of coffee as a science, the Breville Precision Brewer will make the perfect chemistry kit. With the ability to customize everything from bloom time to water flow, it'd be impossible to not eventually stumble upon that winning combination of variables that culminates in your ideal cup of coffee. 

However, should you be like yours truly and prefer a suitable shortcut, the Breville Precision Brewer also offers up a series of presets for Golden Cup-standard coffee, exceptional cold brew, and iced coffee that's anything but weak and watered-down. 

While the Breville Precision Brewer may not be as expensive as the Technivorm Moccamaster KBGV Select, it's still not a budget machine. But if you frequent coffee shops daily, you could eventually save money in the long run by opting to make your own drinks at home with the Breville – and thanks to its plethora of customization settings, your coffee will be just the way you want it, every time.

If you crave variety in your brewing options but find the Breville to be too expensive and/or overwhelming, the Ninja Specialty Coffee Maker is a more everyday-friendly alternative at almost $100 less. It lacks a cold brew function, though.

One thing all coffee machines have in common is that they produce better tasting coffee with freshly-ground beans. If you don't have a way to grind beans at home, peep our list of the best coffee grinders. Meanwhile, take a look at the best Cuisinart coffee makers, or check out the best espresso machines if you want to turn your kitchen into a cafe.

If you have countertop space to spare and big bucks to spend, you’ll love the functionality you get from the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro. It can air fry a chicken, toast nine slices of bread, roast a small turkey and do a lot more. In fact, it can just about replace your full size oven for everyday cooking and serve as an auxiliary one when needed. In spite of the range of settings, its electronic controls are easy to program. Plus, this is a very attractive product that will add a touch of elegance to your kitchen.

While it comes at a steep price tag, if you read our full Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro review, you will see why it’s worth the investment.

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Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro review: Price and availability

The Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro is available at Amazon for $399.95 and at Best Buy for $399.99. It is available in stainless steel. 

Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro review: Design

The Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro is a large rectangular countertop oven, measuring 21.5 x 16 x 12.7 inches. It’s finished with brushed stainless steel and features a drop down door with a towel bar handle.

It has a sophisticated LCD display that’s controlled by buttons and dials. Weighing 38.9 pounds, it's the heaviest toaster oven we’ve had on test, however it’s finished so nicely that you would want to keep this on display. 

Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro review: Cooking performance

In our tests, the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro scored well for cooking Brussels sprouts, breaded chicken and frozen and fresh French fries. It struggled a little when frying chicken wings, but results weren’t bad. It also scored full marks for roasting a chicken and close to full marks for broiling burgers. When it came to baking, its performance was impressive as it turned out a perfect cake and cookies. In addition, it did a nice job of heating a frozen pizza. The main area it fell down in was toast, which was very uneven.    

For many functions, including air fry, the Breville immediately goes into a preheat mode. Once preheating is finished, you need to be ready to put your food in as the timer automatically begins to countdown on the main setting. It will however not count down when the door is open, so as long as you do this you have time. If you want to add more time after cooking is complete, you will need to deactivate the preheat to skip this step. For some modes, including air fry, you can set the oven to remind you to turn the food by flashing “Rotate Remind” on its display and making an audible noise.

Food air fries in the provided shallow rectangular basket; the manufacturer recommends arranging it in one layer. There are no presets for air fried foods, but you can adjust the time and temperature, select a frozen setting and change the speed of the convection fan.

The Breville was able to crisp and brown breaded chicken cutlets, Brussels sprouts, and both frozen and fresh French fries while keeping them moist and tender. Results for these were good, but not exceedingly good as we’ve seen in dedicated air fryers. It struggled somewhat when frying chicken wings though — these didn’t come out quite as crisp in the time it took to reach doneness.

On the convection roast setting, the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro turned out a crisp-skinned, golden brown, juicy roast chicken in 65 minutes. It needed more time than other air fryers or ovens to do this, but the results were perfect. There was some spattering to wipe off the oven walls afterwards though. We also prepared four 4-ounce hamburgers, which came out nicely broiled in just 10 minutes. There was quite a bit of smoking during cooking.

