I love this machine. My father left me some silver coins that he had collected. Rather than put the money in my checking account I wanted something to remember him by. His love of a great cup of coffee pushed me to search for a great home espresso machine. I have never regretted this purchase.
I purchased this unit in 2013 and it's now 2018. I have come back to write this review because of the amazing experience I have had with the workmanship, quality and professional level of drinks that I get out of it - every day (sometimes multiple times a day).
I had to send it in for service once, and the people at Breville took care of me in exquisite fashion. When I got my dual boiler back I really thought they had replaced it with a brand new unit. The process was amazing. Huge shout out to Monica Fernandez who assisted in my service repair arrangements. I highly recommend Breville.

After a lot of research, I finally decided to purchase this machine. I read a lot about the machine both good and bad and didn't pay attention to the warnings about the machine thinking that maybe it was just a few bad lemons.

Let's start with what's good:
+The machine is capable of producing excellent espresso when the operator has a bit of practice. There is a lot to know about making good espresso but also tons of great reasources out there. Read up and watch videos, I won't go into all that here...
+Produces excellent steam that's controlled with a smooth lever
+Fairly compact for being a double boiler
+Precise control over tons of variables: volumetric or time based shots, brew temp, preinfusion pressure, preinfusion brew time and wait time, and others! We basically go back to the idea here that it makes wonderful espresso and you can really play with these variables and see a noticeable difference in flavor.
+Auto on - I didn't use this feature as I work varying shifts but a nice feature none the less
+Auto-fill - great feature so consumers don't burn up their boiler
+Double boiler- consistent brew temps for your espresso and a separate boiler for your steam. This allows for brewing and steaming at the same time.

Ok so sounds like the best machine ever, right? Well unfortunately it has major internal build quality problems. I purchased my original machine in August and only four months later and I'm on my third machine (which I sold on Craig's because I don't want to deal with sending another machine back to Breville- with my luck it'd be two days after the 2 year warranty expired).

My first machine had a problem where it wouldn't hold consistent pressure. After doing my routine to get the machine dialed in, I found the machine was acting up when I was in the sweet spot. When pulling a shot at 9 bars, the pressure would bounce all over. The pressure gauge would bounce back and forth from 6 bars to 9 bars durning shot extraction. Sure, I could grind my coffee more course so that the pressure would be less but this would cause my shot to extract too quickly. After talking with Breville, they confirmed the problems over the phone (the rep could hear the pump oscillating) and sent out a new machine.

Second machine comes. From day one, I felt that inserting the portafilter felt a bit more stiff but didn't really think about it too much. After about a month of use, I was pushing the portafiler in and pulling it out. Usually, if one twists the portafilter to the insert position it wouldn't stay there and instead would fall out of the group. In my machine after a months use, I was wiggling the portafilter to try and get it out. I thought that maybe there was something in the group so I removed the shower screen and dispersion disk. While doing this I found that there is a plasic piece that holds the porafilter in place. This plastic piece must have swollen and made it difficult to get the portafilter in and out.

When I took out off the shower screen, you really start to see all the plasic that goes into the machine. The Group collar (piece that malfunctioned on my machine), dispersion screen, and top of the group head are all plastic!!! Plastic and 200+ degree water aren't a good mixture. It's quite unfortunate because folks are spending a lot of money on these machines thinking that they're getting a quality product that will last for years and years. Parts are few and far between and once the machine is out of warranty, you are required to spend a few hundred to send it back or buy something new.

I think Breville should focus a little less on trying to pack as many features into the machine as possible and instead focus on increasing the quality of the companants that they put into the machine. I may be out of the norm here, but when purchasing products I want them to last. I want the ability to repair them or take them somewhere to have them repaired. So many products are designed to be thrown away and personally I will be paying more attention to this in future purchases!

Help keep junk out of the landfills and look for a machine that is built to last. My hunt my my next espresso machine is on!

Please let me know if you have any questions, I'm happy to help answer as best I can.

Both a great espresso machine and a great company to back it up. The machine has performed very well for two years. The dual boiler system is clearly the way to go if you want consistently good foaming of milk to go along with a great shot of espresso. The only problem I have had to manage has occasionally the same bean, same grind will produce different volume of shots. Of course the problem could be with my grinder - hard to tell.
Any time I had any questions or problems the company responded very well.
I would buy the machine again

I have owned this product now for 1.5 years. It has performed magnificently. It was an expensive purchase, and I had some hesitation about it, but the machine has been fantastic. I buy espresso beans from my favorite coffee roaster in San Francisco and pull two shots EVERY morning with this machine. It produces a shot equally as good as the one that I actually get from the coffee shop. Thick and chocolately with amazing flavor. Mechanically, it has been flawless. No problems. It lets you know when to clean it, and that process is easy. The steam wand is very powerful and does a great job, but I use it mostly to heat in the espresso cup vs steaming milk. So pleased with this machine. Highly recommended.

This is my third espresso machine. The last one was Italian, and after 4 years I was tired of trying to fault diagnose and repair it. And Italian parts can be difficult to obtain. The only repair facility was 2,000 miles away, and shipping a 50 pound machine would have been prohibitive. Hence this Breville. This machine is truly amazing ... light years ahead of my old Gaggia and for considerably less cost.

The dual boiler is the best for simultaneously pulling a shot and steaming milk. The steam is very consistent and not too forceful, allowing one to steam milk to the perfect consistency. The rotating lever provides for adjusting the steam force and the wand rotates to the perfect position.

The Breville has flexibility in programming your shot. The temperature and the duration of how long it takes to pull the shot allows you to steam the milk while the shot is being pulled. Push the button and go for it!

You can fill the reservoir from either the back or the top of the machine, and the illuminated fill viewing port is a nice touch. I can't say enough about the tamper ... integrated into the machine (attached by a magnet) and with a line to note when you have the proper amount of coffee in the porta filter.

The drip tray is easy to pull, empty and clean. And the hidden compartment for a few tools is a nice touch.

This machine is a little lighter than some, I think tipping the scales at around 30 pounds, instead of 50 of my old one. What this means is that you need to put some light pressure to hold the machine while turning the porta filter. But that's a minor concern. And if you do need to scoot this machine across the counter, it has an ingenious method for having wheels pop out and you can easily push the Breville wherever you wish.

There is nothing I don't like about the Breville. For the cost and functionality, this is the best. My wife says my cappuccinos are as good as any we have had in Italy! Now that's a compliment and a testament to this machine!