Good deal for a good machine at $899. No need to muck around like past Good Guys commercial deals
Breville Dual Boiler Espresso Machine BES920 $899 (Free Click & Collect) @ The Good Guys
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seveneightnine on 24/12/2021 - 07:17 thegoodguys.com.au (2992 clicks)
Last edited 24/12/2021 - 20:07 by 2 other users
Last edited 24/12/2021 - 20:07 by 2 other users
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for sure not the best price of this machine, pre covid it was significantly cheaper but we live in a new Ozbargain world
Not sure if this is a joke, but people regularly post on here that this thing was available for around $600 a few years back. Regardless this is a great deal and it might not be as low as this ever again.
I'm pretty sure this was in the $600- $700 range on sale pre covid. Still a good price
covid has driven up the cost of many items as supply chains changed ….., this a great
price in the last 2 years ……. i own one and it makes great coffee if you own a grinder ….. pre- ground coffee is always a bit of hit and miss, but if you only get the coffee maker for starters you will make great coffee and save money vs buy take away in the process ….Yeah you're right. I'm just salty because I ordered one pre covid around $600 and cancelled the order :/
What is a good grinder these days?
I appear to have worn out my IKEA manual grinder and am looking for a replacement.Budget $$, manual or electric?
Can't go wrong with the Breville Smart Grinder Pro.
Check out the crushgrind columbia. Amazing manual grinder.
CHOICE have just released their review of coffee grinders under $1000 and 3 grinders came out equal top:
- Baratza Encore Model 410
- Baratza Sette 270
- Breville Smart Grinder Pro
The Sunbeam EM0700 Precision Grinder was also recommended and just behind the top 3.
The Rancilio Rocky Doser was a little behind these 4 but also recommended.
The Porlex Mini Hand Grinder V2 costing around $100 was also recommended.
@FitzChivalry Farseer: I've performed extensive reach on all when considering my upgrade from the SGP. I did end up with the Niche Zero due to its single dose capabilities out of the box.
My personal take on CHOICE's top 3:
Baratza Encore Model 410 - Better suited for filter coffee. It doesn't grind fine enough unless you change the burrs.
Baratza Sette 270 - Great grinder but unreliable
Breville Smart Grinder Pro - Very reliable, but its a jack of all trades, and master of none. Too many fines for filter (where consistent coarse is needed), and does not grind fine enough for espresso. The BDB is way more capable than the grinder.
On a budget my recommendation is the Eureka Mignon (any of the models)
@originalfake: Rubbish - Every independent review show the the Breville Smart Grinder Pro most definitely grinds fine enough for quality espresso. And what's more it is internally adjustable to go even finer which at the $249 price point is remarkable.
As for the Niche Zero - that's a $1800 grinder you're talking about. One of the most expensive home grinders you can buy. Surprise surprise that it grinds more evenly than grinders costing one seventh of the price.
Comparing that to the $249 Breville Smart Grinder Pro when matching it to the Breville Dual Boiler is ridiculous over kill for most home barista needs.
@FitzChivalry Farseer: Don't take it personally… I've owned the SGP I know its capability and limitations. When I first purchased it, it was on the basis of the value proposition.
Yes I have a Niche Zero, but what did I recommend? The Eureka Mignon… For approximately $500 its a worthwhile pairing with the BDB.
Yes the SGP can do espresso, but I do believe the SGP is holding back the BDB. Hence I coined it as the jack of all trades..
@originalfake: +1 on the eureka Mignon
I was on the fence with Baratza Sette 270wi and Eureka Mignon Silenzio. Went with the Eureka due to the compact build, super silent and pretty good for single dosing. Plenty of mods available to do single dosing making it pretty good unit for the price.
@FitzChivalry Farseer: You can get a Niche Zero for just over 1k from Niche directly. Issue is supply usually.
I'd say retention and consistency are the SGPs weak points but it's a solid grinder for the price.
The Eureka Mignons are great espresso grinders for just over double the price (Manuale or Classic) or the Baratza Encore is great at espresso for about the same price as the SGP.
@Hypnotoad: For what it's worth, SGP retention is very low with bellows. Main issue is clumping IMO.
