Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

[saroadie]

hi all, just joined coffee Snobs and first post. I have the BES900, purchased mid 2012.Very happy with the machine in general. recently the water flow through my porta filter is too fast, resulting in week watery coffee. I have tried numerous different grinds, right up to the finest possible on my breville bcg800 smart grinder. Any thoughts ?

Second (and less likely) thoughts are excessive water pressure at the group head. There may be an issue with your over pressure valve (OPV).

When extracting a watery shot, what pressure are you seeing on the gauge? If above 9.5 bar there may be an OPV issue. If this is the case, what pressure are you seeing with the blind filter disk inserted and either the one or 2 cup button held down? Should not max the gauge.

If below 9.5 bar then the issue most likely lies with what I said in the above post.

[georgemac]

thanks for response saroadie. with watery shot, pressure is at 4. with blind filter disk it is 8. i usually just buy coffee beans from a supermarket

[Barry_Duncan]

i usually just buy coffee beans from a supermarket

Hello George, that most likely is your problem. Roast coffee is at its best from about I week to 3 or 4 weeks after roasting. Supermarket coffee rarely has a roasted on date but usually a useby date that can be one or two years after roasting as a guide for when to take it off the shelf. Therefore it would have once been fresh but now is stale. Get some fresh coffee from a good roaster or cafe near you where they know the roast date.

Barry

[saroadie]

i usually just buy coffee beans from a supermarket

Agree with Barry. Get yourself some beans from a cafe or specialist roaster.

[PrescottCR]

What Barry and saroadie said, but I'm going to suggest using beans that are at least 4 days post roast and less than 2 weeks. If you're doing decaf, less than 10 days.

Also- I would think you should have a higher reading with the blind. If the blind is blocking flow completely I'd expect to see 9+.

[saroadie]

Also- I would think you should have a higher reading with the blind. If the blind is blocking flow completely I'd expect to see 9+.

Agreed as long as the blind disk isn't one of the early type with a small hole in it. If it is then 8 may be fine. Otherwise you'd expect 10+.

[Barry_Duncan]

Why is this spot and the BES930 string a couple of the busiest places on the CoffeeSnobs site?

Well, there are probable more of these machines sold in Australia than other similar quality ones as they are available at outlets in all the larger shopping centres near where I live and I expect around the country.

I am aware that the major discount stores sell more Nespresso like machines and super auto’s than manual espresso machines but they are for people who only want better than instant. Real coffee drinkers want better and buy better machines and end up here at CoffeeSnobs.

I have seen on other sites where Breville suggest that people come to CoffeeSnobs for information about their machines.

Barry

[ScottatYXX]

I have been following CoffeeSnobs for quite some time but finally need to ask a question....

I have had a BDB for a couple of years (around 1700 shots recorded). Anyway, recently it has started to make an odd noise when starting an extraction. Normally there is a vibrating pump noise but now it is accompanied by a higher pitched "rattle" that sounds like the 3 way solenoid may be failing. Does anyone have any experience with this problem? Is it even likely? Or possibly something else? The sound seems to be located towards the front of the machine and above the group head. Sometimes, pressing the 1 cup or 2 cup automatic buttons will not latch an extraction cycle as it should and as soon as the button is released the machine stops.

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

[jhocarz]

hi recent discussion regarding the breakdown are above but you can also check coffee geek also

[SteveRsa]

Hello George, that most likely is your problem. Roast coffee is at its best from about I week to 3 or 4 weeks after roasting. Supermarket coffee rarely has a roasted on date but usually a useby date that can be one or two years after roasting as a guide for when to take it off the shelf. Therefore it would have once been fresh but now is stale. Get some fresh coffee from a good roaster or cafe near you where they know the roast date.

Barry

Strangely enough the Coles Ethiopian beans have a roasted date. Last week I found some roasted in late October, far better than the latest batch of Fiori I had just before that. So sometimes supermarket stuff may be ok. Just check the dates.

[Yelta]

Strangely enough the Coles Ethiopian beans have a roasted date. Last week I found some roasted in late October, far better than the latest batch of Fiori I had just before that. So sometimes supermarket stuff may be ok. Just check the dates.

Welcome to Coffee Snobs Steve.

Strange first post, most people take the time to introduce themselves before beating the corporate drum, which Coles store do you work for.

[jhocarz]

Strangely enough the Coles Ethiopian beans have a roasted date. Last week I found some roasted in late October, far better than the latest batch of Fiori I had just before that. So sometimes supermarket stuff may be ok. Just check the dates.

hi steve, pulling shots requires fresh beans, 3-4days rest after roasting and then 2 weeks window. the reason for this is that you still want to maintain the aroma and the coffee's optimum, after that then its all just plain coffee. technically, the reason for the 2 weeks window is that by this time, the freshly roasted beans would have de-gassed and you will be pulling shots to the beans itself and not the gas, thus extracting properly. after two weeks, gas and everything are rapidly fading and you will be calibrating your grinder more often to chase the espresso, since the resistance of the puck might not be there anymore as it was before

[SteveRsa]

Welcome to Coffee Snobs Steve.

Strange first post, most people take the time to introduce themselves before beating the corporate drum, which Coles store do you work for.

I have no affiliation to Coles.

[SteveRsa]

hi steve, pulling shots requires fresh beans, 3-4days rest after roasting and then 2 weeks window. the reason for this is that you still want to maintain the aroma and the coffee's optimum, after that then its all just plain coffee. technically, the reason for the 2 weeks window is that by this time, the freshly roasted beans would have de-gassed and you will be pulling shots to the beans itself and not the gas, thus extracting properly. after two weeks, gas and everything are rapidly fading and you will be calibrating your grinder more often to chase the espresso, since the resistance of the puck might not be there anymore as it was before

Well aware of the timing. Just wanted to point out that some supermarket beans do indeed carry a roasted on date. And sometimes a miracle occurs and the bag is available within that window.

[jhocarz]

Well aware of the timing. Just wanted to point out that some supermarket beans do indeed carry a roasted on date. And sometimes a miracle occurs and the bag is available within that window.

you can ask the inventory personnel when these guys delivers, they usually have a regular inventory