Breville Bar Italia ESP4

Don't buy this! – If you like real coffee, avoid this machine. Its simply impossible to get decent coffee out of this machine because it uses steam to brew the coffee. Ideal temp for brewing is 93-94 degrees. Steam is 100+ degrees which means burnt coffee. Thermoblock or boiler coffee machines can make coffees as good as the cafes but not if the brewing is via steam pressure.

Someones trash now my treasure – Found this on nature strip amongst thrown out for hard waste council pick up & now proudly mine. Took it home surprised it fired up, but upon 1st flush out & then test run it made lousy coffee which I did not drink but I could see it was not a proper coffee, this was due to neglect from previous owner. So, into the shed where "my magic"… Read more

happens with a stubby & couple of Philips screwdrivers I pulled it apart where the shower head is & cleaned up all the built up gunk, scale etc a good thorough clean out throughout, after re-assembly fired it up & ran through a dummy run with just the hot water to purge out any residues etc.

Then upon re-test run, topped up the easy to fill tank with clean water, tamped down the Vittoria coffee grounds very hard & well packed in the 4 cup filter basket to the top, hooked up the basket to the head & ran the machine again, here's the drawback & spoiler alert!.. yes it takes a while for a coffee to finally emerge (this is a fry your bacon & eggs & make your toast while you wait machine) but me being of Italian heritage & from knowing about coffee since a young boy this machine with the right use & maintenance makes a great coffee, & I mean a great coffee as good as any coffee shop barista, I was truly impressed, takes it time though.

I actually prefer this over my Gaggia Coffee Deluxe machine which will make you a quicker coffee but not as good quality coffee as this little beauty. The key to using this machine to it's best ability is to use QUALITY coffee & well tamped HARD into the filter basket (needed due to the larger than normal shower head holes), & make sure you maintain a clean shower head (remove one screw with star screwdriver) atleast monthly to keep it up to a clean standard.

From what I could see from previous owners neglectful use, no maintenance or lack of, means crap coffee, this goes for nearly all coffee machines out there. Most people don't know this, but here's a simple tip, just a run through with NO coffee in the machine to let the hot water flush though the shower head for 5-10 maybe 15 second into an empty mug or small pot is needed straight after you've ran a coffee & a good thorough clean & wipe down of the filter baskets & shower head, same goes for the frother just a bare steam ONLY run through into an empty mug after its been in milk to clear the nozzle, don't just wipe the outside.

All up just 3 out of 5 stars for a good budget machine due to length of time to produce the great coffee & some small annoying lack of features, such as cant preheat shower head or preload bar pressure before adding coffee filter basket.

Snooze time it takes..! – Can't believe how long it takes from the moment you turn the knob over to the coffee cup logo for the coffee to start coming out. I got this one for free... so glad because I certainly wouldn't have paid money for it..! Not surprised really considering it is relying on steam pressure to drive the coffee out. Takes too long for the coffee to flow

Does not make real espressos, avoid! – After owning the equally inexpensive espresso machine from ALDI that actually makes a decent espresso, this one delivers a coffee resembling a filter coffee with no crema and the frothed milk no better than milk warmed up in the microwave. This is not an espresso machine. Don't buy it ever!

Not bad for the small first coffee machine – I have got this coffee machine four years ago as a gift, but never really used it because I am really a coffee person, recently when I do the big house cleaning, I took this machine out cos bf likes to drink coffee. So I followed the menu start to make coffee. I bought really good coffee grind beans "toby", and after all the work the taste of the… Read more

coffee is 90% similar with the coffee shop. Both me and bf are happy. Plus no need much maintance for this cuty! Not bad for the small first coffee machine, can make two cups at a time

Good – Really cheap but still pretty good value. Can get clogged up easily but if you let out steam after each use it seems to stop the problem. You can only mmake 2 cups and then you need to wait for the pressure to lower otherwise the next cups pour out weird. Overall pretty good for a coffee machine at under $100. Easy to use, makes good coffee, good price Can only make 2 cups of coffee at a time

OK – Coffee was just ok, I never really enjoyed the taste of the coffee much. Maybe I was expecting too much of a small coffee machine. For the ones that really appreciate a nice cup of coffee, this model has not much to offer, besides some nice and hot frothy milk. Good price! Nice looking design. Good quality stainless steel finish that is easy and… Read more

practical to keep clean.

It froths milk really well. It died a couple of weeks after the 12 months warranty had expired.

It makes a very average tasting coffee, so the real coffee lovers would be quite disappointed about how the coffee tastes.

A lot of steam scapes through the pressure pump while the machine is operating.

It is quite noisy when pumping the water.

