Breville Dual Boiler with Smart Grinder BES920 / BCG820

The 920 is a good machine. Good coffee.

When you go to descale it, when you search for info, make sure you’re aware of what generation software your machine has. I didn’t know there were different generations, and ours is a 3rd generation machine. The descaling process is different for each generation and the initial instructions I got from the web didn’t identify they were for a specific generation. I suspect the product manual that you get on a search is for a first generation machine. Descaling is tricky and it seems to cause many people angst.

Final word on descaling - to get rid of the “descale me” indicator - hold down 1 cup button, then press power to get to advance menu and landing on “rset”. Then press menu to get to “hrd3”. Press menu. Machine will then heat up and descale indicator will be gone.

As an ex demonstrator for another coffee machine manufacturer I knew that I need a double boiler machine. I did not want to go up to the oracle range as I had previously had one and the computer panel is just a pain and something always went wrong. I looked at the barista plus (the one down from this) but was only a single boiler and the trick is that the cheaper ones only had a tamper size of 54mm and this had the industry standard of 58mm. Its tamper handle is decent, nice and heavy and the machine is easy to fill the water tank from the front. The grinder is excellent and the equivalent of the commercial grinds. Altogether my set up cost me $1199 and the advertised price if around $1400. Watch when they are on special or negotiate. Bonus was that I also got 4 months supply of coffee beans. Great coffee, great frothing well done.

Great machine. easy to use and produces consistent quality coffee.
I would recommend the Breville dual boiler to any coffee lover contempllating a coffee machine purchase.
I believe this particular model is no.longer available but it's replacement is almost identical.
Bought the machine and grinder separately from different retailers which was 200$ cheaper than buying the combination package.

Great machine that is easy to use. Has never skipped a beat and with the right settings and coffee beans provides an excellent coffee. We have tried a number of coffee beans and settings to determine what the ideal brew is for use. The dual boiler is quite handy when making multiple coffees as it allows the coffee to be prepared whilst the milk is being frothed. This model was bought upon a recommendation which it has lived up to!

After having a couple of the smaller cheaper lower end Breville machines, I decided to bite the bullet, and fork out for the next level.
Never would I have expected the difference from the same beans, to be staggering.
The real time clock is a bonus, allowing you to program it to be on and ready when you awake.
The Dual Boiler is the best part about it, allowing you to steam the milk while you brew the coffee at the same time.
This machine is so good, it turns mediocre beans, into a quality coffee.
I will replace this when it is required, with yet another Breville machine, given that the replacements, are just a face lift of the same tried and proven machines.

Purchased together with a BES840...this grinds the beans perfectly, & the BES pours the perfect cup.
It is extremely simple to operate, takes up minimal real estate, looks good and is easy to clean.
The ease with which one can alter both the dose and the grind is a major point.
Breville did a fantastic job with this machine.

We bought this so we could use our own coffee beans as their much cheaper than buying pods and they are more expensive in the long run. Makes excellent coffee shop style and simple to use and clean. The power cord could be a little more longer but that's all that's bad with it

Very consistent coffee machine, and has worked without any issues for 3.5 years.

When the steam tap failed, and the coffee machine was taken in for an assessment Breville would not accept their responsibilities or my claim under the Australian Consumer Law. They kept stating that the 2 year express warranty had expired therefore they would not do anything.

Breville's entire customer service team (including management) need some serious educating on the automatic consumer guarantees that apply beyond and separate to any express warranty.

Most of the time when buying a coffee machine you only get the coffee maker itself and have to buy a grinder. The grinder with the coffee machine is optional but it's available with or without. I recommend getting it as it dose a great job saving time having to get a blender out

I recently purchased a new (second) BES920 machine.
Its a model B. woo hoo, maybe they've improved some features.
It seems the only NEW and improved feature that it simply powers off completely after 20 minutes.
Seriously, it takes 5-6 minutes to just get the boilers up to temp, and the warming plate slightly warm.
So if you turn it on, put your cups on it, then have some food, and then want to make your coffee, o ryou wanta second cup. Oh look, the machine has turned OFF.

Who would do this stupid change?

I bought the new one because
1) it was on special (<$800)
2) my current one no longer worked "volumetrically" and the Steam lever leaked steam unless you adjusted it "just right"
3) I thought a Service to fix the above issues, would probably end up more than half the replacement price, so i may as well buy a new one, and since a model B, maybe they'd fixed some things.

I also own two Sunbeam EM6910's (had a third). Volumetric works almost perfectly everytime, never issues with that, stays powered up, or goes into low power mode. and no leakage of steam (although one has slow startup of stream).
Should have stuck with them, but thought the dual boiler would be better

After struggling and being disappointed with the Breville Barista Express coffee machine BES870BSS for three years, it was time for an upgrade. At first I wasn't going to buy anything Breville as the BES870BSS left a bad taste in my mouth but after extensive research, everything pointed to the Breville BES920.
I bought it on special for $880 at Harvey Norman along with the Breville Smart Grinder Pro for $288.
The dual boiler is fantastic. So easy to use and perfect coffee everytime. I love that I can steam my milk while extracting coffee at the same time. The pressure on the steamer is super impressive and the shot clock on the display for the coffee is such a great idea.
However, I think that my love for this machine is also because of the smart grinder. It is PERFECT! After finding the right grind and time for the beans, just hold the button and it's locked in it's memory.
I have a double shot while the rest of the family has a single. You just press the memory button and the you'r ready to go.
Both machines are super easy to clean.

