I first started looking into expensive coffee makers when my wife said she wanted something more convenient. We had been using the Bodum Bistro Electric Burr Coffee Grinder, Black, the Cuisinart CPK-17 PerfecTemp 1.7-Liter Stainless Steel Cordless Electric Kettle and the Chemex Coffee Maker 8 Cup Classic to make our coffee. I can't say enough good about that combination of products and the quality of coffee it consistently produced, but it had its negatives, too.We were timing up the usage of 3 different devices, it was a bit of a chemistry experiment to get the coffee/water ratio just right, there's definitely a (slightly difficult) technique when doing a pour-over method, and it required us to be standing there during the entire 15 minute-or-so process. Doesn't sound like a huge deal, but it was admittedly just too much work, especially when rushing around at 6am. We needed something to get the job done right semi-automatically and the Breville YouBrew fit the bill.
::::: SINGLE CUP :::::
The single-cup mode works great. You choose from one of many sizes, choose from 5 flavor settings and 7 strength settings (type of taste versus how much of the taste). I wish the sizes displayed the ounces instead of arbitrary "Regular" or "Extra Large". The booklet tells you how many ounces each of these settings are, but that seems like an unnecessary step.
::::: CARAFE :::::
I thought you could, just like with the single-cup, choose how much coffee you want to brew. You cannot. The carafe mode brews using every bit of water you currently have in the reservoir and uses the appropriate amount of beans for that amount. It's not a huge deal, but I initially thought the water reservoir was more like the bean hopper, holding excess and only using what you want. Not a big deal. You can only choose the strength setting, not the flavor profile as with the single-cup.
::::: FILLING :::::
The hopper only holds about .5 lb of coffee beans, but that's okay; it will ensure that you don't have old beans in the reserve. The hopper's lid has a nice air-tight seal to lock in freshness. The water filling door opens slowly to reveal an odd, unit-width cavity to pour water into. The only problem is, the opening to the actual 60 oz. reservoir is all the way on the right, making it a little difficult for right-handed people to pour into. Any excess water that pours to the left of the opening is caught in the cavity, but it doesn't slope down or anything, which means you need to tilt the entire unit to the right to get the water to fall in.
::::: WATER :::::
I didn't read the fine-print in the manual; you cannot use distilled water with this unit. It uses an optical sensor to detect how much water is in there, so it technically shouldn't be able to see truly distilled water (sensors like that can only see impurities in the water, not the water itself). It's too bad, really. Using "drinking" water means that there are impurities in there, like minerals and sediment, which add taste, albeit slight or even unnoticeable. It may be necessary, however, as 0-TDS (perfectly pure) water is actually corrosive to some materials, which means it would potentially eat the plastics and metals in the coffee maker.
::::: GRINDER :::::
I don't know all of the reasoning, but from what I understand, conical burr grinders produce the best grounds for extraction, and this has a ceramic one built right in. Breville has calculated the right ground size for this brewing method and grinds to that size. Some people are disappointed that you can't adjust the ground size, but I don't see a reason to. I figure they know the process better that me and I bought this for convenience, not modding.
Many people complain about the volume of the grinder. Make no mistake, it's VERY loud, but that's never an issue for me. It's only slightly louder than my Bodum grinder and it seems like a dumb complaint anyway. it lasts for like 15 seconds. Get over it.
::::: FILTER & BASKET :::::
The included metal filter is nice, I suppose, but I don't like it. It allows coffee grounds through to the coffee, which I hate. Luckily, you can use your own paper filters to avoid this problem. I use Melitta Basket Coffee Filters, Natural Brown (8 to 12-Cup), 200-Count Filters (Pack of 8) (recommended). I find that the paper produces a smoother, less bitter tasting coffee than the metal filter and hey, no grounds in my coffee!
The basket completely removes from the unit to dispose of the filter and clean it out. I love that it's completely removable. I'm a bit of a germaphobe (my dad is a microbiologist), so I understand the importance of thoroughly cleaning, rinsing and drying things like that between uses. Stagnant moisture attracts mold and bacteria... yuck. The thing I DON'T love about it is that the basket is actually kind of a pain to clean. The grounds really clump up each time and while they aren't hard to wash out, the filter basket has so many tight spots, small ridges, tiny ribs and slots that it's hard to physically scrub and dry. And you need to do this between every use. Even if you don't care about bacteria, if moisture and old grounds are in there, that will really mess with your next brew cycle.
