Breville 800ESXL Commercial 15 Bar Die-Cast Espresso Machine Review

Great tasting espresso every time with little fuss

Rating:

By Johnny Harton USA

I found the Breville 800ESXL commercial grade, 15 bar espresso maker while looking around my local Williams Sonoma store at the mall. I was quite impressed and fell in love immediately. It is a well designed, beautiful looking, and solid machine that brews perfect espresso every time I use it.

Espresso lovers strive to find a machine that makes their drink with the most Crema (or brown creme on the top) to give it a full and rich flavor. Most coffee experts agree that crema is at the heart of the perfect espresso and without it you might as well pour it down the drain. The top machines available today all focus on getting this just right.

I was a relative newcomer to making espresso but put in quite a bit of research on the topic. I can confidently say that this is THE solution to producing a lot of perfect crema. It is very simple to make a perfect cup each time and I find that cleanup is a snap. It took me a little while to experiment with the right amount of coffee, grind and tamping pressure, and time but once I had this figured out the result was the perfect drink for my tastes. I would recommend experimenting as not everybody is looking for the same flavor.

As mentioned before, cleanup is very easy. There are no hard to reach areas that would collect the nasty leftovers which is a nice change from other coffee makers I have used in the past. There is also a nice storage area underneath the water tank that holds extra gruppa, tools, and other items I need during my brewing process. This keeps my kitchen countertop free from clutter and looking like it should. Another big plus in my book.

Other reviews I have read stated problems with the thermoblock and heating element but I haven’t had these problems. The result is a great cup of espresso which is really the most important thing. I could never understand why some people gripe about the little things instead of raving about what this machine does best. And that’s make great espresso time and time again.

Buy this popular, heavy duty machine here

Click here for other consumer reviews and to check prices at our recommended online supplier.