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Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

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selby
Senior Member

Joined: 20 Jun 2012
Posts: 1
Location: NZ
Expertise: I love coffee

Posted Thu Jun 21, 2012, 12:26am Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

SupraTT this sounds exactly like me but you explain better! Shot sticks to screen when removing portafilter, I would also like to know if people adjust the factory preset time for a single or double shot. I'm not a geek but just want to pull regular shots, and not to interested at this stage to get into the absolute nitty gritty! I have fresh beans roasted today, I grind with BSG 3 down from finest and 2 below on size using single wall double shot basket, and filter has neat fit and well tamped Sometimes it brews at 4 or 5 or 7 or 9 bar and at diferent shot time lenghts. What say you geeks! Selby

klund
Senior Member

Joined: 31 Mar 2012
Posts: 71
Location: Southern MN, USA
Expertise: I like coffee

Espresso: Breville Dual Boiler
Grinder: Baratza Vario-W

Posted Thu Jun 21, 2012, 5:46am Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

selby Said: Shot sticks to screen when removing portafilter, Posted June 21, 2012 link My shots stick 95% of the time. I just do a quick double tap on the 1-Cup button and it comes out with very little mess. selby Said: I would also like to know if people adjust the factory preset time for a single or double shot. I'm not a geek but just want to pull regular shots, and not to interested at this stage to get into the absolute nitty gritty! Posted June 21, 2012 link Then I think you need a different machine. I don't know how you can possibly pull decent shots on this machine without understanding details of dose, grind and extraction. Tiny changes make big differences. selby Said: I have fresh beans roasted today, I grind with BSG 3 down from finest and 2 below on size using single wall double shot basket, and filter has neat fit and well tamped Sometimes it brews at 4 or 5 or 7 or 9 bar and at diferent shot time lenghts. Posted June 21, 2012 link I also have the Smart Grinder, and I am constantly fiddling with the settings. It does not dose consistently, so you have to have a digital scale that measures to 0.1 grams in order to know that you are always dosing the same amount. I just don't see how you can brew consistently good coffee without getting into the details. It's not a super-automatic. That's probably not what you wanted to hear. Sorry!

-- klund Well then, you should see me without coffee.

dagoat
Senior Member

Joined: 10 Dec 2004
Posts: 292
Location: santa barbara, ca
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: BDB (Breville Dual Boiler...
Grinder: baratza vario
Vac Pot: aeropress
Drip: manual
Roaster: cafe rosto

Posted Thu Jun 21, 2012, 8:23am
Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

well said, kevin (klund).

selby Said:
Shot sticks to screen when removing portafilter,

klund Said:

My shots stick 95% of the time. I just do a quick double tap on the 1-Cup button and it comes out with very little mess.

Posted June 21, 2012 link

mine NEVER stick to the screen--EVER--as long as i dose the right amount of beans into the basket. the secret? (more bad news for selby), you have to be detail-oriented. for me, darker roasts don't stick at about 18g, and lighter roasts need to be closer to 19g, since they are denser, and correct volume is what keeps pucks from sticking. when i tried lighter roasts at 18.0g, some pucks would stick. that's the way it is with tapered baskets. it's not bad design, it's just physical fact. on the flip side, the really neat thing about tapered baskets, (literally), is that the slightest tap knocks the whole puck out clean. LOVE that characteristic of tapered baskets.

it sounds like selby (and i guarantee, he's not the only one), is falling into the trap set by watching the baristas in action at your favorite coffee shop. (with exceedingly rare exception), almost every move they make is a shortcut that you should NOT be imitating if you want to make tasty espresso. in fairness, the good baristas KNOW they are taking shortcuts, and have a system of periodically checking their results, and making adjustments thoughout their shift. this is not how it works at home, though.

cool as the guy in the shop looks, you are heading down the garden path if you try to be like him at home. you are not pulling dozens of shots an hour at home. you have to compensate by working MUCH more slowly and meticulously to dial in your shots.

