Quick questions about the water filters and cleaning tablets for Breville machines. It's time for me to get some replacement filters for my Breville Barista Express machine, and I'm trying to ascertain what the best route to go it. The OEM Breville filters are fairly expensive charcoal/resin filters. There are many much cheaper generics, on Amazon, that are ION exchange filters. I have a carbon-block filtration system already on my water. Perhaps using an additional filter in the Breville is pointless with this, as I've read somewhere carbon and charcoal filters are the same thing? My primary reason for using the filters is the hope it keeps contaminants and minerals down, and therefore perhaps prolonging the life of the machine. Any taste improvements would be a side benefit. Not knowing what the practical differences in these filter types are, I'm not sure what the best to use would be. Perhaps it would be just as effective (and cheaper) to get a cheap Brita pitcher (carbon & ion-exchange resin), and use that to fill up the Breville tank and not hassle with filters inside the Breville.

I'm also curious what tablets are best for cleaning? The included Breville tablets are made by Cino Cleano. Then there are Cafiza tablets, which are a lot cheaper. Are these just as good as the OEM ones?

Thanks for any advice!

The Breville tablets I have are Cafetto, from Australia. I never use them. I simply weigh out 3g or so of any powdered espresso detergent, usually Cafiza, but any will do, put it in a proper blind basket ($2.99 excluding shipping) and run it.

As for water, I don't use the Breville filters. I use scale-free water to begin with. I either add 100mg per liter of potassium bicarbonate to pure distilled water, or I use a LARGE resin bead, ion exchange softener like this one from Chris Coffee: https://www.chriscoffee.com/Water-Softe ... ftsysg.htm

I use a simpler but more expensive, 3M/CUNO espresso specific filter system that uses one large filter that includes the carbon block and the softener in the same single quick-change filter.

Both systems will block scale if you change them when they lose effectiveness... Same as you would, the Breville filters.

-Peter

I used up the Breville supplied tablets then bought a container of the Cafiza tablets and have yet to use that up. Much less costly and just as effective.

I've used both the Breville silicone disk/basket combo and a metal blind basket. Both work equally well, just a matter of which you prefer.

I've got a three stage filter system built into my refrigerator's water tap and I use that for tank refills. I also change the filter in the tank periodically. Can't assert that this is a best practice, though

I use 2 Cafiza tablets during a cleaning cycle (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003S4918M/) along with the Breville filters.

Thanks for the replies. Lots of good information. I'll go with the Cafiza tablets. At the moment, I already have built-in carbon/charcoal block filter on my water supply. My guess is this is probably "as good" or better than the Breville charcoal filters, so I have not been using Breville ones. There isn't much too them, and I can't imagine they perform any better than say, a typical Brita filter. If I decided to use another filter, I'm thinking using a Brita Pitcher, filled by my already carbon-filtered water (double charcoal-filtered), would probably provide better filtration and be a lot more economical than using the Breville filters. I probably should stay away from the generic filters on Amazon that fit the Breville. Does anyone do something similar or have any thoughts on how this would perform?

Two things.

1) Not that using Cafiza tablets would put you in the poor house, but Cafiza powder is a great deal cheaper on a cost per weight basis, and it disperses a little easier than a compressed pill does. Also, the Breville Cafetto tablets are 3.0g each and the Cafiza tablets appear to be 2.0g each. In this day and age, every barista ought to have a scale with tenth of a gram precision. It's nothing at all to weigh out 3.0g of Cafiza powder and then you know you have the same dose as the Breville pills. Plus you can use the Cafiza powder in boiling water to get the coffee scum off the shower screen and tea and coffee stains off of your stainless mugs and thermoses, if you use them.

2) Carbon block filters are NOT softeners. They are there for taste. They will do nothing for stopping scale. Resin bead ion exchange filters ARE softeners. They are for reducing or eliminating scale. Only the Breville ones are way outgunned for most municipal water supplies, which is why savvy users go with (in this order of desirability): mixing 100mg/liter of potassium bicarbonate into distilled water, or... using the Chris Coffee or 3M/CUNO espresso specific, ion exchange softener system.

