So far so good – Inexpensive entry level unit.

Stainless steel finish so it looks pretty good.

The water tank is large, this is essential as the unit uses a lot of water.

Compact size.

Simple controls.

The steam wand comes with a foam enhancer. This doesn't seem to help at all so I have removed it. The steam jet has enough power to whip up a good fine foam.

The cup warmer tray gets pretty warm so the cups do warm up after awhile.

The waste water tray full indicator only shows full at the very last minute. Little to no tolerance has been built in so a spill is likely if it's not emptied quickly.

The unit is very noisy and has associated vibration when the pump is running. It is enough to shake the cup away from the outlets so I always have to hold them in place. (or use a grip mat)

The space between the filter and cup tray is large enough for mugs.

Grind quality is very important. Do yourself a favour and buy a burr grinder and avoid the blade grinders like the plague. The unit seems to have very little tolerance for fine grinds as it will block up. Backing of the grind a bit produces a pretty quick pour so it's tricky to find that sweet spot.

The unit can take a little time to warm up so I suggest just before you attach the filter to the group head let a bit of hot water run through the machine. This usually triggers a heat cycle, wait until the light goes out, attach the filter and immediately extract the coffee. Last thing you want is for a heat cycle to start half way through a pour.

The unit came with a plastic utensil, one end was a coffee measure the other a tamp. I prefer to use a metal tamp purchased previously as this allows me to apply even pressure to the coffee grind.

It also came with a stainless steel milk jug and 2 filter basket sizes (single and double shot) which are inserted into the filter handle.

This is my first espresso machine so it has taken a bit of time to learn how to use the machine. One tip, if you want a firm coffee puck extract the coffee first then loosen the basket just a little so the pressure is off, then proceed to steam your milk. By the time you are done the coffee grind will have firmed up.

One note about Breville support. I emailed them with some concerns and questions about the machine. They responded in a day or two with a few observations and tips. Good to know someone helpful is reading the mail.

I have had the unit since Christmas 2011.

We typically use it to make about 8 coffees a week. Compact size, looks good, large water tank, inexpensive Noisy, a bit slow.