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Are you tired of morning lines to local cafe in order to buy a cup of beloved coffee? If your answer is “yes, definitely” then you might have already thought about purchasing a coffee machine. And, there is a great chance for you to test and review Breville ESP8XL through specially made article by MilkFrotherTop. Stay with us, promise – it’s going to be cool and you will receive an unbelievable experience!
Design and Key Features
For not wasting much time on having another portion of coffee, better make it by yourself at home. Luckily, nowadays there is no problem at all. Thanks to kitchen appliances – helpers that make your life less complicated.
Today will review Breville Cafe Roma that will make your morning cappuccino more special than you used to. First of all, it’s totally stainless espresso maker, thus no stains or dirt are left on the front panel – all of them are cleaned with a piece of cloth easily. In addition, unique texture of brushed steel will make all the stains hardly visible.
Another thing that will make your user experience inimitable is its operational simplicity. There is only one button that turns the machine on. In addition, you might also notice two light indicators around the switcher. The left one indicates that the machine is turned on, the right one lets you know that the espresso machine is warmed up and it’s ready for brewing, once the orange light disappears.
Below the button and light indicators, there is a dial that turns brewing program or a steam wand on. Particularly, turned dial to the right initiates brewing mode, to the left – steaming mode.
Before you start brewing a portion of coffee, you need to fill in some ground coffee into a portafilter. Portafilter is a stick with steel filters at the end, and usually with plastic handle, particularly here, it’s made of black plastic. In fact, the machine comes with 3 types of steel filters: for one shot – 0.24oz/7g, for double shot 0.49oz/14g and the third one is specially designed for coffee pods. Besides, there are some written prompts on a plastic portafilter holder. They show where the portafilter should be inserted and in what direction it should be twisted in order to lock.
There is a steam wand next to portafilter. It is also made from stainless steel. However, the top part of a wand is covered with plastic as well. It’s made not without a purpose: for comfortable adjusting and not to burn yourself. There is a stainless steel wall behind the steam wand and portafilter, this makes cleaning easy.
And finally, there is a stainless steel grill that covers the drip tray. It serves to collect the excessive liquid, and when it’s needed to be removed without spilling it around.
The top cover is made of aluminum and it serves as a warming tray. Thus, it’s quite big in order to settle up to 6 cups simultaneously. And after a few minutes the cups will be of the proper temperature for holding the right warmth of your beloved drink, too. Besides, the top cover also has another function – to hide a water tank. Its volume is 41 oz.
If you are not sure whether it will fit into a particular niche or on a shelf in your kitchen, then you should know its dimensions: width is 12.2″, depth is 11.6″, and height is 14.8″. Hopefully, it’s the right machine that you were looking for.
Included Accessories
Unlike numerous competitors, particularly model Cafe Roma by Breville comes with some of the necessary and pleasant accessories. The first one is a steel pitcher that is convenient for frothing and texturing a portion of milk for your coffee drink. Besides, it comes with a handle for holding, thus you will never burn yourself.
The next one is a cleaner that enables thorough cleaning of the steaming wand.
And finally, the last piece of accessories is the stick that has double function. In fact, it is double sided, and each side is specially designed for a particular purpose. One side is a spoon that allows user to measure the amount of coffee out into a portafilter. Another side has flat surface because it is used to tamp coffee.
Advantages & Disadvantages
Do you still have doubts about purchasing this device? Hopefully, this chapter will reveal all the secrets of this machine. In fact, these advantages and disadvantages were collected by numerous users who have been using and testing this device not for a month but for years. Thus, by all means, you should take a look at them in order to realize whether it’s the right one.
- It’s made of stainless steel
- It works with both: ground coffee and pods
- It comes with tamping tool, cleaner, pitcher and 3 types of steel filters
- It’s easy to operate
- It’s affordable
- The taste and aroma that this machine produces is similar to professional’s coffee
- It requires minimum service and cleaning procedures
- The height of cup is limited, it doesn’t work with tall cups, or the drip tray should be removed
- No indicators to note whether the drip tray is full
- The steam gets hot very slowly
How to Use the Café Roma™ ESP8XL ☕?
