It's the best Breville for enthusiasts

With some study, e.g., reading "How to Make the Best Coffee at Home" (Hoffmann) and reading the supplied manual for the BDB, I was able to make some excellent coffee drinks. I use a scale to measure all doses, single-wall basket, a good quality flat burr grinder, WDT, and the BDBs Manual function, I'm able to fine-tune shots like the pros. The steam boiler provides more than enough capability to froth excellent milk drinks, one after another. The auto-start function is very helpful for a ready machine early in the morning. I haven't adjusted the numerous configuration items; but the manual appears to make this pretty straight forward. I highly recommend this machine to those that want a very capable machine and are willing to put a little work into exemplar finished products!

We have now had 3 BES920XL, purchased one, 2 additional on "warranty" after writing scathing reviews of Breville's quality and customer service. Bottom line is the internals are mainly plastic with very little metal (only boilers, steel). After about a year of use the plastic lines begin to deteriorate and get mushy. This results in the pressure lines coming from the boilers and pump bulging with lower pressure at the group head than advertised. We were sold on the dual boiler and good reviews the BES920XL had, during researching machines I could find anything on what the internal materials were. I wrongly assumed at this price point everything would be metal and of a high quality. The machine becomes a maintenance nightmare and can become unusable after descaling per Breville's maintenance procedures. Descaling this machine is convoluted and often left the machine inoperable for a week due to an well know sensor issue post descaling solution being in the steam wand boiler. The descaling process was different than the instructions in the manual. We have followed the manual with respect to all maintenance (when possible) and used only Breville filters and maintenance products (which have become increasingly impossible to find). Maintenance also seems to more frequent with the BES920XL vs others at this price point.

It's a bit like a toy, but it takes care of business. You won't mistake it for a $3500+ machine, but you will enjoy having that extra $2k when you're sipping your delicious espresso!Would definitely buy again, and recommend. The only thing I'd ding it for is that it's tough to fill the reservoir via the top of the machine while watching the sight glass (seen in the photos behind the shot glasses) at the same time. With that said, I haven't spilled any water or overfilled it yet!

Work great so far, no issue yet, time will tell I guess.

This machine is without a doubt the best Breville machine for home baristas that want professional level features. The quick heat time of around 7 minutes and auto-power on is the primary reason I chose this machine over others in the price range. I find this machine allows us to get flavors out of our coffee we never were able to before. Breville has thought through every details to make it an excellent companion.

This my second Breville Dual Boiler, the first one is in our other home in Australia and has performed flawlessly for its first four years. I thought about buying one for years as it was really the only affordable dual boiler I knew about. I had a single boiler Rancilio Silva for many years but was so frustrated by its poor on/off temperature regulation and the need to raise and lower the boiler temp for steaming vs pulling shots, that I seldom used it. I have both Beville Dual machines paired with Breville grinders, I can pull pretty good shots consistently and make 4 lattes in about ten minutes if we have guests around for coffee. Everything about this machine works and as one of just a few machines that Breville makes without built in grinders. I think it is just perfect for the semi serious home barista. As an engineer, I would never buy a machine with the grinder built in, who wants to have the problem of a grinder failing taking the expresso machine out of service. It's just a bad idea in my experience, like TV's with built in DVD players, now that was a passing fad! Owning and driving one of these machines is like owning a Toyota, which I do, it just works!

This is an amazing machine and has immense value at its price. Dual boiler, hot water spout, (I needed a machine with a water reservoir) water reservoir. Little things like the ability to fill the water reservoir from the front with out having to pull the machine away from the wall. If you do have to pull the machine away from the wall their is a slick little wheel that helps. The machine can obviously pull better shots than I can, Im working on it. Being able to adjust pressure/volume/pre infusion time are all part of why I purchased the machine. I was previously using a bambino (which i loved) and so far the only drawback to this machine is the size.

I really wish I could say I love this machine, but they may as well ship it with a return label. It started malfunctioning soon after I received it. Breville did not repair my mint condition machine but replaced it with a heavily used refurbished one without asking me. When working it was great with a few upgrades but since purchasing its been in queue longer than I got to use it. Finding out there are extensive reddit pages on repair of this machine I regret not getting a Rocket.

Great machine!! I love that you can pour two shots in thirty seconds. The milk steamer is pretty slow and we're already having issues with the grinder after two short months which is why I gave a 4 star.

It seemed to be a great espresso machine until it broke. Started leaking from under the seal. When Breville replaced it aland deemed unreparable I got another one. It broke after 2 years. It is leaking water from every hole this machine has and losing pressure. I really liked it, seemed easy to use, even though the review was right about portafilter having to be forced into place sometimes. Bottom line is: Something that costs over 1,500 usd should last for years. I am dissapointed with the quality and will be looking for a different brand. Breville's new models have those stupid touch screens with beverage menu that makes it look like some amateur gas station experience coffee maker.

Machine was great for about 1.5 years. Always filtered water and cleaned regularly per manual. Started breaking down and leaking in multiple places inside the machine and outer group head. Pre-infusion and pressures issues also started resulting in very inconsistent shots and timing. A machine at this price point, should last much longer.

Steam boiler temperature probe inner oring failed after a year. Extremely disappointing.

