BrevilleInfuser Espresso Machine BES840XL, Brushed Stainless Steel

If you just want to make espresso drinks at home and want something quick and easy, there machines a lot less than half the price to use with pressurized filters and that have an easy to use steam wands. But if you are ready, or plan to soon, move up to professional style non-pressurized filters, then this is a great machine for the beginner up through intermediate user at a very good price.One thing I want to say upfront, ALWAYS run an empty shot before making your espresso. The first shot runs about 20 degrees below the optimal 200 degrees and will result in an under-extracted espresso. It is also good to heat up your grouphead, portafilter and cup. It makes a very very good espresso that probably can only be beat by a $2.000+ machine. I used a non-pressurized filter on my previous machine, but noticed that the shots with the infuser brought some of the subtle tasted characteristics from my coffee beans. It is important to use a good quality conical burr grinder in order to grinds that are fine enough to use with a non-pressurized filter. I use the Breville smart grinder pro. I think this is a better way to go rather then getting the Breville Barista Express with the built-in grinder, for numerous reasons. One is that it is more flexible than the built-in one, which only has 30 settings. The smart pro has 60 settings so you can use it to get coarse grinds for a French press and other coffee makers. It is also much easier to clean and allows you to upgrade to a more advance espresso machine without having to buy a new grinder.The steaming wand works very well after a small bit of practice. There are some videos on youtube that are helpful. After some research it seemed the best milk to use is grassfed whole milk. So I bought organic grassfeed whole milk, and wow it is the way to go. It tastes great and easy to get an excellent microfoam. I highly recommend that you give it a try.The pressure gauge looks cool, but is totally unnecessary. I wish the tamper were a heavier all metal construction, though this lighter one is needed to use the magnetic holder, which is convenient. The tamper words oaky, so I will just have to get used to it. Overall this is a great machine at this price.update: 13December:thought I would address of common complaints I've noticed in some reviews. One being that it uses too much water and that the drip trays fills up to fast. Both are due to the fact that the steam wand purges (through the back of the tray) hot water after use, which is good so that if you pull another shot the water won't be too hot. To me, it's not a big deal to refill it. As far as the tray filling up, just do what I do ... empty the tray each time you use it. It is very simple and only takes a few seconds. A plus is that the tray design is very easy to remove and install .. it is really no big deal at all.

So how's my Breville doing after 5 years. Not bad. Most often it gets used once a day and the only problem that has developed is with the automatic shot cut off. Everything else works perfectly. When I select either the single or double shot it just keeps running, so I have to shut it down manually with the off button. I'm going to live with that until the machine fails completely and then decide on a replacement.====================================================I broke my Rancilio Silvia after 5 years of good service. The Silvia is a well established leader in the home market so my comments on the Breville BES840 XL are all based on pros and cons compared to the Silvia.I'll start with the Breville cons because there are not many============================================================* Portafilter on the Silvia is the professional standard 58 mm while the Breville is 54. If the shot quality is comparable that should not matter too much. The Breville porta-filter seems less substantial. My expensive 58 mm tamper is now useless.* Dry used puck discharges cleanly from the portafilter on the Silvia. On the Breville it most often does not break cleanly, so some of the used coffee ends up being washed down the sink.* Silvia vents partially back to the water tank so you rarely have to empty the drip tray. You have to empty the Breville but it does have a clever float up reminder when the reservoir is full.Breville Pros==============* Breville has lower price and is better looking. They have about the same footprint.* Breville is semiautomatic which enables uniform performance with less attention to detail than the Silvia requires. Push a button and you get one or two shots delivered automatically without having to stand over the machine. Toggle switches on the Silvia held up well but seem 19th century compared to the Breville. I broke my Silvia by having it come on with a timer. Having left the brew toggle in the open position the water reservoir emptied and the motor burned out. This can't happen with the Breville since it comes on in the off position, and you have to push a button to operate it.* Breville has a PID controlled thermocoil boiler which means the water temperature is always perfect. With the Silvia you never know where it is in the heat cycle and for best performance you should wait for the light to come on and then go off. You can find online instructions on how to install a PID control on the Silvia but its a technical challenge I never seriously considered.* Both have the non-pressurized professional portafilter inserts but the Breville also has a set of pressurized, so that if someone gives you a ground bag of coffee for a gift you have a way to brew it.* The bottom of the Breville portafilter is plastic you can clean. The Silvia is non stainless steel that discolors and impossible to consider clean.* The Breville has a separate hot water delivery outlet. Great for pre-heating a cup or adding water for an Americano. Much more convenient then the typical Silvia method of delivering hot water through the steam wand.* Breville steam wand has a plastic ring making it harder to burn your fingers and the wand has a greater range of movement.* Breville supplied with a real tamper. Silvia comes with a toy that has to be replaced.* Breville has a built in carbon water filer and the water tank level is visible from the outside.* Maintenance of the Breville is supported by gauges and supplies. Silvia expects you to figure it out.* Infusion or slow ramp up of the water pressure on the Breville is a feature of much more expensive machines. This combined with the built in pressure gauge reduces the learning curve for producing the perfect shot when you change coffee beans.Most important, how does the espresso compare. When I made the changeover I used the same beans with my Rancilio burr grinder. The crema produced was the same and the flavor comparable, but I give the edge to the Breville. In fairness the Breville had the advantage of being clean while the Silvia could have had some flavor reducing residues lurking inside.The Breville is a step up in every way for the average Joe that wants to reduce his Starbuck's bill. Perhaps a seasoned aficionado would find merit in the Silvio. I'll leave that for them to explain.