LOVE this machine! I do not claim to be an espresso junkie or aficionado, but I am addicted to lattes and my morning habit was getting to be expensive so we bought this machine for Christmas. It''s AWESOME! One of my main criteria, besides great espresso, was a frothing wand that would really do the job, and this one does. It texturizes the milk beautifully and creates delicious, creamy froth for my lattes and cappuccinos. We''re still working to get the right grind and tamp combination, but I love that you can also use pods in the machine, which is fantastic for decaf! We drink regular espresso in the morning or afternoon, but every once in a while I want a cappuccino at night but it''s not worth keeping the decaf beans or emptying my grinder to replace with decaf so we keep decaf pods on hand for those rare evening cravings. Perfectly convenient! You have to be willing to experiment to get the right tamp/grind combination or your espresso won''t taste too yummy, but if you have some patience and try various combinations it really pays off. And I love the hot water wand heats very quickly and great for hot tea! Super easy to use, pretty easy to clean and maintain, and entirely worth the cost!
Notable stuff:
heats up quickly
advertises that the top of the machine serves as a warming station for your espresso cups, but it doesn''t get nearly warm enough to actually warm the cups (warm by filling with hot water from the hot water dispenser instead)
does not require the use of distilled or filtered water (in fact, the instructions say NOT to use distilled water) just use tap water and decalcify with vinegar occasionally
the drip tray is nice and large-was able to make 6 lattes, including rinsing in between each one, and drip tray still wasn''t full
water reserve is very large and holds plenty of water
"programmable" just means that you can program how large your single shot is and how large your double shot is so that once it''s programmed, you just have to push a button to make a shot of espresso eliminates the guess work that results in inconsistent shots
the pod attachment only works for single shots, as far as I can tell there are no double pods on the market and even if there were, I don''t think they would fit in the pod attachment
This is a review about the quality of the espresso the machine makes, and not about
the short or long term reliability of the machine, since I have only had it for about a month.
I bought coffee beans from a starbuck coffee shop and asked the barista to grind the beans for an espresso maker. Decided not to buy a grinder (since reviews on grinders seem to indicate nothing but trouble). The first results I got were disappointing. No matter how well I packed the 2 shot coffee filter, or how much coffee I packed into it, the pressure on the indicator dial never reached even the beginning of the "optimum" range.
Then I decide to ask the barista if they had a finer espresso grind. They said their finest was # "2". With that grind, I filled the 2 shot filter with coffee to the top of the filter, and packed the grinds as hard as I could. Started the machine. The needle started to rise, reached the optimum range, went all the way up the optimum range and beyond it before finally stopping when the machine stopped pouring coffee! I also noticed that the amount of coffee poured was somewhat less than 2 shots of coffee. Removing the filter holder from the machine, it was clear that the filter had water, that had not pressed through the coffee, mixed in with the spent grinds.
The next cup of espresso I made, I did not pack the coffee as hard, or fill as high. I left about an 1/8" between the coffee and the filter rim . That did it. After starting up the scale the needle stopped 3/4 up the optimum level scale, and the coffee it made looked like 2 full shots and, when I removed the filter holder the coffee filter was mostly dry! The espresso had a nice layer of crema, added a little Milk, lots of foam...perfect!
What did it for me was 1) the right grind, 2) the right packing pressure, 3) the right amount of coffee.
I hope this helps some fellow home baristas!
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Forgive me if the tone of this review is a little grouchy, but I''ve gone without my morning latte for 3 weeks now, with two more to go, and that''s just the way it''s going to have to be.
I got my first Breville machine, a caffe roma, about a year and a half ago, and was very happy. It was a big upgrade from My Gran Gaggia in terms of design, quality and taste and I wrote a glowing review at the time of my purchase on Epinions. Unfortunately, it died about 4 months ago, and since they were no longer making the Roma, Breville replaced it with the BES820XL. I was really enjoying my 820 big step up from the Roma and I appreciated that Breville was willing to stand behind its product in that way. There was a little bit of a wait for the new machine, but not much. The 820 was a much more sophisticated machine and it took a little bit more Unfortunately, the 820 started to fail after about two months the water was leaking from the spout, and the coffee stopped pressurizing properly.
Again, I called Breville, and again they told me they''d upgrade the machine because the 820 was being discontinued and replaced by the 830. Unfortunately, The 830 was on backorder. At first I was told the delay would be three weeks; then I called back and was told it would be two weeks; and finally I was told 5 weeks! I made what I thought was a very reasonable request to Breville, which is that they upgrade me to the next model (same as the 830 except with a grinder) and I''d pay the difference between the two. Request denied, with no explanation as to why.
Breville, perhaps this sort of customer service policy makes sense for other products but sorry, not for coffee. I think that given the situation, there should have been a little less policy and a little more concern about making your customer happy. The good news is that you make a very good product for the money and you''re constantly working to improve them; the bad news is that your products are still a work in progress. Wouldn''t it make a little more sense to go the extra yard to keep your customers happy?? We''re talking coffee here.
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I have had this machine for about 4 weeks and love it. It''s easy to learn, is made of high quality parts, and looks beautiful on the counter. Be careful with grind fineness, as we had some problems when coffee ground at Starbucks with their machine on "espresso" setting. Once you find the right grind consistency, the results are delicious and consistent. The steamer wand works extremely well and is easy to maneuver with the 360 degree swivel arm. This is a great espresso maker for the coffee/espresso lover.
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This is a great espresso machine. Easy to use, AFTER you read the instructions. Cleaning is simple, the indicator on the spill tray lets you know when it''s full with "Empty Me!" I use the hot water function to warm up the cups and to make tea. I have never used a cappuccino milk steamer before, but this one is extremely simple to get a good milk froth. The mug warmer on the top of the machine works well, but only if you plan of having multiple uses as it takes a while to get the heat up to the mugs. The pressure gauge on the front gives you a good indication how well you are grinding the coffee, and tamping. I normally have the pressure gauge in the lower optimal range and it tastes very good. It does take practice to create the perfect method, so be patient. The water tank holds enough water to serve many people without refilling.
I also purchased a knock box, which I think completes the set. Removing the grounds from the filter can be frustrating without this specially made knock box. I bought the: RSVP Espresso Knockout Box and it works very well at a good price RSVP Espresso Knockout Box.
I replaced my Graco programmable humidifier with this model based on some word of mouth reviews. I will say this, the machine looks pretty sleek, a lot better than the big white Graco. Unfortunately, looks is all that this thing has going for it.
