If you’re on the lookout for an exceptional espresso machine that brings the café experience right to your kitchen, you’re in for a treat.
In this blog post, we present our in-depth Breville Café Roma review.
Get ready to embark on a delightful journey as we explore the impressive features and performance of this powerhouse espresso machine.
From its sleek design to its ability to deliver rich, velvety shots of espresso, we’ll cover it all.
Say goodbye to long lines and expensive coffees and say hello to barista-level delights at home.
Let’s dive in and discover why the Breville Café Roma might just be the espresso machine of your dreams.
| Key Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Machine Name | Breville Café Roma |
| Machine Type | Semi-automatic espresso machine |
| Pressure System | 15-bar pump pressure |
| Heating System | Thermoblock heating system |
| Filter System | Dual-wall filter system |
| Milk Frothing Capability | Yes, with a steam wand |
| Cup Warming Tray | Yes |
| Construction Material | Stainless steel |
| Water Tank Capacity | 40.6 oz / 1.2 liters |
| Dimensions | 12” x 12” x 15” |
| Weight | 13 lbs (5.9 kg) |
The Breville Café Roma: Your Gateway to Barista-Quality Espresso
The Breville Café Roma is an excellent entry-level espresso machine that caters to both novice home brewers and experienced baristas seeking a reliable and affordable option.
Crafted with precision and boasting an attractive design, this high-powered machine simplifies the espresso-making process without compromising on quality.
Equipped with a thermoblock heating system, the Café Roma ensures that espresso is extracted at the optimal temperature, guaranteeing a rich and satisfying brew.
With a full 15 bars of pressure, it maximizes crema production, lending your espresso the distinctive aroma and taste of a professionally made cup.
The convenient heating indicator light provides visual cues, turning off when the perfect temperature and pressure have been reached.
The Café Roma’s practical and stylish design makes it a delightful addition to any kitchen countertop. Encased in durable stainless steel, this compact machine blends seamlessly with your décor while exuding a sense of reliability and durability.
Additionally, its user-friendly construction facilitates easy cleaning and maintenance, ensuring that you spend more time enjoying your espresso and less time on upkeep.
The Breville Café Roma is a solid performer that offers a hassle-free brewing experience.
It’s intuitive controls and straightforward operation make it ideal for beginners, while its consistent and reliable performance satisfies even the most discerning coffee connoisseurs.
This espresso machine is an excellent investment for those looking to elevate their home brewing without breaking the bank.
Pros
- Budget-friendly: The Breville Café Roma offers an affordable entry point into the world of espresso machines, making it accessible to a wide range of coffee enthusiasts.
- User-friendly: The practical and stylish design of the Café Roma ensures ease of use, allowing even beginners to create delicious espresso with confidence. It seamlessly integrates into any kitchen setup.
- Built to last: The Café Roma stands out for its durability, providing a reliable and long-lasting espresso machine that can withstand regular use and deliver consistent performance.
- Milk frother included: With the built-in milk frother, you can effortlessly create creamy and frothy milk for lattes, cappuccinos, and other milk-based beverages, adding versatility to your home brewing repertoire.
- Exceptional espresso quality: When paired with good, freshly ground beans, the Breville Café Roma enables you to pull enjoyable shots of espresso, capturing the rich flavors and aromas that make the coffee experience truly satisfying.
- Complete package: The Café Roma comes with all the necessary accessories, saving you the hassle of purchasing additional items separately. It provides everything you need to get started right away.
Cons
- Limited portafilter options: The Café Roma includes pressurized portafilters only, which may not satisfy the preferences of experienced baristas who prefer non-pressurized alternatives for greater control over extraction.
- Lack of drip tray capacity indicator: Unfortunately, the machine does not feature an indicator to inform you when the drip tray is filled to capacity. It requires manual monitoring to prevent overflowing.
- Difficulty frothing large quantities of milk: While the milk frother is a convenient addition, it may pose a challenge when attempting to froth large volumes of milk, making it less suitable for serving multiple beverages at once.
Key Features of the Breville Café Roma: Unleashing Espresso Excellence
In this section, we delve into the key features that set the Breville Café Roma apart and contribute to its exceptional performance.
From its innovative heating system to the inclusion of a milk frother, the Café Roma is packed with functionalities that elevate your espresso brewing experience.
Join us as we explore these standout features and understand how they contribute to unlocking espresso excellence in the comfort of your own home.
Let’s dive in and uncover the secrets behind the Café Roma’s impressive capabilities.
