Breville Barista Express BES870 Questions & Answers (page 4 of 20)

Because it's a single boiler, if you transition from your to milk, back to pour, back to milk, its likely to take extra time and be inconsistent. If recommend doing your coffee pours first then your milk in one hit.

Thank you for your input. It is not the milk that has the issue it’s the coffee.

Hi Faye,
Turning the steam wand on can drip water until the steam comes out, all to do with the water getting heated in the pump. As for the milk, always leave the steam wand in the milk while you turn the wand off which I think you do otherwise you’ll have milk shooting everywhere, then you clean the wand and turn it on to get rid of any milk still in wand, only turn the wand off when the steam is coming out at full pressure which means you wand is clean until the next use. Make sure the wand is pointing the tray when purging the wand. Enjoy your new machine, regards, Serge

If you need an answer still here it is...
This tells me that the coffee grind in the basket is either:
1) too coarse
2) not tampered enough in the basket
3) The beans have been sitting in the hopper too long and are stale
4) The portafilter is a little too loose on the group head
Depends on the grade of the coffee you buy, you will need to test it then stick to the same coffee from there on. I recommend using a quality bean which I do and it happen to be eventually set on 7 on the dial.
Ideally you want to see the extract coming out like ‘honey’.
To make you feel better, it took me a week to get something just ok, eventually after a few more weeks you will be a champion and be proud to make the best coffee in your street! Take care Garry, regards, Serge

Hi Serge,
Thank You for your reply and all info

Any luck? I got the serial number (as the product code) off my receipt, but the batch code is still MIA

under the machine on the info plate next to PDC there is a metal stamp of 4 numbers indented there

I have this issue too. I have cleaned x 2, descaled and changed filter. Machine seems to be working fine, but I am worried something is wrong!

Does anyone have a solution? I guess I can send back to Breville but not very impressed AGAIN!

DESCALING
After regular use, hard water can cause mineral build up in and on many of the inner functioning components, reducing the brewing flow, brewing temperature, power of the machine, and taste of the espresso. We advise you to undertake the descaling processes outlined below when the ‘CLEAN /DESCALE’ indicator is illuminated (solid on). Refer to CLEANING CYCLE on page 24 when the ‘CLEAN / DESCALE’ indicator is flashing.
Check if descaling is required

1. Check if the ‘CLEAN / DESCALE’ light is illuminated (solid on), descaling is required.
Priming machine for descaling function
2. Dissolve one Breville Descaling powder sachet into 34 fl. oz (1L) of water then fill the water tank.
3. Press and hold the 2-CUP button and then press and hold the POWER button simultaneously to enter the Descale mode. The unit will heat up as part of commencing the descaling action, during the heating processes the POWER button should flash continuously. The machine will indicate it is ready for descaling when the POWER button, 1 CUP button, CLEAN/DESCALE indicator and HOT WATER/ STEAM indicator are all illuminated (solid on).

Descaling the coffee component
4. Press the 1-CUP button to start the descaling for the coffee component of the machine. Descaling coffee component takes approximately 25 seconds. The 1 CUP button should flash continuously and remain constant once the descaling process has finished. To terminate the descaling within 25 seconds, press the 1 CUP button again.

Descale the Steam and hot water components
Descaling steam and hot water takes approximately 13 seconds and 8 seconds respectively. Descaling can be terminated prematurely by turning the steam dial to STANDBY.
5. Descale Steam component by turning the steam dial RIGHT towards the icon.
6. Descale Hot water component by turning the steam dial to the LEFT towards the icon.
Repeat processes to complete descaling

After the above processes about half (17 fl. oz/ 0.5L) of the descale solution should be left in the water tank.

7. Repeat steps 4-6 above to complete the descaling process to empty the solution in the tank.

Descaling Solution Rinse
8. After descaling, remove the water tank and rinse thoroughly then refill with fresh cold water to the maximum capacity (68 fl. oz /2L) and repeat steps 4-6 to further cleanse the machine of any residue of the cleaning solution thoroughly.
9. Press ‘POWER’ to quit the descaling process. This will be indicated by the LED lights switching off.

There's no serial number but the batch number can be found on the product sticker underneath: 4 numbers stamped into the plastic to the right of the letters "PDC". Easier to read if you shine a light on it from an angle. Not their best work!

anyone else have an answer for this, mine does the same thing. two cycles of dezcal didnt help.

Had to end up sending the machine back to breville after they insisted it was operating correctly. (Blamed my beans not being fresh). After receiving it back from breville no more issues even though I’m continuing to use the same brand beans etc

Hmmm, I think it might be one of these numbers BES870BSS 9312432019910. I'm thinking the one with the letters at the start. Tahlia

I empty the water tank every couple of days and refill to the halfway point to prevent scale buildup; however I do use the machine every day, several times a day. The tray also fills up with much more water than you would expect and the machine does tell you when to empty the tray. Hope this helps.

I had the same problem, i emailed the support and finally got it. The label/sticker is kind of under the product, you have to lift the coffee maker and look underneath. The batch code number is next to the PDC on the label and you need a flash light to see the heat imprinted code. With the serial, you can use the same code as the batch. Hope this helps.