Breville ESP8XL Cafe Roma Stainless Espresso Maker,1.2 liters

Gasket un peu faible mais fait du très bon café comme souhaité.

I originally gave this product a 4-star rating. I have been thinking about the problems I continue to have and changed this to a 3-star rating.
1) The steam wand is awkward to clean. It has a metal tube over it, to help make foam for things like latte’. The tube gets cooked on milk inside. That can be run through the dishwasher. Or, you can use like a test-tube brush to clean. The bigger issue for me was the steam wand. If you leave the tube on for say 3 or 4 cups, the steam wand ends up getting a fair amount of cooked on milk deposited. Since the steam wand is not removable, you need to clean it in place. A wet scrub sponge will eventually take the grunge off, with some elbow grease. Of course, most coffee shops don’t have the tubes, just the steam wand. They also use a damp cloth to wipe it down after every use. YMMV.
2) The portafilter seems to retain espresso coffee. It doesn’t drip through. After the brewing cycle is complete, the excess steam if vented down into the tray. But, when I remove the portafilter for cleaning and I find that there is some coffee still trapped between the bottom of the coffee grounds filter and the two exit holes. You would think that eventually everything would drain out. Despite having several minutes to an hour between espresso shots, the coffee is retained. I have cleaned the holes with a brush (a bristle brush for cleaning metal straws), so I know those are clear. I believe that the coffee is accumulating below a black plastic insert in the portafilter. I’ve tried removing the screw on the bottom of the portafilter. I didn’t push too hard on the plastic insert in fear of breaking it. I just drain the portafilter and rinse it until clear water comes through then I tilt it to drain the water that is retained under the black plastic insert.

Regarding the first problem, I bought a stand alone milk heating and foaming pitcher. It’s dishwasher safe. For the second problem, I plan to try to find a new portafilter that is open at the bottom, i.e. “naked” portafilter. Then there’s no place for coffee or grounds to hide!

It makes good espresso!

Bought this for my boyfriend and he loves it. Super easy to use and the price point is obviously great. Had it a couple months and no changes or wear and tear. Would recommend buying this if you do not think you need the grinder option. In my research, that seems to be the biggest reason for a price jump between models.

I spent hours watching YouTube videos, as well as reading reviews almost to the point where I almost lost all interest in buying an espresso machine, but I do not regret getting the ESP8XL. My main goal was to find a machine that could pull shots that taste “near as good” or “close” to Starbucks, and I have to say that the ESP8XL has done it! Granted, this is subjective. I don’t mean to say that a double shot of espresso from a $200 machine will match that of a $1K machine, but if I cannot tell the difference between a shot from the ESP8XL and a shot from Starbucks, I have what I need – and that is what I got with the ESP8XL. But I give the ESP8XL 4 out of 5 stars because it has more potential than it presents with. Basically, it pulls really fast shots. I have yet to be able to achieve a 1:2 ratio of grounds to espresso. Currently, I am about 1:5. I start with 9 grams of grinds in the double basket and turn off the brew at about 40grams of espresso (with 10 more grams of espresso dripping in afterwards). I know this is not correct. Just watching the espresso come out from the portafilter – its clear that it is coming out faster than it should. At first I thought it was a malfunction. But when I ground the esspresso beans to a near pulp akin to a turkish blend (baking flour consistency) I was unable to pull a complete shot (only got a few grams of liquid), so its not like you don’t have control over the draw time and cannot achieve the correct draw time. The problem is that the difference in grind time between what is a good espresso grind (find sand feel with clumping and a slight residue on the skin when pinching it) and baking flour consistency is a few seconds with my grinder. Granted, my grinder is a cheap Mr. Coffee grinder that beats the beans into oblivion rather than “cutting” as good burr grinders do. I have not tried to find this perfect grind “spot” but I believe if I had an “equally good” electric burr coffee bean grinder, I could hit this sweet grind consistency and achieve a 1:2 ratio. As of now, my 1:5 ratio tastes absolutely perfect – not bitter, not sour, full of boldness and flavor. That is what is so crazy. It makes me think that the whole 1:2 ratio is not “just” what makes a good shot of espresso. As for the other elements of the machine, the ESP8XL heats up (from a cold start) quickly. From the moment of turning on the machine to the heating light going off (meaning the water has reached the correct temp) I have ground my beans and filled the portafilter. At first I thought I would not like the fact that you are in complete control of the amount of water dispensed. Like, there is no one or two shot button that you can push and the correct amount of water is used. There is only a dial that has three settings: on (brew), off, and steam wand. This means that you have to start the shot and turn it off yourself – the machine will not do it for you. But I quickly found that I enjoy this feature as I can tinker with brew times as I please. In terms of water temp, I am not hitting the 195-205f temps that are best for espresso. The water temps fluctuate between about 150-170 depending on the timing of the shot. Again, despite this, the shots are still coming out very tasty! I like the weight of the machine. With a full tank of water, I barely need to hold it to get the portafilter in. Clearance between the bottom of the portafilter and the drain tray is 3.5 inches, so you are not going to get a traditional coffee cup under the portafilter (removing the tray gives you an extra 1 inch) but I drink straight espresso so my cups are smaller and there is never a problem (for me). The ESP8XL is not loud in my opinion. I have owned other machines that sound like a rocket blasting off. I like the build materials too – mostly all stainless steel – feels solid, especially when you slide it around on top of the counter as I have to do to save space – feels like a rock, but not hard to move. The basket diameters are documented at 50mm, but they are bigger – more like 51.5mm (at the brim) so if you are looking for a good tamper, don’t get a 49mm (as I did) you will want more like a 50mm if you are a perfectionist. I have only used the steam wand twice. It seems to work well without the metal attachment piece that it comes with. The ESP8XL never slows down either. It is also making sure that there is adequate heated water/steam when needed. In between shots or between a shot and then using the steam wand, it quickly re-heats in seconds so you never seem to be waiting for it to “heat up”. All in all I am very impressed and glad that I bought the ESP8XL. I never write reviews but I was so happy (mostly to have found something after all of my research and reviews) I had to let everyone know.