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$180 machines - Saeco & Breville - 2007/12/11 09:07Seems a few machines have gone under $200 recently. Any experience or buying advice on these machines, which are both selling for $180:
Saeco Via Veneto Breville Cafe Roma
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"The thermoblock heating system and powerful pump produce plenty of hot water for brewing espresso coffee and steam for frothing milk for cappuccinos or steaming for lattes"
Run, don't walk - from ANY espresso maker that uses an archaic thermoblock for a boiler versus a traditional boiler!
They (T-Block boilers) are hypersensitive to scale build-up and are more prone to failure than a Hyundai Pony!
Their steaming capability is legendary... legendary BAD!
You have been warned.Colin is the Senior editor and creator of the CoffeeCrew.Com Website
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colin
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Re:$180 machines - Saeco & Breville - 2007/12/11 09:26The Saceco Via Veneto has a real boiler... made out of stainless steel. It is not a thermoblock system. It is better. Much better.Colin is the Senior editor and creator of the CoffeeCrew.Com Website
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Bobby
Visitor
Re:$180 machines - Saeco & Breville - 2007/12/11 20:11Thanks for the quick response, the Breville is out.
I saw the Saeco Via Venezia at Starbucks for $299, but I can't seem to find much info on it online. Are there any significant differences between the Via Venezia and the Via Veneto that justify the price difference?
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colin
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Re:$180 machines - Saeco & Breville - 2007/12/11 21:24The difference in the Saeco (and the Gaggia line) where price versus product is concerned is in the "packaging" - that is, the shell that surrounds the innards; the pump, the group, and the boiler. And to a lesser extent, whether or not the group and portafilter are steel, brass or a composite.
As I have stressed before in other forum threads - the basic building block for a good espresso machine remains the same; a boiler (not a thermoblock), an Ulka pump (every espresso maker has the same Italian made vibration pump)and a brewgroup which incorporates the shower-head and the portafilter clasps.
Ideally, the group and the boiler are intimately connected to keep water travel to a minimum - and therefore - energy loss or heat loss LOW.
A water storage and delivery method, a brace of switches and thermostats pretty much wraps up the 21st century espresso machine - virtually unchanged for the last 50+ years.
Back to your questions - Cheaper machines are clothed in a thermoplastic skin. More expensive ones have a heat-retaining steel or composite shell.
It all comes down to weight of components and its ability to retain heat and deliver a flow of water to the ground coffee that is stable in temperature.
I hope this helps - a little long winded but necessary explanation.Colin is the Senior editor and creator of the CoffeeCrew.Com Website
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JHRichards
Visitor
Re:$180 machines - Saeco & Breville - 2007/12/12 11:12But... regardless of its durability and agility in making steam, does it make bad coffee? I mean, does the Breville, with its lousy thoermoblock thing, make inferior coffee - or is it just a lousy way to make a machine that is intended to last awhile? Your comments only go to the durability of the machine, and the archaic nature of the mechanism - how does the coffee taste?
Thanks. Nice website. // JHRichards //
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Thermoblock machines in general are cheap, and will produce average espresso and reasonable milk drinks given good technique, but anyone who wants better than average should avoid them. Another downside of aluminium thermoblocks is that they corrode, giving them a limited lifetime and introducing a fair bit of aluminium into your drink.
Taste is subjective. I have yet to taste superlative espresso from most superautomatics - and have certainly NOT tasted great espresso from a thermoblock machine.
Read the whole article.Colin is the Senior editor and creator of the CoffeeCrew.Com Website
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Bobby
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Re:$180 machines - Saeco & Breville - 2007/12/14 09:56Thanks for the reply Colin, the explanation of cost and 'packaging' was very helpful.
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