Dual Boiler Espresso Machine BES920XL, Brushed Stainless Steel

This is my third espresso machine. The last one was Italian, and after 4 years I was tired of trying to fault diagnose and repair it. And Italian parts can be difficult to obtain. The only repair facility was 2,000 miles away, and shipping a 50 pound machine would have been prohibitive. Hence this Breville. This machine is truly amazing ... light years ahead of my old Gaggia and for considerably less cost. The dual boiler is the best for simultaneously pulling a shot and steaming milk. The steam is very consistent and not too forceful, allowing one to steam milk to the perfect consistency. The rotating lever provides for adjusting the steam force and the wand rotates to the perfect position. The Breville has flexibility in programming your shot. The temperature and the duration of how long it takes to pull the shot allows you to steam the milk while the shot is being pulled. Push the button and go for it! You can fill the reservoir from either the back or the top of the machine, and the illuminated fill viewing port is a nice touch. I can't say enough about the tamper ... integrated into the machine (attached by a magnet) and with a line to note when you have the proper amount of coffee in the porta filter. The drip tray is easy to pull, empty and clean. And the hidden compartment for a few tools is a nice touch. This machine is a little lighter than some, I think tipping the scales at around 30 pounds, instead of 50 of my old one. What this means is that you need to put some light pressure to hold the machine while turning the porta filter. But that's a minor concern. And if you do need to scoot this machine across the counter, it has an ingenious method for having wheels pop out and you can easily push the Breville wherever you wish. There is nothing I don't like about the Breville. For the cost and functionality, this is the best. My wife says my cappuccinos are as good as any we have had in Italy! Now that's a compliment and a testament to this machine! UPDATE 9-25-18 - I have now been using this machine for 1 1/2 years, twice a day. I love it as much as the day I purchased it; I have had not a single issue, the cappuccinos continue to be first rate, and every single thing on it works like the day I came out of the box. I would highly recommend it.

Make no mistake, the machine is a 5 star model, but when you pay a lot of money, everything should be 100% at the moment of receipt. The machine is beyond 5 star, but the warranty registration needs serious work. PROS: --A very solid machine with very few plastic parts --Double boilers mean you can froth and brew --Great design. There are locking wheels for ease of movement, the water tank locks into place, tools have an out-of-the-way hidden tray under the drip tray, lots of little extras like a metal tamper that has its own storage space to the left of the dispenser and a steaming wand with a good range of movement, not just side-to-side After owning several automatic espresso makers (and spending a LOT of money for them), I got tired of having to buy a new one every few years when the parts would inevitably fail...not to mention the miserable customer service I received from a large, dual named company in the US who failed to honor the guarantee. I wanted something that was simple, but well-made and would last for more than 2-3 years. With this dual boiler and more basic, but better made, design, I think I`ve got a winner here, but... CONS: --Registering the warranty. It`s not as easy as it should be. They wanted the serial number (of course), the order number...uh, what? I ordered it through Amazon, and the number didn`t work. I finally just used Amazon`s number and erased digits until I came up with the magical 15 required. --Emails. You can`t just send in an e-mail to the company which would be a turnoff to me if I had some questions as a potential customer. When I submitted a query, it wanted my batch number...what? See above regarding Amazon. This time, I typed in a group of zeroes until it was accepted. You should be able to contact a company without jumping through hoops, whether or not you`re a current customer. I honestly felt like Breville was doing everything they could to prevent me from registering the product and/or sending an e-mail. When a client begins cursing at the computer when simply typing an e-mail, much less the registration, then something is grossly wrong. --No instructions with the machine. Yes, I found them online, but why? After spending so much money on the machine, do you really think I would have quibbled if the price had been a dollar or so higher to pay for the company to recoup the price spent on what should have been INCLUDED in the box? --Missing piece. My packet did not include the water hardness test strip. OK, this is something I can easily go out and buy, but why should I? Where`s the quality control? It might seem that I`m nitpicking, but, again, a lot of money was spent and small items add up fast. ------------- LATER EDIT: While I still stand by my "nitpicking" in regards to registering the warranty, e-mail, no instructions, and missing test strip, I will give Breville a big 5 stars for swiftly addressing my concerns. They know they have an issue with warranty registration, so it will be interesting to see if and how it`s addressed. I respect any company that stands behind its product and Breville definitely did that. Meanwhile... this is an awesome machine!

I bought this product end of 2018, so this is truly a long term report. The first year was great. The feature set of the machine is perfect for me. It has just the right degree of automation, e.g. pre-infusion times. The Espresso it makes is tasty, not best in class, but for daily use very much enjoyable. And that was the reason why I bought that machine: A perfect blend of features and achievable results, for what I need. The problems started exactly 1 month after end of warranty - of course. It started making noises that sounded like steam is leaking on the inside. Shortly after small amounts of water would come out of the machine through the housing (see picture). I called customer support and they offered a free repair. This meant I had to live without the machine for a couple of days and go through the efforts of packing and shipping it. But stuff happens, so far so good. I received the repaired machine, all worked - for a year. And then the same as first time happened. After a long and exhausting email exchange and several phone call I could send in the machine a 2nd time for free repair. Currently I have the same problem again! Nine months after I got the machine back. Customer support refuses to do anything about it. They offer to repair for cost. To fix an obviously systematic problem that occurs on regular basis. There I am now. A broken machine and no desire from Breville to help in a customer friendly way. BTW, I own Espresso makers for many years, know how to clean and maintain them. This definitely is not the problem. The total opposite, after de-scaling the problem got worse, which clearly shows that there is a leak.