We were very impressed with the results of all our baking tests. A yellow cake baked in a 9-inch cake pan rose to a lofty height, browned to a beautiful golden color, and had a moist and tender texture. Chocolate chip cookies puffed up,  browned evenly, and stayed moist inside. A frozen pizza came out with gooey melted cheese on top and a crisp crust on the bottom.  

Toast didn’t come out perfectly even on the medium setting — it was lighter than ideal. The Breville has a nine slice capacity, but when we toasted that many slices at once we got very uneven results with barely any browning on the sides. Toasting times are considerably longer than in a pop-up toaster; it took almost 6 minutes to brown on medium and almost 7 minutes on dark. It’s not best for toasting for these reasons.

Using the Reheat setting, it took 45 minutes to heat four cups of macaroni and cheese to an acceptable serving temperature. The Keep Warm mode successfully kept the mac and cheese warm without drying it out. On the default Dehydrate setting, the Breville turned 12 ounces of sliced strawberries into a handful of dried fruit with ease. We used the Proof setting to raise pizza dough and, sadly, didn’t see much difference between this and simply leaving the dough on the counter at room temperature. However, if you’re a keen bread baker and your kitchen is chilly and drafty, this might be a helpful feature. 

Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro review: Ease of use and cleaning

The Breville has an LCD display that is controlled by two buttons and two dials. On the panel, in addition to settings for air frying, toasting, baking and broiling, there are also settings for slow cooking, dehydrating, proofing and reheating among others. With a little trial and error, you can easily figure out how to program the oven. Included with the oven are an oven rack, air fryer basket, broiling rack, enamel roasting pan, 12-inch nonstick pizza pan and a crumb tray. On the oven door, it tells you which rack positions to use for various cooking functions.

While it’s cooking, some surfaces of the Breville get excessively hot. The stainless steel top of the oven reached 196°F and the glass door reached 252°F, temps hot enough to cause a burn. On the positive side, the handle and the controls remain cool to the touch. As it operates, the Breville has a dBA reading of 61.4, which is just above the average for air fryers.

The Breville has some nice extras. There’s an interior oven light that makes it convenient to check on your food as it cooks. You also have the option of changing the volume of the buzzer, so you can lower it if you find it too loud and increase it if you want to hear it from another room. When you use the middle rack positions, the rack will automatically pop out to give you easy access to your food. Like all Breville appliances, this product has a cord plug with a loop to make it easy to pull the cord out of a wall socket.

None of the removable parts have a nonstick finish and the manufacturer doesn’t recommend putting them in the dishwasher. It didn’t score highly for cleaning because of this. The air fryer basket can be particularly difficult to clean.

With this air fryer, you get a very thorough use and care manual. However, it has no cooking charts or recipes. You can download a recipe e-book from the company website.

Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro review: Verdict

You simply can’t go wrong with the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro. It’s beautifully designed, extremely versatile, and good at just about everything it does, with the exception of toast. However, like virtually all toaster ovens, it does get hot enough to cause a burn when it’s heating and comes with accessories that aren’t easy to clean and require storage space.

This is a very large and expensive product. You have to be able to afford it and have room on your countertop to accommodate it. But if you do, you will find yourself using the Breville often for a multitude of tasks besides air frying. 

Compared to the Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven, which we’ve also reviewed, Breville’s oven scored better for frying frozen and fresh French fries. However, Cuisinart produced better chicken wings and achieved a higher mark for ease of use. The Breville has a larger capacity though, being able to fit a 14 pound turkey.

If I could, I would eat pizza every day. It's probably the world's most perfect food, a deceptively simple combination of dough, sauce and cheese working in epicurean harmony. But aside from my expanding waistline, there's another big barrier to making great pizzas at home: my oven. It simply can't get as hot as the wood- or coal-fired ovens you'll find in restaurants and pizza shops, so it's a lot harder to get the nice, charred, bubbly crusts of the best Neapolitan-style pies. 

