Know Your Espresso Machine
The Breville Café Venezia Espresso Machine — A powerful machine in one small package. Easy Eject filter system allows user to effortlessly change between three filters.
Makes delicious cappuccinos, lattes, mochas, and more. Includes stainless steel frothing pitcher.
A. Thermocoil Heating System. | B. Heating Light. |
C. Auto Purge™ System – for optimal coffee extraction. | D. Power Button. |
E. Cleaning Tool Storage – located at the front of the machine under the left of the group head. | F. Milk Frothing Jug. |
G. Advanced Dual-Wall Crema System – for ideal crema. | H. Selector Control – for espresso or steam function. |
I. Die-Cast Cup Warming Tray. | J. Stainless Steel Housing. |
K. Easy Eject™ Filter System. | L. 45° Pivoting Steam Wand – with stainless steel frothing attachment. |
M. 4.5″ Head Elevation – for full sized mugs. | N. Removable Drip Tray – with stainless steel grid. |
O. Items That Are Not Shown | |
93 fl.oz removable water tank with hinges handle. Single, Double, and pod stainless steel filters. Tamping tool/measuring spoon. |
Set Up
Set up of your Café Venezia is quick and easy.
- Remove the water tank from the back of the machine and fill with cold filtered water. Do not use demineralized or mineral water or any other liquid.
- Replace the tank and close the water tank lid.
- Plug the machine in and turn on the ‘POWER’ button. The ‘POWER’ button surround will illuminate and the red ‘HEATING’ light will illuminate as well.
- Select the Filter that will be used and place it in the Portafilter, making sure to press down until the Filter snaps in place. Do NOT put any coffee or ESE pods into the Portafilter at this time.
- Making sure the handle is pointed towards the ‘INSERT’ graphic, push the Portafilter into the group head of the machine. Turn the handle to the right or ‘LOCK’ position to secure it. Place an empty coffee cup beneath the portafilter
- Once the red ‘HEATING’ light has gone off, turn the Selector Control to the espresso cup graphic on the lower left side.
- A pumping noise will be heard during this and water will begin running through the group head and into the cup, accomplishing a few things:
- Preheating the Filter.
- Preheating the Portafilter
- Priming the pump and heating the internal piping.
- Remove the Portafilter and eject the Filter. Wipe both dry thoroughly and replace the Filter back into the Portafilter.
Before First Use
- Safely remove and dispose of all packaging materials and promotional stickers.
- Wipe the outer housing with a soft damp cloth and dry thoroughly.
- Lift up the handle of the water tank, located at the back of the machine, and remove the tank. Wash with warm soapy water using non-abrasive washing liquid. Rinse and dry thoroughly.
- Remove the filters and portafilter from the machine. Wash them with warm soapy water and a soft cloth. Rinse and dry thoroughly.
Warranty
All Breville® products have at least a one-year limited product warranty, valid from the date of purchase. Should your Breville® product have a defect in product material or workmanship within the Warranty period, Breville® will arrange to have your original product returned to us, and either deliver an identical or comparable replacement to you, free of charge, or apply such other remedy as described below. Some models may have longer warranty periods on the product or specific components so please consult the individual product warranty for complete terms and conditions.
DO NOT RETURN PRODUCT TO THE STORE*
Please follow these instructions, subject to the terms of the Warranty, to receive faster service:
1. Write down the product model number, batch code (this is a 3 or 4 digit number) and/or serial number. These can be found on a sticker or molded into the product housing and are typically located underneath or on the back of the product
2. Have the original or a copy of the sales receipt.
3. Contact Breville®. Please see Breville® USA contact information below.
4. If the product, or one of its parts, qualifies for replacement or service under the Warranty, Breville® will send a pre-paid shipping label via email so that the product may be sent to Breville® at no cost to you. Upon receipt of the product, Breville® may ship the replacement or contact you with further information regarding repair of the product. Typical turnaround time to address Warranty claims is up to 10 business days, plus shipping, depending on your geographical location and type of damage or Warranty claim.
5. For additional protection of the product and and to ensure secure handling while a product is being returned for any Warranty repair, Breville® recommends that you use Breville’s shipping label or a traceable, insured delivery service. Breville® is not responsible for any damage while a product is in transit.
For the complete terms of warranty, see the warranty PDF:
One-Year Limited Product Warranty.pdf
* California residents – please see paragraph entitled “Warranty Notice to California Residents Only” on page 4.
Care and Use
- The water tank should be filled with fresh cold water before use. Check the water level before every use and replace the water daily.
