Breville Barista Touch Espresso Machine BES880BTR, Black Truffle
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Description
About this item The Breville Barista Touch delivers third wave specialty coffee at home using the 4 keys formula and is part of the Barista Series that offers all in one espresso machines with integrated grinder to go from beans to espresso in under one minute DOSE CONTROL GRINDING: With a single touch, the integrated precision conical burr grinder with dose control delivers the right amount of coffee on demand, for maximum flavor OPTIMAL WATER PRESSURE: Low pressure pre-infusion gradually increases pressure at the start and helps ensure all the flavors are drawn out evenly during the extraction for a balanced tasting cup Receive 2 free bags of specialty coffee when you purchase and register any Breville coffee machine; T and Cs apply FASTER HEAT UP TIME: Innovative ThermoJet heating system achieves the optimum extraction temperature in 3 seconds PRECISE ESPRESSO EXTRACTION: Digital temperature control (PID) delivers water at precisely the right temperature, ensuring optimal espresso extraction AUTOMATIC MICROFOAM MILK TEXTURING: Auto steam wand allows you to adjust the milk temperature and texture to suit your taste; Delivering barista quality microfoam that enhances the flavor of the coffee and is essential for creating latte art at home TOUCH SCREEN: The touch screen display simplifies how to make your favorite café coffee in 3 easy steps: Grind, Brew and Milk; Easily adjust the coffee strength, milk texture and temperature to suit your taste; Create and save up to 8 personalized coffees INCLUDED ACCESSORIES: 54mm Full Stainless Steel Portafilter, Single and Double Wall Filter Baskets, 480ml Stainless Steel Jug, ClaroSwiss Water Filter, Razor Precision Dose Trimming Tool, Cleaning Kit and Water Hardness Test Strip 1/2 lb Bean Hopper; 67 oz Water Tank; Touch Screen; 5 Pre-Programmed Cafe Favorites; 8 custom settings; Adjustable Grind Control; Programmable Milk Temp & Texture; One/Two Shots; Hot Water; WARRANTY: 2 Year Limited; Power; 1680 Watts; Voltage: 110 to 120 Show more See more product details
Details
Product information Features & Specs Other Special Features of the Product Compact Coffee Maker Type Espresso Machine Specific Uses For Product Espresso Recommended Uses For Product Espresso Operation Mode Fully Automatic Wattage 1680 watts Voltage 120.0 Human Interface Input Touchscreen Filter Type Reusable Measurements Capacity 4.2 Pounds Item Dimensions D x W x H 12.7"D x 12.5"W x 16"H Item Weight 21.8 Pounds Number of Items 1 Unit Count 1.0 Count Materials & Care Material Stainless Steel Exterior Finish Stainless Steel Warranty & Support Feedback Item details Brand Name Breville Included Components Dosing Funnel™ Attachment, 54mm Full Stainless Steel Portafilter, Single and Double Wall Filter Baskets, 480ml Stainless Steel Jug, ClaroSwiss Water Filter, Razor™ Precision Dose Trimming Tool, Cleaning Kit, Water Hardness Test Strip Model Name the Barista Touch™ Model Number BES880BTR1BUS1 Global Trade Identification Number 00021614801050 Manufacturer Breville UPC 021614801050 Part Number BES880BTR Item Type Name COFFEE_MAKER Best Sellers Rank #35,909 in Home & Kitchen ( See Top 100 in Home & Kitchen ) #9 in Super-Automatic Espresso Machines ASIN B089QVH3SP Customer Reviews 4.3 out of 5 stars Style Color Black Truffle Style Espresso Machine
Customer reviews
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AN AMAZING MACHINE!!! AWESOME COFFEE!!!
