BrevilleBarista Max+ Espresso, Latte & Cappuccino Coffee Machine, Intelligent Grind & Dosage, Precision Extraction Timer, Integrated Milk Frother,15 Bar Italian Pump, Silver [VCF153]

This is honestly the best low-end coffee machine you can buy. I received this on the 29th of September at around 11 a.m. I then started making coffee at about 2 pm after buying some beans, and since then (now on the 30th of September) I have made around 12 cups of delicious cappuccino/latte; and boy. It is tasty (beans depending, obviously).Pros:- Easy to get the machine up for the first time - just as simple as emptying half of the water tank through the portafilter into a big bowl and washing the accessories with warm water.- Super easy for beginners to use.- Makes excellent-tasting espresso and milk-based coffee once you get the knack for it.- Get *almost* everything you need to start; you just don't get a metal milk jug for the steam wand which sucks but you *CAN* just use a normal cup (I guess... - thankfully I had two jugs anyway; I'd recommend buying a slightly smaller one as one of my jugs is a little large and doesn't fit deep enough for small amounts of milk)- The steam wand is ready to use within around 5 minutes and when you are skilled enough can produce delicious frothy micro-foam-filled steamed milk for your milk-based coffees.Cons:- Steam wand takes around 10-20 minutes to cool down, so you can't make more espresso during this time.- The portafilter is a little bit cheap feeling and the notch basket design isn't ideal in my opinion as it can be a little tricky to get the basket out, especially after getting the puck out. You need to swill and dry the basket to easily take it out after use. I'd recommend buying a new portafilter for it once you get the hang of pulling shots with it.No opinion:- With any new coffee machine, you will need to dial it in to find the right dosage, right beans, right pull time, etc. So be ready to waste some beans dialing it in.Overall, I would say this is an excellent coffee machine for the price (I paid £99.99 on offer, but it usually retails for around £200) so if you're on the fence about which bean-to-cup coffee machine to buy, then definitely give this a whirl if you can afford it and be sure to shop around for the best price on this bad boy. I'm in love <3

Awesome machine. Well worth spending the money. It takes a little while to get your head around the different grind settings but with a little fiddling, I get the best cup of coffee I've ever had. The crema it produces is better than most coffee shops I've been to.Maintenance is fairly straight forward as we only use filtered water so no limescale to worry about. You'll need to purchase cleaning tablets separately.And I don't use any fancy beans either. I'm quite satisfied using the Sainsbury's Fairtrade coffee beans!

I bought this Breville to replace my old leading Italian Brand budget coffee maker that was over 11 years old ( well beyond my initial expectations) and had probably made coffee over 8000 cycles.This Breville was I initially chosen on its functionality ,design and user review.ProsIt fits neatly on the kitchen work surface under the cupboards and it is a bonus to me that I can store a can of ground coffee on the cool water tank at the back.Its stainless steel build looks good.The coffee produced is very good once you get the coffee filter holder levels right and tamped down.We drink coffee strong and black so I haven’t used the milk wand and probably only use the wand on my previous machine less than once a year.The automatic function fills 2 cups or a large mug adequately.ConsThe most significant problem with the machine is the loud vibration that will shake a two cup setup apart resulting in spillage. Initially I reduced this by placing the cups on a folded paper kitchen towel. After experimenting the best solution is to buy a sheet of 22mm diameter x 10mm self adhesive silicone feet. This reduces the noise and vibration. (See pictures, use only 4 feet at the corners or the vibration will come back). A pity that Breville didn’t seem to detect the problem in the design stages and add deep silicone feet costing a few pence.Using automatic to produce coffee tends to produce cooler coffee and probably does not get the most out of the load. I have therefore reverted to the technique that I used on my previous manual coffee maker. I let the machine heat up and half fill the mug or cups before turning the machine off. I then immediately turn on again, let it heat up and the complete filling the mugs before manually stopping. It really is hotter and better taste extracted.The coffee filter holder is a bit smaller than I am used to so the coffee strength of 3 is a little weak for a double cup or full mug. Using strength4, 5 (expresso coffee) and above does produce very good strong coffee . I think the Barista Mini has a bigger coffee holder but the design is not as nice and it is more plastic.OverallFor the price it seems a good machine with some resolvable issues. I have used this machine 3 times a day for just over 6 months without major issue.