Not sure how long this will last, but this is a great price without the need to negotiate. I would have purchased it if I didn't already have a machine.
The site doesn't mention what grinder you get, but I'd expect it to be the latest smart grinder (might be best to call/email them).
Credit to æon on Whirlpool ( http://whrl.pl/Rd2too)
Entry Level? Yikes! (its ok, I know what you mean) :)
haha just remember that this machine is entry level, and there's a real possibility of catching upgraditis once you start making real coffee at home. It's too late for me… I've only had this machine for 6 months and I already have a mazzer mini in the mail
Wouldn't it be of better use in the kitchen?
i can vouch for this… first it was moccona…then the plunger… then the aldi pod machine… then the fully auto delonghi… and now i have a full commercial double group & grinder. Its like heroin or World of Warcraft! It never ends!
I was going to suggest the purchase of extended warranty, but don't see the option anywhere…
extended warranty = waste of money
Just use a credit card that has +12 month warranty on top of standard
Excess on insurance can be around few hundred dollars depending on your CC.
Since when does an CC extended warranty have an excess?
You must pay the first A$250 for each claim. Source: Westpac Altitude Black and Bankwest Zero Mastercard insurance booklets.
I would generally agree, but from what I've read, the machine is pretty complex (for a coffee machine) so there are a lot of little things that can fail.
If I were purchasing this machine, I'd get the extended insurance to save my self the hassle of arguing with the retailer later down the line.
That being said, I didn't get extended warranty when I purchased my Oscar (price I was being offered for the Breville was too high at the time). The Oscar is pretty basic, so DIY repairs should hopefully be possible when my warranty runs out.
I would definitely suggest getting the extended warranty. I have the previous model (BES900) which stopped working 6 months out of the manufacturers warranty, Took 1 month and cost $401.75 to repair.
Wouldn't this be covered by 24 months warranty and fall within the consumer law changes back in 2011. I would have thought this would have 24 months so no need to buy extended warranties. Its no different than buying a phone for $900, it has 2 years because of that law, this would be no different.
There is no set time for the Australian Consumer Law implied warranties. It comes down to what is reasonable given the product, its cost, its age, how it is used etc. If I spent $1000+ for a coffee machine, you could be damned sure I would expect it to last more than 2 years …
or invoke consumer law. It should be fixed under warranty at least 1 or 2 years beyond the 12 months as it is reasonable to expect such an item to last longer than 12 months.
Off Topic - I know, but what does an extended warranty cover, that isn't already covered by covered by the Australian Consumer Law? A product must last a reasonable amount of time, as defined by a reasonable person.
Been watching the checkout lately?
Yes - Every Episode
It offers the luxury of not having to argue or explain the ACL when needed. In my experience most places will put up at least some resistance before accepting a warranty under the ACL. That said, I don't buy extended warranties.
They need to be careful. If they misrepresent your statutory rights, that is potentially another breach of the ACL.
Nothing. An extended warranty is a waste of money. Sure if you have one its very simple to get a fix/replacement if something goes wrong, but under the ACL you'd be entitled to that for the extended warranty period (at least) as well. Its just a matter of informing (and arguing with if need be) the retailer. Most retailers understand implied warranties though by this point - so they shouldn't give you too much hassle.
I don't drink coffee so I am profoundly unqualified to comment, but that isn't going to stop me.
We got a Breville machine for work and according to those in the office who claim to know (apparently one of them was a barista in previous life), the free grinder was useless and wouldn't grind fine enough.
Looking at their website the model was something like the BCG 450. Note: I can't see the exact model of this grinder from the post or the link to JB.
Apparently you can fix it by modding it, http://coffeesnobs.com.au/grinders/26264-breville-bcg450-mod…
The main reason I am posting this is I spent so bloody long hearing about complaints in the office I thought my pain should be someone else's benefit.
Anyway, YMMV.
While I don't know which grinder is offered here, in the past it has been one of the smart grinders in the BCG800 model range. Similar to the 450 link the 800 has two versions - one requires a shim kit to really get a usable fine espresso grind and the later version of it (the pro?) has the shims built in (effectively). I've got the later and while there are better grinders out there it is quite good and I can easily choke my machine with typical weight of coffee in the basket.
It is not the same. I have the listed coffee machine for a year now and it is going strong. My wife loves me as I am making her a cup every morning.
I know it's not the same, that's why I listed it. It has a double boiler, but that's where the similarity ends. It automatically grinds, doses, brews the coffee, and disposes of the grounds into a hopper. It's simple to adjust the coarseness of the grind with a turn of a knob, and also the amount of coffee ground per cup, and the amount of water used per cup. I consider it superior to the listed model, and I'm interested in hearing why one should choose this one over the Spidem Trevi Automatic.