@Cyb3rGlitch: True but I think the issue is that most buyers of the SGP won't know to use bellows, likewise with clumping, a WDT tool would help but once again beyond the knowledge of most SGP buyers. Better off with a Mignon.
@originalfake: All these Choice recommendation for under $1,000 is a joke.. I bought Eureka Specialita for $550 and agree its one of the best value grinders, much better grind quality and consistently than the Breville grinder.
@originalfake: I have a Breville DB and was using a SGP for 5 years then jumped to a Eureka Specialita and what a world of difference it makes! Fluffy grounds, quiet operation and grinds in half the time of the SGP. Not saying the SGP is bad (it's pretty darn good for $200 odd dollars but it really is very entry level if you are semi serious about espresso. I jumped onto this pervious deal https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/667771 Arrived from Europe in a week
@FitzChivalry Farseer: How does the Smart Grinder Pro go for espresso? Is it the same as the built in grinder the Oracle has?
For lower budgets I lean toward manual grinders (if you don't mind the work). 1Zpresso JX-Pro ($250) or J-Max ($319) are great if you're grinding mostly for espresso.
I'm personally planning to buy a 1Zpresso K-Plus ($350) for mostly filter coffee while still being capable of espresso.
For $150, the Normcore V2 is apparently pretty great for it's price.
@scott482: Love my JX-Pro, some days I can't be bothered using it though due to laziness 😄
Can grind 20g of beans in about 30 seconds.
The ROK bench top manual grinder is apparently better than the Niche zero: https://towardsdatascience.com/rok-beats-niche-zero-part-1-7…
Also check out James Hoffmann's review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdsqF83x9rA
A noob question but doesnt this grind coffee as well?
No. You need to buy a separate grinder.
But add in the price of the DeLorean Time Machine to go back to 2019 and you'll be paying a heck more than this.
But then subtract your lottery winnings for going to the future to learn what the winning numbers are!
Feeling alot better about it now :D
Want one but dang hard to justify when it was a few hundred cheaper pre covid
SO GOOD!!! Had one for years.
Extremely happy
A few hundred? So $599? I'm going to need to see proof of this.
General house (and other asset types) price has gone up 30~50% on average…
A few hundred cheaper two and a half years ago! The justification comes from getting great home espressos at a great price NOW! What's the point of whining about how things were pre-covid.
Why is it that every bloody time the Dual Boiler is listed on OzBargain, people want to reminisce about the good old days.
They pay close to A$2000 for these in Europe and the US and they still get reviewed highly against Italian/Euro machines at that price.
For example:
https://www.wired.com/review/breville-dual-boiler/
At $899 it is a great buy.
Model number BES920BSS
Bought one yesterday via GG commercial for $897. My current one is showing signs of age, but 7000+ shots of coffee isn't too bad.
How do you sign up for a commercial account? I have a PTY Ltd company, would that help?
7000?
How do you check number of shots made?
Wow, how did you maintain it?
Mine is already breaking down after three years, which is about 1000 to 1300 coffee
7000?
How do you check number of shots made?Actually 7100.
You hold down the 1 and 2 shot buttons simultaneously for 4 seconds then press the Power On button, this gets you into the service info menu. Press the Menu button once and the number you see, times that by 10. That is how many shots you have poured rounded to the closest 10. So a 345 for example would mean 3,450 shots (rounded)The first lot of numbers that can scroll through, (before pressing Menu) are error codes. If you want them I will find them and post them.
Wow, how did you maintain it?
I simply used Cafetto S15 cleaning tablets when the Clean Me prompt arrived. I have soft water so corrosion and encrustation is at a minimum. I have changed the steam wand valve and swapped out some O rings in the boiler, I vaguely remember descaling one time but read on coffeesnobs that if you have soft water, you are probably doing more harm than good by descaling so haven't bothered.
So double shots is counted as two?
I will go home and test it
Just checked, only 1340 shots after almost 3 years of usage. Don't know if I should get a new machine?
Mine BES900 still going strong after 10 years except the sensor start to go wacko, if I leave it on too long it just simply stop working and can't make coffee
so I turn on, make coffee and turn it off otherwise everything else still perfectIs there a way to get it to show you how many shots it's done or did you just guestimate that?
