The Breville 800 ESXL is turning out to be one of the best buys I have ever madeBreville 800ESXL Commercial 15-Bar Triple-Priming Die-Cast Espresso Machine.
I had a Gaggia that produced great espresso when I first got it, but recently, it stopped creating any crema whatsoever. Water leaked from the steamer wand and the expresso head. It was time for a replacement.
I studied and studied and studied all the expresso makers and I knew I did not want to spend over $500 for a good pot. My goal was to find a great pot for under that amount. I read every review there is on the internet concerning the Breville 800 ESXL. People love it or hate it but if you read carefully, you may find as I did, that many of those who hate it, did not follow the directions as prescribed by Breville. They treated it like their old pot, however, the Breville 800 is a wonderful pot if used according to the instructions put out by Breville. And dare I say, that some of the others who did not like the pot sounded like coffee snobs who want perfection and had no right buying this machine and judging by standards that only a much more expensive machine could match.
If you want a truly outstanding expresso or cappuccino, the Breville 800 will do it for you, as long as you live up to your part of the bargain. The first thing you need are really good beans and fresh filtered water. Next is to really learn how to make expresso. You need to find the right grind and then stick with it. I have a Capresso Burr Grinder that works great for only $85. You need to learn the right amount of pressure to tamp the coffee (also, it does not hurt purchase a good metal tampthe one they give you is only okay). You should get a thermometer to make sure your frothed milk is between 140 160 degrees and then learn how to froth milk. The cups should be warm and you will have some great coffee.
you may not get great coffee the first time out--and maybe not the second, but the more you do it, critique what you did, and make adjustments, you will find that the difference between and excellent cup and a good cup has more to do with you than the machine. This is a hands-on machine (which I love about it). Like a cook using fresh ingredients, the results often lie in the art of the cook. It is the same with this machine. If you just want to turn it on and get a great cup of espresso, it may happen sometimes, but not always. It is up to you to make your shot the best. There is a learning curve to be sure, but the end result is fantastic and for a great price. I was making great shot after great shot in about three days.
I was scared to death about my filters clogging as others have said, but I have found that the best thing you can do is to clean after every shot. it is not a big job to wipe down the nozzle, rinse out the pots and filters, and take the little tool they give you to keep the filters open and poke the hole once to keep it open for the next time. Takes all of a minutemaybe less. The result, great expresso, perfect crema, great frothed milk (once you acquire the knack of rothing), and a beautiful, sturdy machine that should last a long time with the kind of care I ask you to give it.
Some have complained about the temperature of the coffee. I too thought it was not hot enough the first few times I made the espresso, and then I read the manual. When you do what the manual says, the coffee is plenty hot --too hot actually. As for the time it takes to steam the milk, no longer than my Gaggia with a lot less mess. And about the "sloppy mess in the portafilter" and no dry puck ---well, I would like a dry puck too, but the paper from Breville in the box tells you that the technology they use to get the coffee hot and with perfect crema will not give you the traditional dry puck. Expect it to be watery in the portafilter. just rinse it out when done and you are in business. I accept that and as a result I get great coffee. My machine is not a Rencilio, nor a Gaggia. It is a Breville and it does not have the dry puck--but it does have great espresso that can be made within a minute or two of turning on the machine. And clean up takes less time than it did to heat up (under a minute).
It has a large well for water which is easy to fill, from the front and the back. it is very very easy to clean. It is sturdy and it looks great. There are so many cool things built in --obviously thought went into the design. Some complain about it being loud. I have never met an espresso maker that is not loud. Oh yes, I saw one once but that machine cost $2,000 and was fully automatic. There was no joy in making an expresso with that---no art to it. The machine does it all.
Now, for the weaknesses. I already told you to get another tamp. The one they give is not the greatest. Also, it has the very cool feature where it purges itself after each shot or steaming allowing the built up steam to flow to the overflow reservoir. (Actually this is a positive feature) but on the negative side it uses more water, but no big deal unless you are paying for bottled water. With my Gaggia, I was always afraid it was going to blow up on me. This steam pressure release is very cool and well thought out.
Needless to say, I am very happy with this machine. As you may be able to see, I am the kind of person who looks at what I have done and tries to make the next one better. For me, this machine does not disappoint.
Hopefully, this review has helped.
From a interface and asthetic point of view, the machine is flawless. It's beautiful and solid, and has many nice touches like an integral storage bin and swiveling steam wand. Having said that, it's missing a few things on the INSIDE that you'd expect from a $400 machine:
For one, it uses a thermoblock. This results in a pressure drop and uneven heating compared to a boiler, which is why there is the need for the double-wall crema system. (I'm referring here to pump machines with boilers, not the cheap steam machines.) This is why you'll find that after brewing you have a soupy sludge instead of the hard dry puck considered an indicator of proper espresso brewing. Update: as pointed out by somebody else, this may be more a function of the lack of three-way valve than indicative of poor pressure or heating. I didn't realize this didn't have a three-way valve, but that's just one more reason to avoid this. Regardless, the weakness of the thermoblock is apparent in the difference in quality between a single shot and a double shot. The latter is harsh and bitter, which I assume is because the last part of the shot isn't properly extracted due to a drop in temperature.
