- The Breville Luxe Brewer is a new premium drip coffee maker
- It has a removable water tank and customizable brewing profiles
- It's available with either a glass or stainless steel insulated carafe
Breville, maker of some of the best coffee makers we've tested here at TechRadar, has launched a new drip coffee machine that helps you get more flavor from your beans, and avoid one of the most common pitfalls when making filter coffee: water spills.
Even the best drip coffee makers tend to have an integrated water tank, so you have to fill it using the carafe (risking spillage) and you can't easily see how clean it is, whether it needs descaling, or how much water is inside.
That's not the case with the new Breville Luxe Brewer, which has a 12-cup water tank with integrated filter that simply lifts off the base, and has an extra-wide top for easy filling.
Like the Fellow Aiden Precision Coffee Maker I reviewed recently, the Breville Luxe Brewer can make brewing as simple or technical as you like. You can begin brewing a pot of coffee with a single button press, or get technical by customizing the bloom volume (the amount of hot water dispensed to pre-infuse your coffee grounds before brewing), bloom time (how long that water is allowed to sit on the coffee grounds), brewing temperature, and flow rate. Once you've found your preferred settings, you can save them as a preset for next time.
Other features include a programmable timer so you can wake to freshly brewed coffee first thing in the morning, a cold-brew setting that promises to make smooth, full bodied filter coffee in just 30 minutes, and a hot plate to keep your brew warm for up to six hours.
Hot stuff
Opinions on hot plates vary. Personally I find them convenient and don't find they affect the taste of my drinks too much, but if you disagree then you'll be pleased to know that it's not the only way to keep your coffee at the right temperature. Like its predecessor, the Breville Precision Brewer, the Breville Luxe Brewer is available in two versions: one with a glass carafe, and one with an insulated double-walled jug to keep your coffee hot for up to four hours.
The machine is supplied with two filter baskets – one cone-shaped and one flat-bottomed – which are intended to help your coffee infuse in different ways, bringing out subtly different flavor profiles.
According to research by the Speciality Coffee Association (SCA) and partners, the cone should create fruitier notes, while the flat-bottomed basket brings out softer chocolatey and floral flavors.
The Breville Luxe Brewer is on sale now, and costs $319.95 (about £240 / AU$500) with a glass carafe, or $349.95 (about £260 / AU$550) with a thermal pitcher.
The new brewer isn't yet available outside the US, but we'll keep you updated with international launch dates and prices when they are announced, and hope to bring you a full review very soon.
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