Ok, I am going to try to split this into two sections- the short review and an extended review. The short review: It is AMAZING and well worth the expense. Buy good beans and you are good to go. The longer review: First of all, this machine is expensive so I would look for any sort of sale. For us, it was worth it. The expense: At time of purchase this was going for roughly $799, but in terms of value it was worth it for us. Looking at our Starbucks bill, we spent well over that in just a few months because we would go there each morning and sometimes on the way home from work. We haven’t visited Starbucks at all since we bought this machine so it has more than paid for itself, and that is including the purchase of good beans. Starbucks was always a hit and miss depending on who was making our coffee each morning, but the Barista Touch has been a hit because once you create your settings it is always the same AND you can make micro adjustments until you get it just right (see “Features” below). The quality: It is very well made and the touch screen makes this a breeze to use- sooooooo easy. It has a drip tray that is very easy to empty and clean. The froth wand is easy to use and makes perfect frothed milk without any hassle at all. The tamper, it was good but not great so we opted for a spring loaded tamper and purchased a grind distributor which made using this even easier. If you have never tamped coffee, it can be tricky but using a spring tamper just made it so much easier however the tamper included is perfectly fine. We purchased the Sccody 53mm Calibrated Espresso Tamper which makes espresso tamping a breeze without any guesswork needed. The Barista Touch does come with a "blade" distributor, but I opted to buy a better one which has made for perfect coffee. We bought the Gurudar 53mm Coffee Distributor which is also a palm tamper but we just use it for the distribution of the grind instead of using the included Breville blade- again the included blade is good butr we wanted something a bit easier to use. Both the Sccody and the Gurudar are perfect additions and take all the guess work out of learning to make espresso, but there are many other options and even using what is included with the Touch you will be good to go with a small learning curve. The features: First, the touch screen- the Barista Touch comes with a screen that makes it so easy to create your coffee of choice. It has preprogrammed options (which are adjustable) and it allows you to custom build your coffee of choice and assign it an icon. In fact, everything is icon based and it even has a tutorial built in. For instance, if you want to make a latte, press the latte icon and a screen pops up with the easy to follow steps. You can make many different types of coffee including Americanos, Cappuccinos, and even simple espresso shots. You can even custom design your coffee, then assign it an icon, then every time you want that coffee you just hit the icon and follow the steps. Blamo- great coffee every time. Second great feature-the grinder. It has a built-in grinder which makes all the difference. The grinder is adjustable so you can change the grind size to fit your needs and to customize your coffee (fine or coarse grind). Next good feature- the water tank. It holds a good amount of water and is located at the back of the machine. You just have to watch the level but it will give you a “water tank is empty” message on the screen when you need to refill it. The downside: The only real thing we found to be a problem is the grinder and changing beans. We decided to try a different brand of coffee to see if we liked it but the hopper was full. Removing the beans from the hopper was a bit tricky and I know there is probably some short cut, but we managed and honestly it wasn’t that big of a deal. Comparisons: Our first espresso machine, the De’Longhi 15 bar espresso maker, was a good beginning machine but just isn’t as good as the Barista Touch. The De’Longhi didn’t have a grinder so we used pre ground coffee which was ok, just not super good and certainly not good enough to keep us from returning to our Starbucks habit. Our kid ended up taking it to college, so we upgraded to the touch. One thing that has made a world of difference, besides the included grinder, is the automatic milk frother on the Barista Touch. Super easy to use and is as simple as placing the milk pitcher, which is included, under the wand but it has to sit on a temp sensor to work accurately. We haven’t had a single problem with it to date. You can also use the frother in manual mode if you want, which is a great added feature but the automatic mode is good enough to make latte Art…that is if you know how to actually make latte art unlike me. As for adjustability, you can adjust how much coffee is ground, how fine you want the grinds, and how long the machine grinds the coffee. You can adjust the temp of the milk froth, you can go from automatic to manual mode to froth the milk so there are several options to adjust and fine tune to your exact specification. Overall, we love the Barista Touch- it makes amazing coffee. Of course, the beans have a great deal to do with it but still this machine rocks. UPDATE: Ok, I did find one tiny aspect of this most excellent machine that Breville could fix, aside from the price, and that is the frothing wand. Once you finish frothing the milk you have to clean the wand. It does a self clean, but when it self cleans the wand does not line up directly with the hole in the drain pan. ours is off a slight bit. The drain pan hole should be just a bit larger and that would fix everything. We found that after cleaning the wand we put the damp paper towel or rag near the base of the wand on the drain pan to avoid splashes. not a big deal but thought you should know. UPDATE: I have been using a trick when frothing the milk- when it finishes frothing the milk and wants to do the automatic wand purge to clean the frothing wand, I put the wand back in the empty milk pitcher and the water/steam purge empties into the pitcher instead of the drip tray. Makes cleaning so much easier and I don’t have to empty the drip tray as often. By the way- it is Dec 2024 and we have used it every day since we purchased it without a single issue, so this is a very good machine!