- When brewing for a mug of coffee, always use the 2 Cup Filter.
- The recommended amounts per filter are 1 fl.oz of coffee for the 1 Cup Filter and 2 fl.oz of coffee for the 2 Cup Filter.
- The machine remains ready for brewing and maintains a constant heating temperature so long as the ‘POWER’ switch is left ‘On’. If the temperature should drop, the red ‘HEATING’ light will illuminate and the machine will automatically heat up to the correct brewing temperature.
- If a more silky, less fluffy, texture is desired from the milk, remove the frothing attachment from the Steam Wand and steam the milk with just the wand. To remove the frothing attachment, ensure it is cool then simply pull down and remove.
- When replacing the frothing attachment, ensure that it is firmly pushed onto the steam wand. For best results, always use fresh cold milk.
- After steaming, it may be noted that the drip tray will have water in it. This is normal and is the result of the Auto-Purge™ Function, ensuring that the water used for the next espresso is not at the super-heated temperature used for steam, but at the proper espresso extraction temperature. With this feature, it may be required to check and empty the drip tray more then expected.
- Make sure to wipe off any excess coffee from the rim of the filter and portafilter as this can prevent a proper seal from being achieved under the group head.
Care
Breville is proud that our machines are made with the finest quality materials. However, with all machine, a little bit of maintenance and care is needed to ensure you will enjoy your espresso machine for years to come.
After Every Use
- Remove the froth enhancer and rinse under warm tap water.
- Wipe the steam wand with a damp cloth. Then, with the wand directed back into the drip tray, briefly set the ‘SELECTOR CONTROL’ so the ‘STEAM’ position for a few seconds to clear out any milk that may be inside the steam wand.
- If the steam wand becomes blocked, use the pin end of the Cleaning Tool to unblock the fine holes on the tip of the steam wand.
- If the wand continues to be blocked, use the spanner, or opening, in the center of the Cleaning Tool to unscrew the tip and soak it in hot water for 10 to 20 minutes before using the Clean Tool pin end to open the holes.
- The Filters and Portafilter should be rinsed under warm water immediately after use to flush any residual coffee grounds or oils and prevent them from blocking the holes.
- The group head interior should be wiped down with a soft damp cloth to remove any remaining coffee particles.
- Wipe the outer housing with a soft damp cloth, but do not use any abrasive cleaners or cloths which can scratch the surfaces.
- Remove the drip tray grid and slide the drip tray out from the machine. Turn the drip tray on it’s side over a sink and allow the coffee and water to pour out then rinse and wipe thoroughly under warm water, paying special attention to the ‘Empty Me!’ full indicator as the swing hinge can cease moving freely if there is coffee or grounds built up around it.
- Wipe all parts and accessories dry thoroughly and replace in the machine.
Every 2 to 3 Months
- Decalcification may be required on your machine a bit more often then every 2 to 3 months depending on the mineral content of the water you use, however, that is the generally recommended time frame.
- Empty the water tank and create a solution of 1 part white vinegar and 1 part water, half and half for the full tank.
- Put the most used Filter into the Portafilter and lock this into the group head with NO coffee in it.
- Place a large empty container beneath the group head and one beneath the steam wand.
- Plug the Café Venezia in the turn the ‘POWER’ button on.
- Once the red ‘HEATING’ light goes out, turn the Selector Control to espresso and allow half the tank to run out into the container.
- Turn the Selector Control to ‘STANDBY’ and empty the container.
- Turn the Selector Control to ‘STEAM’ and allow steam to come out of the steam wand for a full minute or two.
- Turn the Selector Control to ‘STANDBY’ and empty the steam container.
- Allow the solution to remain in the machine for 1 to 2 hours which the machine still turned on to keep the water heated.
- Empty any remaining solution from the water tank, wash thoroughly and rinse well. Refill the tank with cold fresh filtered water and replace in the machine.
- Replace the container beneath both the group head and the steam wand.
- Turn the Selector Control to espresso and allow half the tank to empty through the group head.
- Turn the Selector Control to ‘STANDBY’ and remove and empty the container.
- Turn the Selector Control to ‘STEAM’ and allow steam to come out of the steam wand for a full minute or two to flush the solution from the steam wand.
- Remove and empty the container from beneath the steam wand and refill the tank, once again, with fresh cold filtered water
Making Espresso
- Pre-Warm the Cups. – The Cup warming tray will warm up as the machine heats the water. Place the cups that will be used on top of the tray after rinsing them with hot water. This will ensure that less heat is lost when the espresso comes from the group head and into the cups. The more the espresso retains it’s heat, the better the flavor will be.
