Coffee lovers

M
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Well, you have pressure, time, grind, temp, and water to deal with. I try to find a combo that works good and then don't change anything! Congrats on the machine MrFriday!!
 
vbrad26
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Can any of you coffee wizards tell me if one of these machines is actually any good? At least for what it is (and costs?)

https://www.breville.com/en-us/product/bes881

pdp.webp


We've had a version of Nespresso machine for as long as they have been around. Its the only machine we have for "hot coffee".
I pretty much only drink cold brew right now, so I could care less about some big dumb machine lol.
 
M
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vbrad26 vbrad26
Can any of you coffee wizards tell me if one of these machines is actually any good? At least for what it is (and costs?)

https://www.breville.com/en-us/product/bes881

pdp.webp


We've had a version of Nespresso machine for as long as they have been around. Its the only machine we have for "hot coffee".
I pretty much only drink cold brew right now, so I could care less about some big dumb machine lol.


Have what I think Breville now calls their Express model. 5-6 years old, still makes a good double for me. Never given me any trouble, used regularly
 
Trev
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Coffee wise there's nothing wrong with Breville machines, especially their higher end offerings. They even have some double-boiler models which pull nice shots. However, it is worth nothing that a lot of their internals are plastic, which in many cases includes parts of the group-head too. I'm personally not a big fan of boiling water flowing directly over a bunch of plastic.
 
Trev
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An example of the plastic diffusion plate used in some Breville models (you can swap it out).
 
BAJJ
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I recently added a single dose hopper to my Eureka grinder. I always single dose and this hopper with the ‘bellows’ completely eliminates any retention, it’s a simple and cheap mod and it works really well. There are lots of these available on AliExpress, for any budget.
IMG_6619.webp IMG_6618.webp
 
Donn Chambers
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M Mediocre
Have what I think Breville now calls their Express model. 5-6 years old, still makes a good double for me. Never given me any trouble, used regularly
Another positive vote on a Breville Barista express. I have the older model without the touchscreen, but it makes a great espresso. The grinder works well. It’s a little fiddly to get it dialed in to make a good shot, but there are a lot of videos online on the process.

Just don’t pour your beans in the hopper and expect the selector to dose the proper amount. Although it takes a little more time, the best approach is to weight the beans (19 grams for me), but those in the hopper, grind, then use. Adjust the timing setting (and grind) so you get about 38 g of espresso in 25-35 seconds. Perfect.

Also, get a dosing funnel or your grinds will overflow.
 
Jakeys
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Trev Trev

An example of the plastic diffusion plate used in some Breville models (you can swap it out).

While it's true the stock diffuser is plastic, it's also an affordable and easy to replace service part and it lasts many years. My Breville Dual Boiler must be at least five years old, gets daily use and I've not yet needed to replace the diffuser, though I do have a spare handy for if it ever cracks.

That metal Pesado one is a gimmick, it does nothing for the coffee and makes keeping the machine clean harder because it has no screen, so coffee can find its way into the group more easily. Wouldn't recommend it. If you really want more metal, there is an unbranded one in the same design as the original that would be a better choice as it allows the use of the original metal shower screen or an IMS one, but there really is no need - Breville's shower screen and baskets are great.

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The Dual Boiler is a fantastic machine and punches well above its weight in capability to make high quality coffee. My machine will make a coffee just as good as a La Marzocco worth 6-8x the price, but you get what you pay for in reliability - the Dual Boiler's reliability was really only finally ironed out a couple of years ago when the steam boiler's constantly failing o-ring connections were replaced with compression fittings. Machines with the old boiler design required yearly o-ring replacement kits or they will fail and require repairs worth hundreds.
 
vbrad26
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Start them young! Making, not drinking lol. Although I do catch my older daughter (7 years old) sucking cups down if I leave them out of sight for too long.
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Also, speaking of my older daughter ( self proclaimed future archeologist specializing in Egyptology)…
Me to her prior to making the coffee - “Hey Owen, do you have any idea where my scale is?” “Yeah dad, it’s in my room I was weighing my rocks”
IMG_2096.webp
 
Trev
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vbrad26 vbrad26
Start them young! Making, not drinking lol. Although I do catch my older daughter (7 years old) sucking cups down if I leave them out of sight for too long.
IMG_2098.webp

Also, speaking of my older daughter ( self proclaimed future archeologist specializing in Egyptology)…
Me to her prior to making the coffee - “Hey Owen, do you have any idea where my scale is?” “Yeah dad, it’s in my room I was weighing my rocks”
IMG_2096.webp
My 10 year old son absolutely loves coffee too, we do buy decaf beans sometimes for him. He's getting better at using the machine and doing milk.
 
M
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Have not let my youngest try caffeine juice yet, but she enjoys helping me make a cup. It is our little tradition to dance while the Breville is pouring 😁
 
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