Thermoblock Heating System: Unleashing Precision Brewing
At the core of every espresso machine lies its brewing capabilities, and nothing beats the satisfaction of a perfectly brewed cup of coffee that awakens your senses.
The Breville Café Roma goes beyond expectations with its innovative thermoblock heating system, ensuring that your espresso is extracted at the ideal temperature for a rich, barista-style aroma and taste.
Unleashing Optimal Extraction
The Café Roma’s thermoblock heating system plays a pivotal role in maximizing the extraction process.
By maintaining a consistent heating temperature, this advanced system guarantees that your espresso is brewed at the perfect temperature, unleashing the full potential of the coffee grounds and maximizing the development of crema.
Ready at a Moment’s Notice
With the Café Roma’s thermoblock heating system, the machine remains ready for brewing as long as the power switch is left in the ‘On’ position.
Should the temperature drop, the orange control light illuminates, signaling that the heater is automatically heating up to ensure the correct brewing temperature.
This feature eliminates the guesswork and allows you to brew your espresso promptly, making your morning routine more efficient and enjoyable.
Efficiency and Precision
The thermoblock heating system in the Breville Café Roma goes beyond preheating the filters and priming the pump.
It also features a heating indicator light that glows orange during the heating process and turns off once the optimal temperature and pressure for espresso extraction are reached.
This visual cue provides a clear indication that your machine is ready to deliver the perfect shot, allowing you to focus on the art of brewing without any ambiguity.
Experience Flawless Brewing
When it comes to brewing a superb cup of coffee, precision is key, and the Breville Café Roma’s thermoblock heating system ensures just that.
By maintaining the ideal brewing temperature consistently, this feature guarantees that the taste and aroma of your coffee remain uncompromised.
Dual-Wall Filter System: Elevating Crema and Flavor
When it comes to espresso, achieving the perfect crema is essential for a delightful coffee experience.
The Breville Café Roma understands this importance and incorporates a dual-wall filter system, revolutionizing the presentation and flavor of your espresso.
Maximizing Crema and Flavor
The Breville Café Roma’s dual-wall filter system is specifically designed to deliver a rich, barista-style aroma and taste by maximizing crema production.
The dual-wall construction of the filter basket, made from high-quality, food-grade stainless steel, ensures a pressurized extraction process.
This controlled pressure enables a consistent shot extraction, accommodating a wider range of ground espresso beans and eliminating the guesswork when experimenting with different coffee varieties.
Precision in Extraction
With the dual-wall filter system, the Café Roma allows for a greater grind size range of espresso beans.
This flexibility is especially beneficial when trying out new beans, as the pressurized extraction ensures a consistent brew regardless of the grind size.
Say goodbye to concerns about compatibility and explore an array of beans with confidence, knowing that the dual-wall filter system will deliver a consistent and flavorful extraction every time.
A Clean and Smooth Cup
In addition to enhancing the crema and flavor, the dual-wall filter system in the Breville Café Roma serves another crucial purpose – preventing coffee grounds from finding their way into your cup.
This ensures a clean and smooth espresso experience, allowing you to savor every sip without any unwanted debris or texture.
Milk Frothing Excellence: Elevating Lattes and Cappuccinos
The Breville Café Roma is not only adept at brewing espresso but also excels in creating indulgent lattes and cappuccinos.
With its standard steam wand and froth enhancer, this machine allows you to effortlessly froth milk to perfection.
Mastering the Art of Frothing
The Café Roma’s steam wand, accompanied by a froth enhancer, offers the perfect tools for creating a smooth and velvety layer of froth atop your favorite cappuccinos and lattes.
While the steam wand itself doesn’t possess any extraordinary features, mastering the technique is crucial for achieving excellent results.
It’s important to find the best angle and determine the optimal depth for inserting the wand tip to create the perfect milk froth that suits your preference.
Temperature Monitoring
For those striving for milk frothing mastery, investing in a small thermometer can be beneficial.
Monitoring the temperature of the milk allows you to achieve the desired level of froth and ensures that it is heated to the ideal temperature.
This level of precision enhances your milk frothing experience, guaranteeing consistently delightful results.
Considerations for Frothing Large Quantities
One minor drawback of the Breville Café Roma is the limited space between the steam wand and the drip tray.
This proximity can make frothing a large quantity of milk challenging, as it increases the risk of overflowing the frothing pitcher.
If you often prefer extra-large cappuccinos, it’s worth considering this limitation and adjusting your frothing technique accordingly.