::::: CARAFE & WARMING PLATE :::::
The glass carafe is just great. It pours very nicely, never spilling a drop. Many times, carafes dribble down the front as you finish pouring and this somehow completely avoids it. It also cleans easily, being mostly glass and having a wide mouth.
The warming plate kicks on immediately and runs for 2 hours after brewing (the display shows a countdown until it shuts off). You can't shut off the screen without shutting the unit and plate off; not a big deal, just saying. The plate is actually too hot for my taste. I guess I appreciate that it keeps it drinkably hot for so long, but it nearly cooks the coffee. One time in particular, we poured all coffee but a few ounces. Several hours later, the warming plate shut off but it was too late. The coffee was completely burned up, gone, just leaving a nasty, burnt film on the bottom of the carafe. Once again, the carafe is easy to clean, but I found that annoying. I often shut the unit off and just reheat the coffee in the microwave hours later, if need be.
I chose the glass version over the thermal version because many people said you need to preheat the thermal carafe as to prevent it from sucking the heat right out of the freshly brewed coffee. This makes sense to me. Thick metal with high heat-coefficients tend to absorb temperatures, either hot or cold. The glass doesn't do that and the warming plate helps prevent it even more. Also, many people say the thermal carafe pours poorly and I didn't want to deal with that. Also, the glass was cheaper. Can't argue.
::::: COFFEE TASTE :::::
I'm a pretty discerning coffee drinker and I've truly been spoiled with Chemex's amazing goodness. I didn't want to sacrifice taste for convenience with something like a Keurig, and this certainly avoids that issue. The YouBrew makes an amazing cup of coffee. Though I haven't compared them in person, I've seen a number of blind taste tests online comparing the YouBrew to other top-of-the-line brewers, like the Technivorm Moccamaster Coffee Brewer With Thermo Carafe Technivorm 9587, and the YouBrew often comes out on top.
I haven't had a bad cup of coffee yet. It does the following to make sure it's always delicious:
Keeps beans fresh with air-tight hopper
Uses the "perfect" amount of beans every time
Grinds coffee just before brewing
Uses a quality burr grinder with optimal grind size
Maintains perfect brewing temperature water all the way through the process
Evenly distributes water over grounds with slotted channels in filter basket
Uses BPA-free plastics, stainless steel and glass all the way through the process
The YouBrew automatically grinds the "right" amount of coffee. You can certainly adjust the overall taste, though I'm not sure that affects the amount of beans being used or just changes the steeping time. You can choose your own amount of grounds by telling it you're using your own grounds (it doesn't grind anything and just trusts that you've put the right amount of coffee grounds in the filter). This allows you to put as much or as little coffee in the filter. I, personally, would never do this though. I trust that the experts that made it know more about brewing coffee than I do.
::::: CONVENIENCE :::::
I use the programming function to have it start making us coffee each morning. I simply set it to start each night and head to bed. It's as easy as hitting "PROGRAM" and then "START"; it remembers the time you last programmed it for, so it works all throughout the weekdays for us. The single-cup function is great for my wife when I'm away and she doesn't want to waste an entire pot of coffee. Cleaning, rinsing and drying the filter basket after ever use is honestly a pain, but it's still less "work" than many other options. For the most part, you occasionally fill the hopper, fill the water tank and press start. Very easy and mostly hands-free.
::::: VALUE :::::
My wife had suggested a Keurig for convenience's sake, but I didn't want to sacrifice on quality or price-per-cup. That stuff gets expensive. Even the most-versatile and advanced Keurig 2700 Keurig® Vue® V700 Single serve coffee system, 1, Black/silver is still lacking in many areas and costs just as much as the YouBrew. Using the YouBrew only uses just the right amount of beans and a $0.01 filter, giving us a huge bang-for-the-buck. That very quickly makes up the slight difference between the YouBrew and a high-end Keurig.
