Breville ESP8C

Super machine! – I have had my early model black one for over ten years! Use it every day, I make coffee that rivals good shop bought stuff. Anyone can if they have a fully functioning brain. It's blowing steam just like new and requires almost no maintenance. Never cleaned for scale, I take a bit of care with the wand and once in a blue moon a brief filter… Read more

cleanup. I know people who make a great show of their wonderful coffee machines that cost thousand's of dollars and take up half the kitchen, and...... I have never had a coffee in someone else's house that is better. So I conclude that you should buy a cheap and reliable machine from Breville, or get a fully functioning brain.

The only difference from great shop coffee is slightly better frothed milk and crème. My machine has made in excess of 7,000 excellent coffees and shows no sign of quitting, I have actually bought a spare that I saw on Ebay that is supposedly a superior model, it sits in a room for years now....waiting.....it may be quite a wait.

Barista's Choice – May it please the Court, the Prosecution shall neither qualify in any way nor otherwise temper its demand for the maximum penalty, such penalty seeming truly banal in comparison to the demonstrably heinous assault of merely providing instant coffee... Aaah, (...ahem) ...er, ...sorry. ...It's actually "barista", isn't it? ...Not "barrister"... … Read more

(Although, on second thoughts, both could prove to be equally applicable, Your Honour.)

First off, Breville's penny-pinching prima donna is decidedly not for everybody. It's specifically for those who understand not only true espresso, but also the wisdom of following instruction books.

My background? Starting from the 1970's, I underwent what I assumed to be an unavoidable, relentless, twelve to eighteen month cycle of espresso machine replacement, ...in the (still ongoing) noble cause of my household's enjoying a minimum of one to a maximum of four espresso coffees per day.

In chronological order: Gaggia, Saeco, Sunbeam, Miele, De Longhi, Krups, ...until (at last) 2004, when I took delivery of this machine's almost identical ancestor, Breville's first ever, simple (but amazingly solid) Café Roma...

...which still works perfectly, to this day.

The combination of its (understandably) second-hand appearance and slightly "arthritic" main control have relegated it to "al fresco" duty, with the machine that's the happy subject of this review now occupying pride of place at the breakfast bar.

(If Your Honour pleases, ...three mornings of aromatic excellence would seem to indicate that this has been yet another excellent purchase from those prompt price-beaters at 2nds World.)

Improvements over the original include a swivelling froth wand, better noise damping, as well as the inclusion of spare filters, a needle "de-clogging" tool and a much improved users' guide.

It won't surprise baristi that successful long-term operation depends on the same housekeeping that's mandatory for any espresso machine, namely

1) Never "putting the machine to bed" without first "steaming out" and cleaning the froth wand and

2) Occasional (roughly annual) "de-scaling" by running a few hundred mills of wine vinegar (not pricey chemicals) through, followed by at least four large cups of clear water.

Aside from the above routines, here's how I've managed eight years totally free of any clogging...

It all relates to the cheap "false floor/tiny hole" pressure-increasing system (much cheaper than other techniques) built into the Café Roma's filters.

Unlike "water scale", which is alkalic, (hence cleared by the acidic vinegar) the coffee bean residue that can clog the filters is largely acidic. Rather than the last resort of poking around with pins or needles, this makes it susceptible to attack by alkaline solutions.

Now, how can we arrange a suitable alkaline bath, followed by a thorough rinsing?

The very highest rack of our dishwasher, that's how. Breville's stainless steel filters are about the only part of this cheap little gem that will not only survive, but actually thrive on being attacked, rinsed and subsequently dried by an automatic dishwasher.

Another tip. Full cream milk will actually froth better following dilution by the initial 10 to 25ml of hot water that'll be expressed as the steam system first comes up to temperature. It's important to note, however, that reduced fat or skim milks probably won't.

A simple fix. First allow that initial "pre-steam" hot water to be expressed, then briefly switch off and throw it away, before introducing the jug to froth undiluted low fat or skim milk.

(I've long found that a cheap "boil-proof" 1 cup/250ml plastic measuring cup is a great accessory, not only for "catching and dumping" in the above operation, but also for hot water soaking of the steam wand to ease a quick and easy wipe down, as well as for guaranteeing the exact milk ratio demanded by some uncompromising caffeinisti.)

Used properly, I've found this bargain-priced beauty to be one of very few out there that consistently yields the "crema é gusto" of top quality commercial machines such as "La Pavoni", "Faema" and "Elektra", as long as it's loaded with espresso-grinds from the likes of Belaroma, Campos, illy, Lavazza, Piazza d'Oro, Segafredo and Vittoria.

