Breville Compact Café BES250

faulty by design - Breville The Compact Café Espresso, Model BES250 – I bought this useless coffee machine Breville The Compact Café Espresso, Model BES250 and wasted $282! It is the worst coffee machine which makes luke warm coffee. I wish I read the reviews before I bought it. When I rang Breville Support logging the fault as the machine does not heat up, I was told (and also received this information in writing)… Read more

that "your Breville coffee machine internally heats up to 80-85 degrees and then loses 15-30% of temperature when it is extracted and dispensing into your cup thus being around the 60-65 degree mark". This is what the technicians told Breville staff! - so this machine is faulty by design and every unit is the same, does not make hot coffee. My Aldi coffee machine makes better coffee. Hope this review (and other negative reviews I just read) will help someone.

Does a good job for the price – Replaces my previous (similar style) Breville coffee maker that died after 12 years of good service. Does the basic job of turning ground beans into fresh coffee, for a sane price. I won't pay stupid money for a cup of flat white that I can make myself for a few cents. I don't use the frother gadget at all so I can't comment on that. Built in… Read more

water heater is somewhat limited in power. Might be ok if you need to drink it in a hurry. I like to drink it slowly while I read the morning news so I give it extra heating in the microwave for 30 seconds. The pump does make a buzzing noise, could be an issue if someone else was sleeping in the next room. Couple of modifications I did make: 1. The spring circlip that holds the filter cup in the handle, makes it tiresome to lift the cup out for cleaning. But no problem, I pried the spring out with a fingernail and runs perfectly well without it. 2. The water tank is clear plastic, but heavily tinted, making it hard to see the water level. So I found some white rigid plastic sheet and cut a strip to drop in the tank where it floats and shows the level clearly. I am very happy with the product and would certainly buy it again.

An improvement on the Cafe Roma! – UPDATE after 6 months use – all good except issue with single cup filter, detailed at bottom. A bold claim, but I think the Venezia is better than the mighty Roma. I can use a finer grind of coffee and thus use less coffee for the same taste. I can now get a strong coffee using a single cup filter (EDIT: but not with the Breville supplied… Read more

one).

The milk frother is more powerful and creates better froth, without using the 'froth enhancer' tube (I have removed it to make cleaning easier). Venezia heats up steam before opening the valve, so you don't get the initial spurt of water that the Roma produces.

Of course only time will tell if it has the same reliability.

My double-walled chrome cups still vibrate around on the metal grid and need to be held in place, and there is some splattering due to the higher head.

I have not had problems with the head seal leaking - I tried a too fine grind which restricted the flow to a dribble (and tasted awful) and the seal held.

Comprehensive owner manual and congrats to Breville for recommending low cost vinegar for decalcifying.

I wish there were switches to deactivate two functions. The cup warming tray is a waste of power for me as I don't use it - I use hot water from performing the pre-heat cycle. The auto purge function just wastes water for me - I like to run steam through the wand into a cup of water immediately after frothing milk, but the auto purge function kicks in before I can do this, and then does it again after the steam clean. I also make coffee before frothing so I don't need it for this either. I've been turning the power button off to stop it kicking in but you have to be quick.

SINGLE CUP FILTER ISSUE

Summary: Clogs if grinder produces some extra fine particles.

Detail: After one month of use my single cup filter would clog when expressing coffee, but inconsistently to varying degrees, producing burnt flavour and no crema. The holes were not blocked, as water would pump through normally when empty. I was able to swap it for a new one (thanks Good Guys) but the result was the same.

The two cup filter works perfectly with the same grind of coffee. I then tried some pre-ground Lavazza coffee in the single cup filter and it worked perfectly, so the problem relates to my grinder. My grinder doesn't produce a fully consistent grind, with some finer particles in the mix. My solution is to use a single cup filter from an old Krups machine which works perfectly every time. (Note: my Cafe Roma single cup filter had the same problem.)

Great machine, poor warranty support – The BES250 is great for anybody interested in making delicious coffee on a budget. A few crippling issues take from the rest, I'll share mine here. The pump is nice and strong, much stronger than the delonghi Dedica. Coffee extracts at a good speed and one can use a very fine grind without causing harm. The steamer is not as user friendly or… Read more

clean operating as the Dedica. Clearing backflow on the frother is a bit of a struggle. If I could, I'd use this machine to make coffee, and the Dedica to Froth milk. But the stainless steel nozzle on this is much nicer, and will actually render much better Froth with some practice.