Terrible – Definitely skip this one. Not even worth the $70. Unless you like corroded metal in your drink. I found it really strange that it couldn't heat up without the steam wand or coffee being turned on, so you get either a really bad tasting espresso or water everyhwere from the steam wand heating. This was our first coffee machine, we should have… Read more

just gotten a more expensive, better working one in the first place. Frothed the milk well. Needs a tamp to compress the coffee (doesn't come with one so you are stuck trying to use your hand or a spoon). Really loud. You can't heat it without water escaping from the steam wand. Takes quite awhile to heat. The metal components of the group head and basket are really cheap metal that corrodes into your coffee.

Good – overall i think for 60 bux its great. but its only great if you now how to make coffes and with this machine you have to develop different ways of frothing to really get it nice and creamy or else it just wont work like some people are saying.and another thing is u got to keep cleaning it and unscrewing the frother head just like any other coffee… Read more

machine or else it will break. for me its lasted nearly a year with no problems. the only problem i have is the bad weak coffee that comes out you cant do nothing about this, the best thing that i do is really compact alot of coffee and you have to stop it just as you see it getting watery.but overall this is a great machine for 60 dollars that you have to work around to really make a nice coffee atm i get told i make beter coffees than what you would buy for 5 bux that's how creamy this machine can get but than again i have worked at cafe,s making coffees for a couple of years. cheap

great frother

good design with the stainless steel

easy to use and clean bad coffee really watery

Bad – I thought it was going to be better when I bought it than what it really is. I am a little dissapointed in it as I want to make nice coffees, not burnt tasting coffees. The price is cheap which is good, but I think I need to practice a bit more to see what makes the coffee better. For now I just use it to froth milk for hot choccies! I bought it… Read more

cheap off ebay and it serves its purpose well for a cheap little machine. The milk froths well and does it reasonably quick. - For some reason coffees just dont taste right when I make them with this machine. They taste burnt even when I've rinsed the water storage part and put new water in and when I use good coffee. Maybe I am just no good at making cappucinos, or it is the machine as I didn't buy it new.

- It is reallyyyy loud when frothing milk.

- Takes a fair while to heat up to produce a small bit of coffee.

OK – Ideal for coffee lovers who aren't too serious about quality. Great machine to begin making your own cappachino or expresso. Wouldn't buy this one again though due to the awful taste if it isnt rinsed out. Cheap coffee maker and fairly easy to use once you have mastered how much coffee to put in according to taste. The milk frother is ok but not… Read more

as good as in the coffee shops. Have to rinse it out EVERY time as otherwise the coffee has that horrible reboiled water taste and is undrinkable. This is despite using bottled water.

OK – Good little machine, makes a good cuppa, great for first timers, but not too efficient if your making coffee for more than a couple people at a time. Cheap machine to buy, have had it for a few years and never had a problem with it,can fit bigger mugs under it, froths up really well. Can only dispense once and then you have to wait for it to cool down to dispense coffee agaian otherwise the coffee burns.

Good – great for the price, got me started. i am now just about to upgrade to a $200 machine can't yet justify $2000 haha $29 bucks at cash converters. Great Price! And it served up latte's every saturday for me and 100's for friends and family who were quite impressed with what I could pull off with this machine. It moved me from instant coffee almost… Read more

completely and especially for guests Then it died. make sure you get good coffee. make's the difference.

gave up on the milk frother. just used microwave and one of those electric whisks

Bad – This is a good cheap machine if you are on a very tight budget. It makes coffee, better than a plunger. But you need to clean the tank and pump with CLR or something, as it can get blocked easily. I had one blow the lid off in my face!! A bit of a worry! Cheap Beware if you don't clean the tank regularly.

Terrible – We bought this for a simple way to make a small quanitu of real coffee. It totally ceased up after only one 250 pack of coffee. Cleaning of the contaminated flask is almost impossible - I'd say don't waste your money - this is a real con. I thought we had a useful way of making real coffee Decaf when my husband made regular filter coffee. The… Read more

coffee tasted really nice and made one long cup at a time. After only using one 250 gm bag of decaf coffee - the machine ceased up - steam eked out of everywhere except the drip and the machine started to shake. Unfortunately we hadn't run it through its paces in the 12 month warranty period so we had an educational experience of opening the thing up to find out what was blocking the steam. Not an easy task with some of the uncommon screws which are used. We couldn't find any blockage in the tube or the filter. The filter prong was the only cleaning item provided with the coffee unit and you had to push it through each hole at a very awkward angle. Eventually on tipping the contents of the water flask which had only been filled about 50 times into a white bowl we found thousands of tiny grey bits and the water too was grey. Obviously this contamination was responsible for the blockage in the flask. The holes for the steam are completely inaccessible so we have now put vinegar in it and rinsed it through about 20 times.. I suspect the whole thing is a health hazard delivering bits of aluminium into the coffee. $79 for 50 cups of coffee is a lot to pay. If the flask needs regular cleaning then why make it almost impossible to get at. AND how about proper instructions on the process..