Ok, I am going to try to split this into two sections- the short review and an extended review. The short review: It is AMAZING and well worth the expense. Buy good beans and you are good to go. The longer review: First of all, this machine is expensive so I would look for any sort of sale. For us, it was worth it. The expense: At time of purchase this was going for roughly $799, but in terms of value it was worth it for us. Looking at our Starbucks bill, we spent well over that in just a few months because we would go there each morning and sometimes on the way home from work. We haven’t visited Starbucks at all since we bought this machine so it has more than paid for itself, and that is including the purchase of good beans. Starbucks was always a hit and miss depending on who was making our coffee each morning, but the Barista Touch has been a hit because once you create your settings it is always the same AND you can make micro adjustments until you get it just right (see “Features” below). The quality: It is very well made and the touch screen makes this a breeze to use- sooooooo easy. It has a drip tray that is very easy to empty and clean. The froth wand is easy to use and makes perfect frothed milk without any hassle at all. The tamper, it was good but not great so we opted for a spring loaded tamper and purchased a grind distributor which made using this even easier. If you have never tamped coffee, it can be tricky but using a spring tamper just made it so much easier however the tamper included is perfectly fine. We purchased the Sccody 53mm Calibrated Espresso Tamper which makes espresso tamping a breeze without any guesswork needed. The Barista Touch does come with a "blade" distributor, but I opted to buy a better one which has made for perfect coffee. We bought the Gurudar 53mm Coffee Distributor which is also a palm tamper but we just use it for the distribution of the grind instead of using the included Breville blade- again the included blade is good butr we wanted something a bit easier to use. Both the Sccody and the Gurudar are perfect additions and take all the guess work out of learning to make espresso, but there are many other options and even using what is included with the Touch you will be good to go with a small learning curve. The features: First, the touch screen- the Barista Touch comes with a screen that makes it so easy to create your coffee of choice. It has preprogrammed options (which are adjustable) and it allows you to custom build your coffee of choice and assign it an icon. In fact, everything is icon based and it even has a tutorial built in. For instance, if you want to make a latte, press the latte icon and a screen pops up with the easy to follow steps. You can make many different types of coffee including Americanos, Cappuccinos, and even simple espresso shots. You can even custom design your coffee, then assign it an icon, then every time you want that coffee you just hit the icon and follow the steps. Blamo- great coffee every time. Second great feature-the grinder. It has a built-in grinder which makes all the difference. The grinder is adjustable so you can change the grind size to fit your needs and to customize your coffee (fine or coarse grind). Next good feature- the water tank. It holds a good amount of water and is located at the back of the machine. You just have to watch the level but it will give you a “water tank is empty” message on the screen when you need to refill it. The downside: The only real thing we found to be a problem is the grinder and changing beans. We decided to try a different brand of coffee to see if we liked it but the hopper was full. Removing the beans from the hopper was a bit tricky and I know there is probably some short cut, but we managed and honestly it wasn’t that big of a deal. Comparisons: Our first espresso machine, the De’Longhi 15 bar espresso maker, was a good beginning machine but just isn’t as good as the Barista Touch. The De’Longhi didn’t have a grinder so we used pre ground coffee which was ok, just not super good and certainly not good enough to keep us from returning to our Starbucks habit. Our kid ended up taking it to college, so we upgraded to the touch. One thing that has made a world of difference, besides the included grinder, is the automatic milk frother on the Barista Touch. Super easy to use and is as simple as placing the milk pitcher, which is included, under the wand but it has to sit on a temp sensor to work accurately. We haven’t had a single problem with it to date. You can also use the frother in manual mode if you want, which is a great added feature but the automatic mode is good enough to make latte Art…that is if you know how to actually make latte art unlike me. As for adjustability, you can adjust how much coffee is ground, how fine you want the grinds, and how long the machine grinds the coffee. You can adjust the temp of the milk froth, you can go from automatic to manual mode to froth the milk so there are several options to adjust and fine tune to your exact specification. Overall, we love the Barista Touch- it makes amazing coffee. Of course, the beans have a great deal to do with it but still this machine rocks. UPDATE: Ok, I did find one tiny aspect of this most excellent machine that Breville could fix, aside from the price, and that is the frothing wand. Once you finish frothing the milk you have to clean the wand. It does a self clean, but when it self cleans the wand does not line up directly with the hole in the drain pan. ours is off a slight bit. The drain pan hole should be just a bit larger and that would fix everything. We found that after cleaning the wand we put the damp paper towel or rag near the base of the wand on the drain pan to avoid splashes. not a big deal but thought you should know. UPDATE: I have been using a trick when frothing the milk- when it finishes frothing the milk and wants to do the automatic wand purge to clean the frothing wand, I put the wand back in the empty milk pitcher and the water/steam purge empties into the pitcher instead of the drip tray. Makes cleaning so much easier and I don’t have to empty the drip tray as often. By the way- it is Dec 2024 and we have used it every day since we purchased it without a single issue, so this is a very good machine!