::::: OVERALL :::::
The Breville YouBrew is largely hands-free, allows you to adjust the brew strength (and even flavor in single-cup mode), and does each step of the brewing process inside one relatively large machine. Oh, and it makes a mean cup of coffee that rivals the best of the best coffee makers. While it's really expensive, it's actually much more cost-effective in the long run than even the most economical pod-makers. It accomplishes my family's goal of easily, automatically brewing delicious, snobbery-quality coffee. Despite a few caveats, I believe this to be one of the finest coffee makers on the market. I couldn't be any happier with my purchase!
You'll have to decide if spending that price is worth it to you in order to be in full control of your coffee. To be honest, while I like this benefit, I doubt if I would have spent $249.99 for it. Luckily, I received it for free from the Amazon Vine program.
The benefits of the BCM 550XL are many, including but not limited to:
...its Brew IQ System, which claims to automatically ensure that water is heated to the optimal temperature, then supplies, based on the settings you quickly and easily select, the correct amount for your selected brew size and strength. (More about this claim a little later in this review).
... Has an integrated burr grinder for maximum freshness, flavor & aroma.
...Provides a large, backlit LCD with brewing progress and water level indicator.
...You can choose between brewing up to 12 cups (60oz) of coffee with the glass carafe that is provided (along with its top-fill water tank with full-tank indicator) or brewing a single cup -ranging from regular to extra large cup (7.5oz) to travel mug size.
...Choose from 7 adjustable strength settings and from 5 adjsustable flavor settings (in Single Cup setting only)
...Has a programmable clock and Auto-Start feature
...Is very easy to clean.
While there are many benefits, be aware that this product has a few factors that might be of concern to you:
...The machine is very large (almost 17" tall) and takes up a substantial amount of room on your counter. Plus, before considering it, you should measure the amount of space you have under your cabinets to make sure it will fit.
...It is quite noisy during the bean grinding process.
...Despite the earlier claim, it didn't make the coffee quite as hot as I would have liked (although this might not be a problem for you unless you like your coffee very hot, as I do)
All in all, if you are a coffee lover and don't mind paying an above average amount of money for a very verstaile coffee maker, then the Breville BCM 550XL is a product you should seriously consider.
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I drink coffee everyday, usually 2x per day. I'm not super picky, I used to use a french press but after 2 kids and too much craziness my best coffee buddy is a single cup pod brewer. It makes a nice 16oz mug of perfect coffee for me in seriously about 1 min. When I saw this offered I jumped at the chance to try it out, as I said I love coffee and while I liked the convenience and speed of my pod brewer I really missed being able to adjust the flavor of my coffee or using different fresh beans, I thought this would be perfect and would also be great when my mom was visiting as she loves VERY VERY dark rich coffee.I was right, and I was wrong. The good news is that this is a gorgeous coffee pot, yes it's large but it's extremely attractive and modern and since I don't need a separate container to store coffee beans or a grinder out on the couter with it it's actually a space saver. The coffee it makes is spot on. I can make a nice medium full bodied cup for myself and a cup of insanely dark deep flavored for my mom with the same beans. It's fairly easy to clean up and it's very easy to program and use. The problem for me is that it takes FOREVER (or maybe I'm just spoiled by my almost instant pod brewer) to make coffee. Even just making enough for one large mug takes ages. I've actually started it and then gone off to do something, checked on it and seen it was still brewing, gone off to do something else and actually forgotten about my coffee it takes so long (but at least it kept it nice and warm for me when I did remember LOL)
I think this pot is excellent for a crowd or if you have guests with different coffee tastes but unless you like a full pot each day and don't mind waiting around for it I'd stick with something faster and less expensive. This lives in my cabinet unless we have people over.
