Breville BES860XL

[alonebb]

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

 

[SeanCeltiad]

Just my 2 cents for what it's worth, go for the Breville unit, don't know which model you are getting but I've got the 860XL and have never had a problem with the water temp, if it's not hot enough just push and hold either the double or single button for the amount of 1 or 2 shots. Since I only drink w/o milk now, I just run a programmed double shot thru the porta filter into cup(also heats the porta filter up)then put the programmed amt. of coffee in filter and push the dbl. again and trust me it's plenty hot enough. When I was checking out the reviews on amazon, I couldn't figure out why some would complain about a-can't make an americano and b-there's no spigot for just hot water for tea or whatever, if you want hot water for either it's pretty obvious what to do, it's also a good way to heat up your cups, just toss the HW if you want straight espresso. Last but not least, ignore the espresso snobs, enjoy your coffee however you like it for goodness sake !

 

[MasellisCoffeeHouse]

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?

Hey Adam. I sell Danesi Espresso. We carry a blend called Doppio that actually has a chocolate taste to it. We use it to make sweeter flavored drinks such as Frappes etc.. That mixed with chocolate sauces you just ordered would be a great combination. Feel free to contact me or visit us online.

 

[itsabean]

Zooming ahead 2-1/2 years to Nov. '14--I'm another newbe who just bought the update to the 860XL, the 870XL. Changes made by Breville on their update: there's now a hot water outlet just in front of the steam wand; the bean hopper has been lifted above the top of the machine now (gets away from unwanted heating from the machine) with tapered sides to encourage beans to fall into the grinder. The burrs of the removable top portion of the grinder are now finer; the thermoblock has been replaced by a thermocoil (stainless steel tubing inside aluminum) and its wattage has been increased from 1450 up to 1600. Even though heating is not done in a boiler, temp control is accomplished by a PID on this machine, and temp is variable +/- 4 degrees. So, as Shadow745 wrote about the 860, the 870 (same price) is a good buy for what's included on this starter, semi-auto.