(In my case, the blue-badged Lavazza "Il Perfetto Espresso", a.k.a. "Café Espresso" is a punchy and powerful favourite, as is Vittoria's "Nero".)

Nevertheless, the fact that my two Café Roma machines have been free of quality control "bugs" in no way blinds me to the possibility that they're out there.

In this light, however, it pays to remember that you can buy between ten and twenty of these cheapest Breville machines for the price of just one of those that I bought before my fortuitous first of 2004. After 8 years of flawless daily use from its predecessor, it's still the cheapest true espresso available. It wasn't available in the 1970's.

Good – If you use clean filtered water, get rid of scale regularly before it builds up, and keep the group head and basket clean and dry between uses, you can, as I have, get years and years of life out of a very economical machine. If you pay attention to the heating light and only process when it's at temperature, don't leave the machine switched on… Read more

and the group head attached between coffees, this is a GREAT buy! Sorry to the few naysayers I've read on here, you must be doing something wrong with your machine if you're disappointed. Mine has made perfectly good cups of coffee, no burning, no under or over heating, for five years now. I treat mine right and use it correctly, day after day two - three cups a day, and I have to say it's surprised me with how good a little machine it is. I had to fix a broken water fitting inside (DO NOT try this at home - I'm an experienced repairer and tinkerer) about six months after I got it. But a rival's much more expensive machine also developed a leak in only six months, and it's unrepairable. So this is still really a Pro for the Cafe Roma.

Very good latte but unable to make latte art – The machine works very well, heats rapidly, has solid construction and is simple and easy to use. The coffee is perfect and the crema is dense. The only negative point is that I am not able to do latte art with the milk because there’s always approx 1/2 inch of mousse on top of the frothered milk. I bang the stainless steel pitcher on the counter… Read more

a few times and turn it to try to get rid of the bigger bubbles but the milk is still not at the right consistency to make it float over the crema and be able to make latte art like people do in the videos.

Maybe someone who succeeded could share his trick...

Great coffee and long lasting with some minor flaws to work around – I've had my ESP8C for almost 6 years used twice a day (for 10 months of the year) and it still makes great coffee. I have some dislikes like other reviewers: - The water is too hot after machine first warms up, but this can be used to preheat the filter and cups; - Metal cups will vibrate off the tray if not held in place; - The control knob… Read more

will be hard to turn if the machine is left on for extended periods (which I normally don't do) and the water can overheat;

- A bit of water is expressed out of the steam wand before the steam is produced but it still makes great froth.

As for maintenance:

- Clean the steam wand immediately after use (steam into cup of water then wipe);

- Loosen the filter holder immediately after use and the rubber seal will last a lot longer;

- I descale with 1/8 CLR once a month. Other people don't seem to do this very often but our tap water will definitely clog up a machine within 6 months.

I previously owned two Krupps machines which only lasted 18m & 2y (but first one clogged up due to not descaling enough).

Really great machine - "you control the action!" – I have had 3 ESP8 machines. The 1st one was replaced under warranty with a ESP8B. After 5 years the pump occasionally would run too fast (as if it was in coffee mode) for making steam. I then got a ESP8C (2nd hand but near new when the original owners decided buying $3.50 coffees as the local cafe was easier). It has gone without probs for… Read more

about 5 years. However when the pump became intermittent, I found that the pump thermal protect has gone a bit flaky. I'm hoping a new part might can be had for $10 or so.

In order to get a great brew, grind fine and tamp well, just purge the initial water out of the group head (which will be a little hot) before attaching the portafilter. Then do a short manual pre-brew (about 3 secs), let it stand for another 5 secs, and then run for about 8 seconds, and great coffee happens!

Very good buy! – I got a machine in 2004(Breville Cafe Roma ESP8XL) and it now just died! I once compare same brand of coffee with my sister $3000 coffee machine (other brand) and we both agreed that my machine this one made a better coffee! Now I am on the market for buying the same one! Easy to use and not expensive to run! my neighbor left me her Keurig coffee and this is nothing to compare with!  Show 4 replies

Water Leaking – Water leaking under the machine and also under the water collection tray, makes for water over the counter every day. Have returned the unit, still not fixed, not impressed with the service. Too bad as the coffee is good, not a quality product. Recommend paying more and avoiding Breville products.

10 years of great coffees – We've had this for 10 years and the pump has just karked it but i will go to the ends of the earth to get a replacement part. I LOVE the coffees this machine makes. One of the best buys I've made and has saved me thousands over the years.