- Preparing the Coffee – For the 1 cup Filter, use one level measure of ground espresso coffee, using the enclosed measuring scoop/tamping tool, and use two level measures for the 2 cup Filter. The ESE Pod filter is suited for 1 ESE pod containing about 7oz. of grounds. This is the proper dosage for a 1 cup extraction of espresso.
- Tamping the Ground Coffee – Tap the bottom of the Portafilter on a firm flat surface once or twice to make sure that the grounds are evenly distributed. Using the tamping end of the measuring spoon, press down firmly, with your thumb in the middle of the top of the tamping tool, and make sure that the grounds are depressed about 1/8 of an inch below the surface of the top rim of the filter.
- Texturing Milk – Pour the desired amount of cold fresh milk into the stainless steel frothing jug(the jug should be about 1/3 full).
- Turn the Selector Control to ‘STEAM’ and the red ‘HEATING’ light should come on. At the same time, some water should drip slowly from the steam wand. This is normal as the water inside the actual steam wand is not yet heated to the proper temperature to create steam.
- Once the steam begins to come out of the wand, turn the Selector Control to ‘STANDBY’ and slide the milk jug under the steam wand, holding it at an angle so the steam wand tip sits just at or barely below the surface of the milk then quickly turn the Selector Control to ‘STEAM’.
- Tilt the bottom of the jug just slightly towards the machine. This will give the steam pressure a direction to push the milk, making it begin to swirl as well as foam.
- Once there is the desired amount of foam in the jug, tip it up and immerse the end of the steam wand in the milk, now it’s just working to get it heated to the correct temperature.
- When the bottom of the milk jug is hot to the touch, turn the Selector Control to ‘STANDBY’ and lower the milk jug away from the steam wand.
- If the bubbles in the milk are a little large, tap the bottom of the jug on the counter a few times. This will settle the foam a bit and should release those larger bubbles.
Troubleshooting
- The Roast – The darker the roast, the glossier the surface of the beans will be. This means that the oils have been roasted to the surface and these will need to be used fairly quickly to prevent evaporation of the oils. Letting glossy beans wait in unsealed containers will dry them out and, when brewed, will produce a result that is lacking in the normal, rich créma.
- Freshness of Grind – Pre-ground coffee will also allow more of the oils to evaporate before they can be used. The results of using pre-ground espresso that has a roasted on date that is very much in the past is that the espresso will be lacking the full créma, may be less aromatic, and may come out watery, thin. Keeping pre-ground espresso in an air-tight container and making sure that it is finely ground to provide the most surface area for the water to pull out the remaining oils can help with these issues for pre-ground espresso.
- Coarseness – The grind of the coffee is very important. Twenty coffee beans ground on a very coarse setting will take up more room then twenty beans ground on an incredibly fine setting. If darker, oilier beans are used, the grind will need to be fine to make sure that the highest amount of oils are utilized during extraction. Milder roasts will not need to be as fine in order to get the same quantities of oil and flavor intensity. If the beans are older, the grind, again, will need to be a bit finer in order to make sure the most oils possible are extracted. However, too fine of a grind can cause the water to only drip out during extraction, making the espresso taste a bit burnt. Too coarse and the water will flow out too quickly, leaving the espresso weak.
- Tamping Depth – The tamping of the grounds is the next coffee factor. Depending on the coarseness of the grind being used, more or less coffee may need to be added to the portafilter. A general guide is that, once tamped, the coffee grounds should be about 1/8th of an inch below the top edge of the portafilter. For a visual, that’s about this long _. It should be roughly this low to allow the coffee to be close enough to where the water comes out so that a good pressure seal can be created easily but far enough away that the grounds are not pressing up into the shower head that the water is coming out of, effectively blocking them. The tamp of the grounds should force the grounds down that 1/8th of an inch below the top edge of the portafilter. If the coffee is pressed too far down, the water will just flow through it quickly. If it is too close to the shower head, it will barely drip out.
- Tamping Pressure – Tamping pressure is also a factor in the extraction. Packing down the grounds as hard as possible will not allow enough room for the water to flow through. Not packing down the grounds tight enough will produce weak results as the water will flow through too quickly. The general idea is to put around 30 lbs of pressure on the grounds when tamping. Getting the entire section of ground coffee compressed with just a tamp is impossible, however, 30 lbs of pressure will compact the upper portion enough to force the water to around 9 bars of pressure to get the fluid through the grounds. While the upper portion provides the initial resistance to make good créma, it’s the slightly looser grounds at the bottom that keep the flavor pressure up. Once water hits the grounds, they expand and while the upper portion is the initial resistance, once the bottom portion expands with moisture, it, too, provides similar resistance and pressure. 30 lbs will compact the upper section of grounds to make the rich aromatic créma generally sought.