Read Best Reviews of Breville BDC550XL The YouBrew Glass Drip Coffee Maker Here
I was interested in seeing if this pot would make coffee better than our cheap Wal-Mart coffee maker. In short, yes. Now I am not a coffee lover. For me it needs to be mixed in ice cream to be drinkable. But, my wife loves her cup of coffee, so I thought she would be the perfect tester. After setting it up she brewed herself a cup using a generic bean bought at Wal-Mart. Afterwords, she said that it brewed a better cup than you could get at Starbucks. I was definitely impressed.Getting started took a little bit of time and can be intimidating. Trying to figure out the settings took a few tries. Make sure the first time you try to use it is not at 6 AM as you are trying to rush off to work.
With the choice of flavor settings and strength settings this will brew a cup of coffee to fit everyone's desires. I have read some of the other reviews and while it is true that you can adjust flavor and strength manually in any coffee maker; that will take a lot of trial and error. With the YouBrew just select the strength you want and it will grind the right amount of beans for that strength (more beans are ground for a stronger setting). The flavor profiles control the length of time the water is allowed to steep before dispensing.
While the machine is large; it is not unnecessarily large. Looking it over it did not appear to be overly bulky. Similarly priced models from competitors are this size. If counter space is an issue check the dimensions.
The noise level of the grinder could be an issue especially when you use the timer for an early morning cup of coffee. If the grinder is what wakes you up in the morning, then you may hate this machine. It is something you get use to, but the first few times it was startling.
I can see where the price would be an issue with some people, but if you look at the amount you may be spending buying coffee and the quality is as good, if not better, you will see that you will recoup the price of this machine within a couple of months. Also, the time saving of not waiting in line in the morning for coffee is a bonus.
I have been so impressed with this machine (I am a gadget guy) that I am trying to learn to like coffee. Now if they could make a machine that could brew me a perfect mug of beer...
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This is a good-quality, high-end coffee maker, but it is ONLY for people with a sufficient amount of counter space and for VERY discriminating coffee-drinkers.
*** ***
This Breville, #BDC 550XL, with a 12-cup, glass carafe is a beautiful but a bit pricey coffee grinder/ brewer that makes an incredible cup of coffee.
My roommates have owned their reliable Cuisinart for the past 15 years. And, it still makes a very good cup of coffee. The Breville, at least on the surface, looks to be a "big brother" to the Cuisinart.
Both sport a handsome stainless steel exterior, a digital display as well as a coffee bean grinder. This Breville which, admittedly, is 15 years newer, also comes with the following controls:
* 5 flavor settings
* 7 strength settings
* 3 dispense settings
* Electronic gauge (that tells how much coffee remains)
The Breville is noticeably heavy--and this is without the water and coffee. It is also a very large machine. By my measurements, it is 16" x 12.5" x 8.5." And, roughly 14 lbs empty.
The bean grinder is noisy. We have several of those portable, multi-function grinders. Those grinders work just as well and is considerably quieter. The bean grinder's noise was the only aspect of this machine that I really didn't like and I feel that it could have been constructed better. (While noise is a deterrent, having one of those portable grinders --for about $10-serves to grind fresh coffee beans more quietly and simultaneously extends the life of this machine, essentially kills two birds with one stone.)
I brewed my favorite coffee, Choc Full O'Nuts, and it was considerably better tasting than the old $30 coffee maker I was using up until recently. That robust flavor that has a slight chocolate aftertaste and rich aroma, reminded me what I missed about eating in downtown New York City.
I also appreciated some practical brewing instructions that I had never read before in regards to temperature setting and temperature lost. It most certainly makes a difference.
Construction. I'd have to say, the construction is very good. As I mentioned, it is made out of a very durable stainless steel body. The pre-ground coffee holder is made out of a thick rubber housing. And, the bean grinder has a bit of a weight to it and not one of those light, cheap-feeling jobs. Although, it is manufactured for home-use (and, I suggest that you have sufficient counter space and love for coffee) but this is so well-built that it borders on industrial quality.
Price. The price for this is roughly $250--with Amazon's fluctuationg price going south by $30-$50. I think with the reputable brands like Cuisinart, and Krups also making higher-end stainless steel coffee makers, a competitive price maybe for this quality at about $175-$200. Because this will last you, with care, a good 15 years.
So, with the exception of a very loud motor, everything else is very well made and the end result--a good cup of coffee--is achieved with this machine.
Breville, #BDC 550XL--4.5 stars.
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