Breville BKC600XL Gourmet Single-Cup Coffee Brewer
by Breville
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Product Summary
Manufacturer: BrevilleBrand: Breville USA
Model: BKC600XL
Product features:
- Measures 14-3/4 by 12-3/4 by 16-3/4-inch; 1 year warranty.
- Patented showerhead delivers precise amount of water needed
- Programmable LCD screen customizes brew to four cup sizes and any preferred brew temperature
- Made from heavy-duty stainless steel; internal water filter removes off flavors and smells
- Handsome single-cup brewer makes coffee one cup at a time for maximum freshness
- Breville BCG450XL Conical Burr Grinder
- Breville BKC600 Gourmet Single Cup Coffee Brewer Replacement Filters, 6-Pack (BWF100)
- Breville BCB100 Barista-Style Coffee Knock Box
Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Breville BKC600XL Gourmet Single-Cup Coffee Brewer
Customer Review: Best coffee we have had
Summary: 4 Stars
We have used home espresso machines, coffee grinders with pressed coffee makers, grind and brew coffee machines, and the Breville makes by far the best tasting, smoothest coffee we have ever had at home. The only issue we encountered was a plastic taste in the coffee when we first used the machine (the reason it is 4 stars instead of 5).
I drink a lower caffeine bold tasting coffee while my wife likes a fully caffeinated flavored coffee. For a long time we have switched off on who gets their coffee choice. With the single cup maker I start with a regular bold coffee then switch to decaf. My wife gets her vanilla flavor and throws in a hazelnut occasionally. So the single cup brewer is perfect for us.
When I was looking at the single cup makers the factors I considered were: coffee quality, machine quality, speed, noise, convenience, aesthetics.
Coffee Quality:
After we got rid of the plastic taste, the coffee this machine produces is amazingly smooth. While I like a bold tasting coffee I do not like to have a bitter taste. The coffee the Breville makes is the least bitter coffee I can remember having. Using the "extra bold" packets, or with the included device to use your own coffee, you can make the coffee as strong as most people would want in a regular cup of coffee.
Size does matter. You can select 4 different coffee sizes. Brewing a small cup with extra bold creates a very strong cup of coffee. Using the largest setting with a mild coffee creates a very mild cup of coffee.
You can also set the temperature of the coffee. I like my coffee very hot, while my wife does not. She uses the lowest temperature setting and adds a small piece of ice. These settings and variety of coffee lets each person get their cup just the way they like it.
As for the plastic taste, it was pretty bad when we first got the machine. We completely eliminate the plastic taste buy running one full reservoir of water through, then we put a quart of vinegar and the rest water through, washed the reservoir with warm soapy water, and ran two more reservoirs of water through. This was a pain, but it worked. The effort, while it should have been unnecessary, was worth it because we now get great coffee.
Machine Quality:
After going though several Cuisinarts that did not last long, I wanted a machine that would last awhile - like my 90 y/o mom's Mr. Coffee from 1982 that is still brewing the stuff she calls coffee. I am very happy with the Breville's quality. Only time will tell if it can last almost 30 years like my mom's, but from everything I can tell this is well engineered and it uses quality components. So far so good.
Speed:
Speed was one of my bigger concerns with a single cup brewer. I didn't want to wait a minute or two every time someone wanted a cup of coffee. The Breville is fast. I timed mine, and the start up is less than 2 minutes to "ready to brew", 9 seconds between each cup to ready to brew, and 38 seconds to brew the largest cup setting. I think this is excellent.
Noise:
I find the noise level to be very acceptable. We have an open kitchen and the machine sits on a granite countertop. The noisiest part of the process only lasts a few seconds and even that is not bad. I equate the sound to that of a good massage chair, and again that lasts 3-4 seconds. There is also a little noise as it brews. This is not nearly as loud, but it sounds somewhat like the espresso machine at Starbucks. It is not even loud enough to startle my cat that can be startled by his own shadow.
Convenience:
The k-cups work fine, and the Breville's load / unload process is as simple as it can be. Lift up on a bar, the k cup tilts forward, take out/put in the k cup, push down on the bar and this all there is to it. Using your own coffee is a bit more work. You have a filter that needs to be cleaned after each cup. It does not take long but it is a little inconvenient. What we did is order 3 extra filters so we can load one while one is brewing then wash off the other when the second cup is brewing. Or when home alone or when one of us is using a k cup, we just use all the filters and clean up a little later. Any machine would have this issue when using your own coffee and the extra filters reduce the hassle factor. Many of the single cup brewers do not even give you the option of using your own coffee.
Aesthetics:
This is one of the best looking coffeemakers around. It is not as large as I thought it would be from the pictures and it looks great sitting out. The blue lights add a little high tech look.
So overall, 5 stars for how it works now, with the plastic taste that we were able to get rid of being the only temporary negative.
Description of Breville BKC600XL Gourmet Single-Cup Coffee Brewer
Enjoy a fresh cup of gourmet coffee, tea or hot cocoa in less than a minute, without any set-up or clean-up. The Breville BKC600XL Gourmet Single Cup Coffee Brewer brews a single cup of fresh coffee, tea or hot cocoa at the touch of a button with its revolutionary brewing technology. A patented showerhead delivers a precise amount of water through the K-Cup at an ideal temperature and pressure for optimal flavor extraction. Choose one of four brew sizes (11.25oz, 9.25oz, 7.25oz and 5.25 oz) and program the brew temperature with the easy-read, backlit LCD screen and easy-to-use controls. The backlit 60 ounce capacity tank brews up to 10 cups before refilling and includes an optional water filtration system to reduce substances that affect the smell and taste of water. Keurig's popular coffee, tea and hot cocoa brands offer over 150 different types of K-Cup beverages from 13 gourmet brands.The best coffee is always the freshest coffee. That's why it makes no sense to brew by the pot: by the time you get around to drinking most of the joe, it's been sitting in a carafe (or worse, on top of a burner), going more bitter and stale with each minute. The Breville single-cup brewer takes a different tack. It makes coffee one cup at a time, so each cup tastes as fresh as the first one in the pot. Each cup is also 100% customized--by brew temperature, by grind, by varietal, even by cup size--so it's perfect for households or dinner parties in which everyone likes a different brew. Best of all, the brewing process is very, very difficult to mess up. The Breville's patented "showerhead" sprays a precisely calibrated amount of water through a "K-Cup," a technology made famous by Keurig's single-cup brewers, using temperature and pressure designed to extract the maximum amount of flavor from the grounds. More than 150 pre-packed K-Cups are available for beverages ranging from hot chocolate to organic dark-roast Columbian, produced by roasters from Tully's to Green Mountain Coffee.
Like all of this company's handsomely designed kitchen equipment, the Breville single-cup coffee brewer is aesthetically gorgeous and feels solidly constructed. It's made from heavy-duty stainless steel with a die-cast safety locking arm, and comes with an internal water filter system to remove impurities that can impart off flavors and smells. A backlit reservoir holds 60 ounces of water and can brew up to 10 cups before it needs refilling; the programmable LCD screen has a refreshingly easy-to-use interface. The Breville single-cup coffee brewer measures 14-3/4 by 12-3/4 by 16-3/4 inches --Mary Park
Coffee, Tea & Espresso
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