Breville BES250XL Cafe Venezia 15-Bar Stainless-Steel Espresso Machine

I''m not sure why this espresso machine has such a low rating (note: small sample size), but the Cafe Venezia espresso machine has been magical ever since I bought it in March 2010. Since this machine was a bit more complicated than my previous machine, it took a little while to get everything exactly the way I liked it, but now the machine is pretty much perfect.

My one and only complaint would be that it seems to use a lot of water for non-coffee making/milk frothing activities. I''m assuming it''s doing some self cleaning or whatnot, and it''s not all that big of a deal since this thing holds a good amount of water, but the trough (as I like to call it) seems to get filled with water pretty quickly. But really, I''m just nitpicking.

I grind my coffee using a burr grinder on the extra fine setting, and the machine has never blown up on me except for the first time I used it (All espresso machines do this to me for some reason). The frothing wand needs to be cleaned regularly, and if not it turns a weird color, but even if I''m now drinking poison, I welcome my delicious, aromatic death.

We were given this espresso machine as a Christmas present and absolutely LOVED it. We were making our special lattes every morning, the coffee tastes great, everything was working just fine... untillll... water started shooting out of the electronic buttons as tears flowed from my face. It looked like the machine was crying with me. It was a tragic day. We are now debating whether or not we should get the same one and pray for the best or try a different model...

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This machine requires a lot of maintenance to stay functional. Each of the filters needs all the little holes unclogged between almost every use or else it gets clogged a huge time suck. The coffee is luke-warm and although the crema is thick and beautiful, the flavor is mediocre. I wish I still had my simple Kitchen-Aid one that was half the price, reliable & low maintenance.

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This machine looks good, thats it. Everytime you use it you have to unblock the tiny holes in the filter with this needle type tool, washing the filter isn''t enough! This is a major pain! The espresso is not hot, but is does test nice.

So if you want a machine that looks good but aren''t going to use it then this is the one, but if you make espresso everyday like me then buy something else.

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I looked forward to the delivery of this Breville Cafe Venezia espresso/cappuccino machine after much research on the internet as well as phone calls to a few vendors. It was to replace the two units I sequentially owned which were sold by Starbucks, and manufactured by Saeco USA. This Breville model had the same 15 bar pressure, a really nice look, and a similarly large capacity reservoir for water which many units do not. I thought I was home free. NO. It leaked water quite sufficiently between the head and the filter holder (portafilter) which drooled down into the coffee carafe. Then I found that the milk steamer/frother just could not do the job. I''ve been making frothed milk (from half & half, whole milk, 2% milk and soy) for a couple decades now successfully, and this machine just doesn''t do it.

I returned the machine and found that with some adjustments with my Saeco portafilter (the mechanism with a handle which holds the filter basket and inserts into the brewing head) that my original machine itself was still continuing to work just fine. So if you''re looking for a well made espresso/cappuccino machine I''d suggest picking out one that''s made by Saeco. They really seem to know what they''re doing. I''ve had two machines (their current model, Via Venezia, which was sold by Starbucks under two different private labeling: first the Estro Vapore, and later, the Barista). This machine doesn''t grind your beans for you, but it''s a workhorse and a nice looking unit as well.

I found Brevelle''s citrus juicer to be a 5-Star machine and was in hopes that their espresso machine would follow-up with the same quality -but no, I was very unhappy with Breville''s Cafe Venezia.