See my reply to @canberrascooter
Cheapest was $639 @ TGG eBay https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/350200
I don't remember see it cheaper than this
Edit: reply to @FlyeroneOhh is price coming down?
Do dynamic Duo prices run completely independent of these? Would prefer to buy the Duo for the promo bonus… but difference here is enough to buy promo bits.
Price match at JB and use 15% off gift cards and pay $764.15
where do you get 15% off JB gift cards?
I ended up just buying it from the eBay store as they just dropped the price - 5% off with ebay Plus so I got it for $854.05 click and collect
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/115131778468
Also I had a $79.20 gift card on ebay as well bringing it down to $774.85
You can also try for shopback for an additional 1% discount but probably won't be honoured.thanks….you just tipped me over for this one
Hope this rant helps someone.
TL;dr good machine, I like it. Not sure I'd recommend it if you just 'need a coffee machine'. In fact, I'm not sure who this machine is targeted at.
Machine highlights:
- PID temp control
- Dual boiler (helps temp stability, gives more capacity for making multiple coffees)
- 58mm portfilter is nice, not all prosumer machines have the full 58mm size.The elephant in the room however is quality of the espresso and grinder selection.
The espresso can be excellent. You put fresh beans in a non-pressurised basket from a good grinder, and you'll be able to pull great shots without much machine technique (the BES929 pre-infuses and has a PID controller, so I haven't found myself struggling with group head temperature). However will buying this $900 machine make you make good coffee?
Grinder talk. Ideally your grinder outperforms your espresso machine and should last forever. Reality is it's hard to pick a grinder within a budget.
I have 2 grinders for my BES920 (and project rancillo 2 group machine). I have the Breville Smart Grinder and a budget commerical grinder Cunill Cafe Tranquilo. I've had the Tranquilo for over a decade, and it's great (was $400 new). I bought the Breville for $180 when waiting for replacement burrs to arrive for the Tranquilo.
The smart Grinder is limited- small diameter burrs, limited grind steps, and I'm sceptical the build quality will last. But it is matched to the BES920 and "just works". I get way better pours from the Tranquilo, and I wouldn't bother using the smart Grinder with a better espresso machine.. but half the time I'm using a pressurised basket with 2 month old beans on the BES920, so I'm not exactly getting peak performance from my machine or expecting god-shot pours. So your grinder choice will come down to what you want from your machine.
if you have the budget, get a decent prosumer grinder or look at gumtree for second-hand commerical grinders. Burrs are an easy change, and my tranquilo is 90% steel, built to last. There's no downside to a nicer grinder.
if you're on a tight budget, the smart Grinder definitely works. The BES920 and smart Grinder will make a cafe quality coffee with a good technique, but it's nothing to write home about.
Lastly, consider if this machine is actually for you. A lot of people go dual boiler for temperature stability, capacity to make multiple coffees in a row, and ability to froth milk whilst you pour. These are all great features that aren't that important if you're making a single 'meh' coffee once a day. That said, you could buy something like a Gaggia classic, a nice grinder, and still make a shit coffee.
That said, you'll be hard pressed to find a competing machine at this price point. There's a reason this machine is a ozbargin crowd favourite.
I bought it because my 2 group is a 15A commerical machine that needs 10 minutes to heat up, and I'm needing to chase humidity to get the right grind and pour. I drink instant coffee still, and this machine makes the right cup for me when I want a milk-coffee in a hurry.If you liked the condescending and argogant tone of this comment (sorry), you can find more at the home-barista and coffeesnobs forums. They are ideal for equipment reviews and guides, especially grinder selection.
Good machine for espresso enthusiast who wants a 58mm and good thermal consistency without messing around at an affordable price.
Also good for someone who has regular coffee drinking guests or a house share sort of situation.
Im sticking to Barista Express for now as its good enough for my needs.
I used Barista Express for 3 years, was challenging/near impossible to get 18gm IN, 40ml Out, in 30 sec at the right/espresso pressure gauge. I learnt that the OPV/calibration was not set correctly by factory for these machines. I later did some hack to readjust the spring inside the plastic OPV and it limited the pressure to the right number. The coffee produced has since been superior (less bitter) and as the steam was not very strong, I managed to produce very good silky froth. It still running strong and just had to store it as I bought new grinder and double boiler machine, that I am still practicing with as steam wand is super strong with 3 holes and require time to practice.
