So I just bought a new coffee machine, and thought Id say hi!
Before-hand I did a lot of reading here to try and find out which is the best for my price-range. Im glad I found this place, as I was just going to get an ultra-cheap grinder, but ended up getting the Breville BCG450. I was also going to get the Sunbeam EM0450 after its rave reviews for the price range, but I got the Breville grinder "for free". The machine is a Breville BES820. They had a deal for both grinder and machine and 1kg coffee for <$580-ish.
So the grinder is apparently not the worst in the world according to you guys http://coffeesnobs.com.au/YaBB.pl?num=1197890644/2. My only question there is how fine do I need to go? Should I really grind on the near-turkish setting? I assume the Breville is a pressurised machine from the pressure guage? (unnecessary pimping if you ask me!)
So far in my life Ive made a total of about 7 coffees on an espresso machine (5 on this one!). Theyre getting better! I know theres far to go though. My wife said the last one was better than some cafes
The first one was a bit depressing - no crema even though the Breville has the dual-wall fake thingo. Can I exchange this portafilter or basket for another one?
I am a bit disappointed with the machine though - for near $600 the hot water wand drips when youre not using it, and the steam wand (although it looked long in pictures) is quite short because it had a S.S. tube on it, which I dont like already. It drips too. And the steam is quite wet (I know a bit about steam from other areas). Breville says that the initial steam needs to be bled, so stick it over the drip tray (and indeed it drips water) but after that its still sputtering with water. I wonder if this is making my frothing harder? I find it hard to get real microfoam - its a bit flat and bubbly at the moment.
I would appreciate your comments on making the best coffee with my setup (please dont say "bin the Breville"!).
Two final comments: Ive found the need for some sort of grinds bin already (where I can bang out the grinds), but I dont know what theyre called so Im struggling to search for them - any suggestions?
Also, we just bought a Jura Impressa Z5 Generation II at work. Its fairly impressive alright, but I still dont like the froth
Since there seem to be lots of questions about this machine Im happy to answer anything you want to know - I can take pictures, video, noise levels, measurements, whatever!
well thanks for listening to my ramblings, I look forward to learning from you guys.
Before-hand I did a lot of reading here to try and find out which is the best for my price-range. Im glad I found this place, as I was just going to get an ultra-cheap grinder, but ended up getting the Breville BCG450. I was also going to get the Sunbeam EM0450 after its rave reviews for the price range, but I got the Breville grinder "for free". The machine is a Breville BES820. They had a deal for both grinder and machine and 1kg coffee for <$580-ish.
So the grinder is apparently not the worst in the world according to you guys http://coffeesnobs.com.au/YaBB.pl?num=1197890644/2. My only question there is how fine do I need to go? Should I really grind on the near-turkish setting? I assume the Breville is a pressurised machine from the pressure guage? (unnecessary pimping if you ask me!)
So far in my life Ive made a total of about 7 coffees on an espresso machine (5 on this one!). Theyre getting better! I know theres far to go though. My wife said the last one was better than some cafes
The first one was a bit depressing - no crema even though the Breville has the dual-wall fake thingo. Can I exchange this portafilter or basket for another one?I am a bit disappointed with the machine though - for near $600 the hot water wand drips when youre not using it, and the steam wand (although it looked long in pictures) is quite short because it had a S.S. tube on it, which I dont like already. It drips too. And the steam is quite wet (I know a bit about steam from other areas). Breville says that the initial steam needs to be bled, so stick it over the drip tray (and indeed it drips water) but after that its still sputtering with water. I wonder if this is making my frothing harder? I find it hard to get real microfoam - its a bit flat and bubbly at the moment.
I would appreciate your comments on making the best coffee with my setup (please dont say "bin the Breville"!).
Two final comments: Ive found the need for some sort of grinds bin already (where I can bang out the grinds), but I dont know what theyre called so Im struggling to search for them - any suggestions?
Also, we just bought a Jura Impressa Z5 Generation II at work. Its fairly impressive alright, but I still dont like the froth
Since there seem to be lots of questions about this machine Im happy to answer anything you want to know - I can take pictures, video, noise levels, measurements, whatever!well thanks for listening to my ramblings, I look forward to learning from you guys.

Comment