If your budget is $800-$1000 buy a BES840XL and Baratza Sette 270 grinder. If your budget is $400-$600 buy the Breville Barista, no other combination can touch it for price/performance ratio. Warranty is a big consideration for Breville equipment because they are not really user serviceable, but if you follow the maintenance procedure as scheduled then you should be fine with regular home use. I've owned two baristas and they both gave me no issues.
eBay.ca
Breville Clearance Outlet: Refurb Breville BES870XL Barista Express, 6 mo Breville warranty- $399.99, free ship
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- fatestkid
- Deal Fanatic
- Mar 21, 2010
- 5918 posts
- 7339 upvotes
- fatestkid
- Deal Fanatic
- Mar 21, 2010
- 5918 posts
- 7339 upvotes
From what I have read on many detailed discussions on forums, the built-in grinder is equivalent to the Smart Grinder Pro for espresso, better then the Dose Control.sanam79er wrote: ↑ Thank you. Reasonable as I believe Smart Pro is superior to the built-in Dose Control and having a new machine with longer warrantee brings more peace of mind. On the other hand, I am thinking as the two are not too different in size (especially width), it may be good to get the one with the grinder and delay buying the independent grinder until I find an exceptional deal on a grinder. Then again the counter argument would be probably a simple manual grinder in short term can serve this purpose too. I probably am thinking too much about it now.
- fatestkid
- Deal Fanatic
- Mar 21, 2010
- 5918 posts
- 7339 upvotes
Its not black and white when it comes to the ratio you spend on machine vs grinder. You sort of have to set different rules for Breville vs all other brands because Breville gives you much better value for your machine but it is not easily serviceable.
For Breville the starting point is BES840XL + Smart Grinder PRO which will cost around $700, or Barista Express. Both setups will give you equivalent espresso/latte capabilities.
Once you leave Breville, you are looking at doubling your budget to get marginally better quality. Something like a Gaggia Classic (single boiler) + Baratza preciso. Once you double your budget again you can go to a heat exchange machine + a preciso level grinder. Once you double your budget again you can go for a dual boiler + a better grinder then preciso. Just like headphones, the return on investment doesn't double with each doubling of the budget. Personally, I could stretch and spend $2000 on a setup but the Barista express has kept me happy for 2+ years and my coffee (to me) tastes better then 90% of the cafes in my city.
Also note the more you spend the more finicky the setup gets. The barista express is a nice balance between learning curve and enjoyment. Hone you skills on a barista express, learn your taste and buy fresh beans, or at least good quality packaged beans. It makes a world of difference. The biggest weakness of the barista express is its steaming ability, which is that it takes too long. Also note, once you are ready to upgrade, the barista express has a high resale value. In my city it is hard to find a used one for under $400.
- sanam79er
- Member
- Feb 24, 2012
- 284 posts
- 83 upvotes
- TORONTO
Thanks for sharing this info; very useful. My budget right now is 400-600, but the plan is to keep improving the system gradually, which is why I thought it may be a good idea to get the one with the built-in grinder on a good sale, then keep my eyes open to find a good sale on a really good grinder, say within the next one year...
$336+tax for a new machine is almost u beatable, at least based on what I have seen in the market. BES870XL was for $478+tax (~550 + %20 discount) on Amazon at the first hour of the prime-day! It was tagged to be on sale for 24 hours, which is why I thought I’d wait until they open and call thebay and bestbuy to see if they’d price-match (especially thebay had a $40 discount on purchases > $250 that could make it a sweet deal)... but before they opened the price went up to $600 on Amazon and I missed the whole thing! Now I have to wait for a good deal again.
- sanam79er
- Member
- Feb 24, 2012
- 284 posts
- 83 upvotes
- TORONTO
- K2`
- Member
- Aug 10, 2003
- 431 posts
- 155 upvotes
what's the difference in using the Cafiza tablets vs a few tablespoons of citric acid in the water chamber to clean it?
- sebmarchand
- Banned
- Nov 25, 2016
- 20 posts
- 8 upvotes
As an FYI, I've ordered this on Monday and I've just received my machines (less than 48h after ordering! But I live close from the shipping warehouse). The machine looks brand new, all equipment is included and I haven't observed any cosmetic issue.
- fatestkid
- Deal Fanatic
- Mar 21, 2010
- 5918 posts
- 7339 upvotes
Not sure, I just use the Cafiza tablets as they are cheap and convenient. The machines uses it to backflush the internals. Not sure you would achieve the same thing going through the water tank. Logic says you will but I don't know the internal design.
