Breville ESP8C Questions & Answers

They are pretty quick to reach brew temperature, around a minute. Just warm your cups by running water through the filter head (without coffee) into the cups, instead of using the warming plate (which will take ages).

Less than a minute. The time I take to fill the coffee receptacle and put the milk in the frother cup and t’s ready to brew.

As per 2nd question below, take the metal screen ('shower head') off and clean it (too fine coffee grind can clog it). Before reattaching, test the water flow - if still poor water flow then you need to return to Breville for replacement as your machine is new (if machine was old then descaling might help).

I think that my coffee grind was two fine, I bought some pre-ground espresso coffee to validate that and the flow was much better even when tamping it at approx 20 lbs. The crema was also much richer. I tried it only once yet but it looks like that was my problem!

Occasionally mine clogs up (I have a few spare so easy to swap). There is a small hole in the middle that seems to help get the flow through the double bottomed filter to work. If the ground is too fine it can clog. Sometime you can just scrape it with a fingernail. Otherwise just soak it in some white vinegar for an hour or two. ( I also use 50% vinegar through the machine to descale every month or so).

Just buy a second-hand one. I have bought a near-new second hand one twice. A lot of people buy coffee machines and only make a dozen or so before they realise it is easy for them to walk to their local cafe or just use Nescafe. Always look at the photos and see if the control panel writing is worn or not. A hardly used machine will not have the decals worn from the normal cleaning you and I would do, and so probably hasn't been used much

Hi Some - please contact customer service for best advice - 1300 139 798, Mon to Fri, 9 to 5. Thanks, the Breville team

Geez, why is every answer by a Breville official just offering the phone number, and its up to regular customers like me to actually attempt to answer simple questions like this?! They're even asking people to call the service line, when all they want to know here is the size of the tamper to use in their standard baskets! Anyway. This is an easy answer. Don't worry, you won't have a problem putting the shower screen back if you are able to take it out. It's just one Philips head screw in the centre of the metal screen (where the portafilter locks into). This should really be in the manual, because its essential to remove this piece and clean it regularly. Use a toothbrush and soap, and if necessary, (gently) poke the holes with a pin to unblock them.

You can remove the shower head. Make sure you use a proper sized philips screw driver, and apply a lot of pressure before turning to avoid stripping the screw head (it tends to seize in the body so needs a bit of effort to remove). You need to do this to replace the gasket (which inevitably perishes every few years)

Hi clubman - please call customer service for advice and service agent / spare part information. Thanks, the Breville team

Hard to say because i don't see it but if you go to a service center they will fix it for you and you might be surprise how cheap this machine is to repair!

Hi Rosy, please call us on 1300 139 798 so that we can help to identify the issue and assist with any replacement parts required.

Thanks, The Breville Team

^TD

Normally, water does come out at the bottom of the machine into the drip tray, after a shot. So I can't say if that's what you're referring to by "underneath". If water is coming from underneath the very bottom of the machine, that sounds like a leak. No one can give you "part numbers" if they don't know where the leak is coming from, it doesn't work that way. If you have to ask that sort of question, then I can safely presume you can't work on it yourself, and you should get it serviced by Breville or other.

The actual volume of slightly acidified water seems more important than the precise acidity itself. Its best to avoid any form of brown vinegar that probably contains dissolved sugars, or the infused varieties like "balsamic" that (aside from being much dearer) must contain contaminating particles.

I find that the cheapest generic "white" or "wine" vinegars work really well for descaling not only my Café Roma, but also my other "boiling water" devices, such as urns and kettles.

I've never used more than 100ml per litre (10%).

I toss roughly 100ml of vinegar into my Café Roma's tanks before filling them to their "max" and then run it (via the "froth" mode) through their steam wands into a "catching" cup.

The eventual absence of any "cough and splutter" from a strong jet of pure steam makes it quite clear when no more cleaning's needed.

Subsequent similar "steaming through" of one or two cupfuls of plain water is all that's then needed to avoid "souring" later coffees.

Make sure you use a coffee machine cleaner specifically designed to clean the thermoblock. Not a cleaner for boilers. The brand i use is Cafetto descaler and cleaner. Works a treat !

Pure white vinegar (the cheapest one you but in the supermarket) is best. I use it neat, and put a cup full or so in the reservoir. Run it through the group head and the steam wand for say 10 seconds (os the vinegar has run through the system). Then let the machine heat for 30 seconds and turn off. Then every minute or so run it for another 5 or 10 seconds untill all the vinegar is through (say 5 minutes in total). Then let the machine cool a bit and remove the "shower head" in the group head and clean in fresh water. Also clean out the steam wand nozzle. Reassemble it and then flush a full reservoir of clean water through the system, alternating between the group head and the steam wander. You should have a nice clean machine!

Good question. I, and I'm sure many, would sure like to know what BREVILLE recommends to clean their thermoblock machines. It's as simple as some might think. Example, I know that an alkaline (like baking soda), will discolor the Breville portafilters something terrible, because they are aluminum. So you turn to an acid, which vinegar is. But vinegar is often NOT recommended for aluminum, and it is hard on the rubber seals in the machine, and may deteriorate them if the descaling solution comes into contact along the path. That leaves open the question as to what exactly is in this path of travel for the water, and whether even a weak acid solution of 10% acetic acid can cause damage over time to the Cafe Roma's thermoblock. (After all, the thermoblock in this machine does not, as far I know, have stainless steel channels, like the Breville thermocoil machines. So the vinegar is travelling across aluminum). Probably most espresso cleaners are out, as they do not play well with aluminum either. Sorry I don't have a better answer!