Comments on: Breville 800esxl Commercial 15-Bar Triple-Priming Die-Cast Espresso Machine

By: Danny

Danny — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 22:49:32 +0000

Is it possible that you are using a slightly finer grind of coffee than before and it is slipping through the perforations? Or has any damage been done to the filter basket widening any of the perforations. One other possibility is that over time grinds have found their way between the double wall and are being foced out the bottom.

By: John Abbott

John Abbott — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 22:18:08 +0000

Marty, make sure that the receiver where the group head goes is clean and doesn’t have grounds building up. A couple of bad tamps and you get grouds up in there and enough will cause a bad seal. It might help if you soak the filters in chemex or something similar to clean them up as well.

By: Marty Maraski

Marty Maraski — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 15:31:24 +0000

My wife has had her expresso machine for years and it has been running perfect. However, just over the last few days the grinds have been coming through into her cup. Any idea why or how to fix it? It is the ESP8XL model.

By: John Abbott

John Abbott — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 22:28:19 +0000

We bought it and love it. We had a pod machine that has a lifetime stash of pods. We also had a Solis Master 5000 that just blew pump number 3 in 8 years. So this is our espresso machine now and it produces a quality drink. No trouble frothing, steaming, brewing – just trouble walking away.

By: David Parker

David Parker — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 04:03:54 +0000

Yes, this machine uses the E.S.E. pods. It comes with three filters: a single, a double and one for pods.

By: John Abbott

John Abbott — Fri, 15 May 2009 19:14:35 +0000

The video on Amazon says that it also contains a pod filter. Is this the case? I have a pod machine that I’d like to lose and if the 800esxi has a pod filter along with the two shot filters I’m in.

By: Peter Banks

Peter Banks — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 23:40:48 +0000

Both large and small filters can be removed. They are just tight. I run water through my head after each use without any problems. But do run water through the head before each use to clean and also to run stale water out of the pipes in the machine. Otherwise you will get a metallic taste.
Coffee beans: Use only arabica beans not ground coffee. The flavour is controlled by the grinding. Buy a grinding machine and vary the grind and test the flavour. You cannot use pods in the Breville, generally low quality, and most ground coffee is designed for the plungers.

By: kathleen monaghan

kathleen monaghan — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 19:27:13 +0000

Where is the information about coffee i.e. pods vs ground coffee; what brand(s); are there issues related to tamping – other than in the quatra-lingual book, that simply explain the tamping process? Any tricks of the trade we should know about?

We got our machine yesterday so we are waiting for the coffee info before we fire up the machine. I will say, however, we have a 20 year old Italian copper and steel espresso maker that we love but the Breville is of the same quality and style as the much older one – which is used in our weekend place.

By: Deborah A

Deborah A — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 19:18:37 +0000

The directions say there are filters for one or two espresso – the smaller inset filter doesn’t look removable.
Is it?

By: Peter Banks

Peter Banks — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 21:30:46 +0000

Hi Linda, What I do is put the empty head with filter attached onto the machine and turn the knob to run hot water through it. I do this each time before I use it. Run it for about 5-10 seconds making sure you have enough water in the container before you start. I find this helps to keep it clean. Most coffee shops clean their machines every hour or so, the cleaning is what gives you the quality of flavour as well.