Heat up time is minimal, water is heated on the fly. The machine uses a lot of water as waste when purging, so the tray needs to be emptied very frequently and the water container filled often. The Dedica is more conservative, the water reservoir will last a week while the bem250 will last two days, and the tray in the bem250 will last about 3 coffees while the Dedica will last about 15.

The dial and actuator became stiff after two months. Making a coffee and frothing milk suddenly becomes a chore, because the dial is so stiff it's a challenge to turn. I took it to a repairer months ago for their opinion and they scared me off with an inspection fee if the machine didn't need repair. Months later, the machine needed repair when the dial snapped. After all this time trying to make a stiff drink, the machine gave in. This occurred around 11 months after purchase.

The machine landed up having multiple faults so Breville is arranging a replacement. Kudos to the repairs

Great machine, a few major pitfalls, probably won't upgrade to Breville in the future... can't expect a coffee addict to last without their machine for a week, let alone a month!

Will return for an update later in the month.

Fantastic Coffee Machine – Fantastic coffee machine. Comprehensive yet simple instructions resulting in any user being able to produce the perfect crema. Steam wand is easy to use and brings your milk to the ideal temperature and froth. I would highly recommend this machine.

Awesome little machine – Excellent machine for a great cup of coffee. Consistent quality of coffee. Easy to use. Heats up quickly and great frother. Made of solid stainless steel. Fits perfectly on bench for smaller sized kitchen. Show details

Works great and coffe is nice – Purchased 2 years ago and still working great. Awesome value for money the only thing i don’t like is it is a bit loud when making coffee. For me this is nice and compact and the coffee tastes great.would recommend to the coffee conisour that’s on a tight budget! 10/10 thanks  Show details

not worth buying – I found it impossible to make a medium strenght coffee, the machine doesn't heat enough the water I think, that's why coffee comes out warm, not hot. I get better taste of coffee when I just do it in coffee press Show details

If I could rate it a "0", I would. Complete piece of junk – Spits coffee and hot water out of the group head. Tried what everyone else has done but still a horrible experience. Also, it's not worth the trouble making coffee as it's the messiest machine I've ever owned. I absolutely hate this machine. Show details

Stylish and compact on the bench and good quality coffee – This is a very nice coffee machine to use at home, it sits nice and compact on the kitchen bench top and makes good quality coffee every time. The coffee has good crema nd is just he right temperature, not too hot or too cold. The machine is also very easy to keep clean and it is nice to use in general, I would recommend it!  Show details

Makes really good coffee for a small machine – Easy too use and makes good coffee for a small machine - good price too - bought on line with my flybuy points after recommendation from a friend - she had bought one only a few months before and was very happy with the machine. We use stronger coffee to get a more robust flavour.  Show details

Very good Basic – This is a very good basic coffee maker. Get a single walled basket for the porafilter so you can make better coffee. This machine is as good as some of Brevilles more expensive machines. As long as the one you get has the Italian pump. I purchased mine a while ago not sure if they still use an Italian pump  Show details

So far so good – I bought this one for my husband when it is on sale (after my brother gave a good review about the higher end one). It can make strong coffee (that I really like), however it is quite noisy. Anyway, we enjoy our coffee every morning. It is just good enough for its value. Recommend!  Show details

I hate it – I work in cafes and bought this for my mums when I'm at home, it's disgusting. It doesn't brew the coffee properly! It's LITERALLY like a cup of water. So I've tried everything but there is no cure  Show details

Use every day - often many times! – This is a real "friend of the family" and get used all day by various people. It's very simple to operate and makes delicious coffee. I prefer its minimalist design and I like the silver finish. If I get the pressure just right and have decent coffee available, I can rival the local cafe with this! Good coffee machine and definitely recommended  Show details

Makes great coffees – This is probably my favorite machine in the house! It was a winner from day one and REALLY makes great coffees, looks good too all in silver. I like how the interface is very minimalist - not too many options to complicate matters. It does one thing basically (extract coffee shots) but it does it extremely well. I alway get a nice crema on top. Very worthy machine.  Show details