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¡EXCELENTE! Pero hay que aclarar un detalle…
La máquina está preciosa, por donde la veas y lo que le veas está bien pensado, bien hecho y bien ensamblado. Los accesorios (jarra para espumar, portafiltros, filtros, etc.) son de la misma buena calidad y trae todo lo que necesitas para hacer espressos y cualquier bebida a base de espresso. Todo fue como lo esperaba: la caja llegó en perfecto estado, todo super bien empacado, es muy fácil de usar aunque no tengas experiencia, pues te va guiando y dando consejos para que ajustes la molienda y el tiempo de extracción. El sistema de la máquina está en inglés o en francés, pero el manual de instrucciones está en español de México así como la documentación de la garantía y la información de contacto y soporte para México. Todo perfecto hasta que llegué a la razón principal por la que compré la máquina: A mí me encanta el espresso americano (doble shot de espresso sobre 200 ml. de agua caliente) y esta máquina trae un programa específico para “americano” que emplea una salida de agua caliente que tiene la máquina y que cae directo a la taza antes de que extraiga el café. Lo que Breville no aclara en ningún lado (ni en el manual, ni en las especificaciones, ni en info en la página) es que la elevación de la ciudad en la que uses la máquina afecta la forma en la que sale el agua y ¡vaya que la afecta?!!! Yo vivo en León GTO, a 1,800 metros sobre el nivel del mar, que es altura media si comparas con otras ciudades en México: CDMX está a 2,250 metros, GDL a 1,575 metros y MTY a 540 metros para que se den una idea. Lo que sucede es que empieza a salir un chorrito muy controlado y a los pocos segundos empieza a salir vapor por la misma salida y hace que el agua salga como rociada para todos lados y se salpique todo en 30 cm a la redonda (vean el video para que no crean que exagero). Hablé a soporte de Breville y resulta que es un problema que tienen bien identificado y la única solución que me ofrecieron fue regresar la máquina. Volví a llamar un poco más tarde y abrí un ticket de soporte por la página y luego luego me respondieron lo mismo. Lo tienen perfectamente bien identificado y tan saben que no hay forma de arreglarlo que me dijeron que pasaría lo mismo con la salida de agua de cualquier otro modelo. En todos los casos me dijeron que, si la función de obtener agua caliente era importante para mí, me recomendaban regresar la máquina a Amazon y casi que buscarle por otro lado. Claro que super amables y cordiales, pero yo estaba en shock y dudando si algo más le iba a fallar por ese: “¡Ups! ¿A poco hay gente que toma café en las planicies elevadas y en las montañas?” que se aventó Breville. Afortunadamente hay otras formas de obtener agua caliente de la máquina, pero la función de “americano” es imposible de usar en mi ubicación. La solución es hacer lo que he visto que hacen en algunas cafeterías con máquinas profesionales y es dejar que corra agua sin poner el portafiltro. Para sacar 200 ml de agua caliente se tarda 30 segundos (con el mismo botón de extracción), cuando termina pongo el portafiltros ya listo con el café prensado y todo y vuelvo a extraer 30 segundos para que salga el espresso. Lo único que hay que cuidar es la limpieza de la regadera por la que sale el agua para el portafiltro después de cada extracción para que cuando saques solo agua no arrastre café molido de la extracción anterior. Lo de la salida de agua fue una mala experiencia y me hizo pensar muy en serio si debía quedarme con la máquina o regresarla. Decidí quedármela pues toooodo lo demás lo hace extraordinariamente bien y en menos de 7 intentos, ya estaba sacando unos espressos super ricos y ni siquiera había comprado buen café, estaba usando el Garat de grano que molemos al momento para la cafetera de goteo. Hoy, a 5 días de recibir la máquina, ya ni me acuerdo que tiene salida para agua caliente y ahora que compré un buen café tostado recientemente, no puedo creer que me esté tomando un café tan rico en mi casa y que me tarde menos de 2 minuntos en hacerlo (el espresso americano). A mi esposa le gustan los lattes y capuchinos y no se tardó nada en aprender a usar el espumador. Le encanta la textura de la espuma y ya me dijo que guarde el Aeroccino y la Nespresso porque nada que ver el sabor. Si les sirve de algo, les recomiendo ajustar a 13 la finura del molido, moler por 17 segundos, prensar sin tanta fuerza y extraer por 30 segundos. Son los ajustes con los que estoy obteniedo 18 gr de café molido y aprox. 36 gr de un espresso con buen sabor y buena crema. He notado que si aplico mucha fuerza al prensador, varía mucho la cantidad de café que obtengo, el sabor y la crema, por lo que antes de ajustar molido y tiempo de extracción, les sugiero practicar el prensado hasta que sean consistentes.
