The Breville Barista Express is designed for people who want to make cafe-style espresso, cappuccinos, and lattes at home while still having control over the process. Instead of requiring a separate grinder, it combines an espresso machine with an integrated conical burr grinder that can grind fresh coffee beans directly into the portafilter. And if you’ve been planning to get it for yourself, you’ll be glad to learn it’s listed with a 28% discount on Amazon, which has knocked its price down to $499.95.

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Breville BES870XL Barista Express Espresso Machine

Brushed Stainless Steel, craft café-quality espresso shots, lattes and cappuccinos at home with this manual coffee maker with built-in grinder

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Key features and highlights of the Breville Barista Express

One of the Barista Express’ most useful features is its integrated conical burr grinder. Coffee can begin losing some of its aroma and flavor after grinding, so being able to grind beans immediately before extraction helps preserve their freshness. It also means you don’t need to buy a separate grinder or find additional counter space for one.

The machine grinds directly into the espresso portafilter using its grinding cradle, which keeps the process straightforward. You can go from whole beans to a prepared portafilter without transferring grounds between different containers. Breville also includes a grind size dial, giving you control over how fine or coarse the coffee is ground.

The Barista Express also uses low-pressure pre-infusion before the main extraction begins. Instead of immediately forcing water through the coffee at full pressure, the machine initially introduces water at lower pressure. This helps wet the coffee grounds more evenly before extraction. 

There’s also a manual steam wand for texturing milk. The wand introduces steam into the milk, allowing you to create the fine microfoam used for drinks such as cappuccinos, flat whites, and lattes. Because it’s manual, you control how much air enters the milk and how long you steam it. 

Is this espresso machine worth buying?

The Breville Barista Express is worth considering if you want to learn how to make proper espresso at home without purchasing a grinder and espresso machine separately. Its built-in burr grinder, adjustable grind size, low-pressure pre-infusion, PID temperature control, and manual steam wand cover most of the important parts of preparing espresso-based drinks.

It does require more effort than a fully automatic coffee machine. You’ll need to learn how grind size, coffee dose, extraction, and milk steaming work together. For someone who simply wants coffee at the press of a button, that may be unnecessary.

About the Author

Abdul Haddi

Abdul is a tech writer and Editor for PC Guide, specializing in all things tech, gaming, and hardware.