15 Bar Italian-designed Thermoblock Pump
Sealed bean hopper with 8oz capacity
Integrated conical burr grinder
Removable 67oz water tank with water filtration system
Programmable or manual settings
With its integrated conical burr grinder and dosing control, The Barista Express delivers the optimum path from espresso bean to thick crema in less than two minutes. Non-pressurized cafe style single-wall filters allow for experimentation of grind size, grind amoung and tamping pressure to explore the art of espresso. Pressurized dual-walled filters help beginners by delivering smooth crema every time. The integrated tamper with magnetized lock in storage allows you to tamp to your preference while attached to the machine or the counter
This review is from: Breville Barista Express BES860XL machine with grinderI spent my Christmas 2009 reviewing expresso machines. I had just returned from a trip to Europe and finally was going to fold and get an expresso machine. I missed the expresso from Italy and France. 1oz of crema delight.So, I liked the Breville from all the reviews but was worried about some of the negativity on the "wet puck" I had read. All the reviews mentioned excellent coffee though, so it was on my short list.Then I saw the Breville BES860XL, also known as the Barista Express Programmable Expresso. From the looks you can tell this unit has exchanged the hot water dispenser for a bean grinder. This unit is a fully automatic expresso machine with the super automatic feature of grinding a pre-measure of beans for your brew. Note, it is not a super automatic machine as you still need to manually mount the portafilter into the group head, and clean the filter afterwards. This is as automatic as you will want to go if you want to really control your coffee.But, let me walk you through the pleasure:1. the box. this has excellent graphics -- even as you open, the getting started guide and pictures guide you along. The unit removes easily.2. The tamper is magnetically held in place on the front of the machine -- you can use it in place or remove for manual tamping.3. New: -there is a dry puck feature now for all the fussy reviews -- this removes excess water so you get, a dry puck - an excellent burr grinder -- you can dismantle this for cleaning, and it has a wide range of control - for those that previously complained about the "cheat" dual wall filters -- the unit comes with single and double dual wall AND single wall filters - there is a hideaway storage tray to hold all the small goodies4. Steaming -- excellent steam temperature and pressure -- works very well with the provided frothing jug, very minimal excess water to start5. The real test. I am using the dual wall filters, and the Illy whole expresso beans I got from Italy were made into pure heavenly expresso. Nice crema. This is the real thing.This is one finely engineered machine. From a mechanically inclined electrical engineer to the folks at Breville: you have created an exceptionally functional piece that does the job. Did I mention it is beautiful on the counter as well? I have it on an island, no bad sides.Drawbacks: none. BUT, when making a real expresso shot, make sure you pre-warm your demitasse. Otherwise the expresso will heat up your cup and your coffee will not be hot. I run a water cycle first into my cup to heat up the group head and the cup.In my opinion this is the best buy in the market under $1500. At the office, daily I use a super automatic machine that is at that top end....
This review is from: Breville Barista Express BES860XL machine with grinderI agree with most of the reviews below - but wanted to add a few words about my experience with this machine:I made a cursory read-through of the manual and having never owned a machine like this, but certainly having purchased a lot of coffee shop espressos across the globe, I thought I could jump right in and make some great drinks. Well, in part true, but I hit a point where I almost returned it. I started off with the double-wall filter and it made a very decent shot. Then I figured I try out the single wall filter. 2 weeks later and after joining the ranks of Corn-holio, I hit the jackpot. During the first 2 weeks, I went from a moderate grind and a middle grind amount to the finest setting and about 2/3 away around the grind amount dial. I even far exceeded the recommended tamping pressure. The result was always an under extracted and bitter shot. Most of the time the puck was wet on top and a bit messy to clean up. Each time I pressed the double-shot button, the pressure wouldn't even rise into the darker colored scale. No matter how fine the grind, or how hard I tamped the coffee the result was the same. I thought maybe it was the bean I chose or just a lousy grinder. Nope.The day before yesterday I decided to read through the manual ...
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