The Breville Smart Oven Pizzaiolo pizza oven is the pricey answer to my at-home pizza-making dilemma. The Pizzaiolo can heat up to 750 degrees, so it can bake a ‘za in as little as 90 seconds. At $1,000, though, this oven will burn a hole in your wallet, too.

Breville Smart Oven Pizzaiolo pizza oven price and availability

The Breville Pizzaiolo pizza oven is available exclusively through Williams Sonoma for $1,000.

Breville Smart Oven Pizzaiolo pizza oven design

The stainless-steel-clad Pizzaiolo pizza oven has a modern aesthetic that will fit in with the other appliances in your kitchen. That is, if you have the spare counter space for the Pizzaiolo. Measuring 18.5 x 18.3 x 10.8 inches, it's about the size of  a typical microwave or a large toaster oven. Unless you have a kitchen as large as Ina Garten's, you're not going to leave this 37-pound contraption out on the counter. 

The front of the Pizzaiolo is a spring-loaded door that snaps shut with conviction. The center of the door has a glass window that lets you peer in to see how your pizza is cooking. But it's a little dark inside the oven, so I often found myself opening the door a crack to see just how charred the crust was.

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Inside the oven are two electric heating elements: one on the roof of the oven, and one directly underneath the pizza stone. The stone is removable, so you can clean it easily.

Three knobs on the door control the oven. In automatic mode, the leftmost dial functions as a timer, while the middle dial has presets for several types of pizza: 350 degrees (Fahrenheit), Frozen (ugh), Pan, New York, Thin & Crispy, Wood-Fired and 750 degrees. The rightmost knob lets you fine-tune each setting if you prefer a lighter or darker crust.

In manual mode, the two large dials let you control the temperature of the two heating elements. In this mode, you have to slap a small magnetic label with temperature markings atop the dials.

The Pizzaiolo comes with a metal pizza peel, as well as a metal pan for making pan pizzas.

Breville Smart Oven Pizzaiolo pizza oven performance

To the delight of my co-workers, I made about two dozen pizzas in the Breville Pizzaiolo, using both store-bought and homemade pizza dough. (For the latter, I followed Marc Vetri's Naples Dough Recipe at 70% Hydration from his book "Mastering Pizza". I made pizzas with fresh mozzarella, pizzas with pre-shredded mozzarella and pepperoni pizzas. All of them came out great, with nicely charred crusts and bubbling cheese. On average, it was able to bake a pizza in about two minutes when set to either Wood-Fired or 750 degrees.

One thing to note: Benny Tudino's this isn't. The size of the Pizzaiolo means you're limited to making 12-inch pies, so if you're cooking for a crowd, you're going to be slinging dough for a while. 

As with any oven, the Pizzaiolo needed a few minutes to heat up — 10 to 20 minutes, depending on how hot you set it. And, as with any pizza stone, the one in the Pizzaiolo needed a few minutes between pies to come back to temperature; if I rushed it, I wouldn't get the nice charring on the underside of the pizza.

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While not cool to the touch, the oven's exterior wasn't so hot that I was afraid of burning my hand if I accidentally touched it. Still, you'll want to use this oven in a well-ventilated space. Enough smoke poured out of the oven when I opened the door that I was afraid I'd set off the fire alarms in the office. After I pulled a pizza out of the oven, any flour that remained inside would spontaneously combust, which was both alarming and awesome to watch. (It would burn off within a few seconds.)

Bottom line

There's no doubt that the Breville Pizzaiolo Smart Oven makes great pies, but you have to really, really love pizza and have the dough to drop $1,000 on this device. Not including the cost of ingredients, you could order 59 pizzas from Razza — possibly the best pizza in the New York area — for the price of one of Breville's ovens. But if you'd rather stay in, and you have the counter space, this is a fantastic pizza oven.