Breville BES860XL

[Adam2670]

Thinking about picking one up, have a 20% off coupon from BB&B and that would bring this down to $480, seems like the best price out there. Would love to get some opinions from owners out there!

thanks!
-Adam

 

[shadow745]

Not an owner, but will say Breville is making steps in the right direction and it started with that machine. Their offerings before the Barista Express were all about form and very little about function, but that has changed. They seem to be listening to what coffee consumers want/expect now more than ever.

Regarding the machine, it has some nice features. Nice conical burr grinder on the side. Properly designed group/portafilter as well as having the choice of single or dual wall baskets. My only fault with it would be the thermoblock, which is what flash heats the water as it passes through. Thermoblocks heat up quickly, but usually don't offer consistent brew temperature or pressure when compared to a boiler.

For the $ it's a pretty good deal when compared to what's currently on the mark. Breville's next step up is more than twice what you want to spend now, so the machine in question may be a good starting point for you.

 

[Adam2670]

Yeah all of that is what I've been hearing and if the only downside is water isn't hot enough it's a no brainer, I only drink iced espresso so it would not matter to me in the least, unless this alters flavor somehow?

 

[shadow745]

Water temperature does indeed alter flavor to a degree. Too cool usually leads to a sourness in the espresso. Not sure what average water temp is at the puck with that particular machine. I'd say it's leaps and bounds over earlier Breville offerings as they have made drastic improvements over the last few years.

Only iced espresso? No other espresso based drinks?

 

[Adam2670]

Well...I feel like someone's gonna kill me here when I tell you what I wind up drinking...

I've been experimenting to find the perfect iced mocha's and after about 3 months of not being able to find the right syrups I'm now experimenting with powdered hot cocoa mixes in with my espresso. The latest drink of the week is now 4 shots of starbucks espresso with a packet of swiss miss mocha cappuccino about 6 ounces of whole milk and 4-5 ice cubes. It's not that bad actually but I'm still looking for something I like better. I'm OBVIOUSLY not a connoisseur here but I love my coffee drinks, would love to find something that I'm in love with but I'm at a loss for the right balance of mocha and espresso flavoring. I don't really care for hot drinks of any kind and really look forward to my morning drink but have been settling for a less than perfect drink. We had a local coffee shop here with what I thought was the perfect drink close up over the summer last year and since then have just been desperate to emulate the drink, to no avail...

-A

 

[shadow745]

I'd recommend adding hot espresso to Ghirardelli Dark (black label) Chocolate sauce, then pour over ice and add milk as it's an excellent product for mocha-type drinks. If you want a killer blended (frozen) mocha use espresso, a bit of Ghirardelli chocolate sauce and some Big Train Frozen Mocha base mix. Blend with ice and a bit of milk to give outrageous results.

The problem I see with most coffeeshops is they use crappy espresso, chocolate sauce, etc. because most think the drink is gonna taste good nonetheless when loaded with all that flavor and/or sweetness. Terrible espresso will pull through almost anything and still give a lousy product.

 

[Adam2670]

Okay just ordered 25 bags of the mix and a 6 pack of 16oz black label chocolate sauces, looking forward to more experimenting!

Any recommendations on a new espresso to try?

 

[shadow745]

A great espresso to use with that is something that is primarily Brazilian as a base. My go-to espresso is actually a Single Origin Brazil Ipanema. Roaster takes the SO coffee, divides and roasts at 2 different temperatures (1 component darker for more sweetness and 1 lighter for more nuttiness) and blends after roasting. Makes for a nicely balanced espresso straight or when used in drink building.

I've tried chocolate sauces from Torani, Monin, Guittard and Ghirardelli. For me the best all-around for coffee based drinks would have to be the dark label Ghirardelli. It just works well... not too rich, not too sweet, just perfect for the applications I used it for. If you want a great bottled caramel sauce look no further than Monin's version. Nothing I've tried came close to that.

 

[shadow745]

Decided on a machine yet? Honestly you want find a perfect machine that suits everybody at any price point. People are creatures of habit and will always find something they don't like about a particular product. Majority of population will be fine with the Breville Express. The true coffee geeks in the world will tear it down to look for every flaw. If you have a Williams-Sonoma near you they may have that machine on display. Some W-S stores even do demos for interested buyers...

 

[Adam2670]

I have indeed decided on the Breville unit, for the $480 price tag I just can't find anything better, and upgrading from a Krupps unit I paid $80 for at target this should be a HUGE improvement. Now I just need uncle sam to get my check to me so I can go out and buy it =D

Where do you buy the espresso you use?

 

[shadow745]

Yeah I agree. The grinder that is incorporated into that machine is pretty much the same thing as their current "Smart Grinder" which I believe goes for $300~. That would leave you buying the espresso machine part of the equation for $200, which would be tough to do with anything NIB.

My go-to espresso is/was what we DID buy for the business on a wholesale level, but we recently closed shop due to my declining health. Since they are tax exempt wholesale only I won't be buying from them any longer.

One coffee that sounds quite similar is "Brazil Sweet Blue" from Redbird Coffee. It's a S.O. Brazil and one that I will probably be trying once I plow through my current stock. Last time I checked the price was around $57 for 5 lbs. shipped. That is quite affordable for quality coffee. I vacuum pack/deep freeze in 8 oz. increments (for home use) and that has been working quite well for some time now. I started doing that on a commercial level for our decaf and it worked so well at preservation I started incorporating that for all coffees I was using commercially. Always had fresh product and no waste.

 

[Adam2670]

Ordered a pound, can't wait to try it, thanks!

 

[shadow745]

So you're going to use premium roasted coffee before you get the new machine to tinker with? Not saying you won't see a difference with the equipment you're currently using, but higher level equipment will certainly maximize your efforts.

 

[Adam2670]

Actually funny you should say that, I was at a Wiliams Sonoma today and grabbed a half pound of Illy medium roast espresso, made a double shot of each that and the starbucks. The sbux tasted a bit watery and burnt, the Illy has a much creamier, sweeter taste to it but has a bitter kick afterwards, not sure if it's me or the machine, I did clean everything between shots so I'm guessing it's the medium roast vs. the sbux dark?

 

[Adam2670]

Got the Black Label chocolate and big train mix today, made a few drinks and absolutely love them both, I of course feel like Im going to have a heart attack now having ingested about 12 shots of espresso this afternoon with all the taste testing. I expect to gain a few pounds this week due to the VERY high sugar and calorie content of the big train mocha lol...

Now I'm just waiting for my tax check and going to grab the Breville machine and never look back...at how skinny I was