Playing with Preinfusion on the Breville Dual Boiler
It’s fun to play with parameters! If you didn’t learn that in the 2nd grade, life has probably been pretty rough for you — but now is your time to shine.
One of the elements you can control on the Breville Dual Boiler is both the pre-infusion pressure and the duration prior to shot extraction. Factory setting is 60% of the overall pump pressure for 7 seconds, but what happens when you change the pressure? Or if you keep the pressure the same and change the timing? Of course, all coffee will react differently to these settings, so we decided to experiment with Equator’s Espresso Blend to see how making changes to this parameter affected the overall flavor of the shot.
Watch Gail try different pressures and different pre-infusion times to determine if the factory settings are the best bet for Equator Espresso.
Compare: Breville YouBrew (Glass) vs. Technivorm
When Breville’s YouBrew was first released, we weren’t in love with the grinding functionality. Of course, we’re crazy when it comes to high concentrations of coffee particles suspended in our water, so a ton of people loved its grind and brew functionality without issue. With the recent release of their glass carafe version, Breville has tweaked the grinder and improved the consistency and dosage functionality to produce a stronger cup. So, of course, we had to put it to the taste test!
In this video, we brew up batches of java on the Technivorm and on the YouBrew, then ask our trusty crewmates to taste them and give us their opinion on which they prefer. Find out which coffee maker — if any — prevailed!
Crew Review: Breville Cleaning & Maintenance Supplies
Given that she had to coerce us into cleaning our bedroom by rather surreptitiously hiding small change in the corners (and encouraging us to ‘find what the fairies left!’), our mother would be quite relieved to know of our passion for cleanliness in adulthood! And while you won’t find nickels and dimes in the brew head or the water tank — at least, you shouldn’t — Breville’s maintenance supplies make it easy and almost as fun to keep your espresso machine clean.
First, watch as Gail shows us how to use their cleaning tablets to clean the brew head of the Breville Dual Boiler.
She then discusses their charcoal/resin filters, shows how to install them and explains why they’re necessary — especially with the Dual Boiler.
Compare: Hot Water Kettles
Tea lovers, pour over aficionados, French press geeks and cup noodle fanatics know that you can’t beat a good electric kettle. But with so many to choose from, how is one to decide which is the best for their needs?
Watch as Gail takes us through the paces of several different models that we carry. She goes over their features and specs, then we perform a (not-so) madcap race to see how quickly they boil 20 oz. of water.
Compare: Baratza Encore vs. Breville Smart Grinder
In the market for an entry-level coffee grinder? You don’t need to drop a ton o’ loot to pick up a nice model from either Baratza or Breville.
In this video, we compare the features, grind quality and performance of the Encore and the Smart Grinder, then pull shots on the Nuova Simonelli Oscar to test how well they perform.
Grinder Throwdown: Virtuoso vs. Smartgrinder vs. Rocky
Looking for an entry-level espresso-grade grinder and not sure where to start? Well, we like a grudge match around here, so you may have seen the previous stand-offs between the Breville Smart Grinder vs the Rancilio Rocky and the Baratza Virtuoso vs Breville Smart Grinder. Those may have left you wondering: How do all three stack up against each other? Being the mind readers that we are at SCG, Kat and I used a Breville BES900XL and Velton’s Bonsai Blend to put these grinders through the paces.
