9 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
Breville is my Coupe-deville!
Date of Review: Dec 22, 2007
The Bottom Line: It is a great machine for the price.
Ok, I paid $100 bucks for my delonghi two years ago last month, before it died. Even in its brand new state, I hated the thing; but as a busy father of two kids and a cat, time just flew by and that thing just ended up on the counter.
Anyway, after tossing it into the recycle garbage, it was time for a replacement. After owning such a crappy machine, wanted to reward myself with something better. I was ready for something nice, something really nice. I went inside a Bed Bath and Beyond and saw the Breville Die Cast 800EXL, which caught my attention. It was a beautiful machine and it was heavy and strong. The filter handle was heavy duty and was like holding a nice hammer (quality metals). I loved the smooth lines and it didn't move around on removing and replacing the filter.
It was just the product, I had in mind. After scouting around for a cheaper price, I found and ordered a Breville unit from an eBay seller (brand spanking new) for only $299.00 (What a deal!). Installing the unit was so easy and it looked great on my counter top. Now, the question is: taste.
I use select whole beans from The San Francisco Coffee Company, and Starbucks (sometimes). The machine produced the best expresso, I'd ever tasted and even better than all the coffee houses I had visited from time to time (this was the purpose and goal I had in mind).