Unleashing Milk Frothing Excellence
Rest assured that the steam wand provided by the Breville Café Roma is capable of producing some of the finest milk froth available.
With practice and mastery of the frothing technique, you can create visually enticing and deliciously textured milk froth to elevate your coffee creations.
Say goodbye to flat froth and scalded milk, as the Café Roma empowers you to indulge in the art of milk frothing like a true barista.
Enjoy Hotter Coffee: The Warming Tray
There’s nothing quite as disappointing as taking a sip of coffee, only to find it lukewarm and lacking the desired heat. Many espresso machine users have encountered this issue, longing for a solution that keeps their coffee piping hot.
Efficient Warming Tray Design
The Breville Café Roma incorporates a warming tray that is meticulously designed to heat up to six espresso cups.
Crafted from a single piece of durable aluminum, the warming tray is strategically placed on top of the machine for easy access.
This multifunctional tray not only warms the cups but also doubles as a cup warmer plate, ensuring that your coffee is enjoyed at the ideal temperature from the first sip to the last.
Simple Usage for Optimal Results
Utilizing the warming tray of the Café Roma is effortless.
Just place your cup on the warming plate before brewing, and it will start preheating, guaranteeing hotter coffee that tantalizes your taste buds.
This thoughtful feature allows you to indulge in a more pleasant and satisfying coffee experience, where each sip is greeted with the perfect level of warmth.
Simplified Brewing Experience: Ease of Use
Tired of complicated espresso machines with numerous settings and controls? We feel your pain!
In this subsection, we explore the user-friendly nature of the Breville Café Roma, designed to provide a hassle-free brewing experience for both novice coffee enthusiasts and experienced baristas alike.
User-Friendly Design
The Breville Café Roma takes pride in its user-friendly design, making it a perfect choice for those seeking simplicity without compromising on quality.
Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced coffee lover, this machine offers an intuitive interface that requires minimal effort to operate.
Equipped with essential features, it provides everything you need to create café-quality beverages right in the comfort of your home.
Effortless Operation
Operating the Breville Café Roma is a breeze, thanks to its straightforward controls.
With just two basic controls, namely the Selector knob and the ON/OFF switch, the machine ensures a seamless brewing experience.
The ON/OFF switch simplifies the power control, with one side turning it on and the other side turning it off.
Meanwhile, the Selector Knob offers easy navigation, allowing you to select the desired brewing options effortlessly.
Practicality for Busy Lifestyles
For individuals constantly on the go, the Breville Café Roma’s ease of use is a valuable asset. Its simplified operation eliminates the need for time-consuming adjustments and complex settings.
Whether you’re rushing to the gym or heading to work, this espresso machine ensures a quick and efficient brewing process, enabling you to enjoy a delicious cup of espresso without unnecessary delays or frustrations.
Built to Last: The Impressive Durability
When it comes to the Breville Café Roma espresso machine, durability is a standout feature that sets it apart from the rest.
Despite its affordable price point, the Café Roma boasts exceptional build quality and components that exceed expectations.
From the choice of materials to the simplicity of its design, every aspect of this machine is crafted to ensure long-lasting performance and reliability.
The primary material used in constructing the Café Roma is stainless steel, which brings a multitude of advantages.
Firstly, stainless steel is highly resistant to corrosion, making it an ideal choice for a machine that comes into contact with water and steam on a regular basis.
This corrosion resistance not only extends the lifespan of the machine but also helps maintain its pristine appearance over time.
In addition to its durability, stainless steel imparts a touch of elegance to the Café Roma.
Its sleek and modern aesthetic enhances the overall look and feel of the machine, elevating the style of any kitchen or coffee station.
Another advantage of the Café Roma’s simple design is the reduction of extraneous features.
By focusing on the essentials, Breville has created a machine with fewer parts that could potentially break or wear out over time.
This thoughtful approach enhances the overall reliability of the machine, giving you the peace of mind that your Café Roma will continue to deliver consistent results for years to come.
Furthermore, the compact size of the Café Roma is worth mentioning. With dimensions of just 12” x 12” x 15”, this espresso machine is designed to fit seamlessly into various kitchen setups, even those with limited countertop space.
Included Accessories With The Café Roma
The Breville Café Roma comes with several accessories that are included in the package. Here is a list of the accessories that come with the machine:
- Stainless Steel Milk Jug
- Tamping Tool/ Measuring Spoon/ Cleaning Tool
- Tamper
- Single and double espresso filters
- Instruction Manual & Quick Start Guide
It comes with pretty much everything you need to get started and we love the fact that Breville doesn’t skimp on the accessories with this machine.
