I vouch for the BDB (Breville Dual Boiler) as well, been a proud owner for the past 4 years, served me well, no issues so far (touchwood).

But that was 4 years ago, there are so much more choices for espresso machines these days. I'd top up a bit for Expobar, but I wouldn't mind trying OscarII, it looks just so modern. Or if I have time to experiment I'd go with DE1+ as well.

Not really, the price is still a far cry from a GS3
I'll not go for the DE1+ for now, still don't have time to experiment.
Morning routine is a mad rush got get myself ready and the kids before sending them to school, and the 10 minutes I could spare to make that cuppa (and the washup) is already very taxing!

Nope, didn't have any good offers. So I abstained from coffee for about a month or two, then 2 weeks once, slowly getting back to daily cuppa. Now I'm ok with 2 cups a day. It also depends on the beans as well, I tend to stick to the few that I find it's ok for my stomach.

Breville DB user here.

So, being a working dad of 3 (including an infant), ferrying them to school and back, doing all the house chores on our own (without any domestic helpers or parent's help), with only 4-5 hours sleep in total everyday, time to me is very crucial.

But, I will never let that 10 minutes of Coffee Prep time stop me from making that cup of coffee to super-charge the day! The quality of the cup matters too, that's why I chose fresh over pods, and choosing to brew my own instead of paying for coffee bots (conveniently located below my office building).

If you can spare just 10 minutes a day (inclusive of starting up the machine, weight/grind/tamp, put portafilter back into the grouphead, press 1/2 cups, rush to the fridge, pour fresh milk into pitcher, put in the thermometer - by this time espresso should be ready, flush the steam wand, steam the milk, wipe the steam wand, wash the thermometer, bump and swirl milk, pour milk skillfully into espresso hoping for some good art, [Coffee is done], take out the portafilter, flush the group head, dump espresso cake, rinse the portafilter and filter basket along with the pitcher, dry them up, brush the group head, wipe off remaining water off the machine). That is as compact as I can pack into my 10 minutes before getting the kids ready for school.

It is worth it!

Of course, on days where the infant wakes up every other hour, coffee bot will do I'll sleep in the 10 minutes extra

Yea, I do wash them and dry them off with a dry cloth, 1 minute tops.
Taking couple of minutes is like giving your portafilter, basket and pitcher a sponge bath

Hi fellow BDB owner!
So, to save some time here, what I used to do is:
1. Set the Machine to be turned on 15 minutes before I wake up, with the portafilter already in the group head.
2. The cups I use are usually on top of my machine, so that kind "warms" them up too. However, I prefer to enjoy sips of my coffee rather than gulping them down before exiting the door, so I brew it straight to my insulated tumbler.

But since my wife complain the electricity bills are going up, so now I just turn the machine on when needed in the morning, it warms up pretty quick, just enough time to weight/grind/tamp.

For 2 cups, I usually brew them separately, instead of having one dose for 2 cups, its more diluted I believe, I need it to be KAW!