Unsolicited advice: don’t get a Breville. I really recommend getting a Rancillio or ECM, it will last you longer and make better coffees. Plus, it will look better on your counter.
The real advice is always in the comments 😌 My gaggia classic pro is on its last legs, so I’ve been doing some preliminary looking at new machines. I’ll definitely keep this in mind!
I will counter and say Breville is one of the best espresso machine brands in terms of packing a lot of features in to a more affordable price point. Coffee Father James Hoffmann consistently commends Breville machines. They do look clunkier and plasticky but if you want to get damn good espresso that's pretty easy to replicate, you can do a lot worse than a Breville Dual Boiler or Barista Express. Of course you're kind of locked into the grinder with the BE which would bother me, but YMMV!
Yeah those are some good points too. Seems like a really good option for someone with limited counter space (me), or someone who doesn’t want to pay for a nice grinder (also me)
For sure. Alternatively you can get a Breville Bambino + a Baratza Encore ESP for about the same price if not a little less than the Barista Express, with roughly the same countertop footprint. You stay a little more flexible that way, if you do get the bug to upgrade one or both of the components. Lots of options, but I'm fairly certain you can't really go wrong either way so long as you've got a serviceable grinder and aren't using a pressurized portafilter. Happy hunting!
When I worked in retail stores in the 90's, Black Friday was an industry insider term not widely used by anyone else. The day after Thanksgiving has always been a big shopping day since everyone was still off work, and sales were "in the black." Then in morphed into the violent sh*t show of the first 20 years of this millennium, and finally in to what you've described in your article. Just another case of corporate marketing departments completely ruining something. Well done.
I’m sure it’ll continue to be a huge day (or long weekend at least) for sales, but if it continues to drop off, I could see this being looked back upon as one of the biggest corporate bag-fumbles of all time. The pure impulsiveness associated with the Black Fridays of the 2000’s will be very hard to recreate I imagine
Black Friday, or even "Black Friday week" is a marketing trick all over Europe now. A continent which doesn't have Thanksgiving. The November sales run into the early Christmas sale which run into the January sales - as a result it's just a sticker sale, not an actual reduction.
Unsolicited advice: don’t get a Breville. I really recommend getting a Rancillio or ECM, it will last you longer and make better coffees. Plus, it will look better on your counter.
The real advice is always in the comments 😌 My gaggia classic pro is on its last legs, so I’ve been doing some preliminary looking at new machines. I’ll definitely keep this in mind!
I will counter and say Breville is one of the best espresso machine brands in terms of packing a lot of features in to a more affordable price point. Coffee Father James Hoffmann consistently commends Breville machines. They do look clunkier and plasticky but if you want to get damn good espresso that's pretty easy to replicate, you can do a lot worse than a Breville Dual Boiler or Barista Express. Of course you're kind of locked into the grinder with the BE which would bother me, but YMMV!
Yeah those are some good points too. Seems like a really good option for someone with limited counter space (me), or someone who doesn’t want to pay for a nice grinder (also me)
For sure. Alternatively you can get a Breville Bambino + a Baratza Encore ESP for about the same price if not a little less than the Barista Express, with roughly the same countertop footprint. You stay a little more flexible that way, if you do get the bug to upgrade one or both of the components. Lots of options, but I'm fairly certain you can't really go wrong either way so long as you've got a serviceable grinder and aren't using a pressurized portafilter. Happy hunting!
When I worked in retail stores in the 90's, Black Friday was an industry insider term not widely used by anyone else. The day after Thanksgiving has always been a big shopping day since everyone was still off work, and sales were "in the black." Then in morphed into the violent sh*t show of the first 20 years of this millennium, and finally in to what you've described in your article. Just another case of corporate marketing departments completely ruining something. Well done.
I’m sure it’ll continue to be a huge day (or long weekend at least) for sales, but if it continues to drop off, I could see this being looked back upon as one of the biggest corporate bag-fumbles of all time. The pure impulsiveness associated with the Black Fridays of the 2000’s will be very hard to recreate I imagine
WHAT HAPPENED
https://www.crateandbarrel.com/breville-barista-espresso-machine/s267619
BES870XL at C&B for $559
👑
Black Friday, or even "Black Friday week" is a marketing trick all over Europe now. A continent which doesn't have Thanksgiving. The November sales run into the early Christmas sale which run into the January sales - as a result it's just a sticker sale, not an actual reduction.