#infuser — Public Fediverse posts

There’s an espresso machine that’s a bit of an insider’s secret—one that many people don’t know about. In many ways, it is the secret machine in Breville’s extensive espresso brewing lineup. It’s the Breville Model #BES840XL, also known as the Breville Infuser.

Breville doesn’t market the Infuser much. It’s not pushed on vendors as a SKU to carry. You rarely see it on department store shelves. In fact, this past year, Breville even removed it from their main USA website, and transitioned the machine to an Amazon only SKU.

This borders on being a true espresso tragedy, considering its features, build quality, and price. In my opinion, the Breville Infuser could be the best machine in Breville’s lineup, with everything – including price – taken into account.

That’s a pretty big boast, I know. I hope to explain this fully below. But I also have another reason for this coverage of the Breville Infuser, and it’s time sensitive. You see, the Infuser, for as long as I’ve been aware of the machine, has never really gone on sale. At best, you could snag one for $50 off. 

Well, something’s changed. If you are an Amazon Prime member, right now (and right through Amazon’s October Prime Event this 2024), the Infuser is just $350, in both the Brushed Steel version, and the Black Sesame variant. That’s $220 off the normal price, and makes it one of the best deals in espresso machines today.

Update October 8: This is one of those “snooze and you lose” deals, as the $350 unit is sold out, and the only Infusers currently on Amazon are via 3rd party sellers who are selling for between $510 and $575. The Infuser was supposed to be a Prime Days exclusive price, but leaked early. It may come back at this price over the next few days, so keep checking.

The World’s Best-Selling Espresso Machine

For over a decade, the Breville Barista Express has reigned as the most popular espresso machine on the planet. Breville keeps its sales numbers pretty secret, but I can tell you that in some years, they sold 30 Barista Express machines for every single Rancilio Silvia sold.

There are several reasons why the Barista Express is such a hit. The built-in grinder is definitely a big draw for many people, but there’s a lot more to it than just that. It has a sleek, modern design, heats up quickly, and features a PID system that offers six brewing temperatures. It also has a hot water spout, switches to steam fast (especially for a thermoblock machine), and provides strong steam power with a capable wand. Plus, the drip tray is deep, and the cup warmer actually works. There’s so much more to love about this machine, and I go into all the details in our full review.

In short, the Barista Express is the best-selling machine because it offers top-notch features and build quality at an affordable price.

If there’s one area where the Barista Express falls a bit short, it’s the grinder. While it’s not terrible, advancements in espresso grinders over the past five years have left it a bit outdated. The timer system, in particular, feels clunky compared to modern grinders with precise 0.1-second timers or built-in scales. The Barista Express’s “timer” dial jumps by several seconds, making it tough to fine-tune your espresso. Breville suggests using their Razor tool to adjust the coffee dose, but that leads to waste.

So what if you could have the Barista Express, the machine with all that excellent functionality and ability on the espresso brewing side of things, but without the built in grinder? A Barista Express you could pair up with your own, much more capable espresso-primary grinder?

Well, that’s exactly what the Breville Infuser is!

The Breville Infuser, in the (now discontinued) Piano Black finish. The current black version is more matte.

Some History on the Infuser

The Infuser has a bit of a backstory: it even has a “father” machine:  the “Die Cast Automatic” espresso machine, model BES820XL, released back in 2009. At the time, it was basically a grinder-less version of the first Barista Express, but neither machine was particularly impressive. This was before Breville hired Phil McKnight, who would go on to revamp their entire espresso lineup.

The BES820XL chugged along for about five years. Meanwhile, Breville introduced some game-changing machines: the Dual Boiler in 2011, and in 2013, both the updated (and still current) Barista Express and The Oracle, their fully automated espresso machine. These were all major leaps forward for the company.

Then, in early 2014, Breville quietly introduced the Infuser (model BES840XL) as a replacement for the BES820XL. It didn’t get much attention at first, but it was a solid upgrade. Initially, the Infuser came in Breville’s classic Brushed Steel finish, and later on, they offered a slick Piano Black version, which looked stunning with its shiny black finish, mirror backsplash, and drip tray. We got our hands on the Piano Black model in 2014, and it was a real beauty.

Everything the Infuser comes with, even a steam pitcher.

Everything about the Infuser feels polished and well thought out. The water reservoir is easy to access and spacious, and the coated cup warming tray does its job and makes cleaning a sinch. The machine’s front panel is simple, with just four control buttons, two indicator lights, and a pressure gauge. It has an articulating steam wand and even a magnetized tamper built into the machine. Nothing feels unfinished or out of place.

The control panel is simple, easy to understand and the pressure gauge is still the bomb to this day.

Under the hood, the Infuser is packed with the same brewing system, volumetric controls, pump, and electronics as the Barista Express. Since it doesn’t have a built-in grinder, it’s more compact, making it a better fit for smaller kitchen counters, The machine is only a bit wider than a Gaggia Classic or Rancilio Silvia, yet feels spacious and can accommodate a much wider range of cup sizes.

What’s great about the Infuser is that nearly every accessory or upgrade designed for the Barista Express works with it. That means you can easily find better dispersion screens, filter baskets, tampers, portafilters, and even lever-style arms for the steam and hot water controls.

Pair the Infuser up with any of the grinders from our Best of Budget Grinders Guide, and you will have a winning combination capable of exceptional, hand crafted espresso, and a wide range of milk based espresso drinks.

These are some of the first espresso shots I pulled on the Infuser, back in 2014.

The Price

One big knock against the Infuser is that some feel the price is too close to the Barista Express pricing to justify its cost. This may have been more true in the past, when the Infuser was $599, and the Barista Express was $649.

Today, the list price for the Barista Express is $699, and the Infuser is $569, or a difference of $130. For me personally, that’s enough of a discount to definitely buy it over the Express, and use that $130 (plus another $75 or so) to buy a grinder that’s 2x better than the one built into the Barista Express.

But now I come to the other main reason for this blog post. Right now, and through the next Prime Sale this October, Amazon – the only place you can buy the Infuser in the USA right now – has both the brushed steel and black models on sale for $350. 

$350!! 

At that price, this could very well be the best espresso machine on the planet, when price is factored in. It performs as good if not better than other sub $600 traditional espresso machines like the Gaggia, Rancilio, and Lelit offerings. It’s certainly put together in a much more polished way.

I also like the Infuser slightly better than the Bambino Plus, because unlike that machine, you do not have to run blank shots on the Infuser prior to actually pulling an espresso shot. Just let it heat up for 10 minutes, and Bob’s your uncle. Transition time to steam is around 30 seconds, which is very acceptable. And the entire machine is bigger, and does not have a drip tray so small that you have to empty it every shot pull, like the Bambino demands.

Even at $570, I think this is a machine that should be on everyone’s shortlist, especially if your goal is improving and honing your home barista skills. At $350? A no brainer. The price is so low, I bought one myself just to have as a backup machine.

https://coffeegeek.com/blog/new-products/the-breville-infuser-the-insider-secret-espresso-machine/

#BES840XL #Breville #BrevilleInfuser #deals #espressoMachine #Infuser