For the record, every Breville filter pouch I have ever torn open has had only little amber resin beads and no carbon. If Breville is including carbon, could you tear open one of your old ones and show us a picture of it's insides with carbon? I've only ever seen the resin beads.

-Peter

pcrussell50 wrote:Two things.

1) Not that using Cafiza tablets would put you in the poor house, but Cafiza powder is a great deal cheaper on a cost per weight basis, and it disperses a little easier than a compressed pill does. Also, the Breville Cafetto tablets are 3.0g each and the Cafiza tablets appear to be 2.0g each. In this day and age, every barista ought to have a scale with tenth of a gram precision. It's nothing at all to weigh out 3.0g of Cafiza powder and then you know you have the same dose as the Breville pills. Plus you can use the Cafiza powder in boiling water to get the coffee scum off the shower screen and tea and coffee stains off of your stainless mugs and thermoses, if you use them.

I bought a 20oz container of Calfiza powder for $12.50 (Amazon), which should last quite a while. This was based on a post Peter made a while back somewhere. 3 grams amounts to a slightly heaping 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon, and I don't bother weighing anymore; within a few 10's of a gram is close enough.

I do wonder if there's any benefit of using tablet vs powder, with the tablet acting as a "timed release" so the dose is spread out as it dissolves vs mostly all at once with the powder. Thoughts?

The cafiza tablet I have are ~1.2g each, so I put two in at a time. I suspect (but do not know) that the tablets break down pretty quickly under pressure and temperature. They feel a bit fragile, so I would speculate that it makes no difference between tablets or powder. Tablets are plenty cheap anyway, and there are a lot of them, so the price delta is negligible over the time span (and the initial cost difference is 'in the noise' compared to everything else in espresso )

I use the tablets for convenience, as I run more than one cleaning cycle when the time comes. I remove the cover off of the freshly cleaned drip tray and inspect the contents after the cycle completes: I see some crud in there, and do another cycle. Often the second cycle is clear of any larger bits of crud, but if not, I'll run a third. By then I see little flecks of things. This all varies with the time frame between cycles (not just the number shots), the coffee used, etc.

Doing post session water back flushes has helped a lot. Way way back before I started doing them, the amount of crud during the cleaning cycles was probably 3-4 times greater, and would take 5-6 cycles to get a clean/clear result.

Peter,

How do you use the 3M CUNO filter? Is it attached to a filtration system similar to an RO system? Can you kindly elaborate? I'm curious and I may want to do the same.

Thanks
Jesse

On edit: I see that I didn't really describe it's fitment. Like RO, It goes under the sink, taps into the cold water tube, and dispenses out of one of those skinny drinking water taps that sits off to the side. UNlike RO, it is much more compact, and doesn't have or need a drain. It does two things, soften and removes chlorine and odors through carbon. It leaves behind (or adds) beneficial sodium ions. RO does those things and more, but does NOT leave any beneficial sodium or potassium ions. You would have to add those yourself, which I do in our other home.

Sure. I use it in place of an RO system, just for drinking, tea, and espresso. One of our homes has an RO system, but depending on how hard the input water is, RO is too pure from both the taste/flavor, and health of the machine standpoint. In the RO house, I use distilled water, which is way too pure on it's own, with 0.1g/liter of potassium bicarbonate added, (you can also add sodium bicarb instead). Potassium bicarb is used in wine and beer and is about $8 delivered by Amazon Prime for years and years worth.

The 3M/CUNO system I use in another home, where we don't have RO, just regular tap water. It is essentially a giant Breville resin bead, ion exchange filter/softener with a carbon block filter in it, that removes chlorine and objectionable odors and taste. It removes about as much hardness as RO does, which is to say, almost all of it, but it leaves behind the same beneficial sodium ion as putting baking soda into distilled water. Sodium and potassium bicarb are interchangeable for benefit. It's a simple matter of taste as to which you use.

Eventually even big resin bead ion exchangers won't soften as effectively, and you replace the filter. In order to know when that is, you need a test kit. Some people get by with cheap strips. I use the $75 Hach HA-71 titration kit which can verify as little as one grain of hardness. Electronic testers are $2-3 thousand dollars, (not a typo).

-Peter