Consistent Espresso Shots... I have been through a couple of espresso machines but none of them can match the quality espresso output of the Breville 920XL. Complete brew temperature control, a standard 58mm portafilter, volume or timed shot output, heated brew head, dual boilers for making espresso and texturing milk simultaneously, pre-infusion timing as well as pre-infusion pump pressure all make this a serious machine for getting consistent espresso shots. Best bang for the buck dual boiler on the market. Easy descaling in the Version 3 software, auto-on timer is a bonus feature that makes for a happy morning espresso routine. There are many other programable features as well what I have mentioned. It may not be an Italian quality built La Marazzoco but I am convinced it produces an espresso shot equally as good with more features than some of the big names in espresso machines. I have been using a local Vancouver, Canada coffee roaster called Moja Coffee - the 920XL needs fresh coffee to really shine. I did find it for less money at idrinkcoffee.com with the same free next day delivery, but decided to go with Amazon - crazy me. So the message is do shop around Amazon may not be the best price.

When this machine works, it produces a good cup of coffee. However, while it was under warranty, we were sending it back every six months. Eventually, we were sent a replacement machine, and guess what – five months later we sent it back. They sent us a third machine, because they said the second was obviously “a lemon”. Now, after six months with the THIRD machine, it is broken again, but now it is out of warranty. Our options now, pay for shipping, pay for the repair, or….. buy another at 30% off. Really??!! I would highly, highly recommend avoiding this machine.

New 2019 to my post: the man nine has been purring like a kitten since my unfortunate episode. After more than a year, I finally reached a good balance between ground size, trampings and water temp... it does perform as best as it can and I have full satisfaction with it... New update to my post: the coffee maker resumed normal operation without repair... nope, the grind was not at fault, I just got no good explanation for what happened... at least, I have good coffee again. I hope I won’t have more issues Update to my post... it almost a year that I got this expensive machine... it was great until this morning.... it just died on me... it makes all the usual noise, but it no longer pump water... the pressure gage climb to maximum pressure but I barely got a trickle and even if I insist, I can’t even get a 1/4 Expresso cup after more than 2 minute of pumping... I tired the trouble shooting, did a cleaning cycle, but nothing work... and now I will have to go through the pain of getting briville waranty... and the pain of sending them the manchine This is my week end morning treat, but beware, it is hand’s on! If you like your cappuccino like at a real Italian shop, and if you are patient to learn how to use it, and if you clean it each and every time you use it, you’ll love it like I do. Sure it is not a real Italian made machine, but it does a real nice job. Make sure to use real arabica coffee FRESH beans and a real high end grinder if you want a delicious crema... otherwise, you’ll only get an unglued bitter juice. It took me two week to find the right grinder setting and to learn how to brew it right... this machine does it the right way = the hard way (better than so called super automatic

TL;DR: I should have bought something that was more robust and properly repairable. Would have been cheaper . These machines are designed for a short life... I actually own 2 of these. I bought the 2nd one while the first was out for repair and didn't want to be without it for Christmas... SO I have lots of experience with these machines! 4 years, 4 repairs (3 under warrantee). The last repair on the oldest machine lasted exactly 9 months and cost $350. I have had issues with 2 brand new machines out of the box that had to be replaced. This is the dreaded 3 beeps steam boiler fails to fill. This is similar but not exactly the problem that occurs EVERY time you descale the machine. One of these was my 2nd purchase in 2018 and one was the brand new one they sent me for the first warrantee repair. I opened up my recently deceased machine and it is clear why these machines are so fragile. The plumbing is plastic tubes and many plastic fittings. There are 2 Tee fittings that are made of of plastic. The plastic ages quickly because of the heat and just fails. Would be easy to repair but you cannot get parts. Breville will no longer allow 3rd parties to repair these machines (which would be cheaper) they insist on a flat rate $350 charge no matter what is wrong. This is a lottery. Some times you get your machine back some times you get a brand new one. If you don't expect stuff to last longer than the warrantee then by all means by this machine. It makes great expresso and the dual boiler is great to have. But if after the warranty runs out you will be paying Breville $350 every 9-12 months.

Great value for a quality dual boiler stainless steel expresso machine. This machine has two stainless steel boilers and functions just like professional units costing more than twice the price. It also has many Pro features like: Electronic PID Temperature Control, Regulated Extraction Pressure, Low Pressure Pre-infusion, Dual pumps, Programmable Shot Temperature and Shot Clock to name a few. All of this to help you make the perfect shot. Quality stainless steel construction throughout. I like the 58mm (standard size) portafilter and the heated group head. The removable water tank holds 3 litres of water and can be filled without removing it by adding water through an access port at the top front of the unit. The drip tray holds up to 1 litre of overflow before it require emptying. I highly recommend this unit if you enjoy expresso the way it should be made. It comes with one Charcoal water filter and and a couple of Expresso Cleaning Tablets Charcoal filter should be replaced every two months or less depending on your water quality.