Wake up and smell the coffee!
What it is:
A semi-automatic, programmable coffee machine (and a Monday morning saviour).
Why you need it:
Like most Australians, brokers appreciate good coffee. The Breville gives you the convenience of being able to make a professional looking and tasting cuppa at your desk with minimum of fuss.
The Breville BES820 is compact enough to be suited for personal as well as small business use and its semi-automatic functionality means that it's nice and easy to operate. And more confident souls can have a play with the manual and programmable settings to get their cup just as they like it.
Key features:
- Espresso pressure gauge
- Custom set programming
- Italian made 15 bar pump with five year warranty
- Energy saving feature
- Instant hot water
- Large 2.2 litre front removable water tank
- Swivel steam wand
- Dual Wall Crema System
- Auto purge with electronic temperature control
- Stainless steel and die-cast alloy.
What's particularly cool about it:
The froth nozzle. There is a little attachment that Breville have included for the steam wand and, although it just looks like a metal tube, it actually works to beautifully froth the milk. In fact the Breville BES820 has so many cool accessories it's hard not to be impressed. Everything from a pin-like device to clean the filters to a tamp (to compress the coffee grains) is included.
Its energy saving function is also noteworthy - the machine automatically switches to power save mode after an hour of inactivity and completely off after a further three hours of inactivity.
Where you can get it:
The BES820 will be available at all major retail stores nationally from November 2008.
What it will cost you:
RRP $599.95.
What happened when AB's Agnes Gajewska tested it:
When the Breville BES820 appeared in the office, every caffeine-dependant colleague was ready with order in hand. Fortunately, assembling the machine, reading the instruction booklet and making the coffee was a breeze.
I felt like quite the barista as I used all of the accessories (included coffee scoop and tamp) to whip up cappuccinos, lattes and flat whites, helped by the machine's Dual Wall Crema System and froth nozzle both of which engineered professional looking results.
My only criticism was that the machine only had one steam setting, which meant that I wasn't able to regulate the pressure or intensity of the steam.
As a sidenote, if you plan to get a BES820, be aware that it can get loud, so place it in a spot where the sound of frothing milk isn't going to distract your prized loan writers from completing application forms (or client phone calls)
Price: $599.95
Thumbs up: convenience and ease of use
Thumbs down: steam regulation capabilities, the price tag
AB gives it: ****
