Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

[>mcknightp]

Set the dose, then adjust the grind to get the approx correct rate of flow, ie espresso dropping from the spouts between 10-14secs (with 7sec pre-infusion), adjust dose/grind to find the sweet spot for that particular bean/blend/date from roast. Hold tamp constant at ~15kg & above.

Generally speaking over-dosing will not allow you to get the best flavour from your coffee.

BTW you don't have to adjust the smart grinder from notch to notch on the display, you can adjust it to site between the "steps" just like a stepless.

Cheers, Phil

[Gnat]

The Aroma Festival setup looks pretty cool, I might drop by and check out the pretty colours When do you plan to release the new colours for sale?

About dosing, I was doing some experimentation yesterday, it seems that underdosing slightly (tamped puck is just under the ridge in the double basket) with a finer grind (to maintain ~27s extraction) results in a nicer shot than overdosing slightly. I've got my Smart Grinder set to grind a single shot with -5 adjustment; grind once, then tap/settle the coffee, grind another lot, then tamp.

[swamprat96]

Set the dose, then adjust the grind to get the approx correct rate of flow, ie espresso dropping from the spouts between 10-14secs (with 7sec pre-infusion), adjust dose/grind to find the sweet spot for that particular bean/blend/date from roast. Hold tamp constant at ~15kg & above.

Generally speaking over-dosing will not allow you to get the best flavour from your coffee.

BTW you don't have to adjust the smart grinder from notch to notch on the display, you can adjust it to site between the "steps" just like a stepless.

Cheers, Phil

Thanks Phil. I did not realise that about the "steps"

[Barry_Duncan]

This week my BDB, which is nearing its first birthday, suddenly went into low flow mode. With a blind filter, it took 18 seconds to move the pressure gauge needle then it would go slowly to full pressure. Both the hot water and steam flows were normal.

Today I took it to Len the fix it man at the Breville Factory Outlet at ultimo in Sydney.

Len thinks he knows what is wrong. In the early machines, mine is number 57 by the serial no, there is a tiny O ring made from a material that perishes and blocks the water flow between the heat exchanger and the brew boiler, a very simple but annoying problem. Hopefully the newer O rings are more heat resistant.

Len expects that it will be fixed in a couple of days, if that's all it is. He keeps some spares on hand.

I will let you know how it goes.

Nick would have easily fixed this himself. Nick is more of a handy man than most of us and he doesn't have Len handy nearby like me to fix it under warranty.

I am lost without my BDB. To keep up my caffeine intake, today I had a couple of fantastic double macchiatos while with friends at the Lane Cove Pablo and Rusty’s.

Barry.

[argus]

Barry, I'll be interested to hear how your machine performs when it returns from repair.

Mine had the same issue as yours but now after the repair I have water pouring out of the group head seal when I do a back flush with a proper blind filter and the portafilter slides off every time unless you hold it. I also occasionally get the portafilter start to slide when making coffee as well now. My unit has never done this before. I'll grab some wet and dry on the weekend and try your "take the shine off the lug" trick to see if that helps.

The other thing I've noticed is that I hear a distinct metallic click as the pump ramps up to full pressure after preinfusion as though the pressure is snapping something in the group assembly into place. This was quit loud initially but seems to have faded a fair bit as I run more shots through it. It seems to me mine didn't go back together quite the same as it was when it went in unfortunately.

[Dennis]

Maybe I should take a poll as to how many of those I sold have been returned for a warranty claim?

[Vinitasse]

You can't be worrying too much, otherwise you wouldn't be so coy with your process!
You'd rather wait UNTIL users here are having scaling issues some time in the future, only then to reveal what they COULD'VE done to prevent the scale from getting to the point it would then be at?
That is some of the most screwed-up logic I have ever witnessed being spouted on the internet - and there's a lot of it out there!

Unless you're patenting your methodology or anything associated with the whole process, you should open your mouth and spill the beans, or shut it and stop teasing people with "I know a secret", like you do when 6 years of age!

As the general concept of a forum is to share information - good, bad, or indifferent - then perhaps you need to rethink about commenting on this subject matter until such times as you're willing to share.

Not quite fair with your comments Tit ol' buddy. I can see from the number of posts under your name that you're relatively new to the forum. If you had been around a bit longer, or researched the issue in greater depth before posting, you would have known that Nick has, in the past, gone to great lengths to explain the preventative maintenance measures he has undertaken with his BDB900. However, more often than not, he has been dumped upon, dissed and generally shat upon for doing so. You should be able to forgive his current reticence as he has been there, done that and been burned more than a few times.

[Zappa_23]

I thought i was the only person who has issues with the porafilter sliding when i do a backflush..Becomes annoying when you have to hold it most of the time also when pulling a shot..It seems to be an increasing problem....I remove the shower screen weekly and clean and am now scratching my head as to why it is doing it.
How many others are experiencing the same problem?
Have even tried less coffee in the basket hoping it would help but no joy
Any thoughts appreciated..

[johnsmith]

i am seriously considering upgrading to one of these machines (from a 800ES), and i have two questions to BES900 owners who are also coffeesnobs:

1. how is the included tamper - is it adequate or would a better tamper yield noticeably better results?

2. i have an isomac professionale grinder - how does the smartgrinder compare?

[swamprat96]

Maybe I should take a poll as to how many of those I sold have been returned for a warranty claim?

Good idea. It would be interesting but are most of them 2011 machines?

Argus you should take your's back again and get it sent to Sydney.

[>mcknightp]

Vince, I'm looking in to your issues. Let you know the outcome.

Cheers, Phil

[Dennis]

Good idea. It would be interesting but are most of them 2011 machines?

Argus you should take your's back again and get it sent to Sydney.

Yes, they were the same ones that had been tested to last ten years.

[Barry_Duncan]

I thought i was the only person who has issues with the porafilter sliding

Several of us have had that problem of the portafilter sliding or popping out.

You will see how I fixed it from my post a couple of pages back. It hasn’t popped out and I haven't needed to turn the handle beyond 6 o’clock since I took the shine off the lugs with emery paper,

Barry

[Barry_Duncan]

i have two questions to BES900 owners who are also coffeesnobs:

The tamper supplied is quite adequate. I bought a Bogav tamper designed to lock in the magnetic hole on the machine. It is heavier with a better feel; however the shiny cap is thinner and encourages slight over dosing. I think that the naked portafilter is a better investment. I use mine most of the time.

I have not used an Isomac grinder. If it is profesionale it must be good.

Barry.

[Barry_Duncan]

I dropped my BDB into Breville Factory outlet at Ultimo yesterday to have a water problem fixed. I just found a message on my phone to say it is ready to pick up, so I will get it back on Monday. Hows that for speedy service?

Barry