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First off, the Breville is more impressive looking. This way you can use your own coffee and don't have to buy the K-cups if you don't want too. My wife and I picked this one over the Keurig comparable model. As for the Breville.I am totally pleased. Like coffee isn't addictive enough.using the new K-cups makes me want to try every type of coffee out there. When it lights up it is very impressive.very pleasing bluish light on the panel and water container. I also like the fact that the "My K-cup" accessory is included. The Breville drip tray has a notch that keeps it in place.
As for noise or vibration.I haven't noticed anything major. One major turn off with the Keurig is that the dip tray can just slide around. (That should make the coffee suppliers happy). The Breville also has the water filtration system which we are using. We also have a Breville juicer that has served us well in the past so we were familiar with their quality. What if I just happened to knock this tray while the coffee was brewing. So it makes a little "humm".it's way quieter than our previous Krups coffee machine.One thing if lighting turns you on.this machine has it. It looks cool when you walk in a dark kitchen and the "auto on/off" has the machine ready to brew in the morning.As for price.it may be more than the Keurig but I think the "My K-cup" and water filtration help make up for some of the difference and the overall quality speaks for itself.
Then I stopped and bought a box of 18 K-cup (decaf) cartridges for $10 at BBB and headed home.The machine is sexy and gorgeous and it appears to be built very, very well. Apparently, that backlight flashes to let you know when you are low on water. Even the packaging demonstrate manufacturing excellence and thoughtfulness, with small pieces of tape, foam strips, little plastic bags and whatnot ensuring zero damage in transit.Following the 1-page crystal-clear quick start guide (since the machine has to be run through a one-shot 'priming' process), I went from in-the-box to first cup in under 30 minutes. and clean up is nothing more than tossing the used cup in the trash. The runner up grinder was the KitchenAid ProLine (the one that looks like an hourglass), but there are lots of posts about how it clogs easily, turning the grinds into pure putty and so requires frequent cleaning.
And it was outstanding.The taste, speed and convenience is a vast improvement over my five-year-old Melitta Mill-n-Brew (model MEMB10TB, which I reviewed on Amazon and is now out of production) which over time shifted to producing lukewarm coffee, requiring me to pre-heat the thermal carafe with hot water for five minutes in the sink. And I am looking forward to only having to rinse out this tiny-teeny-weeny basket as clean up. Posters indicate this is normal. In researching I did find complaints about quality build for the black plastic single-serve units branded as Keurig, but I didn't find any such complaints about this puppy. The menu is operated by buttons marked menu, up, down and OK. The posts for the Breville grinder don't indicate that.
But I expect I will be doing a good bit of grinding of my favorite brand. And so is the water tank. I could not find it on the web anywhere for much less than $250, before tax & shipping. First of all, I have to say I all but stole this thing. [There's a bunch of wire carousels out there, but this one is of a sturdier plastic, it's more stylish and it matches the coffee maker's silver/stainless finish]. Flip the power on switch then when the big "brew" button lights up, you are ready to go. I bet a thin pad underneath (like a foam mouse pad) will dampen the sound somewhat. and again afterwards, apparently 'reloading' for the next cycle.
Clever.The thing makes a fairly loud racket for about 10 seconds as it pressure-heats the water before the brew. And aesthetically it marries to the Breville coffee maker quite well.There's a whole lotta' upside to this coffee maker. And that also made the auto-timer, wake-up-to-your-pot-of-coffee, function useless.This machine comes with, hidden under the lid, a mini-basket system for 'brewing your own grind.' But I can already see the convenience of the K-Cup system, where you just pop the sealed coffee cup into the top. While I was there, I also snagged a matching Breville BKC100 K-Cup Carousel for $24.
When the machine is in that "go mode," you get your coffee in about 30 seconds.The LCD Screen is easy to read, backlit in soft/sky blue. At 40% off (the list $300 price), I snagged it for $180 before tax. It's not any worse than the racket a grinder makes. is going to be addictive.
Simple enough. It will be Breville as well, the BCG450XL Conical Burr Grinder. Brand new in the box at Linens 'N Things, currently bankrupt and liquidating all stock. But, so far, after researching on the web and tinkering with the thing the first day, those are the only two downsides I can find.Now I just have to add the perfect grinder. And the pre-packaged K-cups are not exactly economical. And now I've got the Burr Grinder on it's way. Give it serious consideration.NB: Two days earlier I also snagged from LNT a Bialetti Moka Express 6-Cup Stovetop Expresso Maker - the device many Italians keep in their homes to do expresso - for about $15. The auto-on does not actually brew, it just starts the thing up so that the water is heated up and ready to brew at the push of the button.
Out the door, both items, just at $219. or much of any downside for its grinder at all. For the Melitta Mill-and-Brew, that involved cleaning the carafe, the carafe lid (which took grinds), the large basket, the basket lid (which also took grinds) and the inside bottom of the basket/filter hopper (which took grind residue).And the machine has a little charcoal filter packet and holder that mounts/snaps easily right into the water tank.The control buttons and the menu are almost 100% intuitive. The menu is brief and not deep - set the clock, set the temp, set the cup size, set the auto-on. And that the beans have to be poked down into the chute with a chopstick or whatnot. Look out - now I've got the MacDaddy coffee setup.
We had a Keurig machine (high end model) at one point in the past and this is far superior. The one we have is still going strong and we used it 4-6 times per day. My parents have had one of these for a few years and we use it every time we go over there. I bought a refurbished model and there was one little hiccup with a clogged nozzle, but it has been running fine ever since. By far the best coffee maker I have ever had. The programming features are a nice addition. The Breville "My K-Cup" seems better than the Keurig ones which used to break all the time.
I like being able to set the water temperature as well - nice touch. I finally decided to get one and we couldn't be happier. This model has a nice little storage compartment on top for the filter and scoop, very convenient. It is very well made. We now use a fraction of the coffee we used to use making full pots every time we wanted coffee. Over all I highly recommend this unit. We had a good experience with the refurbished model and saved quite a bit of money that way.
If you don't mind your entire kitchen vibrating when this thing refills (there are 2 pumps), then this is the brewer for you. Are you kidding me. $250 for this thing and then I have to pay shipping to return it. Don't waste your time.
The brew filter for your own grounds cracks and falls apart in 30 days and then you spend 20 bucks to get a new one. I can sum this product up in one word. JUNK. The pump on the unit goes bad, leaks all over and then stops working in my case in exactly 60 days. Another fine quality product from Communist China and Breville(Chinese for JUNK)
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