Gold – We bought one of these years ago after reading a good review of it. The day that one died after several years of multiple use everyday, we went out and bought another one. Great coffee, fabulous crema. Easy to use. Easy to put water in, unlike many other coffee machines I have seen at friends places, where you have to take the tank out of the… Read more

back.

We both drink black coffee so don't really have an opinion about the milk function.

Great value. When this one dies, we'll go back out and buy another.

Great! – I got this second hand from a bed and breakfast, so I wasn't worried at the time if it would work well or not. After making a fair few coffees with this machine, I have to say I'm very impressed! The machine is easy to use, and makes great coffee. I was always an instant coffee drinker, and since getting the machine I haven't had another since.… Read more

The machine is really good.

It's nice and simple, so for a beginner like me it was really easy to get the hang of! Works well, simple

Great machine – I was given this machine by a friend after it had been used to make coffees for a church group for several years and had stopped working. I replaced the pump and it has been utterly reliable ever since (I've been using it daily for over two years now). I don't bother buying coffee from shops anymore, as I can make better stuff at home. Brews consistently good coffee

good machine for this price – I have one of these for a 2 years now and its one of the best things I have ever bought from my family. I can drink fresh coffee at home, no more running to local coffee shop. I love it. If you take good care of it, works like a dream. easy to use, price nothing really

Missing it terribly! – I am needing a new part for my machine, but don't know if I can get one. It is spurting out water above the pod and I have found that the black cowling above there is cracked - does anyone know if parts are available and where from? Help needed please. Following this request I was told how to contact the service Dept. of Breville and I have now… Read more ·  2

ordered a new part to replace the broken cowling. Service centre were very helpful. Made great coffee Cracked cowling

Does the job well – Had our coffee machine now for 5 years and still hasn't missed a beat. Since replacing the dual wall filter to a single wall filter, I have noticed a better flavoured coffee. Reason being I can now grind the beans finer. Regular use of a coffee will ensure the filter doesn't block up and the steam wand works correctly. Milk frothing takes 90… Read more

seconds. Cheap, reliable and tastes good. Dual wall filter makes an average coffee plus the puck is always wet after the coffee has been extracted.

Long lasting. easy and great value machine – Brought this after one at work lasted through years of abuse. Ours has done the same, 4 years, avg. of at least six coffees a day. I use filter tap water and run CLR through maybe once/twice a year. I also unscrew the strainer plate and give that a good wash about once a year. Makes great coffee but you need to find the right type of grind. … Read more

My sug. for a quick, great coffee, is to use Caffe Aurora Italian style pre ground. Microwave about 200mls milk(so good reg. works as well) for 45secs in a mug. express your coffee straight into the mug with a quick stir, comes out a tasty and creamy latte every time. I do not bother with the frother unless making a cappuccino. Cheap, easy, long life and makes great coffee.

Love it! – Bought ours for $97 on sale and it's been a dream come true. Was always very reluctant to buy a coffee machine, thinking they were too expensive and would take up too much space. Wrong. had ours about 5 months now and it's just perfect, we only have one coffee each per day (my husband and I) and it's just great. Guests are always very impressed… Read more

when I can offer a lovely cappuccino or latte instead of yucky instant coffee. I also buy the flavoured syrups, everyone loves a good vanilla latte! I guess it's a little noisy but I don't mind the sound of fresh made coffee. Only thing I would change is maybe make the milk frother stick a little longer, other than that.. No problems! Delicious Coffee, Inexpensive, easy to use, compact Frother stick is a little short, little bit noisy.

Terrible – Purchased this machine after reading Choice article. Overall unimpressed. Finish not imressive. Vibration so severe that cup will jiggle right off platform if not held in place during extraction. Noisy both extracing and steaming. Steam wand not super-effective. Unable to fit mugs unless drip tray removed. Coffee quality mediocre. My next purchase… Read more

will be a quality Italian machine. Simple workmanlike appearance. Water level window inadequate, steam wand inadequate, noisy operation, unreliable rubber seals. Frequent blocking. Has been replaced once under warranty after 6 weeks' use.

Awful! – I Bought this machine online. Beautiful looks easy to clean. Simple to follow instuctions. Unfortunately when i extract the coffee it tastes of burnt Plastic. A rubber seal inside the machine melts everytime i turn it on. A hassel to get a replacement even when under warranty. Waste of money and time. Looks beautiful It's faulty

great for the price – Only had this a week but very happy. Coffee comes out nice and hot. Milk frothing works well. Nice compact design. great price .$122.small and compact steam wand could be longer and better angle

Horrible quality – My Cafe Roma did not last long enough for me to have a good experience to describe. I purchased this coffee machine because it was cheap and my parents had one that lasted 2 years until it started to leak (the whole reservoir leaked, which is potentially dangerous). At first, I thought that they just got unlucky. The filter also blocked several… Read more

times, but I figured it could work out for me since I only drink one or two coffees a day. Unfortunately, the one I purchased was broken from the start, with the same defect as my parent's cafe roma; there is a leak in the reservoir so the water spills all over the place.