It is an awesome machine with lots of cool features.

Over the past 5 years we have had this machine and it failed, arranged for a refurbished replacement w/o any warranty...and while it worked was fine, but finally went up in smoke! We kept up with cleaning/descaling etc. and thus can not recommend this machine. Going back to another La Pavoni PB-16 copper/brass as the two lasted (unhappy w/ the stainless/chrome one tho!) and made thousands of cups of fine espresso with them...even doing a complete internal parts replacement, piston,seals,etc.once.Dave.

This machine has a lot of great features and makes great espresso and steamed milk for latte's. But if you are looking for a machine to last longer than 2 - 3 years definitely look elsewhere. I am on my third machine! I don't consider one double shot a day with steamed milk heavy use. It has actually been so long since I sent off the first machine I don't remember what the issue was but I had it for about 2 years when I had to send it in for repair. I don't know if they sent back my machine or a refurbished one but after 3 years the steam wand started leaking. It would either fill up the drip tray or make a mess on the counter. When calling Breville to send back this one they said they could send me the newer model (920XL) for $375 and then send back the old one in the same box which I did. Now after about 3 years this machine is also leaking from the steam wand and it trips the GFI breaker at least twice for every double shot I make, and I did replace the GFI to make sure that wasn't the problem. Also this model never developed the pressure of the previous model. I give up, I'm going to look at the Italian machines.

This is my second Dual Boiler, purchased from Seattle Coffee earlier this year. It makes excellent espresso, good steam, and has many small details that make it convenient to use. Breville has been making small improvements and changes in the design without giving a different name or product number, which should be a good thing. However, the current version of the Dual Boiler uses a water filter which has been out of stock everywhere, seemingly for months. The older version used a different filter holder, for which filters are available, but Breville is also all out of these holders. My local roaster suggested filtering the water before putting it in the reservoir, an inconvenience which goes against this machine's design.

Bought our 920XL from Seattle Coffee in June of 2016. Loved it for the 1st year. It even has a great manual; followed the manual's instructions for cleaning & descaling to the letter and had no problems for 18 months or so. Then the steam wand starting leaking, and the descale indicator started randomly coming on. Did descale by the book & indicator won't go off. Filed case w/Breville and they ultimately said that it was probably okay. (Yeah, that's helpful.) About a month ago, unit started tripping our GFCI outlet. Outlet tested fine but replaced it anyway. No joy; now 920XL trips the new outlet (and any other GFCI we try it on) after the 1st espresso every time so we can't use it. Have tried to reach Breville customer service for 2 days. On hold 38 minutes so far today. No callback yesterday despite leaving my # on auto-callback option. Can't submit a case online because their dropdown menu for state/province isn't working and it's a required field. This is a $1300 machine and we are.not.happy.

We LOVE this but have learned it is all about the bean. We used a more generic bean at first and it was fine, but when we switched to Vivace’s beans, freshly roasted, it made ALL the difference. Now we are making amazing espresso drinks every morning!

Machine is very easy to use, shots taste good, and it’s easy to obtain latte microfoam, even with most alternative milks. But, either build quality is poor or the machine has a design flaw. I’ve owned it for one year. The first unit was replaced under warranty after three months. The replacement unit developed the same problem after five months and had to be sent in for warranty repair. The unit was returned scratched and covered with some type of manufacturing grease. Now, four months in, the repaired unit has again developed the same problem that was previously fixed. If the machine worked properly I would love it despite its large footprint. But it doesn’t, so I don’t. I’m on the fence regarding whether to try another round of warranty service or scrap the machine in favor of a different brand.

Ive had the BDB for almost 2 years now. It does a good job, with a few modification it does an superb job. I would highly recommend upgrading the portafilter basket to a vst basket. And if you are into modification this machine actually can be modded to do slayer shots, which is AMAZING. I have had issues with the o-rings in the steam boiler, I attempted to fix them myself, but they leaked shortly after the fix. Breville was super good about getting the machine fixed (their warranty is awesome)

It’s been less than a day, but the 4 doubleshots I’ve made so far have all been great. Setup was simple, lots of accessories were included, and I love the ability to adjust shot timing, pre-infusion, and volume plus setting temps for the steam and espresso. My very first double-shot on factory settings gave me just over 2 oz in 30 seconds - I equally credit the machine and my ability to grind and tamp properly.The ability to steam and pull a shot is a big time saver over my previous machine, a trusty Silvia I’ve had for 7 years. Plus, the espresso tastes better from the Breville. I’ll update this review should things go south, but so far it has exceeded my expectations.

After one year use, no problems at all. I picked this machine after looking at many you tube videos. Also deciding factor was double boiler along with price. This is my first espresso machine and I am happy to say that as a noob to the self grinding, measuring and tamping world of coffee making, this has been a very good experience. Now I am looking for another machine for my office. I am officially too snobby for my Keurig machine.

Great when it worked, warranty work done 4 times in 2 years-seals kept going. No local Breville repair shops so had to send, out 5-7 weeks for return. Keep the box just in case!Breeze to use, takes a bit of fiddling to work out your grinds/tapping pressure for an excellent brew, easy to clean, has a large countertop foot print