Breville The Grind Control Coffee Maker Review

Design and features

• Premium build
• LCD Display
• User-friendly 

The Breville Grind Control Coffee Maker arrived in a brown cardboard box, and inside of that, a branded box. It was well-packaged to prevent damage during the shipping process. 

The contents include the coffee maker’s body and thermal carafe, user manual, quick start guide.

The 0.5-pound bean hopper is on the top back of the coffee maker. It has a locking system that seals the base, making it easy to remove. The bean hopper also has a lid to keep the coffee beans fresh.

The water tank is also on the top, near the front, which makes it convenient to pour water into the machine. On some coffee makers, the water tank is in the back, and if that part of the coffee maker is under my countertop, I have to pull the machine out or turn it sideways to fill with water. So, I appreciated not having to do that. The Breville Grind Control’s water tank holds 60 ounces of water (which makes 12 cups of coffee).  

There’s a steam vent on the rear of the coffee maker. Steam comes out when grinding coffee beans and brewing coffee.

The coffee basket is on the front side, under the control panel. There’s a swing-out door that opens when the Open button is depressed. Behind it is the coffee basket, which is removable. Breville includes a gold tone filter, but you can also use flat bottom paper filters (for 8-12 cup coffee makers) instead.

The 12-cup double-walled stainless-steel carafe eliminates the need for a hot plate and it keeps coffee hot for hours (when you keep the lid on it), while being cool to the touch. However, for several minutes after the brew cycle has ended, the bottom is still hot, and I had to remember to put it on a silicone trivet mat so it wouldn’t ruin my countertops. 

The controls are on the top front of the coffee maker. The top row includes the Open button, which releases the swing-out door to access the coffee basket. 

The LCD display shows how much water is in the tank, as well as the selected number of cups, brew strength, and time. Next to the display panel is the Start/Cancel button.

The lower level of the control panel includes the Menu/Exit button, Cup/Carafe selection, Strength selection, and Auto Start. The coffee maker is programmable, so if you fill it with water and coffee beans/grounds, you can schedule it to start brewing at a specific time. The Menu/Exit button is where the clock is set, alert volumes are adjusted, the machine is reset, and more.

The display panel also provides alerts, such as reminders to empty the coffee filter.

The coffee maker only has six grind settings, which honestly, is not a problem for me. However, some coffee makers provide over a dozen (or dozens) of settings, and if you prefer a more precise grind, it’s definitely something to consider. 

Breville provides a cleaning brush to help clean the burrs and the coffee grinds chute.

Performance

• Adjustable burr grind provides control
• Customizable brew strength
• Thermal carafe keep coffee hot

The Breville Grind Control performed marvelously. Coffee is much more flavorful and aromatic when it hasn’t been ground in advance, so I appreciate the ability to grind the beans immediately before brewing. The stainless-steel burrs allow the integrated grinder to work quickly and provide a consistent grind, whether it’s coarse, fine, or somewhere in-between. 

There are 6 grind settings, and I usually set the grinder on 3 or 4.  For some people that may not be enough options. For example, the stand-alone grinder in the Aarke Coffee System has 60 (no, that’s not a typo) grind settings – which is 54 more settings than you’ll get with the Breville Grind Control. However, keep in mind that the Aarke Coffee System is also $800 – and the coffee grinder, when purchased separately, is $400. But again, I found Breville’s 6 grind settings to be more than sufficient for my needs. 

For my first test, I made a carafe of coffee. After filling the hopper with coffee beans, I pressed the Open button to open the filter basket’s swing out door, and then inserted the gold filter basket.

Then, I poured water into the water tank. Unlike almost every other coffee maker I’ve ever tested, the water in the tank is not visible – but that’s not a problem, since the display reveals how much water is in the tank at any given time (for example, there’s a 4 next to the water tank to indicate there’s enough water for four cups).

After pressing the Cup/Carafe button, the control panel displays a carafe symbol and the number of cups selected. I can rotate the dial to change the number of cups (anywhere from 2 cups to 12 cups). If I happen to select a quantity that’s less than the amount of water in the tank, the screen will display Fill Tank, and the water tank icon will also flash.