Let’s compare them side-by-side:
Baratza Virtuoso  |
Breville Smart Grinder |
Rancilio Rocky |
|
| Burr Type | Conical steel | Conical steel | Flat steel |
| Burr Size | 40mm | 40mm | 55mm |
| Case Material | Plastic | Brushed stainless steel | Stainless steel |
| Height | 13 inches | 14 inches | 14 inches |
| Hopper Capacity | 8 oz. | 1 lb and hopper is removable! | 8 oz. |
| Weight | 16 lbs | 5.6 lbs | 18 lbs |
| Programmability | None | LCD screen lets you set grind (coarse to fine) volume (in cups and shots depending on fineness of grind) and dosage (weak to strong) | None |
| Timer or on/off switch | Timer and manual | Timer and manual setting | Manual only |
| Time to grind double shot | 12 sec | 22 sec | 20-30 sec |
| Dosing | Only with timer, not by weight/volume | Automatically adjusts with grind; from coarser (dose in cups) to fine (dose in shots) | Doser avail for +$10, otherwise chute only |
| Grind consistency (1-5 scale, 5=most consistent) | 40 individual step settingsFinest setting: 3
Coarsest setting: 1 |
25 settingsFinest setting: 4
Coarsest setting: 2 |
55 settingsFinest setting: 5, like talc
Coarsest setting: 3 |
| Shot performance (scale of 1-5, 5=strongest) | 3: Overall, a solid shot, with the depth you’d expect from a fresh grind and proper dial-in. | 4: A solid shot with great flavor and slightly more complex notes using the 2nd finest setting. | 5: Shot has a great mouth feel, and you can taste more complexity and richness to the shot. |
| Notes | No frills, no fuss, easy to use, it’s a strong performer for espresso and other coffee applications. No electric panel makes trouble shooting a breeze as your grinder ages. | The lightest of the pack, this grinder is extremely versatile and a great value. It’s all about the features and accessories: portafilter holders, ground coffee canister, removable hopper to switch out beans. | Commercial quality for home use and it shows. Largest footprint of all grinders, a big commitment to your counter top, but with definite benefits in shot quality. |
The Rocky is a literal heavyweight coming in at 18 pounds and a hundred dollar heftier price tag, but there’s no doubt that the commercial quality burrs make a difference when it comes to tasting the complexity of your shot. I love the Virtuoso’s ease of use and inherent versatility, so it’s often my go-to for testing espresso, pour overs and french press. But like an ostrich, I am drawn to shiny objects and I wish it had more stainless in the casing. The Smart Grinder fulfills this need, and weighing in under six pounds means it doesn’t need to be a permanent fixture on your countertop – but it could be because it’s great for households with multiple coffee drinkers with different bean preferences. What would you choose?
Compare: Double Boiler Espresso Machines
It’s time to get serious people.
If you want to make excellent espresso drinks at home, a double boiler machine allows you to demonstrate both your dedication to the cause and your enviable skills. Featuring separate boilers for steaming and brewing, these machines offer excellent temperature control and simultaneous brew/steam functionality.
In this video, Gail talks to us about four different models — the Rocket Espresso R58, Izzo Alex Duetto II, La Spaziale Mini Vivaldi II and Breville Dual Boiler — including their features, pros & cons and why you might purchase one model over another.
Compare: Rancilio Rocky vs. Breville Smart Grinder
In the market for an espresso grinder but not sure if dropping an extra hundred bucks will benefit you? We asked Gail to compare the functionality, grind consistency and shot quality (using the Crossland CC1) of the Breville Smart Grinder and the Rancilio Rocky to find out.
Playing with the Temperature of the Breville Dual Boiler
One of the benefits of an espresso machine with a PID interface is that you get to play around with the temperature, almost without consequence. Of course, you’ll end up in a jittery haze as you taste shot after shot, but that’s all part of the fun.
Watch Gail pull shots of Atomic Cafe on the Breville Dual Boiler, using different temperatures; we taste them and then discuss how they compare.
Crew Review: Breville BES840XL
While we loved several of the features on Breville’s BES830XL, the temperature consistency did leave a bit to be desired. So imagine our tearful joy when we learned that Breville was implementing an upgrade to the internals of this machine and releasing a new model!
You can check out the differences between the older heating tech and the new heating tech (if you’re into that kind of thing) in this video. Then watch Gail take us through the BES840XL’s features and demonstrate functionality. The BES840XL will be available in mid-June 2012.