Breville ESP8XL Cafe Roma Stainless Espresso Maker
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Our Price: $324.97 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $199.00 (click here) Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Breville ESP8XL Cafe Roma Stainless Espresso Maker
Customer Review: Fantastic!
Summary: 5 Stars
Around 2-1/2 years ago, I started making my own espresso/machiatto/latte at home with a 4 bar Mr. Coffee machine. It was a nice starter unit, but the milk frothing/steaming was only fair. It made decent espresso, but when the Mr. Coffee stopped working after around a year (the steaming wand,) my wife and I decided to upgrade to a little better machine since we use it EVERY DAY. We bought this Breville machine about 14 months ago, and it is also used EVERY DAY. On a typical day (when I am in town...I travel a lot for work,) we make a double espresso latte for my wife, and I will drink two cups of double espresso myself. That's three times per day that this machine is used. To this day, it still makes a great cup of espresso, and I will buy another one if and when this one stops working. I do remembrer reading a lot of somewhat negative reviews before I bought this machine about coffee plugging the holes on the basket, but I have never had this problem. I think it is purely operator error....grinding/milling too fine. If you grind your beans as they should be ground, you will never have a problem. I did put the espresso basket holder in the dishwasher once, and that was a mistake. It should only be hand washed, in my opinion, as it seemed to corrode the outside of the holder somewhat. Did not affect the function, only the form. Overall, a GREAT machine.
UPDATE - 30 NOVEMBER 2009
The machine is still used every day, and never a problem. All the reviewers that have complained about plugging the holes should change the coarseness of their grind. If you mill too fine, you don't make a good cup anyway. Another point....we had a visit by an old friend that runs a restaurant in NYC and is a barista himself. He told me to check the time of the pull, which should be 15-18 seconds. I timed this after almost two years of use, and it was 17 seconds. Never a plugged filter, and always a perfect espresso!
Customer Review: Great Machine Highly recommend
Summary: 5 Stars
I have owned this machine for two months. I make 3-4 double shot cups per day and it has performed flawlessly. Same great cup with thick layer of carma on top every time. I bough this machine because it was the highest rated of all machines I reviewed including the high dollar machines that has a pump. I have had none of the issues with this machine others have expressed. My pods have not clogged. And, I grind my coffee to the consistency per the instructions that come with the machine which are pretty good and a common grind recommendation that I have found in all other articles on making expresso. I do soak pods in a hot water/vinegar mixture once a week as a precaution for plugging and I use a tooth brush to clean the pod after each use. Coffee does have oils and oily things have to be cleaned. The temperature of the expresso in the cup is 160F as I saw in one review, but I do not heat my cup and articles I have read state that the cup temp will be in the 160's if the exit temp from the machine is 200+ so no issue there. It does shake the house when it runs so hold on to you cup but you can't have everything. The "upgrade" to a spring to hold the pod in the handle section is not a real great change. You do have to bang the assembly sometimes to get the coffee out and at first I did have to fish the pod out of the trash a couple of times. I fixed this by dedicating a butter knife to remove the grinds if they do not come out after one bang. A minor inconvience if at all. The two cups that come with it are nice if you like to spike your regular coffee with a shot which I do every morning. And I suppose you could use the heating plate on top to get your cup hot but quite frankly I just am not refined enough in the palate to tell the difference in taste. It's all good to me! I highly recommend this machine.Customer Review: Missing the Coffee Experience
Summary: 3 Stars
I just got mine hours ago after reading plenty of reviews for this machine. I'm replacing a much cheaper coffee/espresso unit.
It is definately aesthetically pleasing and comes with everything you need including two stainless steel mugs with plates, two different sized filters and a filter cleaning tool which was unexpected. That was great! Its funny to note where the time was put in on Breville's side. Everything is matching except for the really cheap injection molded scoop/tamp combo. I wish every part of the machine and accessories were unified.