After pressing the Start/Cancel button, the grinder starts. 

The Brevile Ground Control has eight strength settings: one is the weakest strength and eight is the strongest strength. I found that three or four is the sweet spot for a medium strength, and it worked perfectly. However, during the testing process, I also tried other settings just to gauge their effectiveness and determine if they really produced a stronger or weaker brew. The settings are indeed accurate.

After grinding, the countdown timer starts, and Pre-Heating displays on the LCD screen. Breville notes that this is only an estimate, and the brew size and brew strength selections will determine the actual time. 

After the pre-heating cycle finished, Brewing displayed on the screen. There’s a Brew Pause feature that will stop the coffee from coming out when the carafe is removed. This is for people who like to pour a cup of coffee before the cycle is over. I never do that, since that particular cup tends to be stronger, and the rest of the coffee is weaker. However, for purposes of the test, I did stop it one time – just to ensure that the coffee flow does indeed stop. However, this feature should not be used for more than 20 seconds at a time. With some coffee makers, if you remove the carafe for longer than recommended, the brewer will shut off. However, with the Breville Grind Control, the water is being held in the brew basket, and after 20 seconds, the water may start spilling out of the basket and onto the countertop.

In five or six minutes, the brew cycle was over, indicated by a beep, and I removed the thermal carafe to pour the coffee into my mug. I’ve always been a thermal carafe fan. Given a choice between glass and stainless steel, I’ll always choose the latter. However, this carafe is particularly impressive. The lid doesn’t need to be adjusted before pouring, since it automatically opens when pouring, and then automatically closes to keep the coffee hot. 

One day, about 45 minutes after I’d made a pot of coffee, I removed the carafe’s lid and could still feel the heat coming from the inside of the carafe. That’s an excellent level of heat retention. However, keep in mind that although the carafe is generally cool to the touch, the bottom may be hot to the touch for several minutes after brewing, so don’t sit the carafe on your countertop – or other surface – until it’s sufficiently cool at the bottom.

The first carafe of coffee was excellent. The coffee was full-bodied, and since it was freshly ground, the flavors jumped out. At the time, I was using Keats & Co Calypso coffee beans, a light roast with baked apple and brown sugar flavors, along with notes of sweet berries.  

When testing how the Breville Grind Control handled smaller amounts of coffee, I followed the same steps to fill the water tank; however, I selected the Single Cup mode and then either two cups, three cups, or four cups – depending on which test I was conducting.  

The single cup mode coffee was also delicious and I was able to taste the citrusy flavor profile, which balanced just the right amount of acidity for a brew that was sweet, yet slightly bitter. I appreciate that it did not compromise the coffee’s quality.

Photo single mode brew

When using larger mugs in single cup mode, I needed to remove the drip tray so there would be enough room for it to fit. All of my travel mugs were actually too big to fit – even when removing the drip tray – and that’s why I don’t have photos of them. The maximum cup/mug height is 7.5 inches. 

I also tested the ability to make pre-ground coffee. By rotating the Strength dial to the Pre-ground setting, the grinder was disabled, and I was able to open the brew filter basket and add coffee grounds. The coffee was delicious; however, as expected, it was not quite as fresh and flavorful as the coffee that’s brewed immediately from freshly-ground coffee beans.

The Breville Grind Control does an excellent job of adjusting the strength to ensure that both small and large quantities of coffee are equally as robust and flavorful. 

Online, I read a few reviews that mentioned that maintenance for the Breville Grind Control is quite tedious. Admittedly, I needed to remove the coffee filter basket and clean it. However, when not testing, I tend to use paper filters most of the time to avoid having to clean the gold tone filter. I also rinsed the chute area of the basket, and also rinsed the carafe and lid after each use – but I would do that anyway. At least once a week, I also washed the carafe and lid in soapy water. 

Occasionally, I would remove the bean hopper and lid and wash them in soapy water as well. 

Monthly, I would clean the grinding burrs and coffee grinds chute using the included cleaning brush. The Breville Grind Control does require more maintenance than a coffee maker without an integrated grinder; however, regarding maintenance with a grinder, these steps are pretty typical, regardless of the brand.

Should you buy it?