Krups Precision Review

In recent years, we have witnessed a boom in barista-type coffee machines, specifically portafilter machines with integrated grinders, that come in a set allowing you to prepare an espresso at home with the same quality as in a specialty coffee shop. Krups did not want to miss that train and has launched this Krups Precision.

In this review, with the product in hand, I’ll tell you what I think of it and whether it measures up to coffee machines it directly rivals, such as the Sage Barista Express or the De’Longhi Specialista Arte.

Krups Precision

3.0

Check Price at

Amazon.com

Pump	15 bars
Heating system	Thermoblock
Grinder	Conical, 30 settings
Portafilters and filters	58 mm, 2 pressurized and 2 non-pressurized
Control panel	Analog
Automatic / Manual dosing	/
Manometer
Steam wand	1 hole
Water tank	3 liters
Hot water outlet
Size	31.2 cm × 33.4 cm × 41.3 cm
Weight	10.5 Kg

Unboxing, accessories

The coffee machine is very well protected, packaged almost entirely in cardboard, with a practical handle for easy removal. Inside, there are three other boxes: one containing the accessories, another with the coffee bean hopper, and a smaller one with the milk jug.

Here you can see the Krups Precision freshly taken out of the box. It is a quite elegant and well-made coffee machine, robust, despite the fact that the casing is plastic. Some elements are made of stainless steel, such as the finishes on buttons, the steam wand, and the drip tray grid.

The grinder is conical and made of stainless steel. It is exposed, and you need to assemble the hopper, which comes separately in one of the boxes. The grinder features 30 grind settings, which I will elaborate on in more detail later.

The filters are hidden in a small drawer accessible when you remove the drip tray. There are four 58 mm filters; two are double-walled, and the other two are non-pressurized. There is also a blind filter and a cleaning brush.

Another accessory included is the dosing funnel, made of plastic. Although it’s very basic, it’s nice that it’s included. Surprisingly, it cannot be placed in the portafilter holder during grinding as it does not fit. You will see an image later that illustrates this.

The second small drip tray is placed on the main tray, serving to raise the height and allow for more comfortable placement of small cups, with less space between the cup and the portafilter outlet.

At the back, the usual water tank, this time with a very generous capacity of 3.5 liters, which is greatly appreciated, so you don’t have to refill it every now and then, although doing so is easy thanks to the lid with a handle that allows you to take it out or refill it without needing to remove it.

On top, you can see there is also a tray to place glasses or cups, but that is its only function, as it barely heats up. Just behind the bean hopper, you can see a small space, designed to keep the tamper there.

Preparing espresso and Americano coffee with the Krups Precision

Now I’ll get to what surely interests you most about this Krups Precision. The control panel is quite clear and intuitive: you have a button to select between one and two cups, a pre-infusion setting that allows you to choose a time of 2, 5, or 8 seconds, a three-level temperature setting, the grind adjustment dial (based on time), and another dial to choose between espresso, lungo, Americano, hot water outlet, steam, or descaling mode. In the center, and quite large, is a manometer.

As I mentioned, the grind quantity adjustment dial essentially functions as a timer. Therefore, although the hopper can store a large amount of coffee beans, the ideal for extract a consistent coffee is to pour just the dose of beans we are going to grind into it and leave the dial as far to the right as possible so that they are all ground.

In the image, you can see what I mentioned before: the holder does not allow the portafilter to be placed with the funnel, so you can only put the funnel afterward during puck preparation. Luckily, the ground coffee is poured without much mess, leaving a well-centered mound that allows placing the funnel afterward, preventing the ground coffee from overflowing during preparation.

The tamper is of good quality and allows you to press the ground coffee well and evenly. Still, I always recommend getting a calibrated tamper; it’s much more comfortable to use and offers more consistent results.

The temperature adjustment is very useful, allowing you to quickly select the highest temperature (ideal for medium roast coffees) and the medium or low temperature for dark roast coffees. On the other hand, the pre-infusion consists of a small water pour for one second. With the pre-infusion setting, all we need to do is select the number of seconds that pass until the full extraction begins.