Now, let’s have a look at each stage of preparing coffee. Particularly, each part of this machine requires particular operation. Thus, we’ll observe all the inner and outer parts and what you should do with them.
Espresso Machine
Reservoir for water
The reservoir for water or a water tank is made of clear plastic. In addition, the compartment where it is has a transparent scale, so you can watch how much water is left inside the tank without taking it out.
The main recommendation is pouring regular, non-sparkling water ?. In addition, you don’t need to apply much effort for cleaning it inside, just rinse it under tap water.
And the final one is to pour a particular amount of water, and don’t overflow, otherwise these actions may cause breakage.
Heating
In fact, there is nothing to do with heating, since it’s fully automatic. All you need to do is to switch on the machine, and wait till orange light disappears. It shows you that the machine is warm enough and ready to brew a portion of coffee.
Tamping of ground coffee
You shouldn’t neglect tamping if you want to achieve the best flavor ever. Indeed, this step is very important since it gathers all the grinds together and makes tight “barrier” for water.
This barrier makes water to be absorbed by grind and give all the flavor and taste of coffee beans to an out-coming product, and not to pass through.
Extracting
Extracting ready product is performed by special holes in a portafilter. In fact, there are 2 holes, thus, if you have small cups you can put them under simultaneously. Thus, you will get 2 cups of single shot espresso.
Milk Frother
Milk frother in this model is built-in. In fact, frother is a steam wand that whips milk to a silky texture with the water steam.
Thus, placing the wand into a pitcher with milk will make it warm and produce amazing froth that will decorate your coffee drink.
How to Clean Breville ESP8XL?
The proper approach in keeping any device workable is to clean it often and according to the instructions given by the manufacturer.
And, it doesn’t concern everyday cleaning of visible parts, since, it’s quite obviously, that it is performed correctly. But it does concerns the deep cleaning that is held not very often.
Daily Using
Once the brewing cycle on the device is finished, machine requires immediate cleaning, otherwise, the next day you will get a surprise. That is why, in many offices there is a rule to clean after yourself.
So, the first thing you should clean is the portafilter. You need to throw away the grind leftovers and rinse under the tap water. The next thing is a steam wand: wipe it with a piece of wet cloth and then turn the dial for a few seconds so the small amount of water go through the wand.
Along with the exterior, the group head also should wiped with a piece of wet cloth after each cycle, thus you will never face a stain of grind residue. However, you shouldn’t use any abrasive cleaners, they will damage the surface.
Regular Service
Steam wand
It’s quite usual thing when water comes out of wand very badly. Usually, it is caused by clogging the pipe inside. The first thing you can do is to turn the steam wand and wait, if nothing happens then turn it off. The next stage implies a cleaner that comes in a set, clean the wand with it and try to turn it again. If it still doesn’t work then you should unscrew the wand from the housing and submerge in hot water for around 20 minutes. This maintenance should help.
Decalcification
This maintenance depends on the mineral content of water you use for brewing. However, the general recommendation for this stage is to perform cleaning once 2-3 months. The mixture for this type of cleaning is half-tank of water and half-tank of white vinegar. Then, using the filter you usually use for brewing, but WITHOUT GRIND, place into the portafilter and insert into the group head. And finally, run the brewing mode. This manipulation should be performed with the steam wand, too. Don’t forget to empty the residue of solution that was in the water tank, moreover rinse it thoroughly under tap water.
Drip tray
Drip tray should be emptied from time to time. Just pull it out and pour out the liquid. Then rinse with tap water and wipe the grill with a piece of wet cloth.
Troubleshooting Tips
Everyone, at least once a life have faced a problem with an appliance showing an error or that has stopped working. In fact, not all the errors signify that the device doesn’t work anymore , most of them can be fixed by a user. Thus, you should know the most common errors or misoperations that can appear in Breville Cafe Roma.
- The first is the quality of 12.2″, depth is 11.6″, and height is 14.8″ brewed coffee. In fact, there are lots of reasons why the coffee is not of a good quality: the type of roast, the date of grinding, tamping depth and pressure and coarseness. Check one of these factors, and for sure you will fix this con tonight.