La máquina está preciosa, por donde la veas y lo que le veas está bien pensado, bien hecho y bien ensamblado. Los accesorios (jarra para espumar, portafiltros, filtros, etc.) son de la misma buena calidad y trae todo lo que necesitas para hacer espressos y cualquier bebida a base de espresso. Todo fue como lo esperaba: la caja llegó en perfecto estado, todo super bien empacado, es muy fácil de usar aunque no tengas experiencia, pues te va guiando y dando consejos para que ajustes la molienda y el tiempo de extracción. El sistema de la máquina está en inglés o en francés, pero el manual de instrucciones está en español de México así como la documentación de la garantía y la información de contacto y soporte para México. Todo perfecto hasta que llegué a la razón principal por la que compré la máquina: A mí me encanta el espresso americano (doble shot de espresso sobre 200 ml. de agua caliente) y esta máquina trae un programa específico para “americano” que emplea una salida de agua caliente que tiene la máquina y que cae directo a la taza antes de que extraiga el café. Lo que Breville no aclara en ningún lado (ni en el manual, ni en las especificaciones, ni en info en la página) es que la elevación de la ciudad en la que uses la máquina afecta la forma en la que sale el agua y ¡vaya que la afecta?!!! Yo vivo en León GTO, a 1,800 metros sobre el nivel del mar, que es altura media si comparas con otras ciudades en México: CDMX está a 2,250 metros, GDL a 1,575 metros y MTY a 540 metros para que se den una idea. Lo que sucede es que empieza a salir un chorrito muy controlado y a los pocos segundos empieza a salir vapor por la misma salida y hace que el agua salga como rociada para todos lados y se salpique todo en 30 cm a la redonda (vean el video para que no crean que exagero). Hablé a soporte de Breville y resulta que es un problema que tienen bien identificado y la única solución que me ofrecieron fue regresar la máquina. Volví a llamar un poco más tarde y abrí un ticket de soporte por la página y luego luego me respondieron lo mismo. Lo tienen perfectamente bien identificado y tan saben que no hay forma de arreglarlo que me dijeron que pasaría lo mismo con la salida de agua de cualquier otro modelo. En todos los casos me dijeron que, si la función de obtener agua caliente era importante para mí, me recomendaban regresar la máquina a Amazon y casi que buscarle por otro lado. Claro que super amables y cordiales, pero yo estaba en shock y dudando si algo más le iba a fallar por ese: “¡Ups! ¿A poco hay gente que toma café en las planicies elevadas y en las montañas?” que se aventó Breville. Afortunadamente hay otras formas de obtener agua caliente de la máquina, pero la función de “americano” es imposible de usar en mi ubicación. La solución es hacer lo que he visto que hacen en algunas cafeterías con máquinas profesionales y es dejar que corra agua sin poner el portafiltro. Para sacar 200 ml de agua caliente se tarda 30 segundos (con el mismo botón de extracción), cuando termina pongo el portafiltros ya listo con el café prensado y todo y vuelvo a extraer 30 segundos para que salga el espresso. Lo único que hay que cuidar es la limpieza de la regadera por la que sale el agua para el portafiltro después de cada extracción para que cuando saques solo agua no arrastre café molido de la extracción anterior. Lo de la salida de agua fue una mala experiencia y me hizo pensar muy en serio si debía quedarme con la máquina o regresarla. Decidí quedármela pues toooodo lo demás lo hace extraordinariamente bien y en menos de 7 intentos, ya estaba sacando unos espressos super ricos y ni siquiera había comprado buen café, estaba usando el Garat de grano que molemos al momento para la cafetera de goteo. Hoy, a 5 días de recibir la máquina, ya ni me acuerdo que tiene salida para agua caliente y ahora que compré un buen café tostado recientemente, no puedo creer que me esté tomando un café tan rico en mi casa y que me tarde menos de 2 minuntos en hacerlo (el espresso americano). A mi esposa le gustan los lattes y capuchinos y no se tardó nada en aprender a usar el espumador. Le encanta la textura de la espuma y ya me dijo que guarde el Aeroccino y la Nespresso porque nada que ver el sabor. Si les sirve de algo, les recomiendo ajustar a 13 la finura del molido, moler por 17 segundos, prensar sin tanta fuerza y extraer por 30 segundos. Son los ajustes con los que estoy obteniedo 18 gr de café molido y aprox. 36 gr de un espresso con buen sabor y buena crema. He notado que si aplico mucha fuerza al prensador, varía mucho la cantidad de café que obtengo, el sabor y la crema, por lo que antes de ajustar molido y tiempo de extracción, les sugiero practicar el prensado hasta que sean consistentes.
