Breville BDC450BSS Precision Brewer Thermal, Coffee Maker, Brushed

5 reviews for Breville BDC450BSS Precision Brewer Thermal, Coffee Maker, Brushed

1. 

   Galactic Bard – 28 December 2024

   Love, love, LOVE this coffee maker.
   I’ve always used cheap $20 Mr. Coffee makers, and they’ve lasted me for many years. I only decided to replace the last one because the water chamber was getting gross from over a decade of use. I was going to buy another cheap coffee maker, and my wife convinced me to buy a nicer, higher end coffee maker, and I’m so glad I did!It’s been a bit of a journey, as this is the third coffee maker I’ve bought. The first one was a Mr. Coffee “Optimal Brew” coffee maker that I returned because I got an obviously-used coffee maker with a broken piece and greasy fingerprints all over it. The second was a Cafe Grind and Brew, which honestly is an over-priced piece of junk that leaks all over the place due to a glaring design flaw (see my review on that machine for more). So that one got sent back as well.I finally settled on this beauty, and I love it. It is of much higher build quality than the Mr. Coffee, which was a cheap mostly-plastic machine that I doubt would’ve lasted long, and I doubt even more that it would make better coffee than the $20 machines I’ve had in the past. It’s also much nicer build quality than the Cafe machine, which although it was nicer than the Mr. Coffee, was poorly designed and not build to last.This machine is built to last, and it’s very thoughtfully designed. There are so many little features that make this so nice to use, and it’s obvious a lot of thought went into the design. The water chamber isn’t removable, but it’s large enough it won’t be difficult to clean. It also has markings not only in “cups” but also in ounces, which is super helpful. It also has markings for maximum fill for a single cup cold brew, cone filter brew, and max size flat-bottomed filter brew. It also comes with a reusable flat bottom filter for brews of 9-12 cups, as well as an insert to use cone filters for 1-8 cups. You can also use flat-bottomed paper filters for the 9-12 cup brews. It also came with 10 flat-bottom paper filters, which is nice because they’re larger than the ones I had for my previous 5-cup machine. The only things it doesn’t come with are paper cone filters and a reusable cone filter. The paper filters would’ve been nice, but they’re not expected, and I prefer a paper filter to the reusable filters anyway.I love that this machine can make iced coffee and cold brew coffee, which is a really cool feature. You can only make 4 cups of coffee with those two methods, though. But 4 cups of iced coffee (which really comes out to more 2 cups of coffee minus the water you lose to the grinds) is enough for my wife and I to each have an iced coffee once you fill the glasses with ice (which you definitely want to do, as the iced coffee is brewed at double strength).It has a clock and a timer that can be set for a future brew. It has the SCA gold standards set in, which is what I’ve been using, but you can also set up your own specifications for water flow rate, water temperature, and bloom time. Combined with a good grinder, you can really dial in your perfect cup of coffee.It even came with a test strip to test my water hardness, so I know how to set up the machine. It has, I think, 4 different hardness levels you can set, which controls how often the machine reminds you to do a cleaning with a descaler. It’s really nice that it reminds you, as I never remembered to descale my previous machines as much as I should have. (I also used to descale with vinegar, so that tells you how much I didn’t know about coffee!) No other machine I tried came with a water test strip or way to set your water hardness in the machine.The thermal stainless steel carafe is much nicer than the Mr. Coffee and Cafe ones were. It keeps coffee hot for hours, especially if you preheat the carafe with hot water first as recommended in the manual. My coffee is so hot it steams my glasses when I drink it! No more having to reheat my coffee in the microwave halfway through a cup.The thermal carafe is also a game-changer compared to previous machines I had with glass carafes and a hotplate. The coffee ended up tasting nasty after an hour or so of hold time. With the thermal carafe, the last cup of coffee is just as tasty as the first. The lid of the carafe is also much better designed than the Cafe one, which would get water trapped inside you couldn’t get out, that would’ve become a breeding ground for black mold.No this does NOT have a hotplate, because it has an insulated carafe! All those people who complain about it not having a hotplate are exposing their ignorance, as no machine with an insulated carafe has, or should have, a hot plate. If you don’t understand why, do some research, which you should be doing anyway if you’re going to bother with, and spend the money on, a more advanced coffee maker like this.Clean up isn’t too bad with this machine either, and much easier than the Cafe machine. The Cafe had too many pieces, all of which were cheap plastic destined to break in time (as all GE products are). Yes, this machine has plastic pieces, but they are a higher-quality, thicker, denser plastic than the Cafe and Mr. Coffee machines.This machine is much more on par with the commercial grade coffee makers I used when working in restaurants in the past. Yes, it is more expensive than the other two machines, but money spent on the Mr. Coffee and Cafe machines is wasted money, as they have low build quality and are designed to break much sooner than you’d like. This machine will last years and years, and is money very well spent if you love coffee.

2. 