Haven't tried the customer service yet, and I'm not very enthusiastic towards the return procedure after reading other customers' reviews.

I would not recommend this product. Makes good coffee Noisy and unreliable

Fantastic - had a couple over the years – I've had 3 of these over the last 10 years. Make 4-6 coffees a day. I get them at a seconds store for $40 - $60 and I love them. One had to be replaced as I got a toothpick stuck in frother ....another short circuited after 3 years of heavy use. To be honest at that price I quite like getting a new one after a few years anyway. If you like… Read more

strong coffee you can only make one coffee at a time. Its ok though : to make my girlfriend a coffee then myself takes about 3-4 minutes at most as you can froth the milk for 2 coffees in one go. I always use the double shot basket for each coffee - and a smallish cup so its not milky. Also I highly recommend putting boiling water in the cups for 5 seconds or more to warm cup up - then pour water out just before you make coffee. Also on some of the machines you have to push the water jug down slightly for water express properly - this is easy and not a hassle at all. Personally i always remove the black plastic bit on the frother wand nad just use the metal part.

Do buy a grinder and grind fresh for every coffee ...and if you want to save lots of money try buying a popcorn machine and and green beans and roasting your own Very cheap. makes great coffee . small Sometimes need ot manually hold water jug down for water to flow.

best coffee ever – I have one of these and its one of the best things I have ever bought. I only drink fresh coffee its very easy to use and makes great coffee How easy it is to use.

Bad – While it was working, it made a nice cup of coffee (only if you use a good quality Lavazza, Vittoria or similar) and was simple to use. It is quite small & compact & fits neatly on the bench. I bought this for about $200 expecting to get at least a couple of years out of it. Within a month of the warranty running out, water poured out from… Read more

underneath when switched on one day, & wouldn't produce steam. I opened it up hoping it was just a loose hose. I was disappointed to discover that all the water & steam connections were made of brittle plastic, and one of them was completely broken in half. I could possibly accept this if we used it several times a day, but we only used it a couple of times a week so would have expected more than 13 months. I called Breville to see if they'd fix it or replace it in good faith, but as the warranty was out, was basically told 'too bad'. I will not buy another Breville product now, and I would certainly NOT recommend this particular machine. Cheap. Makes a decent cuppa. Small / compact. Cup warmer on top. Died after 13 months ! Cheap plastic water & steam connections.

Short lived and a bit dangerous – Our Cafe Roma lasted the warranty period, but only just... After that the inside of the machine started filling up with water and leaking everywhere. Breville customer service reply via their website? An email with their very few service centres listed, where we can repair at our cost. It is a low cost unit, but I'm not interested in buying… Read more

appliances that only have a 1 year lifespan. Maybe its worth it if you are only interested in a temporary coffee maker. After sales service terrible. Looks good Poor Quality, Dangerous, Bad customer service

Pretty good for the price, still working 2 years on – It has lost some of it's power to pump the steam over time. Overall it's been pretty good. We hardly ever clean the machine and it is working ok. You can only do 1 cup at a time as it takes too long to steam the milk to 60 degrees if there is too much milk. Its easy to clean and always look good. One small problem is the angle that the… Read more

steam want comes out from the machine. If you are fussy about the type of froth you make like I am it's difficult to get the right angle to get the best think froth without bubbly froth.

Have had ours for earlly 18 months and it hasn't missed a beat. Great value considering the amount we were spending buying coffee's from the shops. inexpensive, reliable. angle of the frothing wand.

Terrible – Surely a brand new machine should have the standard warranty cover. Breville advise that warranty starts from the purchase of the first machine & doesn't cover the new replacement.... BEWARE....unhappy customer. enjoy the coffee WHEN the machine works Purchased a new cafe roma machine approximately 18 months ago lasted 12 months then failed… Read more

,Breville replaced same 5 months ago under warranty with a new machine which has now failed to operate having the same problems as occurred with the first one......noisy ,...no pressure,...no coffee flow ... totally disappointed.We are now advised by Breville that there is no warranty on the replacement machine..only 5 months old ????

