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Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

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AlexKilpatrick
Senior Member

Joined: 30 Jan 2013
Posts: 117
Location: Austin

Espresso: Breville Dual Boiler
Grinder: Bairtiza Vario

Posted Thu Mar 7, 2013, 8:59am
Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

Sarobin Said:

Unfortunately living in the UK, there is no supplier of the BDB, so I would have to order from Germany who sell the Gastroback - same machine, rebadged.

One question for owners at this stage - what is the clearance between the drip tray and the PF spouts? Can I get a mug under to make Americanos?

Thanks for a very informative thread!

Posted March 7, 2013 link

Gastroback? :-) What a weird name.

There is a ton of clearance for the BDB. A regular mug has plenty of room. If you switched to a naked portafilter, you could probably get a HUGE mug under there.

I don't know anything about the Giotto and complexity, but I think the BDB is about as simple as you can get, shy of a superautomatic.

Sarobin
Junior Member

Joined: 7 Mar 2013
Posts: 7
Location: London, UK
Expertise: I like coffee

Espresso: Rocket Giotto Premium Plus;...
Grinder: Eureka Mignon

Posted Thu Mar 7, 2013, 9:02am Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

Ah - that's very useful to know. The Giotto doesn't have much clearance (unless using a naked PF). Yes Gastroback is a strange name! It's just the name of the German company rather than the machine itself ;)

AlexKilpatrick
Senior Member

Joined: 30 Jan 2013
Posts: 117
Location: Austin

Espresso: Breville Dual Boiler
Grinder: Bairtiza Vario

Posted Thu Mar 7, 2013, 9:06am Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

Here's a decent video that shows you the features and operation. You can get a view of the clearance as well. Click Here (www.seattlecoffeegear.com) The Seattle Coffee gals can get a little annoying, but their videos are a fantastic resource. They also have some other videos comparing the BDB to other machines in its class.

Sarobin
Junior Member

Joined: 7 Mar 2013
Posts: 7
Location: London, UK
Expertise: I like coffee

Espresso: Rocket Giotto Premium Plus;...
Grinder: Eureka Mignon

Posted Thu Mar 7, 2013, 9:13am Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

Oh I'm very familiar with Kat & Gail and their fantastic vids :) I just couldn't quite make out whether a mug fitted under or not ;) I also figure this machine would be easier for my partner to use as it has pressurised baskets as well (yup - I know they're frowned upon by purists), and also the measured 1 + 2 cup buttons (just to have the convenient option there if required). It'll also require less / no flushing, as it's dual boiler rather than HX (which the Giotto is). So now all I have to do is wait to find out if Gastroback will let me send the machine back to them for it's 3/4-yearly descale, seeing as there's no UK distribution or service - which is really the only other thing bothering me.

AlexKilpatrick
Senior Member

Joined: 30 Jan 2013
Posts: 117
Location: Austin

Espresso: Breville Dual Boiler
Grinder: Bairtiza Vario

Posted Thu Mar 7, 2013, 9:35am Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

There is no temp surfing needed, of course. And the group head is heated. However, most people will flush a couple of seconds water through to make sure all the water in the line is hot. But any machine in existence is going to benefit from that. Why do you want to use the pressurized portafilter? Are you planning to use pre-ground coffee? As far as the descaling, Phil from Breville hinted that it would be easy to do yourself. The main challenge is getting into the plumbing so you can drain the boiler. However, Breville is not going to officially support end-users doing this. I wouldn't let it be a major factor in your decision.

Sarobin
Junior Member

Joined: 7 Mar 2013
Posts: 7
Location: London, UK
Expertise: I like coffee

Espresso: Rocket Giotto Premium Plus;...
Grinder: Eureka Mignon

Posted Thu Mar 7, 2013, 9:47am Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

Re: pressurised filters - as I understand it, they were a bit more forgiving to a novice's tamping, grinding, etc. Interesting thought about doing the descale at home - I'll have to look out for guidance on that one!

AlexKilpatrick
Senior Member

Joined: 30 Jan 2013
Posts: 117
Location: Austin

Espresso: Breville Dual Boiler
Grinder: Bairtiza Vario

Posted Thu Mar 7, 2013, 10:01am
Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

Sarobin Said:

Re: pressurised filters - as I understand it, they were a bit more forgiving to a novice's tamping, grinding, etc.

Interesting thought about doing the descale at home - I'll have to look out for guidance on that one!

Posted March 7, 2013 link

I think that is true - they are more "forgiving" of bad grind, stale coffee, etc. But that word is a little misleading. Stale beans on a pressurized portafilter will be better than stale beans on a non-pressurized portafilter. But they will still be wretched. Also, good beans on a pressurized portafilter will also be bad.

I am not sure of the physics/chemistry involved, but a PPF basically narrows the range of what can happen. The downside isn't quite as bad, but the upside isn't as good. Grinding and tamping are not difficult to learn; most anyone could be taught in 15 minutes how to dial in a shot. That's why no one here uses a PPF. It just isn't worth the trade-off.

wjordan
Senior Member

Joined: 13 Sep 2012
Posts: 16
Location: London, ON, Canada
Expertise: Just starting

Espresso: Breville BEX900XL
Grinder: Baratza Virtuoso Precise
Roaster: Local - Hasbeans, London, ON

Posted Thu Mar 7, 2013, 10:35am
Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

Sarobin Said:

I'm thinking about changing my recently purchased Rocket Giotto for a BDB. The Giotto is nice to look at but my partner finds it too complicated to operate, and it's a PITA to keep clean.

Unfortunately living in the UK, there is no supplier of the BDB, so I would have to order from Germany who sell the Gastroback - same machine, rebadged.

One question for owners at this stage - what is the clearance between the drip tray and the PF spouts? Can I get a mug under to make Americanos?

Thanks for a very informative thread!

Posted March 7, 2013 link

Clearance between the bottom of the PF spout and drip tray is ~103mm.

Cheers!

Sarobin
Junior Member

Joined: 7 Mar 2013
Posts: 7
Location: London, UK
Expertise: I like coffee

Espresso: Rocket Giotto Premium Plus;...
Grinder: Eureka Mignon

Posted Thu Mar 7, 2013, 10:47am Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

Thanks!

MerleApAmber
Senior Member

Joined: 13 Nov 2012
Posts: 156
Location: Atlanta
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: Breville BES900
Grinder: Baratza Preciso + Esatto
Vac Pot: Yuma
Drip: bah-humbug
Roaster: Hot Top 2K P

Posted Thu Mar 7, 2013, 11:06am
Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

wjordan Said:

~103mm.

Posted March 7, 2013 link

Huzzah Wayne!
(</puts tape measure back into tool box - well, he would have if he'd actually gotten up to get at it.)

AS toward pressurized; seriously, whatever gets one to an acceptable cuppa coffee. And, there's always hope when you start showing off how easy it really is to get a very nice espresso the other way - they'll learn from your doing. (Besides, there is just something wonderful in shaking the porta filter over the waste can and seeing the puck just drop away. I've never had that happen with a pressurized pf.)

Good journey to you, however you go!
Best,
-Chris

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