The hot weather has arrived and, with it, the need to switch our morning coffee for something a little more chilled. If you’re worried that having to swap your 9AM caffeine fix for something less peppy might leave you feeling sluggish, we have a solution: Breville's iced coffee machine.
We first got our hands on one of these a couple of years ago, back when it was first released, and it's been a lifesaver every summer since. It means you never have to go without your coffee fix at home – even when drinking your regular hot cappuccino sounds hellish.
Best of all? It's currently on sale with a good 33% discount, bringing the price to £29.99, down from £44.99. Here's what we thought when we tried it.
Breville iced coffee machine review
The machine is reasonably priced at £45 sans discount – and nearly half that with the Prime Day reductions. It comes with a tumbler with a screw-on lid and a straw, so you can take it with you on-the-go without worrying about spills. This portability makes a welcome treat for those times you’re stuck on hot commuter trains on in-office days, especially.
It’s impressively lightweight and smaller than your average coffee machine, taking up little worktop space. It also means it slots neatly into a cupboard, making for easy storage during the colder months.
Using the machine is easy. Ultimately, you should have a tasty iced coffee in your hands within four minutes.
Fill the tumbler up to the liquids line with water, pour it into the machine and let it heat up. It makes an odd sound which can be alarming at first, but don't worry – it’s just the water boiling.
Then fill up the tumbler with ice the top and position it under the coffee spout. Add a scoop of coffee (I used espresso that I ground with my bean-to-cup machine) into the filter basket, press the button on the side and you’re ready to go!
Once it’s done, you can add syrups, sugar, milk or some whipped cream to make it tastier, although it’s delicious just as it is.
One flaw? You can’t use the machine with milk to make iced lattes, which is a shame. With a little experimentation, you could potentially fill the tumbler with cold milk and alter the water content to create a short espresso to brew into the milk, but there’s no guarantee this will work.
All in all though, it was a real novelty to make proper iced coffee at home and the tumbler is great. That all the removable parts are dishwasher-safe is an added bonus. Now the weather is warmer, for a sub £50 investment, this is a worthy buy.
Pick up the Breville iced coffee maker here from Amazon.
Charley is former Homes Ecommerce Editor. During her time at Hearst UK, Charley wrote over 300 buying guides and reviews, getting her hands on as many new launches as possible to help you find the best products for your home.
