Back in 2005 the CoffeeGeek community got excited because a major appliance company (KitchenAid) announced their foray into the world of high end home espresso machines with the KitchenAid ProLine machine. The specs on paper were great – dual boiler, commercial grouphead design, hot water and steam on demand, and that iconic KitchenAid design.

Unfortunately, the actual machine that came to market was a bit of a letdown; it had anemic steam ability which was probably it’s biggest knock, but had other shortcomings as well, including issues with the pump, a lack of any real cup storage, a weird way to deliver hot water and a froth aider frothing arm.

Now we’re in 2011, and another major home appliance maker has decided to up their game substantially in a home espresso machine market. That company is Breville, and their new machine is called the Breville Dual Boiler, model # BES900 in Australia and New Zealand, #BES900XL in the US and Canada.

This time around, it’s clear that Breville has been paying attention to what the modern 21st century home espresso enthusiast is demanding. They’ve worked with key espresso industry experts in Australia for many months during the development of this project, including former Australia National Barista Champions and certified barista competition judges. They looked at cutting edge technologies including PID control, pre-infusion, dynamic grouphead heating systems and more.

And they bring to the table a lot of niceties and convenience factors they were already known for in their previous and current lineup of home espresso machines.

We had a chance to work with a late prototype model of the new Breville Dual Boiler machine for a few weeks leading up to this announce day. The machine should be available for sale in the following countries on the following dates, at the following MSRP pricing (they may sell for less):

• Australia – July, $1.499 RRP (MSRP)
• New Zealand – TBA, Pricing TBA
• United States – TBA, Pricing TBA but rumoured to be $1,299
• Canada – TBA, Pricing similar to US pricing

This is our first look at the machine. This is not meant to be a review and is based on a late prototype machine. I will try to avoid some editorializing and test conclusions where I can, but there are times where opinion enters into the commentary. It is important to stress this is not a full review and is not meant to be. I also must stress that things may change from this prototype machine to the final shipping version.