Unfortunately, the grinder of this Krups Precision is the worst quality component, when the grinder should always be the most important component in a coffee machine like this. The problem is that it doesn’t grind fine enough, not even on the finest setting. Its 30 settings are more marketing than anything else. As for espresso, only levels 1 to 3 are useful, and that depends on the type of coffee bean you use. With dark roast coffees, you won’t have problems, but with medium roasts, the fineness of the grind is very, very tight. With light roasts, this grinder is not suitable.

One positive aspect is that in all my tests, the manometer has consistently been within the optimal range. I’m not sure if the coffee machine has the OPV adjusted to 9 bars but it wouldn’t surprise me, as I have even tried using a much finer grind with the Miicoffee DF54 and the manometer has never shown an increase in pressure. This means that, despite the limitations of the grinder, the extraction is smooth and free of channeling, yielding quite decent results, even with the sub-optimal grind level.

Even so, the extractions always stay closer to 20 seconds than 30, as it is almost impossible to create enough resistance in the coffee puck to achieve a long extraction. In short, all this leads to the Krups Precision being a coffee machine that works well for dark roast coffee beans, which, on the other hand, is the most commercially sold type of coffee in large stores, but not very suitable for specialty coffee, which tends to be a medium or light roast.

One way to extend the extraction is to aim for higher ratios than the usual 1:2; that is, prepare lungos (ratio 1:3 or higher), especially if you use medium-roast beans. In this sense, the Krups Precision features a programmed lungo drink on the dial, in addition to espresso and Americano coffee. The volume is programmable in all of them, but can be adjusted within a certain range. I copied the amounts indicated in the manual:

Using the steam wand, cleaning, and maintenance

Another option on that recipe dial is Steam, that is, steam. To texture milk, you have to move the dial to that position, wait a few seconds, and when the light stops flashing, the thermoblock is ready to release steam through the steam wand.

The steam wand has a single hole at the tip, and its power is not excessive. The downside is that it takes almost a minute to texture the milk well and at the correct temperature (around 65ºC), but the good thing about this is that it makes life easier for novices in the matter, as it is a very controlled steaming.

You can achieve a perfect milk texture, lighter for flat whites, cortados, and lattes, or denser for the typical Italian cappuccino or a latte. There is no problem with the steam wand in this regard, although it may lack a bit more mobility. It is also worth noting that it does not perform an automatic purge or rinse after use. Since it doesn’t, it’s advisable not to get distracted and clean it with a kitchen cloth. The tip can also be removed to clean it well inside.

Speaking of cleaning, there is another detail that I didn’t like about this Krups Precision, and that is the group shower, which tends to get very dirty after each use. The problem is that it has slightly larger holes than usual, and quite a bit of coffee sticks to it, so much so that even after wiping it with a cloth, it remains dirty. I think if you buy this coffee machine, it’s a very good idea to get a puck screen (for example, this one).

Regarding cleaning, another detail you might be interested in knowing is that the upper burr of the grinder can be removed. This is very convenient, and I recommend doing it once a week. You can clean the grinder with a brush.

My verdict on the Krups Precision

If you’ve made it this far, you can appreciate that my feeling of disappointment with the Krups Precision is evident. Krups has done many things right with this coffee machine, starting with the design and continuing with some interesting details, such as a fairly comprehensive control panel, a good steam wand, high-quality accessories, and portafilters. However, it has failed in the most crucial aspect: the grinder.

It’s unacceptable for a coffee machine like this to have such a mediocre grinder. What’s the point of having 30 grind settings if the lower settings don’t grind fine enough for medium roast coffees? The Krups Precision is a coffee machine that works reasonably well with dark roast coffees. However, before buying a coffee machine with an integrated grinder that only works well with dark roast coffee, I would recommend buying a good super-automatic machine instead.

As you can see, the Krups Precision is not a coffee machine I can recommend, especially not at this price.