Some people prefer to drive manual cars over autos.
@sylon: All I've heard as supporting arguments as to why this machine is superior over an automatic machine is that donkeykong's machine is still working after a year of use and that his wife loves him for making a cup every morning, and an analogy about manual vs automatic cars. I can understand why a person would prefer a manual car vs an auto, in regards to the control of power delivery to the wheels, or the convenience of an auto over a manual car, but not understand why one would choose to manually grind coffee, place it in the group head (spilling half of it onto the bench in the process), brew the coffee, remove the group head and dispose of the puck, all when it can be done automatically. Is this why Australias biggest coffee forum is called coffee snobs?
Automatic machines will never match that to a fully manual setup. Good coffee needs that human touch, machines cannot possibly give that. For example, sometimes you need to tamp gently, other times harder. Sometimes you need 18gr of coffee, sometimes a little more and so on.
To suggest that automatic is better is saying you need more coffee education.
BTW, thats not a bad machine the OP has posted. You'll easily get a better coffee from that than most cafes would serve you. Just use good quality fresh beans make it correctly and you'll be a happy chappy.
@boogaloo: I disagree. A machine will do it better than a human, every time, in my opinion. I guess it's time to take my opinions elsewhere.
@TonyP:
I agree machine is better for me only for a different reason.
I'm so busy in the morning am amazed I can find time to even push the button on my automatic (and then drink the coffee afterwards).
My machine comes on and preheats at the time I choose then turns off at another time I choose.
Luxurious simplicity! All I have to do is push the button- yer right…
That's assuming sludge tray is empty, there's coffee beans and fresh water in there and the grounds hopper is empty. Oh and its not asking me to clean it or run a descale.
Seriously though I really am with donkeykong, I bet his wife loves it because he actually puts himself into in and crafts the coffee for her, not just pushes a button and makes a soulless coffee.
Mine nags me more than the ex wife used to and I obviously was just pushing the button on the machine (not her buttons) haha
Perhaps if I had the manual one we'd still be together? Nup
@TonyP: There is a lot of science that goes into a good cup of coffee. When you go to a cafe you may not know why you prefer the coffee from this cafe to another, or whether the barista has the correct grind, correctly adjusted based on the humidity in the air, or whether it was tamped with the correct pressure, but you would have a favourite cafe that makes coffee the way you like it.
Simply put a manual machine allows you to get that exact cup of coffee you like if you are prepared to put in the effort. The auto machine is an easy way to get a quick easy and consistently ok cup of coffee that satisfies but will never be as good as the cafe cup.
A manual machine isn't for everyone thats for sure! :)
@tanabe88gg: No, I'm not trolling, I'm serious, and "you're trolling, made me reply" is hardly a reply.
In all of the 13 collective negative votes I've received I'm yet to see one convincing argument as to why this machine, or any manual machine, is better than an automatic one.
Tamp gently, and sometimes firmer? How can you ensure a consistent tamp when it's sometimes firm, sometimes not? 18 grams of coffee? Are you telling me it's now necessary to weigh the coffee? In that case, you better weigh the water and milk too, and perhaps check the cup for it's volume to the millilitre.
My point in all of this is that some of us are taking our coffee making to ridiculously serious levels - let's not get ahead of ourselves folks, it's just ground beans in water and milk. By all means neg away, but at least have the intelligence to argue your case to the contrary. We wouldn't want anyone thinking that someone who has a $1189 coffee machine was vacuous, would we?
@TonyP: Why would a surgeon use a scalpel when a chainsaw is handy? Why would you cook a roast lamb in the oven when there's a perfectly good microwave there ready to use?
I mean surely some of us are taking our food cooking to ridiculous levels - let's not get ahead of ourselves folks. Its just meat and vegetables heated up right? Sound familiar?
I suggest you do a barista course and try it out for yourself… These things we speak of aren't just myths. Water temperature, humidity, grind size, tamp pressure, all control the extraction of a shot of espresso by an amount that you yourself could definitely differentiate!
If anything it's a learning experience kind of like learning to drive.
@TonyP:
I haven't been following this very closely and certainly haven't thrown any negs your way, but one reason is that the same beans, grind, and machine can result in different pressures in the basket. This results in different coffee pours and characteristics. The difference is sometimes small and sometimes very noticeable. I believe the pressure varies primarily due to bean freshness/age and humidity.
@DisabledUser24293:
Lol did this guy get his account deleted?
Its pretty simple stuff really. It's all about feedback loops. The machine doesn't know if it tamped too hard or soft, ran the shot too long… This is why baristas get paid, right?
