Gaggia Brera Review – Best Affordable Super Automatic?

Editor rating

4.4/5

User's rating

415 reviews

PROS

  • Great value for money
  • Quiet
  • Programmable buttons and ability to save the coffee settings
  • Can make to shots/long coffees at the same time
  • Ready to brew under 1 min
  • Rapid Steam - brew to steam in 9 sec

CONS

  • Small water reservoir
  • No ability to set coffee temperature
  • Standby mode can be annoying
  • Espresso not strong enough

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If you’re on a quest to buy a quality espresso machine, we recommend you going through Gaggia Brera review. Since this super automatic espresso machine is currently considered one of the best on the market in its price range, you just can’t go wrong with this beauty.

Just imagine having the luxury of drinking creamy and delicious, homemade espresso-based beverages. This machine performance is solid so you’ll get great tasting beverage each time. Now, let’s take a look at what this beauty has to offer you.

Features of the Gaggia Brera Super Automatic Espresso Machine


1. Versatile and Easy to Use

Not only this machine is versatile but it is also easy to use. You can use it to make delicious espresso, cappuccino, coffee, americano and even tea.

As far as the ease of use is concerned, you’ll love its user-friendly display and push-button controls. The display comes with illuminated icons so that you can quickly and effortlessly choose what you want to make. Moreover, push-button controls are intuitive and easy to use.

On top of that, an Optidose function will give you just the espresso you want. You can choose from light, medium, and strong brews. Each setting will ground a different amount of coffee from 7 to 10.5 grams.

What you will also appreciate about this unit is the fact that the programmable buttons will let you adjust the volume of the drinks as well as the amount of coffee allowing you to set the perfect ratio for your espresso, making it the same every time. This will save you time and will give you consistent results over and over again.

If you need to make more than one coffee at the time this machine will make 2 shots of espresso o long coffee at the same time. What’s great about it will grind 2 coffee doses instead just adding more water keeping your espresso strong and your long coffees full of flavor.

It also features a double boiler and although it won’t let you brew and steam at the same time the rapid steam will let you froth the milk in no time(9 sec!) for your favorite cappuccino.

2. Easy to Clean and Maintain

What we really love about this machine is that it is easy to clean and maintain. Thanks to its removable parts (brew group, water reservoir, and a dreg box), you won’t have any trouble with cleaning the unit. Plus, the removable parts mean that you can clean the machine more carefully which could prolong its lifespan.

3. Compact Design and Quality Components

Even though this espresso machine is compact(12 inch in height), it doesn’t compromise the quality of beverages. It won’t take up a lot of space on the countertop and will add a modern touch to your kitchen (your friends will be green with envy, but we don’t blame them). The unit is made out of stainless steel and comes in two colors (silver and black) to choose from. Whichever one you opt for, it will match the interior of your kitchen.

The ceramic burr coffee grinder is quiet. Moreover, it will give consistent grind every time you make coffee. As an added bonus, being made out of ceramic means that the burr won’t overheat, which means, in turn, that it won’t affect the taste of your coffee.

It has 5 grind settings from coarser for a regular cup of coffee or cafe crema to fine – perfect for espresso.

Ever wondered how to make a perfect milk foam for your cappuccinos and lattes? Most of the time it takes some experience to achieve an ideal texture. But not everybody has time to master milk frothing.

Gaggia Brera has the Pannarello wand that froths the milk automatically so no experience needed! Isn’t that great? Now you can easily texture milk for delicious cappuccinos or lattes. I bet your friend will be impressed.

Other features worth noting:


  • Ready to brew in under 1 min means the machine will heat up quickly. Thanks to this, you can make your favorite beverage without waiting for too long. This is especially useful when you are in a rush.
  • Passive cup warmer keeps your cups/glasses warm will let you have a better quality shot
  • Froth wand will allow you to make specialty drinks because it can give you hot water or steam
  • A useful silicone handle will protect your fingers from getting burned when using the wand inside the pitcher
  • A Bypass dozer will allow you to use any ground coffee like decaf
  • 41 oz water accessible from the front for easy topping up
  • Height adjustable spouts fitting larger cups up to 4.5 in
  • Descaling alert – the machine will let you know when to it needs descaling

Customer Scores and Reviews


This part of our Gaggia Brera Super Automatic Espresso Machine review is especially useful because you’ll see what users have said about this model. At the time of writing this review around 200 customers reviewed this machine and it holds an average rating of 4 stars out of possible 5 stars.

More than 50 % of users gave this machine a 5-star rating; while 20% of them gave a 4-star rating. Other 30% consists of 1, 2 and 3-star ratings.

1. Price 

The first thing that the customers love about the Gaggia Brera is the price. They claim this espresso machine is a great value for the money and that they would buy it again.

2.  Not noisy

Compared to other models on the market, this one is quieter. That being said, customers are thrilled to have a quiet espresso machine that does an excellent job without making noise.

3. The taste of beverages

Obviously, a good espresso machine will deliver delicious espresso every time, and that is exactly what this beauty does. Espresso, coffee, and cappuccino – this machine will make any of these beverages super tasty.

Cons

  • Water reservoir is small

What customers don’t like about Gaggia Brera Super Automatic Espresso Machine is a very small water reservoir-just 41oz. They have to refill it very often, sometimes twice a day; depending on how often they use the espresso maker. Also, the machine doesn’t have an indicator that will let you know when you need to refill the water reservoir, which is inconvenient for some users.

  • Temperature

According to users, this machine does deliver hot coffee, only, not very hot. Some users would prefer hotter coffee and the option to set brew temperature.

  • Espresso is not strong enough

Some of the users say it’s not able to produce strong enough espresso no matter what settings they use

  • Standby mode

The feature that users really don’t love is a standby mode. After one hour the unit will go into a standby mode. Now, here’s the catch. Each time you want to use it again, you’ll have to wait for a boiler to reheat.

Conclusion


Well, that’s all from us. We hope that Gaggia Brera Super Automatic Espresso Machine review has provided you with enough info so that you can decide whether this beauty meets your needs.

With all its great features, Gaggia Brera is one of the best entry-level espresso machines for an affordable price.

In my opinion, the cons are not that significant. The reservoir is small due to a compact size. If you want a compact machine you will have to compromise. The temperature of the coffee itself is a matter of preference. Italians drink coffee that is not as hot as for example in American Starbucks.

If it necessary that your coffee is very hot perhaps you should have a look at a different machine like DeLonghi Magnifica ESAM3500.N. It a bit more pricey but that’s, unfortunately, the case. If you want a more customizable machine you have to be prepared to pay more.

A standby mode is meant to save energy and it shouldn’t be a big of an issue because the machine is ready to brew in under 1 min.

The strength and overall flavor of an espresso depend on many factors like the type and freshness of coffee bean, amount of water used, grind settings etc. Sometimes it takes a few times to get the settings right. Saying that you have to keep in mind that you’ll probably won’t be able to fine tune your shots and make them taste as good as when using semi-automatic or lever machine.

This espresso machine has everything one coffee lover would ask for. It’s easy to use and clean; it performs great and is capable of making a wide variety of beverages. It has a lot of features you can find in more expensive models and it’s made of quality materials.

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