When comparing Gaggia Brera vs Breville Barista Express, the Slant community recommends Breville Barista Express for most people. In the question“What are the best home espresso machines?” Breville Barista Express is ranked 1st while Gaggia Brera is ranked 4th. The most important reason people chose Breville Barista Express is:
There is no need to buy a separate grinder with this espresso machine. It comes with a built in conical burr grinder that allows users to process fresh coffee beans, and can result in delicious homemade espresso.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Extremely convenient and easy to use
Gaggia Brera is a super-automatic espresso machine. There's very little to set up apart from depositing coffee beans into the bean hopper (or pre-ground coffee); the grinder has an adjustment system that automatically adjusts the grind levels for you. After that, it's just pressing a button to get a cup. This makes it ideal for busy people who wants a quick quality cuppa.
Pro Comes with built-in grinder and can use pre-ground coffee
The Gaggia Brera comes with its own grinder on top for whole beans, along with a bypass doser for pre-ground coffee. The grinder has an automatic adjustment system that automatically adjusts the grind levels, and it only grinds the amount of beans required for a cup and leaves the rest of the beans in the hopper intact.
Pro Fast brewing time
The brewing time on Gaggia Brera is extremely quick. Once set up, it takes less than 3 minutes from the time you power it on to the time it finishes brewing a cup of espresso.
Pro One button to start brewing
With Gaggia Brera, pressing one button is all it takes to get a nice shot of espresso. There is no need to tinker with settings other than the brewing strength, which can be selected with a button press.
Pro Great coffee quality
This machine can brew coffee on par with usual cafes (without specialized equipments) out of the box.
Pro Automatic self-cleaning
Gaggia Brera has a self-rinse cycle that cleans the machine when it is switched on or off.
Pro Comes with a bean hopper to store coffee beans
This machine comes with a bean hopper to hold coffee beans. It can hold up to a normal-sized bag of coffee beans (8.8oz / 250grams).
Pro Has its own conical burr grinder
There is no need to buy a separate grinder with this espresso machine. It comes with a built in conical burr grinder that allows users to process fresh coffee beans, and can result in delicious homemade espresso.
Pro Good entry-level machine for espresso enthusiasts
Breville Barista Express is easy enough for day-to-day use by the layperson, and the manual controls will come in handy for aspiring baristas or those looking to level up their brewing skills.
Pro Great balance between ease-of-use and control
This espresso machine is easy to use and configure. It comes with preset settings that can make espresso without much fiddling. You can make a delicious shot of espresso with minimal effort — adjusting the grind settings for the type of beans you're using is sufficient for most people, and if that's not enough, there are manual overrides that you can experiment with.
Pro Consistent espresso shots
You can dial the desired settings in for the type of beans you're using and get consistent shots of espresso every time, and you only have to do this once every time you change beans.
Pro Great coffee quality
This machine can make great coffee, even without specialised barista knowledge. With some practice, you can pull espresso shots on par or even better than cafes.
Pro Outstanding textured milk
Outstanding results stretching the milk even with soy/almond/coconut. The steam runs a little slower than a full boiler so beginners get a bit more time to get the milk just right.
Pro Excellent customer support
I had troubles out of the box getting enough pressure, phoned support and they worked out it was my beans that were 3mths old.
Pro Heats up in 1 minute
Unlike boiler machines which take 20 mins. Has 2 heat blocks, one for the espresso and one for the milk.
Cons
Con Not suitable for advanced usage
Gaggia Brera is not meant for advanced usage. It does not come with manual controls/overrides or settings you may find on other espresso machines, making it fairly limited in what you can do with it.
Con Can be hard to repair or upgrade
Breville Barista Express is an all-in-one machine that comes with its own grinder. This makes it hard to just buy another grinder if you're looking to upgrade it, and also means that you have to replace the entire unit if anything happens to it.