Barista Pro

The things others here are saying (puck prep, grinder, etc.) are certainly applicable, but a lesser known factor is pressure. A lot of Breville machines (aside from the Dual Boiler) have an issue where the pressure hitting the puck is far, far higher than the claimed 9 bar figure. The over-pressure

La Marzocca espresso machines. cries in Breville Barista Pro

Moving to a dual boiler made a huge difference. The quality of the steamed milk is night and day different and the consistency between shots is so much better. With the BBP, I was able to get fairly consistent shots on the first pull of the day but anything back to back struggled mightily. The touch

I upgraded from a breville barista pro to a 58.5mm Profitec move. It's amazingly more temperature stable, etc. I have had shots that are 2x as good as with my breville, but that's not likely driven by the portafilter size. The biggest difference IMO is that a lot of 58mm machines have better build q

Five years out of a Barista Pro is about average. The 5-second shutoff is usually a failing solenoid valve or a clogged flow meter, and Breville repair costs often hit $150-250 which is hard to justify on a machine that may have other components aging out. At $1000, you're in a really good spot for

If you want reliability and don’t care about convenience or workflow don’t get a Breville. For similar money you can get a Gaggia Classic or even the Classic Pro, which are basic enough for diy repairs. As for BBE vs BBP, definitely get the pro, it’s a better machine. I have the Impress which is goi

There's really not a lot of consistency to be found in the temperature below PID machines. I would just be patient and spend the money on a worthwhile upgrade at the right time. I had a Breville Barista Pro for years until I saved enough for an Elizabeth, which was a dramatic upgrade that added a se

There is nothing else in the price bracket, sadly. It is exactly how they make cheap machines that work well. And they do work reasonably well. The Breville barista pro / oracle lines have replaceable distributor disks which is the main complaint, they still may have other plastic in the hot water p

I have had the Sunbeam Origins Sense Coffee Machine for almost two years and it has been a DREAM. Best choice since my previous Breville Barista Pro shat the bed.

I really would say away from the Smeg for the sole reason that they've had such bad QA over the years, have a high repair rate, high failure rate, and you don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on something that doesn't last. For <$1,000 I've found myself consistently recommending my clients look a