oh
you’re not done spending money yet!
We have one similar to that. It broke years ago. No pressure. We looked into repairs and it has to be shipped overseas. Can’t bring ourselves to toss it though.
Gone through multiple espresso machines until we get the Breville. It is the single one w/o the grinder and it is rock solid. It will probably last longer than all the ones we had in the past combined.
Should not be a difficult or expensive repair if you want to try it yourself, it’s probably the pump that has given out. A new pump should be cad$50-$75 and probably an hour to replace
Not a fan of the BBE. It can pull great shots, but the grinder is inconsistent in both grind size and amount. I wish I would have bought the smaller machine (without the grinder) and bought a good grinder. But, I make due with what I got. Congratulations! Seriously. No sarcasm! Have fun with it!
Agreed. I got the Bambino and a Varia grinder and it’s been great.
You did good. I have the slightly fancier touch screen one, basically the same machine but with a screen, and it has paid for itself probably 10x over.
I would suggest two accessories for it
One is the collar, get one on Amazon made of stainless steel. It’s a little thing that clips on the top of the portafilter and funnels the grounds in. It’s the same diameter as the portafilter so you tamp the coffee with the collar on and thus none spills. I have had good luck with this one
The other is a scale, a fairly sensitive small kitchen scale calibrated in grams. The portafilter that comes with this machine wants about 17 g of coffee grounds put in, to about 35 g of espresso out. You can get a fancy expensive espresso scale but just go buy one on Amazon and it’s just as good, only thing to watch out for is some of those scales the sensor is in the feet which won’t work as well. Get one where there is a separate platform on top. I have good luck with this one.
With the scale I usually measure out the beans on the scale, then pour them in the hopper and grind until they are all gone. That way you can keep your coffee stored in an airtight container and get the precise docent each time.
Be aware that the grinder on this machine is somewhat inconsistent. As it heats up it grinds differently. So if you are trying to pull 10 shots in a row to dial in the machine understand that the grind on the 10th is going to be different than the grind on the first.
And of course if you haven’t already subscribe to James Hoffman on YouTube…
As he once said, when people ask me which espresso machine to buy, I ask them if they want a cup of coffee or a hobby. This type of machine is more on the hobby side. But it will make you a damn good cup of coffee :)
Had this machine twice.
Sold the first one to buy a fancy oracle. I shouldn’t have the oracle was not as consistent.
Re-bought the express. Great machine.
Did you get the dosing collar? https://www.breville.com/en-au/product/bea201neu0zan1
It helps with no mess.
The collar is a must-have, but I suggest go on Amazon and get one that’s stainless steel instead of the plastic thing
The collar is a must-have, but I suggest go on Amazon and get one that’s stainless steel instead of the plastic thing
The plastic one arrived with my machine. Didn’t get one with the first. Got one with the second.
My sister in law has the same machine, with the plastic collar.
We got an aftermarket aluminum one for ours, and it feels much better. Does the same job, ultimately, but cheaper and feels premium.
Hey look! It’s my espresso machine!
We got ours at the beginning of covid, still going strong. It’s survived a move, and several camping trips where we run it off a generator, from the trunk of the car.
It’s all automated, but you can run it in manual mode if you ever get fancy with your coffee (I haven’t yet). Heck, I still use the double wall cup for more consistency and ease. Plenty tasty.
$400 is a good price, also. Pretty sure it was 600 when we got ours, and that was on sale 🤔
With this machine you unfortunately kinda have to use the double walled baskets, because the grinder doesn’t have a good enough adjustment for proper espresso.
You take an expresso machine on camping trips…
Not every trip, and not every time. But on some more glamping type trips, absolutely. It makes me wildly popular lol
Bought it used, in good condition. Checked last week, Breville was having a sale where it was 200$ off. Sold out, of course.
I had a restaureant in Spain for a few years, so I think I might know a bit about coffee and machines. The machine is not really that important. The coffee, and especially the grind, is. Play with you grind settings, until you find the right grain for your machine.
Have one as well, fantastic buy, but watch your water hardness and use that filter
Because of scale buildup and calcification? Never had an espresso machine but I had the same thing happen on another device. I ended up using this stuff called Durgol and it worked great.
We have the same mode, and yes. The scale build up can be a problem. I just run some descaler through it every couple months and its been working great for 5 years now.
I have the Oracle Touch, also bought it used, and it had probably been run in a cafe or so. Its cup counter was absurdly high.
Anyway: I second that you should look out for scale. I have hard water (~200 ppm bicarbonate) and never cared for the filters. It wasn’t too long before I noticed a constant hissing from the machine once it heated up, and it struggled reaching 93 °C. Turned out that scale had built up around the temperature probes so badly that it had damaged the o-rings. The escaping steam also had corroded nearby screws. I got it fixed and it still works, to this day, but I had to spend time and money I had rather used for something else.
Yup, that’s what I do. also change the water filter regularly
I have one of these things in my pantry. I have never been able to figure out what the heck it actually is.
this is the first time I’ve seen another one on the internet. do you know what that thing is?
Holds a water filter.
…thats it?
a decade of looking, and its… a water filter???
good GODS, that’s underwhelming.
No no. It’s not a filter itself. It’s a thing that HOLDS water filters.
I’m just happy to be here and see this learning experience.
I’m not even mad…
just… disappointed that i wasted over a decade… just to find out it’s a water filter holder. What a let-down.
I’m right there with you. I have so many things in my “inventory” that I’m holding on to just in case, even though I don’t know what they are.
At least now you can throw it away without worrying it’s the missing piece of an important thing.
haha. at least now I can give it the treatment it truly deserves… xD
Buy a separate high quality grinder.
No. The one it has is fine.
Unfortunately it is not.
If you do the same beans all over every day, and it’s not too much of a light roast and you either get lucky or manage to use the stupid micro-adjustment mechanism that requires you to remove the hopper and all beans, it is usable. But it’s barely usable as a grinder for proper espresso (not using a pressurized basket).
Buying all in one whatever it is is never the best idea, repairability wise. Happy you’re enjoying it though.
I bought the same machine when i got into coffee making. I always told myself that when it breaks, i’ll buy a nice espresso machine and grinder and whatever. That was 10 years ago in a few month and i only ever did basic maintenance. Not saying these machines last forever, but i couldn’t be happier tbh
Yep, had mine for 7 years now and the whole machine is still in perfect order.
Only do the basic maintenance the machine tells me to (and change the filter regularly).
I agree, bigger or more powerful brings different problems.
Tried this once, but had to return it because it had consistency problems. We got the coffee exactly as we liked, and the next morning it had different taste. Does it happen to you?
Not yet, but then I’m not super picky about my coffee flavors.
Were you using the built in grinder? Despite OWNING baratza they insist on using crappy plastic buzz grinders for almost all their built in stuff.
Baratza is mostly plastic too. I had a Sette. The main burr bearing was matal balls on plastic race. It self-destructs in about 300 hours. Grinds very well before it doesn’t. 😂
Good stuff!
