Breville 800ESXL 15-Bar Triple-Priming Die-Cast Espresso Machine

The Best Expresso Maker for the Price
The Breville 800 ESXL is turning out to be one of the best buys I have ever madeBreville 800ESXL Commercial 15-Bar Triple-Priming Die-Cast Espresso Machine.

I had a Gaggia that produced great espresso when I first got it, but recently, it stopped creating any crema whatsoever. Water leaked from the steamer wand and the expresso head. It was time for a replacement.

I studied and studied and studied all the expresso makers and I knew I did not want to spend over $500 for a good pot. My goal was to find a great pot for under that amount. I read every review there is on the internet concerning the Breville 800 ESXL. People love it or hate it but if you read carefully, you may find as I did, that many of those who hate it, did not follow the directions as prescribed by Breville. They treated it like their old pot, however, the Breville 800 is a wonderful pot if used according to the instructions...

Beautifully designed, but missing important elements
From a interface and asthetic point of view, the machine is flawless. It's beautiful and solid, and has many nice touches like an integral storage bin and swiveling steam wand. Having said that, it's missing a few things on the INSIDE that you'd expect from a $400 machine:

For one, it uses a thermoblock. This results in a pressure drop and uneven heating compared to a boiler, which is why there is the need for the double-wall crema system. (I'm referring here to pump machines with boilers, not the cheap steam machines.) This is why you'll find that after brewing you have a soupy sludge instead of the hard dry puck considered an indicator of proper espresso brewing. Update: as pointed out by somebody else, this may be more a function of the lack of three-way valve than indicative of poor pressure or heating. I didn't realize this didn't have a three-way valve, but that's just one more reason to avoid this. Regardless, the weakness of the thermoblock is apparent in the...

Reviewing Breville 800ESXL Espresso Maker
Reviewing Breville 800ESXL Espresso Maker

Points to make

(1) UNPLUG the machine every time, like it says in the manual! Why?
The first day I had the machine I assumed that once you turn the machine off in the front panel, it is really off.
Not so, apparently.
One lonely evening, while making love to my machine (just kidding eh!), anyway, quite near the turned off machine in a quiet evening, I could hear a very low humming sound coming from it.
Power unit or whatever, I realized the machine was not really off, and from then on I decided to follow the recommendation in the manual -- which I presumed initially was only for home-safety reasons.
Obviously is not sucking the 1500 watts, but there's still something going on inside, and it's not a caffeinated gerbil!

(2) Vibration and Noise
IMO, it's not noisier than other espresso makers, and it sure is a dead loser against my blender, which my neighbors are probably acquainted...

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Breville BEW600XL Hot Wok

Cooks like a dream!
It comes in the factory box, so if it is a gift, be aware of this as it might ruin the surprise. The quality and sturdiness of this appliance is evident immediately out of the box.

The instruction book has a bit of a recipe book in the front of it, so you might check that out if you don't normally read instruction books.

It is very straightforward and easy to use. It heats up very quickly, and sears to perfection. The directions say to let it heat for 10 minutes before using but I've not waited that long.

I love the way the plug has an "O" in it so you can hook a finger in to unplug it. I wish all appliances were like that! It's a cord of decent length too, and it's well insulated. The top detaches from the base. I had no problem detaching mine. Reattaching, now that was a bit of a problem until I realized you have to PUSH DOWN on the turning handle and then turn, like a childproof cap- THEN it was easy.

Clean up is great- it...

Perfect family size
Generally dinner time at my house is our adult son, our teenage daughter, my husband and myself. This wok is perfectly sized for a nice amount of stir-fry with lots of veggies and leftovers to pack in lunches.
Pros:
It easily fits 2 lbs of cut-up chicken and 3 bags of frozen vegetables.
Good non-stick surface, use wood or bamboo utensils.
The base detaches the pan very easily for cleaning up.
The lid has a vent, turn the knob to open it.
The knob doesn't get too hot to handle while you're cooking which absolutely thrilled me.
The probe fits in easily and securely.
The cord itself is long enough that you don't need to be right on an outlet to use it.
It's a grounded plug
The plug has a hole in it to put your finger through and pull it out. Even better, that design feature is big enough for my husband's fingers.
It heats up fast.
Heats to 425 degrees on the sear setting
Very easy to clean using a soft dishrag, even after...

Improvements can be made
I don't even like to cook, but I love Asian food so much so I was delighted to get a wok. I wanted to try out all the recipes that I go to Thai, Chinese and Japanese restaurants to buy. I'd never heard of Breville's brand name, but the product looked pretty easy to use. In person, it's pretty good quality and lighter than it looks.

Cons: The screw on the top came off way too easily. It swirled around to open and close, but I didn't really see the point of it having the little tip in the top. At one point, the screw came out altogether, and I had to guess my way back to putting the accessories for the top back together. I'm not quite sure if I did it right because the instructions don't guide you through it.

The lock on the bottom of the wok is a pain. Once you cook something, you either have to lift the entire wok in order to pour the food into a dish or tip the wok to the side to unlock the wok. However, the instructions say to turn the wok over completely to...

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