-peter

Posted Thu Jun 21, 2012, 8:58am Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

more on how bad it is to imitate the guy in the shop, (and more bad news for selby): if your espresso making technique is not some semblance of this, you are basically stabbing in the dark for your learning curve. you might eventually learn to make espresso you like regardless, but you will not truly learn the craft without the application of some rigor. IOW, espresso IS a science experiment. to kevin's comment about grinders and their repeatability... i hear you, mate. and i even have a vario, which has the best dose timer money can buy, and practically zero retention, and i STILL weigh every dose--and every shot--every time. -peter

yiplong
Senior Member

Joined: 19 Feb 2012
Posts: 79
Location: EU
Expertise: Just starting

Posted Thu Jun 21, 2012, 4:18pm
Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

dagoat Said:

if your espresso making technique is not some semblance of this, you are basically stabbing in the dark

Posted June 21, 2012 link

LOL@ claims like this.

Click Here (www.youtube.com)
This is Scottie Callaghan at Barista Comp Australia. His approach doesn't seem to have much semblance of the above. I am sure he's just stabbing in the dark.

klund
Senior Member

Joined: 31 Mar 2012
Posts: 71
Location: Southern MN, USA
Expertise: I like coffee

Espresso: Breville Dual Boiler
Grinder: Baratza Vario-W

Posted Thu Jun 21, 2012, 4:49pm Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

yiplong Said: LOL@ claims like this. Click Here (www.youtube.com) This is Scottie Callaghan at Barista Comp Australia. His approach doesn't seem to have much semblance of the above. I am sure he's just stabbing in the dark. Posted June 21, 2012 link Perhaps you didn't read everything he wrote?

-- klund Well then, you should see me without coffee.

nebber
Senior Member

Joined: 23 May 2012
Posts: 13
Location: Newton, MA
Expertise: I like coffee

Espresso: Breville Dual Boiler
Grinder: Baratza Preciso

Posted Thu Jun 21, 2012, 7:51pm Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

First off - that video rocks... i have a long way to go. Total newbie... just learning my new machines (BDB and a Preciso grinder that I swapping out because it doesn't grind fine enough - Baratza customer service was great). Question: When people talk about pressure - should the 9 bars be achieved throughout the shot (or most of the shot)? Or is the ideal to have it ramp up and peak at 9ish bar? I haven't been able to achieve the right pressure as my grinder just wasn't going fine enough (even after I re-calibrated). Ben

Posted Thu Jun 21, 2012, 10:24pm
Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

yiplong Said:

Posted June 21, 2012 link

Fun video, mate.

Now, which of Scottie's techniques from that video should a newbie emulate? 'cuz I missed it.

And say, were those stopwatches that the referees were holding? Because a timed event might call for a strategy that puts some emphasis on speed, at the expense of otherwise desirable techniques that assure quality. A (VERY) well practiced hand can probably do away with some of the meticulous prep--for a little while--as long as his practice was recent and relevant.

I remain unconvinced that loose flailing and guesswork are the best ways to learn this stuff. Rather, controlling as many variables as possible, making small changes, analyzing the result, and making more changes based on such, makes for a faster and more complete learning process. Not to mention, better tasting espresso while on the journey. Scottie of course, was doing NONE of those things during competition. But you can bet the farm, he goes by a meticulous decision loop when he's on his own time.

-Peter

caramelcrema
Senior Member

Joined: 21 Jun 2012
Posts: 13
Location: Los Angeles
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: Breville Dual Boiler...
Grinder: Rancilio Rocky

Posted Fri Jun 22, 2012, 10:22am Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

I just got my machine in from Amazon. I have a couple questions from all you BDB geeks. I purposely made a chocker shot to check my OPV. It maxed out at 10.5. Should I send the machine back or is this okay? Also, has anyone found a good replacement for the Breville cleaning tablets? They are crazy expensive and conveniently only give you 2. If anyone from Breville reads this post, please don't be cheap and include more than 2 tablets!

michaelgo
Senior Member

Joined: 21 Jan 2012
Posts: 91
Location: Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: Breville 900XL
Grinder: Baratza Vario

Posted Fri Jun 22, 2012, 11:16am
Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

caramelcrema Said:

Also, has anyone found a good replacement for the Breville cleaning tablets? !

Posted June 22, 2012 link

I believe I've seen a couple of posts that Cafiza tablets are OK and they're on Amazon at 0.13 a tablet (100/$12.69) as opposed to the Breville's at $2.25

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