Terrible – Have had this machine for over a year, and had been quite happy with it. Then the heater stopped working. With the warranty expired, I took the machine apart and found one of the fast-on connectors to the heating element had worked its way loose; not a good thing, as this caused arcing across the loose connection, and burned out both the wiring… Read more

crimp connector and the heating element connector. Probably not a real fire hazard, but won't rule that out completely. If your machine is no longer heating the water, then you may have a similar problem.

By the way, calls to customer service did not result in any satisfaction, compensation, or apologies whatsoever. None at this time. Heater element wiring problem

Not Good. Low quality – Leakes water out the bottom and shorted out the motor. Tripped the circuit breaker in the house. Only used it 5 or 6 times. Wife cleaned it thoroughly after each use. Obviously built to a price but we still paid to much. Works out to about $15 a coffee and the coffee wasn't all that good anyway. Having problems with Breville toasters also .. won't rush to buy Breville appliances again. Not enough Low quality

Hey, we can make good coffee with it! – I've had the reliable Cafe Aroma for some 3 years now, and never failed...Today I stumbledover the real thing..as a rwsult of the raves over this feed back site. Our coffee shots from fresh ground oversees gift pack(ground with Breville grinder, superb!) were a bit flat?? So, I read about the temperature requirement...95+Cdegr and… Read more

over. Also flow was essential to allow freshness into brew...so, I started with checking the

2 cup sieve..fill with water & count drops per second...no drops??Ok, used

a gyproc selftapper screw, and used "manually" to grind base hole slightly

bigger (about 4-5 good turs manually..) then checked on toplevel holes...

made about 8 "enlargements with same screw" on the 3rd "outest" perimeter.Rememeber, you're only looking for approx.double the original

size of these miniscule venturi...Now, the big test! Fill with water and

count....30 drops per 15 secs.! voila... (sorry, my French??)Exactemo!

Now we have flow, which the factory probably wanted to restrict because of slightly under rated heating proficiency...Next, use Breville grinder,

fine grind...And fill water container only half full with coldwater, then

top up with boiling water from urn...Then do all per manual,...when light

goes on, though...turn brewing OFF! and when light goes off, continue

for 10-15 secs...then light comes on...stop brewing..until third time,

when there'sabout 3/4 mug full..now do your froth, and you have the best coffee everrr! Strong fresh body, and a nice caffeine tingle

after about 10 mjinutes on your tongue! top up with a little bit of fresh orange juice.....if you prefer.(About some three little spurts of brewing

water before the mainstart might soak the brew before the main operation starts inexpensive, a good starter pack

OK – removable 1.2 ltr mug makes it handy but it would have if the transparent was somewhat to look after the water levels.The stainless design makes it look nice and the problem is with warranty as most of the people expect from any product.The other is it covers only warranty as most of the people expect more. Overall it nice tobuy as per the price… Read more

as its not compared to waht we are paying for the machine. Good looking made of stainless makes long lasting cant see the water level through and burns the coffee

Bad – This machine was just purchased as an "in-between" one as our Breville Professional Fresca Espresso Machine died (after 1 year to the day and I absolutely ADORE it!) and of course being chrissy holidays, Breville is closed! So.......here we end up with this absolute peice of garbage! Easy to use YES! But our coffee comes out BURNT, no kidding the… Read more

smell is horrendous and it just wafts straight up into your nostrils and singes it! Does anyone else have this problem? I think perhaps we are so used to good coffee now that extremely bad coffee is not in our life. Would only purchase if you really don't care what your coffee tastes like....as for us, we go next door for a plunger coffee till Breville re-opens! Small, compact & modern design. Too light and cheap (but you get what you pay for...). Steam wand too short @ burns the coffee.

Good – Wrote a review on this Machine in 2007 after owning it for about a year. I have moved on from this machine but my dad still uses the one I bought 5 years ago. He uses it every day!! I am surprised that they are still available on the market today and amazed how long it has lasted. Over 5 years hard labor. Fast convenient makes great coffee after… Read more

pre-warming group handle by running hot water through with no coffee in. Compact good looking. little noisy (but all good coffee makers are) can't see water levil through sight glass. Can't fit mug under group handle.

Good – considering this is a very nice looking machine and at the budget end in pricing i would definetely recommend this machine to others as this is a very good and reliable product, mine is around two and a half years old and i love it as it works perfectly as the day i purchased it brand new, never had one problem with it. makes a great coffee … Read more

crema is perfect everytime i have european friends who have other brand machines say this breville coffee machine makes nicer coffee than theirs i find it difficult to see the water level on holding tank and its quite noisy to operate

Great! – I got a refurbishment and have had it fot almost 6 years. Works a treat. A bit of practice to get the coffee you like, but it's really good!