Second, the filters and group head aren't made of brass like you'll see in machines of similar price. Brass has a high thermal conductivity and mass, which helps keep the water hot on the way to the grounds, at least when the machine is properly preheated.
Personally, I'm not sure I have a sophisticated enough palette to discern a difference between espresso from this and a machine with better parts. But given that you're considering spending $400 on an espresso machine, I assume you might be a purist and somebody who cares about getting the best for your money. I also feel the need to offset some of the other breathless reviews by people who clearly haven't bothered to do even a minimal amount of research on espresso machines.
Despite the above, the machine produces good espresso, as far as I can tell, and it IS beautiful. My guess is that it overcomes some of its component shortcomings with nice engineering (such as the auto-purge feature to avoid scalding the grounds). However, you have to wonder if you're really getting your money's worth where it counts, when there are machines out there at half the price with better internal components and plumbing. You should be able to find machines with more stable temperature and higher effective pressure for much less money if you're willing to go for substance over looks.
Buy Breville 800ESXL 15-Bar Triple-Priming Die-Cast Espresso Machine Now
Reviewing Breville 800ESXL Espresso Maker
Points to make
(1) UNPLUG the machine every time, like it says in the manual! Why?
The first day I had the machine I assumed that once you turn the machine off in the front panel, it is really off.
Not so, apparently.
One lonely evening, while making love to my machine (just kidding eh!), anyway, quite near the turned off machine in a quiet evening, I could hear a very low humming sound coming from it.
Power unit or whatever, I realized the machine was not really off, and from then on I decided to follow the recommendation in the manual -which I presumed initially was only for home-safety reasons.
Obviously is not sucking the 1500 watts, but there's still something going on inside, and it's not a caffeinated gerbil!
(2) Vibration and Noise
IMO, it's not noisier than other espresso makers, and it sure is a dead loser against my blender, which my neighbors are probably acquainted with.
As for vibration, I did the same as I did with my Breville coffee grinder: I placed the machine firmly on a towel folded to the appropriate thickness. That not only dampens the vibration but will soak up any water spilled in an accident.
The tank might vibrate off its place and onto the drip area? Yes, it might.
The first time it happened, it was almost funny to watch.
Because I saw many other good points in the machine and this was a minor mechanical problem asking for a mechanical solution I did the obvious: I used the original tape that came with the packaging to hold the tank in place. Using on one side is enough. I use a tank of water every two days, so no big deal. (Yes, the thing uses a lot of water, even more so if you include the after-espresso cleaning procedures)
(3) Grind.
One of the reasons I considered the Breville 800ESXL it's because I have for some time their coffee grinder, which was an excellent choice for a burr grinder under $100 which looks nice and is a solid workhorse.
Before I bought the grinder I read reviews saying that the finest grind was not fine enough (for the reviewer, for some reason).
But now I see that, at least for me, the mid-notch in the Turkish selection in the Breville grinder has been ideal. Enough pressure, good timing and extraction, good crema, and NO clogging so far.
Rule of thumb, or fingers: if it feels like sand, it's too thick; if it feels powdery and like flour it's too fine; if it just stains the fingers without clumping or adhering to them, it's closer to the ideal.
(4) A routine (mine :-) becomes effortless and natural for people who like preparing coffee. (If you dislike rituals, trial and errors, and want push-button coffee this machine is not for you)
Before
Give the machine some latitude. If you know that you'll use it in ten minutes, turn it on right now. If you turn the machine on and start brewing immediately after the red light goes out, you risk not getting your coffee or hot water hot enough.
After the machine is ready (red light out), run a 10-second blank shot (holder and filter in place but no coffee), and collect the water in the coffee cup you will use. This first run warms up the filter assembly and the collected water will warm up the cup while you fill and tamp the filter with the ground coffee. When ready, dump the water and put the empty cup under the filter and start the real thing.
After
After cleaning and washing the filter assembly and filter of all wet coffee grounds, run again a 10 seconds blank shot with clear water to fine-clean the filter and avoid eventual clogging. (Do the same with the steamer in a cup filled with clean water).
It's a good idea also to lightly clean the underside of the filter holder (the fixed part in the machine from which water drips) with a wet paper towel or cloth before running the final cleaning blank shot.