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The literal best cup of coffee in the world
I could talk for an hour about this machine. I love it! It was definitely expensive, but worth the price. Some notes: seriously, its the best coffee drink I can make or find. While you can see all the normal functions, customizing my own drink was life-changing (I'm 50/50 if that's hyperbole, it's that good). No coffee house can match this, and it's very cost-effective. If you have a latte or whatever daily, that's roughly $5 a day X $365, well over $1,000. Now spread that over a couple of years, and the savings are impressive, even with the money you'd be spending on the coffee beans. Again, this is the best coffee drink I can find, and all my coffee loving family and friends agree. My drink (not that you care, lol), is a combination of an americano and a vanilla latte, the perfect balance. Coffee beans- it may seem obvious, but without the perfect bean, this machine may not seem that impressive. I'm quite picky, and tried a number of companies and blends until I found one that worked, and boy did it. (Not an ad in any way, but Trade Coffee was great for this). ---You'll also need to experiment a bit with each different bean, as some will need finer or coarser grinding to get that perfect shot. I both love and hate this part if I"m honest. I like the fact that I have figured out what works best, and in theory I like the experimenting part. However, when all you want is that coffee, and you spend a couple minutes prepping, only for it to be disappointing, that part stunk. I suppose if you want great coffee, a bit of effort is involved, so fair enough. ---The automatic frothing wand. I have mine on the highest temperature and froth setting, and it couldn't be easier. I only need 1-2 ounces of milk to get that amazing cappuccino type drink. Even with 5 stars, here's the bad part: The machine just broke on me a few days back, about 2 years, 1 month after purchase. I'm not defending this machine, but I've had several other fancy, but not as expensive machines (in the $500 range), and they all broke after about 2 years (usually just after the warranty expired). I don't usually buy extended warranties as I think they are BS, but having this experience with these machines over the last decade taught me a lesson, and I was very happy to see I bought the 3 year warranty on this. I put in my claim, and quite literally got my credit in 2 days. And if you're curious, yes, I bought this machine again, so I suppose that says it all. Odd note- this will make me sound old, but I was surprised they don't even attempt to fix the machine. No complaints, although it seems very wasteful, but they just confirm they received it and send an amazon credit. Lastly- 1 downside is that I got the machine on sale, so I did have to put out $100 plus $72 in tax, and then another $99 for a new 3 year warranty. I'm not loving that, but again thinking of cost at Starbucks or wherever, you're still coming out ahead on this, and you don't need to leave your house:). If you have questions I'm genuinely happy to help! I need Breville to sponsor me or something as I talk about this machine way too much:)
I could talk for an hour about this machine. I love it! It was definitely expensive, but worth the price. Some notes: seriously, its the best coffee drink I can make or find. While you can see all the normal functions, customizing my own drink was life-changing (I'm 50/50 if that's hyperbole, it's that good). No coffee house can match this, and it's very cost-effective. If you have a latte or whatever daily, that's roughly $5 a day X $365, well over $1,000. Now spread that over a couple of years, and the savings are impressive, even with the money you'd be spending on the coffee beans. Again, this is the best coffee drink I can find, and all my coffee loving family and friends agree. My drink (not that you care, lol), is a combination of an americano and a vanilla latte, the perfect balance. Coffee beans- it may seem obvious, but without the perfect bean, this machine may not seem that impressive. I'm quite picky, and tried a number of companies and blends until I found one that worked, and boy did it. (Not an ad in any way, but Trade Coffee was great for this). ---You'll also need to experiment a bit with each different bean, as some will need finer or coarser grinding to get that perfect shot. I both love and hate this part if I"m honest. I like the fact that I have figured out what works best, and in theory I like the experimenting part. However, when all you want is that coffee, and you spend a couple minutes prepping, only for it to be disappointing, that part stunk. I suppose if you want great coffee, a bit of effort is involved, so fair enough. ---The automatic frothing wand. I have mine on the highest