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 !