Not a single coffee shop out of the tens of thousands of coffee shops in the world use automatics machine…why is that do you think?
While I agree with your reasoning, unfortunately it's not entirely true. There is small cafe in Chatswood that uses a Nespresso (albeit Nespresso Pro) to make coffees and charges $3.50 for the privilege! No thanks
Well Maccas and 7Eleven do…and they make a great cuppa coffee.
and they make a great cuppa coffee
…shudder…
The machine you linked has fewer steps in between grind settings, so you have less control.
The pathway between the espresso and the cup is a bit more convoluted on that particular machine compared to what you get from the portafilter.
Speaking of which, the quality of shot that you can get from the automatic is greatly inferior to the quality of shot that is achievable on a machine such as the breville or sunbeam. There is no need to do side by side comparisons, just look up home-barista and coffeegeek.com
The other issue is that the ground coffee basket size, diameter, and depth also have some part to play in how the coffee extracts. In most, if not all cases, the automatic machines are an inferior choice.
edit: a closer look at the spidem picture shows an auto-frother. You get terrible milk with these attachments and any normal milk want will destroy it in terms of quality milk production.
Last but not least, there is a tactile element to coffee making that is sorely missing through the use of an automatic machine. You get some near instantaneous feedback about whether that coffee was good or not.
There's space in the market for everyone, so go buy your automatic. I'll be happy with my mazzer and em7000.
I have one of these and they're great. I did have to add the shim kit to the grinder, but was easy to do.
Well worth it :)
The latest model grinder doesn't need the shim kit anymore.
Where did you get this shim kit?
So what grinder does this come with? If it's the $399 one might consider of buying it.
Which $399 one? The most expensive grinder on JB's site is $211:
That could be the bonus grinder according to Breville's website.
So this machine costs as much as 300 coffees from a coffee shop, and without beans milk sugar …servicing.
To me the coffee from this machine would always taste like Money that was burned ground and infused ;)
So if you buy a coffee every day the machine has paid for itself in 1 year? Seems like a great deal to me…,.
Dude, you clearly have no idea what it is like to own a quality coffee machine at home. I had a Sunbeam EM6910 with a grinder for 4 years. Total cost of ownership (not including consumables) was $370. I reckon I'd have made easily 400 coffees a year, so 1,600+ coffees. You do the math.
I now own an ECM Rocket machine and Compak K3 grinder. I am an average hack but I make a coffee that is superior to 95% of the cafés I've tried (and I've tried a LOT). That's at least to my taste and that's the thing. When you own a machine, you are free to try 1000s of blends from all the roasters around the country. You get the perfect amount of coffee with the kind of milk you like at the right proportion drunk from the right cup. So the coffee you make is right for you. And once you experience that, it's like a worn in pair of slippers. There's no greater comfort in the world.
You have much to learn, young Jedi. Your economic argument is not even on the list for those that aspire to make a great brew at home. I'd still do it if it cost me twice as much as buying coffee in a cafe.
…
Wow you have far too much caffeine.
How would this compare to the sunbeam café series? (Sunbeam EM6910) only asking because I own the sunbeam.
It is superior to the sunbeam em6910. Faster steam, better quality shots, more geeky functions with group head temps, pour timers and shot control. It is also quieter, because the em6910 is quite noisy in the morning.
Paired with good grinders,you can smash it done really excellent coffees on either machine.
TO USE : Almost the same, both have a dual boiler/dials for instant steam, both need an external grinder. The Breville is designed for more finer tweaking, the Sunbeam has rubberised buttons and its finish is more the brushed metal look. The finished cuppa out of each with the same fresh ground, high quality beans is indistinguishable!
What makes the difference is 1. the quality of the beans, grind & extraction and you will be happy with either but thats not to say you wouldn't have preferred the look of one over the other on your home counter every day. 2. MILK, most drink coffee with steamed milk and the textured feel of milk done right can seriously separate two identical made coffee's! The sunbeam has an awesome steamer & does a rich, smooth frothed milk and for what you pay is a bargain… google shopping says from $550 with grinder & for your first machine i have to say its hard to go pass. Your second machine your probably tossing up between the Breville's two top machines or a foreign job.
