I have the non grinder version of this and I love it
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
What is the model name for this guy?
breville i think(its etched onto the front). my cousins have one of this or a similar model. my cousins have one of these, i wouldnt buy it though, maybe more than 1-4+ person is drinking espressos it might worth it.
I only saw the thumbnail and didn’t see what community it was… I thought this was a steering wheel setup (with a removable wheel) for a racing game 😂
oh
you’re not done spending money yet!
Gotta buy coffee, coffeee stirs, cups, little baby plates for those cups, dampeners, cotton clothes to clean the foam head, brush’s for the reservoir, water, electricity
I also recommend swapping the steaming knob for a lever! pretty cheap and feels more natural to pull a lever than a knob
Have the same one! Works great. Had some issues at first getting it to pull a good shot though, it is really dependent on the coffee you buy imho! Old faithful for us is Stumptown, Holler Mt. They list roast dates on the bag!
Hit me up if you you have any issues!
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.
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.
Thank you for teaching me about the collar! I’ve been working around this for years by grinding enough for 1 shot, tamping lightly, and then grinding the rest.
Another item I highly recommend is the rhino duel spout glass https://www.espressobreakdown.com.au/product-page/rhino-shot-glass-double-spout
It holds a double shot and has the handle to protect my fingers. Duel spout is helpful. Had mine for easily 8 years. The numbers of gone but i can see at the glance of an eye that my shot is the right amount/colour etc.
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.
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.
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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 :)
Money well spent! We love ours dearly.
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.
$400 is a good price, also. Pretty sure it was 600 when we got ours, and that was on sale 🤔
You take an expresso machine on camping trips…
Not every trip, and not every time. But on some more glamping type trips, absolutely. It makes me wildly popular lol
Bought it used, in good condition. Checked last week, Breville was having a sale where it was 200$ off. Sold out, of course.
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.
I don’t know about that, I used one on vacation and it took a couple tries and I didn’t know about the internal adjustment but it ended up pulling something approaching good espresso with the single wall basket. Maybe that’s just the thing - even with more time it doesn’t get better?
You van get lucky or a grind or whatever rhat makes it work well enough, but if you switch beans all the time and such it’s a nightmare.
I can see that being the case. The beans were stale dark roasted awful things. It’s attractive in terms of decision making ease, no need to spend a week analyzing.
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. 😂
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!
Yep, the smart move is to find an Infuser: BBE minus the grinder; then spend the saved money on a Baratza or Eureka.
Good Lord that’s expensive!
So…
If someone was just looking for basic grinding, but with the precision of baratza, would it be ok to get the encore for $150? Or are you literally leaving flavor performance on the table?
Like I get it, precision grinding is critical to flavor. But where do the diminishing returns start?
Right now we use the built in grinder on the breville.
And I have a burr grinder that we got dirt cheap somewhere, but it’s finest grind is still quite coarse. I use it for the occasional flavored coffee, I know better than to put that through the GOOD grinder.
The Encore isn’t great for espresso, IMO. You can get a Notte or Facile for a decent price, though. $349 for a Facile at Whole Latte Love, for instance. The Facile is great; basically a Silenzio (og, not the new 55) minus the timer – a couple cheap 3D printed parts (or the fancier but pricier official single dose mod kit) and it’s one hell of a single doser.
$150 ain’t getting you a good grinder, dude (unless you go manual).
Agreed. I got the Bambino and a Varia grinder and it’s been great.
Buy a separate high quality grinder.
No. The one it has is fine.
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.
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).