Also everyone don't forget to decalcify using vinegar water mixture. The manual says to do both the Cafiza tablet and the vinegar water combo.
- ooops123
- Newbie
- Aug 23, 2011
- 90 posts
- 69 upvotes
- Vancouver
update. bought july 11 and actually arrived to vancouver july 15, in original box (despite originally showing july 29!). looks brand new with all the accessories! very happy.
- jon604
- Deal Addict
- Oct 29, 2004
- 2438 posts
- 1034 upvotes
Same here. I just got mine today in Vancouver. They shipped on the same day I ordered. Fast! It looks brand new except the foam packaging has minor damage inside. My grinder did jam once. I hope it wont be an ongoing issue.
I still wonder where they get all these refurbs. Did they just fix the ones that had problems with quality control in the factory and they sell it on Ebay for tax breaks? I know some companies do that like dyson.
Is it ok to operate this without the water filter? I pour my brita water into this. The filter seems a tad expensive and I use the brita for my nespresso machines anyways.
- Rpdp18
- Newbie
- Mar 24, 2017
- 27 posts
- 1 upvote
How often do you use the Cafiza tablets?
The description says everyday unless I misread that?
The description says everyday unless I misread that?
- alexjdb
- Jr. Member
- May 6, 2008
- 119 posts
- 57 upvotes
Got mine yesterday, 1 day after ordering (Montreal, I think the warehouse is here). It has a little permanent nick on the cup warmer which I suspect is how it ended up in the refurb pile, otherwise looks brand new. All accessories included. Very happy for the price.
Pulled 5 drinks out of it already, a giant step up from my DeLonghi EC330 + junk spice grinder combo!
Pulled 5 drinks out of it already, a giant step up from my DeLonghi EC330 + junk spice grinder combo!
- guillaume019
- Member
- Sep 29, 2011
- 247 posts
- 220 upvotes
- Quebec
The machine will let you know when to backflush (using Cafiza with the blank portafilter) and when to descal (using dezcal solution in the water tank).
The clean/descal with either flash (backsflush needed) ou be solid on (descal needed).
P.S. The cafiza powder is half the price as the tablets:
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B001418KNS?aax ... B001418KNS
- blackCold
- Sr. Member
- Mar 23, 2015
- 537 posts
- 232 upvotes
- Westmount, QC
Is this deal dead ? says out of stock
- alexjdb
- Jr. Member
- May 6, 2008
- 119 posts
- 57 upvotes
- CaptainKILL
- Member
- Mar 14, 2011
- 384 posts
- 207 upvotes
- GTA
Bought one of these refurbs years ago, this thing is a workhorse as long as you keep it clean it should last a long time
- fatestkid
- Deal Fanatic
- Mar 21, 2010
- 5918 posts
- 7339 upvotes
When ever the "clean me" light turns on. For me its 6-8 weeks.
- fatestkid
- Deal Fanatic
- Mar 21, 2010
- 5918 posts
- 7339 upvotes
Cafiza tablets are about the same price and less hassle. They work well with the rubber tablet holder that comes with the machine.guillaume019 wrote: ↑ The machine will let you know when to backflush (using Cafiza with the blank portafilter) and when to descal (using dezcal solution in the water tank).
The clean/descal with either flash (backsflush needed) ou be solid on (descal needed).
P.S. The cafiza powder is half the price as the tablets:
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B001418KNS?aax ... B001418KNS
I use the E16 size (1.2grams) https://www.amazon.ca/Urnex-Cafiza-Espr ... B003S4918M
Others have also reported using E31 size (2 grams) - https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B004L8RTEM
- txenglan
- Deal Addict
- Nov 22, 2003
- 3733 posts
- 2062 upvotes
Thanks for posting, OP. My 10+ year old Magnifica 4400 stopped working a few weeks ago. I'd already performed surgery on it a number of times but this time, it wasn't going to be worth the hassle (aluminum pipe had been punctured somehow). Since the BES870Xl is sold out, I grabbed the 840 from the same seller and bought a Baratza Sette 270 to go with it.
- guillaume019
- Member
- Sep 29, 2011
- 247 posts
- 220 upvotes
- Quebec
I don't want to start a big debate, but one of the rfd goal is to help people save money, so I think my proposition is a valid one
No offence but they are not the same price.
1.2g tablets (100x) = 120g = 18.13$ = 15 cents/gram
2.0g tablets (100x) = 200g = 23.88$ = 12 cents/gram
566g powder = 23.48$ = 4 cents/100g
I use 1/2 tee spoon which is about 1.5g
P.S. I'm also a barista express owner