$399 Black friday deal

Hi Tim – my source is Breville themselves on this, and changes they made to both the Express and the Infuser a few years ago. TBH, I haven’t actually “tested” it on the Infuser, but have done so with the Express, on an old 2014 era one vs a 2023 model and a hacked portafilter device i made with a pressure gauge and thermocouple. But you can test it by just putting a blind filter into the PF, and check the gauge.

Hi James – So a couple of points.

– First, if it broke, it is possible it could be fixed, and you might be able to sell the machine to someone willing to put in the effort to get it working again; could you explain specifically what broke, besides the pressure gauge (that can be replaced pretty easily btw).
– Second, yeah, the $399 price is an outlier, but it has been there on Amazon 3 times in the last 2 years; if you use a tracking services like CamelCamel, you can see the history graph showing this.

As for upgrades… a couple I like: the aftermarket lever arms for the steam / hot water dial on the right – just jazzes the machine up a bit and gives a nicer touch point; aftermarket chopped portafilters, there’s some super nice ones out there that won’t break the bank; Breville’s filter baskets are actually really fantastic and very precisely engineered, if you want the absolutely optimal, buy a bunch and replace your basket each year. I think they’re around $10 each off Breville’s website, super cheap, so buy a half dozen; Lastly, get some nice espresso cups for it. If you want ultra premium, go for Kruve’s fantastic glass double wall espresso cups.

Hey Mark! Thanks for the review. I’m trying to find an actual source that the Infuser also switched to the 9 bar opv.

I had a 2015 infuser and just found a used 2022 infuser for a good deal, but I don’t know how to test whether one is calibrated to 9bar. Part of why I got the new one was so I didn’t have to do the OPV mod

A ot of comment on Reddit are just people parroting what others have said, and not from actual, direct experience. something to keep in mind. That said, the original machine had a 12BAR OPV setting (as did the Barista Express), but Breville adjusted these to 9BAR around 2019 in both.

The use of a dimmer switch is something Lance Hedrick owes his claim to fame for – one of his most popular early YT videos was doing the dimmer switch mod to a Bambino Plus. It can also be done to the Barista Express and Infuser. It is meant to modulate the pump’s pressure up and down during a shot pull.

Is there anything in this criticism, or are they misunderstanding the OPV’s function (i.e., it’s just a safety thing) and don’t know how to adjust the grind, amount of coffee, tamping? (Or something else?)

[My use case is single-wall portafilter; switching between light and dark roasts; and making both espresso and “classic” cappuccino or macchiato]

I bought mine about 8 yrs ago, and recently sent it back to Breville for repairs, as the gauge wasn’t working, and it didn’t seem to be building pressure. Repair shops said they could not get parts. So, I contacted Breville, and for about $200 (including the initial $50 to inspect it), it was shipped to them and repaired with the fee also covering shipping. At the time of the repair, a new machine was about $600 on Amazon. It was well worth the effort to send it back to them as they did a great job.

Still $399 on US Amazon, just bought one (we were debating the Infuser vs Bambino Plus as they’re both on sale at the same price and my wife preferred the piano black of the Infuser).