Looking for an inexpensive way to make espresso in your office or at home? Look no further than Breville’s Café Venezia Espresso Machine. I have been using the Café Venezia Espresso Machine for over a month now and I am thoroughly enjoying it! What a great little espresso machine.
With Breville’s Café Venezia Espresso Machine I can make delicious cappuccinos, lattes, mochas, and more. It is a real treat to have in the office. A lot of offices have the various coffee pod machines that are available. But having an espresso maker beats those in my opinion for taste, enjoyment and in the end the espresso machine is also more economical. The cost of making an espresso or other coffee beverage is cheaper per cup and there is less waste (only the coffee grounds to dispose of, no plastic pods or other material waste). And it is much cheaper than spending $4-$6 per cup in cafés daily too.
Breville’s Cafe Venezia Espresso Machine features a compact stainless steel design which is great in an office or small kitchen – it doesn’t take up a lot of space. It also features temperature control, a 15 bar Italian pump and dual wall filters which assists in the creation of a thicker, richer crema. The top of the machine features a die-cast cup warming tray. It is also super easy to clean out the used coffee grounds after each use with the easy eject filter system. I enjoy using the steam wand and frothing my own milk (which you cannot do with the various pod machines). It is fun to do and you can test out your latté art skills.
Capacity
This Breville Café Venezia Espresso Machine has a 2.75 litre removable and transparent water tank, with a level indicator. It is easy to add water to it and to see how much is left. It’s the perfect size for a small office. I find that you don’t have to constantly be filling the water tank which is nice.
15 Bar Pump
The Breville Café Venezia Espresso Machine features a 15 bar Italian made pump to deliver the ideal pressure for a complete extraction of oils, coffee solids and aroma.
I have been using the espresso machine for over a month now, making 5-6 cups of coffee a day (no – I am not the only one drinking all that coffee, but imagine how much work I could get done if I did), and there have been no issues with the performance whatsoever.
Thermocoil
The Café Venezia has a built in Thermocoil. Which means that cold water passes through a pathway within what is essentially a block of heated metal. This heating method is designed to offer a consistent temperature that is required to achieve a consistent and optimal espresso temperature. The Thermocoil houses a Stainless Steel tube (or coil) within the metal mass.
Auto Purge
Extraction of coffee with water over 92-94°C will result in a bitter or burnt taste. Only required with Thermocoil machines, the Auto Purge feature flushes the over heated water required for steaming back to the optimal espresso extraction temperature. The Auto Purge feature in the Café Venezia works well! The espresso never tastes burnt or bitter.
Included accessories
The Café Venezia Espresso Machine comes with a stainless steel jug, 50mm portafilter, tamper/measuring spoon and different sized stainless steel filters (single, double and pod). I have not tried the pod sized filter yet. I tend to use the single filter.
I have read some coffee forums that say inexpensive machines are not worth the time or money but I wholeheartedly disagree. I am very satisfied with my Café Venezia Espresso Machine! Maybe I am not enough of a coffee snob to know, but to me, the espresso beverages that I make with my Breville machine taste great, it is super easy to use, and the price of the Café Venezia is affordable ($299.99 CDN). It is perfect for a small office environment and for home use. I have been purchasing coffee that has been ground especially for espresso machines. In future, I will look at getting a good grinder and start grinding my own beans but for now I am satisfied with my daily cappuccinos and lattés.
If you are really creative, you can come up with some interesting latté combinations and even use espresso in smoothie recipes. I came across this recipe from Food Thinkers for Peanut Butter Cup Latté. Yum!
Peanut Butter Cup Latté
Ingredients
- 1 ounce Dark Chocolate syrup
- 1/2 ounce Peanut Butter syrup
- 2 ounces espresso
- 10 ounces steamed milk
- Whipped cream and frozen peanut butter cup chunks
Instructions
- Combine the sauce, syrups and espresso in a serving cup. Steam the 10 ounces of milk and add to the espresso mixture, stirring well.
- Top with the whipped cream and the frozen peanut butter cup chunks for garnish.
I have been using a pumpkin spice syrup that I add to my latté from Amoretti and it tastes amazing! I can enjoy a pumkin spice latté all year round.
Overall
The only negative thing about the Café Venezia Espresso Machine is that it does not have an automatic shut off when you are brewing the espresso. Other than that this espresso machine is great! I would highly recommend it for office use or home use. Especially for those on a budget. I am enjoying my Breville’s Café Venezia Espresso Machine a lot! Now I have to work on my latté art skills and continue searching for new espresso recipes to make.
Disclosure: The Breville Café Venezia Espresso Machine mentioned in this post was supplied by Breville Canada.
