Hi all,

I've been Using the Breville Barista Express for a little over a year now, and it's really taught me a lot about home espresso. I enjoyed it overall, and I've been using the smart grinder pro alongside it.

In the opinion of others, but I notice much of an improvement in the cup, if I upgraded to the dual boiler? I will say that I do a lot of milk drinks as well. Or use a distribution tool and palm tamper to aid in consistency, and would continue doing so in the opinion of others, but I notice much of an improvement in the cup, if I upgraded to the dual boiler? I will say that I do a lot of milk drinks as well. Or use a distribution tool and palm tamper to aid in consistency, and would continue doing so.

I realize that one of the main advantages to the dual boiler is being able to steam milk while I pull shots, which would be very nice to have. My main question is just surround the idea of flavors in the cup as well as milk quality. Should I be under the impression that the overall temperature stability is better on the dual boiler has w my main question is just surround the idea of flavors in the cup as well as milk quality. Should I be under the impression that the overall temperature stability is better on the dual boiler as well, due to the heated group, etc.

Thank you for any advice!

I had the Barista Express and can tell you that there are two down falls to it
1) steam power
2) temperature stability
Cheaper machines tend to be less temperature stable (,usually either can't get hot enough or can't maintain the right temperature)
A BDB would definitely be a step up as it is reportedably temperature stable.


Randy

This is encouraging. Thank you for the input!

It is nicely on sale in Canada right now, so clearly a sign from Jesus that he wants you to buy it.

I was in a similar situation with my Barista Express, and I've become much more happier once I stopped using the built-in grinder and upgraded to Pharos. I understand that SGP is basically the same grinder as the the built-in one. I recommend spending money on a better grinder first.

+1
I also use another grinder

Randy

Thank you everyone. Will I truly notice a significant taste difference in the cup, with a grinder upgrade? I've always heard that it's one of the absolute main keys to a good espresso. I'm thinking Eureka Atom.

+1 on the BDB option and a new grinder.

The advantages of the BDB are many, and being able to steam simultaneously with pulling shots is one of them, but one that I frankly have never found to be anywhere near the top of the list. Temp stability, preinfusion (if desired), pressure profiling hack, excellent microfoam, and so on rank higher for me. One of the biggies is the ability to get a bottomless portafilter (I don't think you can use it on the Express, might be wrong about that). I'm not steaming while pulling, I'm watching the bottomless PF via a magnetic-mount mirror! A bottomless portafilter is key to improving the quality of your espresso -- a regular PF hides all manner of things, so you can't see what needs fixing.

The temp stability on the BDB is terrific, and it does make a difference. One or two degrees change on some roasts can be significant presuming you you can maintain consistency on the other variables. I didn't see much difference as a result of temperature early on, because I had channeling, off-level tamps, poor grind distribution that were all masked by the regular portafilter. I couldn't reliably assess the effect of a temp change because too many other things were not consistent. But with the BDB you can be sure that the temperature is

I used my BDB for years with the Smart Grinder Pro and was happy enough with it. I'm not sure it is the same exact grinder in the Barista Express, but it likely isn't much different. I mostly made milk drinks, because I never liked the taste of straight espresso. I just figured my taste buds weren't wired that way, but it was of value to me to improve my shots anyway, since the resulting improvements meant I used less sugar/sweetener in the drinks.

In January I received my Monolith Flat. Wow. It really is a huge difference. I now pull shots that actually taste good to me, and I can use little or no sweetening in milk drinks. One notable difference is that the Monolith is step-less, so extremely fine adjustments in grind size are easily done (and make a difference), while the SGP is stepped: that was the main thing that started me looking for another grinder -- I often found that two adjacent grind settings on the SGP would be too coarse and too fine, and I couldn't set in between.

So that is my longwinded way of saying that after years of using a grinder very nearly or possibly exactly the same as yours, yes, the change to a great grinder makes a big difference in the taste and the wallet. I'd say a new grinder is a good choice, provided you can afford a good enough one. I'd avoid intermediate steps if possible. But if you need/want to do something in the shorter time frame (and Monoliths are not easily obtained in a short time frame), and if you asked me to spend your money for you, I'd probably suggest getting the BDB when it is on sale for a good price (as mentioned above), and to look into the Sette grinder (by all accounts I have read, avoid the W version as it seems to have ongoing issues, so you'd likely want to go with the non-weighing version). The Sette is apparently pretty loud, but I don't know if that is a factor, or how loud it really is. You can likely get into a retail location to test it.

I still like my SGP by the way, and I use it now with my Bonavita.

EDIT: I found a post where you link them: Latte not tasting like coffee enough, just milk

Could you send a picture of your set up? Where do you place the magnetic light?

Bret wrote:+1 on the BDB option and a new grinder.

The advantages of the BDB are many, and being able to steam simultaneously with pulling shots is one of them, but one that I frankly have never found to be anywhere near the top of the list. Temp stability, preinfusion (if desired), pressure profiling hack, excellent microfoam, and so on rank higher for me. One of the biggies is the ability to get a bottomless portafilter (I don't think you can use it on the Express, might be wrong about that). I'm not steaming while pulling, I'm watching the bottomless PF via a magnetic-mount mirror! A bottomless portafilter is key to improving the quality of your espresso -- a regular PF hides all manner of things, so you can't see what needs fixing.

The temp stability on the BDB is terrific, and it does make a difference. One or two degrees change on some roasts can be significant presuming you you can maintain consistency on the other variables. I didn't see much difference as a result of temperature early on, because I had channeling, off-level tamps, poor grind distribution that were all masked by the regular portafilter. I couldn't reliably assess the effect of a temp change because too many other things were not consistent. But with the BDB you can be sure that the temperature is

I used my BDB for years with the Smart Grinder Pro and was happy enough with it. I'm not sure it is the same exact grinder in the Barista Express, but it likely isn't much different. I mostly made milk drinks, because I never liked the taste of straight espresso. I just figured my taste buds weren't wired that way, but it was of value to me to improve my shots anyway, since the resulting improvements meant I used less sugar/sweetener in the drinks.

In January I received my Monolith Flat. Wow. It really is a huge difference. I now pull shots that actually taste good to me, and I can use little or no sweetening in milk drinks. One notable difference is that the Monolith is step-less, so extremely fine adjustments in grind size are easily done (and make a difference), while the SGP is stepped: that was the main thing that started me looking for another grinder -- I often found that two adjacent grind settings on the SGP would be too coarse and too fine, and I couldn't set in between.

So that is my longwinded way of saying that after years of using a grinder very nearly or possibly exactly the same as yours, yes, the change to a great grinder makes a big difference in the taste and the wallet. I'd say a new grinder is a good choice, provided you can afford a good enough one. I'd avoid intermediate steps if possible. But if you need/want to do something in the shorter time frame (and Monoliths are not easily obtained in a short time frame), and if you asked me to spend your money for you, I'd probably suggest getting the BDB when it is on sale for a good price (as mentioned above), and to look into the Sette grinder (by all accounts I have read, avoid the W version as it seems to have ongoing issues, so you'd likely want to go with the non-weighing version). The Sette is apparently pretty loud, but I don't know if that is a factor, or how loud it really is. You can likely get into a retail location to test it.

I still like my SGP by the way, and I use it now with my Bonavita.

Wow. Thank you for this incredibly detailed response. I feel this deserves a bigger response from me, but I assure you I'm going to absorb this and strongly consider my options right now!