One of the things that I miss about my old machine is the audible process it made. I typically make my drinks at night and not in the morning. It was great to hear the gurgling of the water heating up and the pitter patter of the espresso dripping into the measured container. I felt like there was more trial and error in it, so you had more room for variety.
This machine is great for someone who wants their drink immediatly. It heated up the water almost instantly, and then as soon as you turn it on it pours out the espresso and you turn it off once the mugs are almost full. Also it is noisy when it forces out the liquid. The traditional sounds of a cafe are lost by loud electronic pumps. The same pump noise is present when frothing milk. Another small disappoitment was that the switches are either on or off, there is no adjusting. So for somone who likes a good consistant espresso very quickly its a good bet.
After the instantanious procedure, I felt a little unsatisfied that the process was lost for a quick drink. Having the ability to learn how make the perfect espresso yourself is the rewarding part of owning these machines.
I think I'm going to return it, not sure which one is next.
Customer Review: AWESOME Espresso Machine
Summary: 4 Stars
I was completely new to the espresso world when I bought the Breville ESP8XL Cafe Roma. A friend of mine turned me on to espresso, but his machine was too expensive for my budget, so I sought out a cheaper machine that would produce a quality espresso. The Cafe Roma fit the bill. I've had the machine for about a month now, and after finally finding the proper grind and tamping pressure, I've been pulling shot after shot of great espresso. I have it paired with a Rancilio Rocky grinder, and with a grind setting of 10 and with approx. 30 to 35 lbs of tamping pressure, the espressos are perfect. The puck knocks out of the portafilter like a brick making clean-up easy. I had a problem early on with watery pucks, but after I got my grind setting and tamp pressure right, the watery puck problem has been eliminated. Stainless steel housing is phenomenal, and looks great on my kitchen counter. The key to a good hot espresso with the Cafe Roma is to pull a blank shot before loading the portafilter with coffee. Although the instructions that come with the Cafe Roma suggest a "light tamp," it takes a good 30 to 35 lbs of tamp pressure to get a good shot, and the plastic tamp that comes with the machine is junk and just won't ever get the tamp right. Spend more money and invest in a good solid stainless steel tamper. The only real complaints I have are that the frothing wand is too short to accommodate a larger froth pitcher, and there is no variable steam control. Other than that, the machine is great. It is a great buy for the money and pulls a great espresso with a thick rich crema. For the novice, be patient and take the time to experiment with the grind, tamp, and type of coffee beans, and you won't be disappointed.Customer Review: I love this little guy...
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm new to home espresso; the only other machine I've used was a Maxim unit that lasted about two months. I just received my ESP8XL yesterday, and for my money, this machine rocks my mochas! Crema to rival that created by commercial units valued at 500 times the price. Granted, I'm no espresso connoisseur, but this machine suits me just fine. For my tastes, it makes a good cup of espresso, and cafe mochas that will keep me from spending 4 bucks every day at the local chain coffeehouses.
The "froth enhancer" is no longer included. This is fine with me; you don't need it. I'd taken it off my previous machine anyway; it's just one more thing to clean.
My only criticism is with amazon. In preparation for shipping, amazon double-boxes the Breville carton. What's lacking, however, are packing peanuts or any type of filler to prevent the Breville box from shifting about. I've worked for a major carrier and know how packages are handled. C'mon amazon, a few pennies for packing, huh? In fairness, the machine arrived no worse for this oversight.
*Follow-up points
When preparing to steam/froth milk, I have found the first few seconds of "steam" is actually a stream of water as the pump seems to be building pressure. I have sidestepped watery milk by allowing it to initially pump briefly into an empty cup. Once the steam is established, I then move the steaming pitcher into place.
The wand need not be difficult to clean. I recommend having a wet dishcloth nearby. Immediately after steaming the milk, I wipe the wand. (Fold the dishcloth over itself 2 or 3 times.) The longer you delay, the more effort that is required. This phenomenon is not peculiar to this machine.