Gaggia Brera: Bean to Cup Coffee Machine

The Gaggia Brera is a compact and sleek automatic bean-to-cup espresso machine that offers a solid combination of professional results along with ease of use.

It’s a versatile machine that can make great coffee whether you’re a fan of espressos, lattes or cappuccinos, and with its three different strength settings, you can adjust the flavour and body of your coffee to exactly where you want it to be.

Most coffee connoisseurs would agree with me saying that Gaggia is the “godfather” of coffee machine makers. Although the storied company was recently purchased by Philips, they have definitely retained their identity in terms of turning out a high-quality, well-designed product that gets the job done.

Gaggia Brera review

Gaggia Brera

What are you buying?

With the Gaggia Brera, you are not only buying an espresso machine that looks good, but it’s a workhorse that can consistently turn out great tasting coffee. With the single push of a button, you can convert your favourite beans (or ground coffee) into an amazingly fresh and flavour-rich cup of coffee in just under two minutes.

Classy look

The elegant stainless-steel panel on the front of the machine lends a sense of class to its look, which is further embellished by well-placed chrome accents. The one thing that I didn’t like was the plastic main control knob that felt a little cheap.

You can use coffee beans or ground coffee

The Gaggia Brera features a ceramic grinder that reduces heat transfer and ensures optimal grind quality and consistency, and the machine is also equipped with a bypass doser, which enables you to forego the grinding process altogether and use pre-ground coffee if you so choose.

Telescopic coffee dispenser

One of the most convenient features of the Gaggia Brera that really caught my attention is its telescopic coffee dispenser, which enables you to adjust the height to fit whatever size cup or mug you prefer to drink from.

Steamer wand

The stainless steel Panarello steamer wand does a great job of producing nice, frothy milk for those specialty drinks that we all know and love such as macchiatos, cappuccinos, lattes, etc. Even if you just want a nice, super-hot cup of milk to make hot chocolate (which I often do), the Brera can deliver great results with no problem.

Compact size

Its compact size is another plus that should not be overlooked; unlike its bulkier counterparts, the Gaggia Brera offers top-notch convenience and espresso quality without dominating your counter space.

How easy is it to use?

Gaggia obviously put a lot of thought into user-friendliness, and it shows in the finer details of this machine’s design.

The water tank, drip tray and dregs drawer are all accessible from the front side of the machine, which makes cleaning and maintenance a surprisingly quick and easy task.

If you’re like me, you don’t like fussing with complicated or cryptic control panels, and thankfully Gaggia has simplified the programming aspects of this machine by including an easy-to-read LED display along with push-button controls.

You can customise coffee strength, aroma and volume, and the Gaggia Adapting System has the ability to automatically adjust the RPMs of the ceramic grinder to help you achieve the correct quantity of coffee grounds for every cup.

In addition, the Gaggie Brera offers programmable beverage volume, so that however you choose to adjust your settings, the machine will “remember” those preferences and keep them handy for future use.

If you’re accustomed to a busy lifestyle, the Brera will be your best friend, because it offers quick heat-up times by way of its Rapid Steam technology.

I often brew and steam back-to-back at times, and the Brera is always up for the task; with 15 bars of pressure and a stainless steel boiler, the Gaggia Brera is more than capable of delivering hot and flavourful coffee every time.

As I touched on earlier, the Gaggia Brera is remarkably easy to maintain; any time you switch the machine on or off (or when you enter/exit standby mode), the machine automatically initiates a self-rinse cycle that helps to preserve the unit and maintain optimal performance.

What accessories are included?

The Gaggia Brera is very much a self-contained unit, so there aren’t many external accessories that are needed to operate this highly efficient machine.

Since I didn’t mention it earlier, it should be noted that the Brera comes with an integrated 8.8oz airtight hopper with a UV-proof lid to provide safe storage for your coffee beans. It also features a handy cup warmer that will keep your coffee nice and hot if you happen to step away from your machine for a bit after the brewing cycle has completed.

Key features of Gaggia Brera

Pros

• Simply put, it makes great coffee, whether long or short, light or strong
• Does a great job of frothing milk for lattes, cappuccinos, etc.
• Easy to clean and maintain
• Auto-shutoff feature ensures optimal safety of unit

Cons

• Not the quietest machine when grinding (but not the loudest I’ve seen)
• Plastic main control knob felt a little cheap
• Drip tray will need to be emptied on a frequent basis

Anything else you should know?

If you want to brew two cups simultaneously, just press the button twice. The machine will systematically grind two sets of beans and fill two cups through each of the two spouts.

There is an indicator light that lets you know when the machine needs descaling. This setting is based on a medium water hardness, so if you live in an area with particularly hard water, you may need to increase the frequency to afford less time between warning lights.

One of the easiest and most effective ways to fine-tune the flavour of your coffee is to experiment with changing the coarseness of the grind. There are, of course, other ways that you can achieve the results you want, but this method is a personal favourite of mine.

This Gaggia Brera review has focused primarily on the features of the machine, but it should be noted that the Brera is quite energy efficient as well. It runs steady at 1400 watts when in use, and when in standby mode (which the machine automatically enters into after 1 hour), it only consumes 1 watt per hour.

Warning: Learning how to froth your own milk with this machine will make you much more discriminating when getting a latte, cappuccino, etc., from most cafes.

What customers say?

First of all, the device is one of the Best Buy bean to cup coffee machines tested by Which?. Also, the vast majority reviews on retailers’ websites are positive with an excellent average rating.

Conclusion

Feature-rich, energy efficient and user-friendly, there’s really not too much to complain about when it comes to the Gaggia Brera. It looks great, makes great coffee and is easy to clean. If you’re looking for an automatic bean-to-cup machine that affords outstanding convenience, the Gaggia Brera is definitely a solid buy.

Where to buy?

• Amazon UK: Check today’s price