Great grinder, extremely easy to clean. However, it does take time to master the skill of knowing the exact coarse or fine levels for the coffee. Every coffee is different so do not get angry when your coffee is running too fast. The coffee machine used is also Breville and it is also brilliant. Makes me feel like I have a cafe at home.

I purchased the Breville Dual Boiler BES920 with Smart Grinder BCG820 back in May 2015. After a couple of warranty issues it’s now not missing a beat.

As a casual barista I appreciate good coffee and this Breville machine can deliver a good consistent product. It has heaps of features to assist the novice and enough flexibility to produce the full range of products you might want at home.

Cleaning and maintenance is, for the most part, easy and relatively automated.

My only issues have been twofold.

Firstly, when I purchased the machine the boilers would not drain properly when I needed to descale it. They would take 2 to 3 hours to fully drain. Ultimately this has disappeared since I had it serviced last year due to a small leak. Since that repair they drain within minutes. I suspect that there was a manufacturing fault which was corrected when the repair was made.

Secondly, I have had to replace, 3 times now, the plastic inner ‘shower screen’ that sits above the metal outer shower screen in the group head. Why it’s made of plastic rather than metal I have no idea given the pressure and heat that it is subjected to. Mine have all cracked and needed to be replaced and none have been covered by warranty. The blame has always been placed on me overfilling the filter with coffee and/ or overtightening the portafilter. However I’m convinced that at least part of the issue is poor design. The plastic shower screen parts are about $20 each and easy to fix yourself though.

I've just sold my cafe after 5 years and needed a home machine for us. As always i search product review and saw this unit was highly rated. Did some research on price and got a great deal from the Myer ebay store on the BES920 dual boiler and BCG820BSS Smart grinder. After using a 3 group commercial machine for so long it took me a while to get the hang of such a smaller machine but after making well over 200 coffees I've really started to appreciate its compact little size and great features. Really well designed with front and back water refill, great steam wand, magnetic holder for the tamp , quick startup and easy cleaning. The only thing they should have included was an LED light on the work area, as it can get dark under the group head. Also gets tedious when making more than 1 -2 coffees at a time, but that's only cause im used to a high production commercial machine. Great job breville.

This coffee grinder is so easy to use. Easy to read display. Good instruction book, with table setting out grind settings for different brewing methods, i.e. Espresso, percolator, plunger, etc. Can grind direct to coffee filter basket or supplied container. Jagged it on special at Myers and couldn't be happier.

I've had this grounder now for a year and I love it. It grinds both very finely and very coarse - so it's great for whichever coffee you prefer really. It doesn't make a lot of noise and it grinds the coffee quick. Highly recommended - I couldn't live without it now.

One of my best purchases! Rather than spending money to buy coffee on the to work, I just make some before I go. I love this coffee machine. Just make sure you get good quality beans and make sure to play around with settings (plenty on youtube) to get the best result.

The digital settings are easy to use, I normally use it for pourover and aeropress but produces fine enough coffee for espresso and cleaning is real easy. It even has ability to tighten the burrs if they loosen to produce finer grind. Good entry level grinder without hurting the pocket.

Purchased a Sunbeam Torino and matching grinder two years ago from Harvey Norman with a 4 year replacement warranty. Really looks the part but had two design flaws. Kept switching off after a few minutes before Group Head had fully warmed up. Sunbeam said this was in the design and could not be changed. I had to keep watching for it to switch off and turn on again to get hot enough. This meant it would never pour a great shot, good but not great. Second the Torino grinder was very messy and splattered grinds everywhere. Also after 18 months the coffee machine failed. Sunbeam was very good in repairing and replacing the faulty parts but I was without a machine for over a month.

A few months ago my son bought a Breville Dual Boiler BES920 with a Breville Smart Grinder Pro BCG820. Great price. Seemed a much better machine and half the price of Torino two years before. Maybe Breville are phasing out this model? Don’t know but everyone has them for sale? It is basically the same as their other dual boiler machines up to $3000+! So I bought one and will sell the Torino. I have had it for a month now and are VERY happy with it. Quality and functionality is a very big step above Torino. More importantly it draws a great shot every time! Better than anything I could coax out of the Torino. The Breville has a separate heater in the group head! The Breville is very close to the expensive Italian machines in functionality. It is a true dual boiler with expensive SS boilers. The Torino is not. I bought it again from Harvey Norman for both coffee Machine and Grinder for under $1000! Fantastic value. I also got a 4 year replacement warranty. I live in the bush and believe me this is worth every cent. I could go on and on about how superior the BES920 and BCG820 (BEP920 as a package) are to the Sunbeam Torino products and much cheaper. If you can pick one up you will not be disappointed!

Also use is superior to Torino and much easier to service.

I am not sure why Productreview say the BES920 is discontinued. It is sold by all the major places such as HN, Myer, Good Guys etc? It seems BEP920 is the package deal of these two identical products. But they are both still available for purchase separately.

We bought this to use along side with out coffee machine as we love fresh ground coffee and this small device is a great addition and grinds beans down to almost perfect shaves of coffee and ample to use. The samples that came with it was also good to try but ran out super fast!