- The second thing is poor quality of froth. As the previous misoperation, this one can be caused by numerous factors, too. The main reason is the quality of milk, thus low or non-fat milk may not froth at all, or too fat milk may take more time to be foamed and warmed up. However, the lack of stem may not produce froth as well, thus check whether the wand produces steam. If not, then try to clean it thoroughly or check the recommendations for decalcifying procedure.
- Another unpleasant thing is low temperature of the product. In fact, don’t forget that coffee has to be of particular temperature, moreover, the temperature gets down very quickly once the product leaves the machine. Thus, warming cups on the machine top may fix the problem.
- And, finally, the general problem that influence the machine workability is the quality of water and timely decalcifying. Don’t use sparkling, but regular water only.
Where to Buy Breville ESP8XL Espresso Maker?
As you might have noticed, there are lots of stores and online markets that have electrical appliances. Thus, Breville ESP8XL is available not in official stores, but in many others such as Amazon, eBay, Best Buy, Walmart, Bed Bath and Beyond etc ?. Thus, take a look at these stores, for sure you can find this device there, too.
Price Range
Unfortunately, like the variety of places where the device is available, the diversity of prices is quite enormous, too. However, there is good news: the price won’t exceed the price range that is recommended by the manufacturer. Thus, the price is relatively the same.
Other Key Details You Need to Know
There are some things left that are still not mentioned. Thus, you should take a look at them as well, in order not to be disappointed at some point.
- The Heating block inside the machine is made of aluminum. However, it doesn’t contact water at all.
- The amount of water that goes through the grind or a pod is standard and it’s not adjusted.
- You should note that the machine doesn’t come without built-in grinder, that is why you should have a separate one.
Comparison Table
Never give up searching for alternatives. They will always help you find the proper machine, only by comparing them with others. Thus, take a look at this table with comparison of 5 different coffee machines.
| Model | Breville ESP8XL the Café Roma™ | Breville BES840XL the Infuser™ | DeLonghi Dedica EC680M | Capresso EC PRO | Cuisinart Espresso Maker EM-100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Review |  |  |  |  |  |
| Material | Stainless, steel, ABS, Aluminum | Stainless steel | Stainless, steel, ABS, Aluminum | Stainless steel | Stainless, steel, ABS |
| Dimensions | 12.2*11.6*14.8 inches | 13.7*11.5*13.2 inches | 6.75*13*13 inches | 11.5*6*11 inches | 9.6*14.7*12.8 inches |
| Height Between Dispenser and Tray | 3.5 inches | 4 inches | 3 inches | 3.5 inches | 3.5 inches |
| Water Tank Size | 40.6 oz | 61 oz | 33.8 oz | 42 oz | 53 oz |
| Wattage | 1000W | 1700W | 1300W | 1050W | 100 W |
| Voltage | 120 V | 110-120V | 110 V | 110V | 110-120V |
| Built-In Grinder | No | No | No | No | No |
| Color | Silver | Silver, Black, Red | Silver | Silver | Silver/Black |
| Warranty | 1 year limited | 1 year limited | 1 year | 1 year | 3 years |
| Features | Steam wand, warm top, manual adjustments of volume | Single or double shot volumetric control & manual over-ride | Shot time, temperature | Advanced pump boiler | Commercial steam wand |
| Price | Check Here | Check Here | Check Here | Check Here |
Final Thoughts
It’s quite important to have a proper device that delivers you a perfect product that you have never even imagined. Thus, sometimes, it takes a while in order to observe numerous models and compare them all, and only a few may win this competition.
MilkFrotherTop always cares about readers and try to make their lives much easier. That is why the review of Breville Cafe Roma was created with thoughts about users. Now, you can check all the features, and who knows, maybe this device will be the best among the best ones, if not, at least it will help you to identify and check particular factors in other devices. Stay with MilkFrotherTop, we still have lots of things to show you!
References
- Official Breville The Café Roma™ ESP8 – https://www.breville.com/
- Care and Use Breville The Café Roma™ – http://www.brevilleusasupport.com/
- Can I Make a Good Espresso with Breville Cafe Roma? – https://www.reddit.com/