   The Dawg – 28 December 2024

   The Best Coffee Maker I have Owned (Comparison to Technivorm Mocha Master)
   Yes, this is an expensive coffee maker. Yes, it is worth the pricetag. This is going to be lengthy review, but I really had to dig deep to decide to spend $300 on a coffee maker and wanted to weigh my options with you. For me, I only seriously considered 3 makers: the Breville (which I bought), the Technivorm Moccamaster, and the Bona Vita.I love coffee, and several other makers (french press, espresso machine, etc.) this is hands down the best maker. I had gotten really mad with drip brew makers over the years. I had 2 Mr. Coffee in college, since have used two different Cuisinart makers. This maker has restored my faith in good drip-brew coffee. I recommend 2 different sources to help you shop for a coffee maker. James Hoffman on YouTube did a review of this maker that really persuaded me to get this particular maker. America’s Test Kitchen/Cook’s Country Gearheads reviewed their coffee makers (although a year or so before this particular product was launched). Between those 2 sources I was in between the Technivorm Mocca and the Breville Precision Brewer. The America’s Test Kitchen Review of drip brew coffee makers is what inspired me to look at a higher end product, as they identified so many of my issues with previous makers that I have used. America’s Test Kitchen also cited the SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America) and their “Golden Cup” standards for a good cup of coffee, these include consistency of temperature of brew water and ground coffee to water ratios. My big issue with the Mr. Coffee and Cuisinart products is that they just do not hold enough grounds to make a great pot of coffee (our Cuisinarts had to be loaded lightly to avoid having the grounds spill over into the pot and water tank). America’s Test Kitchen identified the ground capacity along with water temperature issues as a key in making a consistently good cup of coffee. Again, even though they did not review this specific coffee maker, the details of their segment on this helped me with the decision process, especially pointing me towards the SCAA Golden Cup info.Without getting into a deep comparison, here is why I chose the Breville over the Technivorm and Bona Vita. The primary factor was the volume of brewed coffee. The Moccamaster and Bona Vita make 40oz of coffee. I live by myself now, and 40oz is a perfect amount for me, but should I have guests over, 40oz could go pretty quick, and who have to make multiple pots of coffee… The Breville will make up to 60oz at a time and has the option to make less coffee that is still of high quality for 40oz. So this was the biggest draw for me. I personally drink 2-3 12-14 oz cups a morning, so any of these makers would be enough, but I wanted the extra capacity. I mentioned that Breville has an option to make more volume of coffee or less. This is achieved with a cone filter insert (that is included) that fits a standard #4 cone filter paper. Breville recommends this insert for 40oz (8 cups) or less of coffee, and you simply remove the cone filter holder insert and use either the included gold mesh basket filter or large basket filters.Breville also offered an option that the Moccamaster did not (unsure of BonaVita) and that was the option to do a delayed brew, I can load the grounds before bed and wake to freshly brewed coffee (I have used this feature once, but it is nice). The Breville adds a little more options and customization to the mix compared to the Technivorm. The Breville offers 5 preset brew options: FAST, GOLD, STRONG, OVER ICE, COLD BREW. It also offers the option to tweak and adjust and create a personalized brew setting manually adjusting temperature, speed of brew, soak time, etc. The GOLD Brew Setting meets the parameters set forth by the SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America), the Technivorm meets these standards as well. The Technivorm has an on/off switch. The friend who owns one has attached a timer to the machine so he can load it at bedtime.Having had hands on both the Technivorm and the Breville, there is a good build quality on both products, neither feels cheap. The Technivorm is more solid, and I would expect that it will last much longer due to the simplicity and quality. The warranty is also better for the Technivorm. Ultimately the ability to adjust the settings and the 20oz of extra brew capacity sold me on the Breville.I have had this product for a month and a half and still love it. I don’t think that I will ever be able to go back to a cheap coffee maker. I have used this with my favorite variety, some local varieties, but I have also used my favorite cheap coffee (Wholefoods 365 Pacific Rim $11 for 1.5lbs). This really does elevate coffee. I previously had only used the hot plate and glass carafe brewers, and I do think the insulated carafe helps significantly.Bottom line: do you spend $300 on this coffee maker? Yes, if you drink and use your coffee maker almost daily, I think that this is worth the investment. Especially if you are a bit of a coffee snob. If you simply want coffee to taste warm and brown or use Folgers, I would look at a less expensive machine. If you do not need timed brew, and more than 40oz capacity, I would choose the Technivorm over this product. If you just cannot spend 300 on a brewer, the Bona Vita is good option.

3. 

   Roger Feighney – 28 December 2024

   Love the HOT coffee

4. 

   Norma Juarez – 28 December 2024

   Es perfecta tanto para una taza como para toda una jarra. Me encantó, tiene el tamaño justo y luce genial en la cocina

5. 

   Walter R – 28 December 2024

   Si pudiera, la devolvería de inmediato. Estaba entre esta y la Moccamaster. Compré esta máquina al ver los reviews en youtube y acá. Por favor, vayan por una moccamaster, por algo las cafeterías de especialidad de TODO EL MUNDO las ocupan. Gran error cometí al comprar esta Breville… La presión del agua/vapor que genera la configuración “gold” es tan fuerte que dobla el filtro de papel sobre la cama de café en AL MENOS 8 de 10 veces. Tengo que tener un limpia pipa de metal y una linterna al lado de una máquina de 8000 pesos para hacer café, para cuando el vapor doble el filtro y yo lo pueda corregir. Eso implica que si no estoy poniendo atención, en varias ocasiones queda un café “a medias” muy aguado… eso implica café $$$ y filtros $ que se van directo a la basura.