Were/are you using the inbuilt grinder? I found even with fresh dark roasted coffee it couldn't go fine enough.
@bleeder: To grind fine was not an issue for me, as after a while I adjusted the upper burr to 2 numbers down. There are many videos on YouTube shows you how to do it.
@huntabargain: I don't know if mine didn't have this option, but I'd seen this video and mine didn't have the ability to do this
@huntabargain: Thought so, mine was 6 years old. Could never get it to grind fine enough so always had to use the double walled basket. Good to know I wasn't just an idiot haha, thanks.
@bleeder: Great to know that this machine can last 6 yrs, you must have been taking a good care of it :) If you want to invest into fixing the issue, you could look at replacing the top burr? check this link to see if would work. Burr Kit Upper
@huntabargain: @huntabargain I actually took terrible care of it haha. Barely ran clean cycles, replaced filters not near enough, never descaled even once, not to mention it's all dinged and scratched up (don't really know how that happened). It lasted pretty well, only issue was the steam wand started frequently clogging toward the end, basically had to clear it out every single time.
Thanks for the tip on the burr, but I don't actually have the machine anymore, I've upgraded to an Oracle. I think that would have helped.
Thanks for the insights. Got the Barista Express BES870 model for a few years, later on added smart grinder pro. The single boiler started to show its weakness to froth milk and have leakage problems in the water pump area (need repair). It's time to get a dual boiler, looks like, as a holiday gift for coffee lovers at home… I've pulled over 6k shots (4 daily for 5 years) from it, not too bad.
You did very well pulling 6k shots from Barista Express, you definitely deserves the BDB for Christmas :)
Machine upgrade is needed to pair with advanced skills lol
I do feel the Barista Express is not professional grade as the pro tips do not apply (e.g. 20~22 grams of ground pulls out 38~40ml espresso).
Great price! You need a grinder but id say dont buy that from australia - import a eureka or niche or similar for a better deal. Unless its a jxpro i think they are reasonably priced locally
This is a good price. I jumped on the Retravision deal from a couple of months ago.
It's a good machine, with a lot of techy features and adjustments to play around with. The steam wand is also much more capable than my previous Breville Barista Express.
I have to say, trying a few different blends of the AirJo beans (which are often advertised here), I've been somewhat disappointed in the espresso quality. I'm running a Smart Grinder Pro as the grinder.
After dialling in the grind size, the pressure gauge holds somewhat steady at 9-10 bars - but occasionally seems to fluctuate lower as the shot progresses.
I've been running 18 grams in - and stopping at approx 36 grams of liquid out. No matter what, the espresso either tastes mildly tangy or bitter - or if i let the shot go longer (40g+) - it tastes plain and watery.
I am perplexed as to how people can taste "notes of berry" or "nutty flavour" or "chocolate" in the beans. I have bought a small pack of Campos beans which I will try this month. I have also got a distributor and better tamper coming from Aliexpress - which should help with consistency.
I don't think it's the machine's fault - I think i just need to find a decent flavour bean - any recommendations?
Campos - Dark City
Try Di Lorenzo "Specialty Blend Barista Coffee" or Forte the Tripple R (strong).
I find myself disappointed at AirJo (tried one blend only but don't want to risk / waste $ further).
Welcome to home espresso hobby where the pursuit to golden shot is a never ending.
Better coffee preparation goes a long way. Many use a WDT or a distributor tool. (Some people with crazy workflows use all..). Consider getting bottomless portafilter to better analyse your extraction.
Another tip is to understand the roast you are preparing. There's methods to brewing light, medium and dark roast.
Should have mentioned i've got a wire distributor + smoothing distributor + bottomless PF coming as well :P
Enjoy! Give it a few months before you order a VST basket :))
As a suggestion. Go to a decent coffee shop and buy a 250g bag of their recommendation and get them to grind it for your machine. I have a smart grinder pro and have similar issues. I found that their grind tasted heads n tails better than mine and also had similar when using an aeropress or mocha pot.