Cleaning and Maintenance of the Breville Café Roma
Keeping your Breville Café Roma in optimal condition is essential for ensuring its longevity and consistently excellent espresso.
The machine’s straightforward design and stainless steel casing make cleaning a breeze.
Here are some key tips for cleaning and maintaining your Café Roma:
Regular Cleaning Routine
Incorporate a regular cleaning routine into your espresso-making ritual.
After each use, dispose of the used coffee grounds, wipe down the stainless steel surfaces with a damp cloth, and empty the drip tray to prevent any residue buildup.
Descaling
Over time, mineral deposits can accumulate inside the machine, affecting its performance.
It’s important to descale the Café Roma periodically to remove these deposits.
Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for the recommended descaling frequency and procedure.
This will help maintain the optimal taste and functionality of your machine.
Drip Tray Maintenance
Unlike some higher-end models, the Café Roma lacks a warning system for a full drip tray.
Therefore, it’s crucial to monitor the water level in the drip tray to prevent overflow and a potential wet countertop. Regularly check the drip tray and empty it as needed.
Exterior Cleaning
In addition to the internal components, it’s important to keep the exterior of the Café Roma clean.
Use a mild detergent or stainless steel cleaner to wipe down the casing and maintain its sleek appearance.
Buyer’s Guide to Choosing a Budget Espresso Machine
If you’re in the market for an espresso machine on a budget, there are several key factors to consider to ensure you make the right choice.
Here’s a helpful guide to help you navigate your options:
Budget
Determine your budget for both the espresso machine and grinder. Experts recommend allocating around 40% of your budget to a high-quality grinder, as it plays a crucial role in achieving a consistent grind size.
Types of Espresso Drinks
Consider the type of espresso drinks you enjoy.
Whether you prefer cappuccinos, lattes, straight espressos, or Americanos, different machine types like single boilers, heat exchangers, or dual boilers may suit your preferences better.
Frequency and Quantity
Think about how often you’ll be making espresso and the number of drinks you’ll be preparing at once.
This will help determine the size and capacity of the brewing unit and/or boiler that will best serve your needs.
Kitchen Space
Evaluate the available space in your kitchen for the espresso machine. Consider the dimensions of various machines to ensure you select one that fits comfortably in your kitchen setup.
Grinder Selection
Choose a high-quality burr grinder that complements your espresso machine.
Consistent and precise grinding is essential for achieving optimal extraction and flavor.
Additional Factors
Take into account other important factors such as the pressure pump system, temperature consistency, milk steaming capability, pressurization method, shot pulling options, automation features, electronic displays, tea water dispenser, and steam wand functionalities.
Maintenance
Keep in mind that regular maintenance is necessary to keep your espresso machine running smoothly and ensure the quality of your coffee.
Establish a cleaning and maintenance routine, including regular check-ups and the periodic replacement of certain parts.
By considering these factors, you can make an informed decision and find a budget espresso machine that meets your specific needs while still delivering a satisfying espresso experience.
The Verdict
The Breville Café Roma is an excellent choice for coffee enthusiasts of all levels.
Whether you’re a beginner looking to venture into the world of espresso or a seasoned barista seeking a reliable and user-friendly machine, the Café Roma delivers.
With its affordable price, practical features, and impressive brewing capabilities, this entry-level espresso machine is a solid investment.
If you value simplicity, durability, and the ability to craft barista-quality beverages at home, the Breville Café Roma is the perfect choice for you.
FAQ’s
How long does a Breville Cafe Roma last?
The Breville Cafe Roma ESP8XL should have a lifespan of approximately 5-10 years with proper care and maintenance.
Does Breville Cafe Roma make regular coffee?
While the Breville Cafe Roma is mainly designed for creating espresso-based drinks, it can also be utilized to brew regular coffee by utilizing ground coffee or E.S.E. pods.
Does Breville Cafe Roma use pods?
The Breville Cafe Roma is indeed compatible with ESE pods, allowing you to conveniently brew your favorite beverages with ease.
Does the Breville Cafe Roma have a grinder?
No, the Breville Cafe Roma does not come with a built-in grinder.
How much pressure is in a Cafe Roma?
The Breville Cafe Roma is equipped with a powerful 15-bar pump pressure system.
This optimal pressure ensures the maximum extraction of crema, the delightful frothy layer that enhances the flavor and aroma of your espresso shot.