Is it worth so much for the perfect coffee? I've decided YES, i love coffee, love making, drinking and sharing BUT I've also discovered that some of the best cups at home or in demo's have come from machines i wouldn't have given a second thought too until i tasted the finished brew. The ALDI system in some blind testing rates very highly (the milk frothed they sell is too small & the 'frother' function overspills the continer), NESPRESSO make great automatics but at the prices i would go the Sunbeam. The Breville BES870 @$600ish is a great all-in-one only issuing the dual boiler but the best cheapest coffee came from the electrolux ELM5400 series!!! I think its because of the great steamed milk/frother built into this, its by far the nicest to drink coffee I've tasted! It tasted better than the TOP $2.5K Breville to drink BUT not play with…
Go to jbhifi, Joycemaine, harveynormans and score as many coffee's as it takes to compare and obey the rule 'if you can't taste the difference, don't pay the difference' for more expensive machine. But of your addiction goes into hyperdrive and you have 15minuites every day to make the perfect coffee, then by all means….But remember to spend as much time on getting good, fresh roasted beans and in getting the textured milk right and if you do, you will be rewarded on most days with liquid gold sunshine that needs NO sugar…
I was tempted to get this, but decided to stick to drinking my work supplied 'Moconna Indulgence' instead. I hope they have full cream milk in the fridge this week.
HOW TO make a cheap cuppa taste like it was from a shop ON THE CHEAP!
Buy a LARGE (the aldi milk frothed is too small IMO) milk frothed and if you have to share it in an offer MARK 'DO NOT IMERSE IN WATER, WIPE OUT ONLY' or they pay for its replacement…
(BOIL JUG) And in the MILK FROTHER Add milk, sweetener (real sugar, raw, brown is best IMO & the cheapest to buy as well as being good for you!) and your instant coffee of choice. Put on lid & press the button… Now with HOT water 2/3 (for safety) fill your coffee cup so it warms up. if its a large MUG then don't poor out all the water and fill with the frothed milk.
WIPE OUT THE MILK FROTHER ONLY, DO NOT IMPERSE AS ITS AN ELECTRICAL KETTLE. REPLACE THE MILK WIZZA
Now take your cuppa somewhere nice, in the sunshine and consume, feeling sorry for the dills that just do the coffee, hot water, sugar and milk… Yours will taste x10 better!
Cost of frother $30 and up. keep the receipt as someone will wash it in the sink. I've had 3 replaced at aldi (I was the fool the first time)
Sugar is "good for you"? This is excellent news.
I can get a Breville, or similar branded, single machine at BigW for about a hundred bucks. I know, I know, apples and oranges, but I am not going to pay a thousand bucks, or anything like it, for a home coffee maker. I enjoy my social interaction at the local café and can buy an awful lot of their product for a thousand.
THE SUMS:
$5 COFFECLUB MEMBERSIP, 2-4-1 PRICE… so $2.50 a coffee. Most places do a basic coffee for $3.50 but most are near $5 now for a single large culpa joe…
lets say $3 average, which is pretty generously low. One made as above about 50-75c at home/office after you buy a frother
the machines will break, need servicing every 2 or 3 years as well as cleaning. You have chices of automatic and manual, all-in ones ect… but ones mentioned here are from 300-2,500
Is it worth it? Do the sums work out?? if your BUYING coffee when you can make one yourself, often YES, more so if you can make more than 1 and its shred with others. I do all 3… I have coffeeclub card for when I'm out, no way i can make one and 2-4-1 means i can buy someone else a coffee, split the cost and its very social! next i have a milk frothed and make my family at home quick, cheap and delicious coffees in it. For myself i have a JURA but the only function i use is the grind and pour, i like to steam my own milk or i use the aldi frother. I don't like the automilk froth function on any automatic machine except the electrolux ELM5400 (amazing milk!!! and its cheap $300-350)
You don't have to spend a lot to make coffee better, just a frother will make nescafe43 sing!
damn, no delivery to Canberra :(
Also it's now showing as $1399
Wow look at the rants on here.
It's as simple as this.
If you don't understand why you would spend this much on a coffee machine you are just not that into coffee and don't really care how it tastes or you have a very good coffee shop near by (and I mean very good!).
There's a café near me that I will not patronise - because they patronise anyone else who doesn't eulogise their output. Their look-down-their-noses attitude turns me off - and they're probably proud of it. So, I leave them to it. Their near neighbour makes coffee to my satisfaction, they've got all the papers and I can have a chat without being looked down upon. All I need for my morning coffee experience, and I usually order a follow-up. My private term for the others is "coffee Nazis".
That page is showing a price of $1399 :( dam, would have got it for the lower price as I'm in the market for one and nearly bought the EM7000 on the weekend
has anyone come across any good deals for the breville oracle machine?
Aye this is a good price. $1300-$1400 is the normal kind of price for just the BES920 without a grinder (I think Harvey has them for ~$1500 with the smart grinder and a $200 case of wine at the moment), so this ~$1100 haggle free with a grinder thrown in is a great entry level combo.