temperature and froth setting, and it couldn't be easier. I only need 1-2 ounces of milk to get that amazing cappuccino type drink. Even with 5 stars, here's the bad part: The machine just broke on me a few days back, about 2 years, 1 month after purchase. I'm not defending this machine, but I've had several other fancy, but not as expensive machines (in the $500 range), and they all broke after about 2 years (usually just after the warranty expired). I don't usually buy extended warranties as I think they are BS, but having this experience with these machines over the last decade taught me a lesson, and I was very happy to see I bought the 3 year warranty on this. I put in my claim, and quite literally got my credit in 2 days. And if you're curious, yes, I bought this machine again, so I suppose that says it all. Odd note- this will make me sound old, but I was surprised they don't even attempt to fix the machine. No complaints, although it seems very wasteful, but they just confirm they received it and send an amazon credit. Lastly- 1 downside is that I got the machine on sale, so I did have to put out $100 plus $72 in tax, and then another $99 for a new 3 year warranty. I'm not loving that, but again thinking of cost at Starbucks or wherever, you're still coming out ahead on this, and you don't need to leave your house:). If you have questions I'm genuinely happy to help! I need Breville to sponsor me or something as I talk about this machine way too much:)
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Great machine; even better support
I love the machine and echo what many others have said about its performance and features. My reason for writing a review relates to their customer service, which some have critiqued here. My experience could not have been better. I bought some lightly-roasted beans from a local roaster. I could hear the grinder struggling, and it eventually jammed, making a loud screeching noise when it did. After that episode, it would grind softer beans, but with a loud clacking sound. I was barely inside the 1-year warranty period, so I called customer service, where a native English speaker asked a series of scripted diagnostic questions and had me try a few things. At the end of that process, she emailed a return shipping label with detailed instructions for packing the unit into the CUSTOM SHIPPING BOX that arrived at my home a few days later. I removed all the detachable bits and pieces from the unit, popped it in the box, slapped on the label, and handed it to my UPS driver. About a week later, a brand new machine arrived. The grinder sounds different, and the setting numbers for getting the proper grind with my favorite beans have shifted, but the motor sounds steadier now and strains less. I suspect they made a change to either the burr or the gearing of the grinding mechanism. Whatever they did, the results are outstanding. I was already a Breville fan; I'm afraid to count how many of their products I have on my countertops and in my cupboards. This experience really seals the deal. These are complex machines, and things will break. The proof is in how a company handles things when its product fails, and they nailed it.
I love the machine and echo what many others have said about its performance and features. My reason for writing a review relates to their customer service, which some have critiqued here. My experience could not have been better. I bought some lightly-roasted beans from a local roaster. I could hear the grinder struggling, and it eventually jammed, making a loud screeching noise when it did. After that episode, it would grind softer beans, but with a loud clacking sound. I was barely inside the 1-year warranty period, so I called customer service, where a native English speaker asked a series of scripted diagnostic questions and had me try a few things. At the end of that process, she emailed a return shipping label with detailed instructions for packing the unit into the CUSTOM SHIPPING BOX that arrived at my home a few days later. I removed all the detachable bits and pieces from the unit, popped it in the box, slapped on the label, and handed it to my UPS driver. About a week later, a brand new machine arrived. The grinder sounds different, and the setting numbers for getting the proper grind with my favorite beans have shifted, but the motor sounds steadier now and strains less. I suspect they made a change to either the burr or the gearing of the grinding mechanism. Whatever they did, the results are outstanding. I was already a Breville fan; I'm afraid to count how many of their products I have on my countertops and in my cupboards. This experience really seals the deal. These are complex machines, and things will break. The proof is in how a company handles things when its product fails, and they nailed it.