- Non-Fat Milk – When frothing milk, the lower the fat content, the ‘bigger’ the foam. The results will be a lot of foam with larger bubbles in it. Non-fat milk is best at this. Due to a lack of fats, the liquid is able to create and maintain larger fluffier froth/bubbles. If the goal is ‘microfoam’, the smaller-bubbles, more silky textured foam then fat is needed. If the froth is not the consistency that is desired, using a higher fat content milk is suggested.
- Low-Fat Milk – The higher the fat content of the milk, the higher the temperature will need to be in order to create the foam. Low-Fat or 2% Milk is s mixture of the silky fat enhanced milk and the bubblier non-fat milk. It will take longer to get the quality and volume that is intended with a higher fat content but the results will be closer to the silky texture
- Whole Milk – Whole Milk is about 4% fat content and will take a higher temperature and longer heating/frothing time in order to reach the resulting silky foam. The volume of the milk will increase as the steam is added but it will take a bit of time before that silky textured foam results.
Lack of Steam
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- If the steam wand is not producing steam or not enough steam, it’s important to make sure that the heating light is not lit while turning on the steam.
- Make sure that the steam wand tip is not clogged. Using the needle end of the cleaning tool, slide the needle into the hole at the tip of the steam wand, breaking through any clog that may be there. Once done, if the heating light is not on, turn on the steam and allow it to run for 10 seconds.
- To prevent the steam wand from being clogged, after each use, turn the steam on and allow it to run for 10 seconds, steaming into the drip tray to clear any milk that may be inside the tip from the last frothing done.
- It is important to note that when the steam is initially started each time, a small amount of water will drip out. The water that remains in the steam wand after steaming will cool and condense back from steam into water and this will be forced out before the steam comes out.
- When descaling the espresso machine, make sure to run some of the solution through the steam wand. Since steam and water do come out of the wand, it, too, will have mineral deposits and the descaling will help in preventing clogs.
- The Portafilter and Filter – When the espresso is brewed, the temperature of the liquid coming out of the machine, before it hits the coffee, is around 200°F (generally between 195°F and 205°F). While some heat loss is expected and even desired to get the espresso to a comfortable drinking temperature, too much can alter the flavor of the coffee. If the espresso is cooled too much during brewing, the flavor can be sharper or a bit bitter. To help in preventing this, we recommend that the portafilter, with the metal filter inserted, be locked into the brew head with no coffee in it and a single shot be run through it. This will heat up the metal to a temperature much closer to the water brewing temperature and prevent that sour flavor. Once the water is through, remove the portafilter, dry it thoroughly, and add in the coffee to begin the shot.
- The Cup – Once the water leaves the portafilter, it is falling down and into the cup. If the cup is cold it can greatly reduce the temperature of the espresso prior to drinking. Between 160°F and 180°F is considered a comfortable drinking temperature. However, the hot espresso entering a cup that is significantly lower in temperature then the water brewing temperature of around 200°F can cause the liquid to drop below that comfortable level. This can cause the espresso to taste off and not be at all appetizing. We recommend that when the portafilter is being pre-heated with a single shot with no coffee, the water falls into the cup to be used for the drink. Let the water stay in the cup, heating it, until immediately before extracting the shot.
- Other Temperatures – If the cup has been warmed as well as the portafilter and filter, please note that it is also vitally important to descale the espresso machine. Mineral deposits can build up along the thermo-coil heater and prevent the full transfer of heat to the water. We recommend that, with regular once a day use, the espresso machine be descaled every 2 to 3 months. If hard water is being used or the espresso machine is being used more often, the time can be lessened to every 1 to 2 months between descalings.
- Using the right water is essential to achieving the best flavor from coffee and making sure the machine operates without interruption. We do not recommend using highly filtered or demineralized water such as reverse osmosis, ultra filtered, demineralized or zero-filtered waters. The machine is not designed to operate with these kinds of filtered water as there is too little or no mineral content which is required for the sensors within the machine to operate. These types of waters can also alter the taste of the coffee from what one would normally expect.If these types are waters must be used, we recommend adding in a small bottle (6oz) of spring or tap water when filling the water tank to provide the minimal content of minerals required for the machine to operate without hassle.