Well my Breville 800 ES Pro has started to spit water out of the group head so I’m of the opinion that it is about ready to be replaced. I was suspicious that it was close to failing for the last two weeks. I’ve had it for about 6 years, making 10 to 12 coffees a week.
I have coffee every morning before I go to work but because of my time constraints I usually have a macchiato. When time permits I have cappuccinos.
This was my second machine as I bought a Sunbeam Café Espresso about 15 years ago that lasted about 3 years before it died. In between machines I lived with Moka Pots.
I usually like to leave my machine to heat up for at least 10 minutes before I make my coffee, but if time is short I will flush water through first to get everything up to temperature.
I use a Breville BCG820BSS grinder that I’ve had for about 18 months. I generally use supermarket beans due mostly to convenience. I have found that the locally roasted beans are only good for about 3 days so I get better consistency out of the supermarket beans.
I have been doing a lot of research and I keep coming back to the Sunbeam EM7000 as the ideal replacement. My justifications for this are;
Thermoblocks give quick heat up times,
I can brew and froth milk at the same time,
Volume control brewing,
I’m in Bendigo so there are multiple local retailers I can buy one from,
And of course the price is also attractive.
For a long time, I coveted the Rancilio Silvia and trawled EBay for deals without ever pulling the trigger. My recent research has reviled that the Silvia is probably not the best machine for me due to the need to manage the boiler temperature, and there are better machines for steaming milk.
My wife will be using the machine and she is not as engaged or experienced in the coffee making process so my replacement machine needs to be fairly easy to use. She is essentially a novice.
I have considered the Breville Double boiler but I can’t seem to get one without the smart grinder, and the part where it needs to be sent to a service centre to be de-scaled has knocked it off the list.
I looked into the Nuova Simonelli Oscar II and the Bezzera BZ10. I’d like to understand a couple of things about the HX machines, with respect to the EM7000. I have also considered the Lelit PL60 variants.
What is the heat up time like?
Are they better to be left on? In our house the machine is likely to only be used once or twice a day so we would be inclined to turn it on only when needed.
Can I de-scale these units at home?
What other maintenance is required on these types of units, specifically what are the typical service intervals?
Noise is a big concern; the old machine makes quite a racket when I turn it on so I have to wait until everyone is awake before I can turn it on. I understand the EM7000 is relatively quiet.
I have also seen a La Nuova Era Cuadra and an Isomac Espresso Tea second hand in relative proximity to me, though I haven’t enquired about their age and level of use.
The timing of my old machine failing is quite bad as we are about to embark on the process of building a new house so our budget is very constrained. On the flip side we can design our new machine into our new kitchen, it will actually live in the pantry. I may consider plumbing it in with an in-line water filter.
I am confident that all the machines I have considered will produce coffee that will meet my quality standards, my concerns are around noise, ease of use and longevity. I know the Sunbeam machine is unlikely to still be going in 10 years’ time whereas the HX or a BD machine will still be going strong.
Sorry about the brain spew but I’ve been mulling over this for quite some time but I haven’t necessarily found the answers I am looking for. I’m looking forward to some enlightened responses!
I have coffee every morning before I go to work but because of my time constraints I usually have a macchiato. When time permits I have cappuccinos.
This was my second machine as I bought a Sunbeam Café Espresso about 15 years ago that lasted about 3 years before it died. In between machines I lived with Moka Pots.
I usually like to leave my machine to heat up for at least 10 minutes before I make my coffee, but if time is short I will flush water through first to get everything up to temperature.
I use a Breville BCG820BSS grinder that I’ve had for about 18 months. I generally use supermarket beans due mostly to convenience. I have found that the locally roasted beans are only good for about 3 days so I get better consistency out of the supermarket beans.
I have been doing a lot of research and I keep coming back to the Sunbeam EM7000 as the ideal replacement. My justifications for this are;
Thermoblocks give quick heat up times,
I can brew and froth milk at the same time,
Volume control brewing,
I’m in Bendigo so there are multiple local retailers I can buy one from,
And of course the price is also attractive.
For a long time, I coveted the Rancilio Silvia and trawled EBay for deals without ever pulling the trigger. My recent research has reviled that the Silvia is probably not the best machine for me due to the need to manage the boiler temperature, and there are better machines for steaming milk.
My wife will be using the machine and she is not as engaged or experienced in the coffee making process so my replacement machine needs to be fairly easy to use. She is essentially a novice.
I have considered the Breville Double boiler but I can’t seem to get one without the smart grinder, and the part where it needs to be sent to a service centre to be de-scaled has knocked it off the list.
I looked into the Nuova Simonelli Oscar II and the Bezzera BZ10. I’d like to understand a couple of things about the HX machines, with respect to the EM7000. I have also considered the Lelit PL60 variants.
What is the heat up time like?
Are they better to be left on? In our house the machine is likely to only be used once or twice a day so we would be inclined to turn it on only when needed.
Can I de-scale these units at home?
What other maintenance is required on these types of units, specifically what are the typical service intervals?
Noise is a big concern; the old machine makes quite a racket when I turn it on so I have to wait until everyone is awake before I can turn it on. I understand the EM7000 is relatively quiet.
I have also seen a La Nuova Era Cuadra and an Isomac Espresso Tea second hand in relative proximity to me, though I haven’t enquired about their age and level of use.
The timing of my old machine failing is quite bad as we are about to embark on the process of building a new house so our budget is very constrained. On the flip side we can design our new machine into our new kitchen, it will actually live in the pantry. I may consider plumbing it in with an in-line water filter.
I am confident that all the machines I have considered will produce coffee that will meet my quality standards, my concerns are around noise, ease of use and longevity. I know the Sunbeam machine is unlikely to still be going in 10 years’ time whereas the HX or a BD machine will still be going strong.
Sorry about the brain spew but I’ve been mulling over this for quite some time but I haven’t necessarily found the answers I am looking for. I’m looking forward to some enlightened responses!

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