If that doesn't help it may be the brew temp as too cool gives sourness?occasionally seems to fluctuate lower as the shot progresses.
this may suggest channeling also related to inconsistent grind. As the coffee gets washed if size or consistency of grind is poor then channeling increases the longer you go
I would think so too, but i've interrogated the wet puck afterwards and i don't find any defects. I do however, notice the wet puck doesn't bang out in one pristine piece, like I used to get with my Barista Express (54mm basket). Rather the 58mm basket leaves chunks of puck behind in the basket.
That's a good idea. Perhaps the Smart Grinder Pro is just not good enough for this application. I was reluctant to get something else because i got the SGP for free!
No offence but thats actually a really bad suggestion. There is now way their grinder is going to be dialled in to match your setup. You are better of using a properly dialled in SGP than some random grind setting.
hey not sure if that is to my post
firstly it is a suggestion…a way of eliminating variables. second I didn't think so but when I bought some pre ground when I didn't have my SGP the difference was phenomenal. Thirdly, there is a pretty strong consensus that the SGP isn't really up to getting a dialled in espresso shot with a 58mm basket . It's a good consumer grinder but inconsistent grind size in a puck does cause issues.
Not saying my idea is right but worth a go
How many seconds does your take from first drip?
From memory, total shot time is generally around 20-26 seconds (including 8 sec pre-infusion). First drips come just after pre-infusion. Depends on which bean I am using, but generally I am only looking at weight of espresso (36g target).
https://cherryblackcoffee.com.au/order-coffee/ols/products/b…
My wife and I have bean using this one for a while now, all our guests like it tooHow long does it take to pull the 40g? Change the grind settings to aim for 28-30sec pull time
Once you use the bottomless portafilter, it will confirm if it channelling issue. The Breville grinder might be producing inconsistent grind! Have you tried increase coffee to 19/20 gm coffee and see if it help? I would also try to increase the pre-infusion time to say 10 sec or so, as this can reduce channelling..
I'll be using the Smart Grinder Pro with this machine. To date I've been using the De'Longhi Dedica Pump Espresso (great machine and so cheap but time for upgrade).
I've been using coffee beans from Woolworths (Vittoria or Lavazza Espresso). Is it ok to continue using those beans with the Dual Boiler?
You will get a far more satisfying result if you get fresh beans directly from a roaster rather than getting beans from a supermarket that likely have been in the distribution warehouse and then the shelf for at least a couple of months.
OzBargain posts deals from roasters on a very regular basis. AirJo is one that regularly discounts up to 40% and sends its beans via express post meaning you get the beans just a few days after they have been roasted. Do a search of this forum and see the comments and see what others recommend.
Thanks i'll keep it in mind
I would recommend you get fresh roasted beans, you can get from specialist cafes. Sometimes also available from supermarkets, but make sure it has a roasted date on it (not use by), ideally you want a roasted date only a week or two old, max of three weeks (if you are going to use right away).
If I dont need dual boiler, what would be a good reliable espresso machine?
Currently using aeropress with burr grinder, but want to try espresso world.I am considering Delonghi Deldica, but some reviews are mixed citing reliability issue.
Suggestions pls
TaI wouldn't buy Delonghi coffee machines, Breville Bambino Plus is very good value for $361+delivery @ TGG commercial.
Thanks. I just found out I no longer have access to TGG Commercial arghhh!!
Btw, I had a look Bambino Plus has 9 bar pressure while Dedica 15 bar. I thought more pressure better for extraction?
Sorry newbie hereNearly all pumps have 15bar capacity, but coffee is best extracted at 9bar to reduce bitterness, so Bambino has OPV (over pressure valve) that limit extraction pressure to 9bar, by opening the valve if pressure on group-head exceed the 9bar.
@huntabargain: Thanks for the explanation!
I dont need new grinder do I, if I have Porlex manual grinder?@OzFrugie: Sorry I am not very familiar with manual grinders. I owned Breville Barista Express with integrated grinder for 3 years, think you can get it for $550 on special, which served me well. But I recently upgraded to Eureka Specialita grinder and Italian double boiler machine. Advantage of separate grinder is you can upgrade one and not the other down the road. When buying / using grinder it needs to be specific for espresso (fine) and not for general wide range of grinds. You can always use yours and see how it goes with the machine, otherwise Breville Smart Grinder Pro for $216 @ TGGC is good value
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Best Price I have ever seen on this Dual Bolier.