(5) Steamer. Not the greatest feature in the machine, but works just fine when you practice enough. Don't worry, the loud high-pitched sound is NOT a feature of this or any machine :-): move the pitcher, depth and angle until it stops, and the right soft sound will guide you. And go for the micro foam, not the macro foam bubbles. You will see the difference right away and it's easy to learn to get it right. And follow the usual advice: low-fat or free-fat refrigerator-cold milk preferred.
(6) Cleaning the steamer.
As always, the drier the milk, the more difficult to clean. (So, don't take a couple of hours enjoying your coffee, and only then come back for the cleaning!)
Soon after use, "steam" for some seconds a container with clean water. Remove the sleeve and drop it in any container with clean (or soapy) water. Wet-wipe the full extension of the nozzle clean, making sure there's no milk crusting or remains. By following these procedures, it's very unlikely that you are going to have any problem with the steamer or hot water.
(7) Pods.
I didn't care much about pods, had never used them, and it was and remained completely out of my purchasing decision. Like most real coffee lovers I don't consider pods seriously in the tradition of coffee-brewing.
But, as I'm curious about everything, and finding that my local Starbucks had a nice-looking box of 12 dark espresso pods for $4.95, why not, let's see how this thing works.
And it did, beautifully.
My surprise is that, right in my first try, the machine performed beautifully. Quick and with no mess (and ground coffee is always messy as we all know), it came out with perfect color, crema, temperature. And it tasted at least better than the espresso you get at the Starbucks counter!
And the great thing is that Starbucks has the decaf version of the same pods. Great if I feel like having an espresso after dinner!
That does not mean of course that I will start using pods regularly. But, besides having the convenience of the decaf option for a (rare) quick late night fix, I can see the use of a pod as convenient when you wake up in a foul mood not prone to any coffee-loving rituals or patience, or you just don't have time.
The fact is that it's there, it's an option, and it works.
(8) One last note about cleaning.
If you like drinking and preparing coffee, but don't like or don't have time to clean things and keep them clean, you have a problem.
The importance of cleaning in a machine like this cannot be overstressed. Coffee and milk are both troublemakers. Milk dries fast and adheres in layers to surfaces, corners and clogs orifices very quickly. And coffee has oils that stain and adhere to surfaces. It's not that it looks ugly after a while, but it starts to interfere with the flavor of the coffee.
So, the attitude to follow is to make the cleaning, maintenance and keeping the hardware in prime condition, part of the process and ritual of making and enjoying coffee.
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Read Best Reviews of Breville 800ESXL 15-Bar Triple-Priming Die-Cast Espresso Machine Here
This machine is indeed beautiful, and I find the espresso very good indeed. The problem is that if your coffee is ground too fine, even once, the filter clogs. Due to the design of the crema filter, there is an inaccessible "interior" between the coffee-side filter holes and the bottom-side single exit hole. If this gets too clogged, there is really nothing to do except get a new filter, as the clog is not reachable with any tool.
This wouldn't be too bad if you could actually GET filter baskets when you need them. The only online company that carried them seems to be out of business now. And without a filter basket, this is just so much pretty scupture.
UPDATE: You can get the filters from Breville USA, for a price. You can also use a backflush detergent (like JoeGlo) to clear them, although it's a bit time-consuming and messy.
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After 3 weeks of "so-so" espresso's and cappuccino's, I was ready to return the 800ESXL. The espresso produced was not hot enough, and the frothed milk not even close to the dense foam I had hoped for. But I gave it one more try using the below techniques, and the results were night and day.
Pre-Heat the machine, then run water thru the portafilter for at least 10 seconds. By doing this, the water temp went from 140 to 174 degrees. OK, so this is recommended in the instructions...but who really reads them?
Using the Breville Conical Burr Grinder, I found the "click" setting two clicks down from Espresso (towards Turkish) worked best. (Great grinder, producing perfectly even grinds every time. Highly recommended!)
Practice your tamping technique. I bought a "Terry's Tamper" which is much easier to use than the supplied Breville tamper/scoop. Tamping pressure is the greatest variable between success and failure. At least it was for me.
To improve frothing, I tried covering the top hole on the stainless steel frothing attachment with tape and it worked to perfection. I could not get the desired "micro-foam" before making this modification. I have since used a tiny screw to close up the top hole. This really made a difference in the density of the foam, using both non-fat and 2% milk.
Keep your frothing pitcher in the freezer, and use very cold milk.
As other reviewers have suggested, after brewing your espresso and dumping the puck, run another 5 to 10 second shot of water thru the portafilter to purge it out. I have yet to have the filter clog up.
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I went ahead and purchased this product after a lot of research and despite what some of the negative reviewers say. I've had built-in grind coffee machines for awhile, and I can honestly say this little machine produces some of the best tasting coffee there is! The cleanup is easier than my old GE machine (with grinder). No, it's not as easy as a normal coffee maker without the grinder, but then you don't get the freshly ground coffee either.