Yummy coffee – This is the best gift for any coffee lover! As it was for me and has been for me for the past year and a bit since owning it I have cut down the amount of coffee I take out. It was on the pricey side but it makes close to cafe style coffee  Show details

Good coffee machine if you are on a budget – This is a good value coffee machine, it's not fancy however for the price it's great. It has a large water tank, a handy cleaning tool that clips into the machine for storage and you can use a coffee mug if you want. This is my third coffee machine and I'm happy with this. The big thing to remember is that you get what you pay for and while this isn't a Rolls Royce machine, it is great value for the price.  Show details

Water leakage from poor design – Out makes reasonable coffee and it's easy to use. But the water problems are terminal. This was not a fault with the machine just terrible design which warrants a recall in my opinion. After using each time it discharges quite a quantity of hot water into the drop tray. It discharges with such force that the water jumps the rim and goes both under… Read more

the drop tray and onto your benchtop, our backwards into the machine and underneath the electrics. Very poor.

Love it and the coffee – Purchased mine from Costco and used it heavily over the last few months- perfect coffee. So far a great purchase and seems like a quality machine. Would buy again for sure. Worked out it will pay for itself in one year now I don't buy coffee from baristas. Even take it in the car when going on holidays.  Show details

Best coffee at home – Coming from the capsules it is a big change Use to be we were just drinking the coffe and now we are enjoying it It takes a little practice but well worth it to try It makes a fantastic tasting very mouthwatering coffee. We love it at home with our new coffee machine Thanks  Show details

Good medium sized machine – We are coffee lovers and we got this partially on reviews we read here. We wanted a smallish machine that still delivered good results (not pods) and we feel this is a good match. I can get a decent extraction and am happy with the results. Controls are very simple so there not much to go wring and it looks nice too!  Show details

Daily Dose Of Cafeinne – I fall out of bed and have my coffee half made before I am even really awake. I use this machine every single morning and I find it simple, efficient and very reliable. I like its clean ergonomic design and simple controls. It put out decent pressure which mean good coffee. I am happy with this choice.  Show details

Looks Good Coffee Decent – This is a nice looking machine that looks great in our kitchen with its silver finish. I would rate its coffee making abilities as high average. It does a decent extraction but I am always left feeling a little more pressure would get more from the beans. Its OK for pre ground supermarket coffee but probably not up to your local cafe standard. Its good for the price  Show details

Perfect little sized coffee machine – So nice to have a coffee machine at home that doesn't cost a lot and makes great coffee. A friend also has one and recommended it to me and I would now so the same. Cost me less than $200 which left change in my pocket for a nice grinder!  Show details

Makes OK coffee – We have had this since last year and its simple and very reliable. If I had my time again, I would buy a machine that can get more pressure as I think that is what is holding it back. I cant quite get the delicious coffee I am after and I have tried all different parameters. It produces OK coffee just not fantastic. It looks good and is compact.  Show details

Not bad – the only problem with this coffee maker is that in the end the metal filter bucket that holds the coffee ( for want of a better description ) blocks up and you will after about ( in our case every 10 months or so )need to buy a new one as they are unserviceable .If this was fixed I would give this machine a 10/10 rating  Show details

Simple Is Best – I really enjoy the simplicity of this machine. My family members have some extremely over the top bells and whistles coffee machine but this little thing makes coffee just as good in my opinion. It takes up very little space, looks good and is very simple to operate. So long as you use good quality coffee and a little patience to fill the basket correctly, you get very nice results every time.  Show details

Value for money – As an entry level machine, I think the unit is excellent value for money. We've had ours for four years and haven't had any major issues, although initially we did have issues with lukewarm coffee but that's because we didn't follow instructions which said you need to let run water through the brewing head first. We had no problems with frothing… Read more

either - it's great having that function as I am able to make babycinos for my toddler. It definitely met my expectations for what it's worth.

Good Little Coffee Machine – I use this daily to make my heart starter in the morning. I have it down to a fine art and have the coffee done before I even think about it. The machine is neat and compact and very simple. Water in, grounds in switch on coffee out - that's it. The steam wand isn't the greatest but I just have fresh milk so all good. Simple to use a decent machine.  Show details