Breville BES860XL

[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.

[Coffee Forum]

[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

[alonebb]

I just bought a refurbished BES860XL for $350 2 days ago, hope it runs well. I cant wait to use it.