Gaggia Brera Fully Automatic Bean to Cup Espresso Coffee Machine

The Brera is Gaggia's entry level bean to cup machine. Despite fewer selection controls than the Gaggia Platinum, it has the same brewing unit and frothing design, and produces superb coffee and excellent frothed milk. The system has gone through many refinements since the original Gaggia Titanium bean-to-cup, making this an excellent choice for coffee lovers.This is our third Gaggia. We still have our non-automatic Gaggia espresso in the loft, and this one replaces our Gaggia Titanium which, after six years good service, would have cost almost have the price of this machine to repair. Over the same period, we have seen friends buy and replace two or even three espresso machines from other manufacturers.CoffeeThere are three settings for coffee strength and two for size of coffee. You can set your own length for each of these, though you can't change the strength settings. 'One bean' strength is a good, decent strength for people who like coffee. 'Two beans' is strongish coffee, and we usually use this as the basis for cappuccino, or for a good espresso. 'Three beans' is very strong coffee, as strong as you would ever get double-espresso in a restaurant. There's also a setting to allow you to put ground coffee in, and the strength will be determined by how much you put in. By comparison, we generally found it hard to get strong enough coffee from the Titanium, which led us to roasting coffee longer which gives a slightly bitter taste. We now roast coffee milder.The crema is always excellent, whether into an espresso cup or a lungo cup. We used to think the crema on the Titanium was good, but this one is so rich and creamy that you can't tell whether you've put milk in or not until after you've started drinking.By default the espresso length gives you a single shot of espresso, though if you use 'two bean' it will be as strong as a double shot in Starbucks when used as the basis for cappuccino. The longer length is about a small mug's worth.The taste is very good -- very good indeed if you fit the Gaggia Brita Intenza Water Filter, which, annoyingly, we had to order separately. We tend to roast about 12 different types of origin coffee, and even the coffees that did not stand up so well with the Titanium now come out as full bodied with their own very distinctive taste.Because everything but the 'one bean' strength is so strong, it's easy to overdose on coffee with this machine. We now drink fewer cups, which have more effect.Frothing and hot waterGaggia has refined the design of the frothing arm since the Titanium, which was itself a significant advance on the Gaggia Baby. As long as you keep it clean, and, crucially, don't allow the tiny hole at the top to become blocked, it quickly froths milk every time with no difficulties. Spooling through some more steam after finishing the milk is enough to clean it on a daily basis, though a weekly wash will be essential because deposits of milk otherwise build up.Turning the knob the other way produces hot water for Americano. The water doesn't appear to be especially hot (or maybe I don't wait long enough), and this, to me, is the least successful part of the machine. As a rule we prefer to make long coffees rather than using the hot water.Bean GrindingThere's a limited amount of control on the coarseness of the grind, but the regular setting should generally be fine. The hopper looks quite small, but actually holds 250g of coffee beans.Cleaning and maintenanceYou need to clean the brew unit every week, and grease it with the supplied grease very occasionally. The brew unit is identical to the one in the Titanium, and we can vouch for the importance of cleaning and also of putting it back correctly -- it's quite a complicated mechanism, a bit like the inside of a photocopier, and you must make sure that it is in the correct position before refitting. All in all a weekly clean is a lot easier than the per-coffee cleaning you have to do with a regular espresso machine or even with a filter machine.The console lights up when you have to replace the water, which is a relatively small reservoir and our only real niggle. Likewise, another button lights up when you need to throw away the residues. Both of these tasks are ridiculously easy, though.The water dregs holder has a little orange button which floats up as it fills up. If you don't empty the bottom, then it will flood your work surface. Since it holds quite a lot of water, this is the one part of using the machine that can get messy if you leave it to the last moment.If you use the Intenza filter, this has to be changed every month, irrespective of the amount of coffee you drink. It's a 60 second job, though.You need to descale every month. You can carry on using the machine once the descale light has come on, but failure to descale will shorten the life of the machine and harm the taste of the coffee, even if you use the Intenza filter which tries to get rid of all of the hardness of the water.The frothing unit unmounts easily and keeping it clean is quite simple. This is a huge advantage over the fixed arms on budget machines.ControlsThe main difference between this and the Platinum is the controls. You can make one or two cups of three strengths of coffee in two lengths, you can froth, you can do hot water, and you can descale. That's it. With the more advanced machines you have three options of length and other refinements. We do miss the three lengths from the Titanium, but decided that, for its main purpose, this one had all the refinements we needed and we could live without the extra option.Look and feelAt about 2/3 the size of the Titanium, this is a welcome fit in a crowded kitchen, though much bigger than a pod machine or regular espresso. The front is metal, the sides are plastic. We think it looks fine, though it isn't a work of art like the original pump-action Gaggia espressos were.OverallWe are intensely pleased with this machine, though it's easy to overdo the coffee intake. Gaggia has refined the experience considerably, requiring less cleaning and maintenance, easier access to the water and dregs compartments, a better frothed, a much purer and stronger coffee taste, and a significantly better self-cleaning routine which means that warm-up time is less. It takes less than 3 minutes to get a barista-quality cup of double-shot cappuccino, and virtually none of the frustrating practising that used to be needed. We've only had this machine for a few months, but our experience of the Titanium which used the same brew unit is that there should be at least 5 years life in this machine before you need the first service or repair. That in itself can be pricey -- £200 is typical -- so assiduously descaling when required is an absolute must.If you're only an occasional coffee drinker, a pod machine might work out cheaper. However, if you drink a reasonable amount of coffee (2-4 cups per day for all users of the machine combined), then this will work out cheaper after a couple of years.We like it, and are very happy with it.

This was an expensive gadget for me and after much deliberation I went for the Brera over the competition (some of which were a hundred pounds or so less).Be assured this is a sound purchase,my only warning is that you may not want to drink instant coffee again, and you will certainly have an increase in visitors looking a for some quality coffee.I was mindful of the build quality as detailed by other reviewers - and went to view the unit in person at my local electrical superstore. Yes there is chrome effect plastic and yes some parts could be metal.....But I don't think we are buying an ornament here, It's a coffee machine and should be judged on it's ability to churn out tasty coffee - And on that front, in my opinion, this machine excels. This is my first bean to cup machine so I can't compare it to others, but I can compare it to coffee from your main brand high street coffee houses....and I struggle to beat the taste of this machine in any of them.I have tried a few different beans - mostly mainstream brands. Recently settling on 'Rioba' and their platinum range. Purely down to it's availability at my local wholesalers. To my surprise it beats the other for taste, depth and price - so I am hooked.I have found the unit easy to use and clean/de-scale. The build quality is as expected for a product in this price range, and thus far (4 months in) there have been no issues and it looks as good as new.My only negative is the size of the water reservoir and the drip tray as they need filling regularly. Although on the flip side I suppose this ensures fresh water and a clean tray, rather than if it held gallons and was left for a few days until empty/full.Not an easy decision to make - but I love the early morning excitement (still) of a fresh brew coffee, and can not even think of drinking instant anymore.