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PLEE20
Yes, this is not the cheapest this machine has been but currently the cheapest on offer.
Postage is $10 otherwise free C&C or with eBay plus.
Breville Barista Express BES870BSS $559.20 + Delivery (Free C&C) @ Bing Lee eBay
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did your factory second product come with a 12-month warranty from the outlet store? I am trying to weigh up the 12 months warranty vs paying a bit more for 24 months
Yeah 12 month warranty. But you’re still protected by Australian Consumer Law regardless. Here is some info on factory seconds:
“The other caveat with refurbished goods or seconds is that you can't complain about any faults which you were made aware of at the time of purchase. If there's a scratch on the casing of the television and the seller points that out, it isn't grounds for complaint (or a refund).”
So it is sold with a sheet of paper saying it is working and fine. I’d argue these machines should last at least two years.
TLDR: Warranties are meaningless and read up on the ACL.
thank you - good insight
I imagine this model will become scarce with the release of the Barista Pro, which offers a digital display and 3 second heat-up. Currently $899 around the traps so should be around $720 on a Myer or Good Guys 20% off day.
https://www.breville.com/au/en/products/espresso/bes878.html
That does look like a good machine. But it doesn't have the pressure gauge? I don't care how inaccurate it is - I freaken love that gauge. Watching that bad boy go up. Highlight of my morning. I don't think an LCD screen helps this end of the market that much.
I have this machine too. Consistently hitting the high end of the "espresso range" once you've dialled in the grind - pretty satisfying.
IT IS! You feel so proud you've nailed the grind consistency and tamp.
Do you use the provided tamper? Or have you upgraded? I'm keen to get a better tamper. If so, what mm tamper? I'm not sure if I need a 53mm or 54mm? It is a 54mm portafilter, but some random website claimed I should get 53mm tamper?
I'm also cheap, so looking at $27 ones on aliexpress.@LuckyDrew: Yeah, I just use the included tamper, I find it's fine and does the job. I also like being able to stow it away in the magnetic holder, keeps everything tidy!
@Mattapie: I've got the BES870 as well, had it for about 9 months now. Love the coffee I can get from it!
Question for other owners - What number do you set your grind to? I'm constantly needing to set it as low as 2-4 to get a nice slow extraction, which seems really fine/low. I cant imagine what possible use the higher numbers (10+) could be, considering that 7-8 results in fast & watery espresso.
Its the same for all the beans I've tried, whether they are freshly roasted (within a couple of days) or a few weeks old (doesnt usually last more than 4 weeks).
To be clear, I'm not getting bad coffee from the machine, I just wasnt expecting the grind setting to be so low/fine to get good coffee…@WillisAU: Usually a 5 for me. I think there can be a fair bit of variability in how the burrs are set up? I wouldn't worry about it, I also don't think the numbers accurately reflect the change in courseness. I doubt it is linear.
The other variable is the tamping, which I am working on. You got good tamp game?
@WillisAU: I'll check when I get home, but I actually don't have to change my grind # now I found my sweet spot. I only really have to change my grind amount and tamp pressure when I change between beans.
@LuckyDrew I have decent tamp game, usually around 6/10 downward pressure works for me. Depending on the grind sometimes a little more.
any tips for a noob trying to use the unpressurised basket - I just can't seem to find a good combo of grind and tamp pressure. I can't stand loosing lovely fresh beans when I mess the shot up! What's it worth compared to the double walled shots? Because they are pretty nice and easy TBH.
@Scantu: I'm no specialist, had the machine for about 4 months. Use a low grind setting, maybe 1 or 2, and press quite firmly. I put the filter down on a small chopping board, and put my weight into it. For easiness, fill to 3rd full, give it a quick light tamper, and then continue the grind so you get a nice heap sticking out. I twist the tamper as I apply the pressure to get the compressed coffee nice an even. I have it so that I can just see the metal rim on the tamper. When done, it fits quite firmly into the machine.
@Scantu: Thanks for the feedback all! Yes I feel that my tamping is solid, so to speak, and that this grind setting (2-4) works for me. I just wanted a rough survey of other users
@Scantu: My understanding is you get a better quality shot out of the single wall basket if you get all the other pieces right (grind, tamp, amount of coffee, fresh coffee). The double wall is intended to remove some of these requirements but at the cost of quality?
You’re not working on actually getting good at making coffee. I want to get good at it with skills that are transferable between machines, not reply on double wall baskets.
@LuckyDrew: Yeah well my thing is is that I got a few good shots on the single wall, the gauge was at exactly the right place, looked great etc. and I just can't tell the difference between that and the double wall. Just wondering what differences you're looking for at that stage.
@Scantu: I started out with the single wall, and got used to doing decent coffee using trial and error. Then by mistake I bought some pre-ground coffee, which was not fine enough (i.e no matter how tightly I packed it into the single wall basket, I could not get the pressure up, and the water just passed through, no crema). I tried this pre-ground coffee in the double basket, and it worked really well. I think it must be hard to do a bad coffee with the double walled basket. Still, with the single wall basket, I think it is because you have the extra capacity to cram more coffee in, and when the pressure is right, the flavour and strength is richer. I do like my coffee strong though. I go for the upper end of the pressure scale, and reduce the pour slightly if I go over (i.e manually stop the pour). Forgot to mention, I always use double shot baskets.
TGG still have the cranberry BES870 listed at $599 so you can get it for $539.10 today during their VIP day.
Limited locations and no shipping :(
Seems like a fair deal. If you have a local Breville Outlet store nearby, they do this machine as a factory 2nd for $399. Obviously need to be happy with a factory second - I'm pretty sure mine only had a damaged box or minor scratches.
I'm very happy with the machine and with a bit of trial and error and practice making pretty good coffee with it.