Breville Barista Express vs Touch (BES870XL vs BES880BSS)

If you’re anything like us, you want an espresso machine with all the features and options you could ever want, without the need for a full-blown degree to learn how to operate it. That’s where Breville espresso machines come in; they’re accessible and affordable for beginners, with several models to choose from for every lifestyle.

What Are The Benefits Of Breville Coffee Machines?

Breville creates powerful home espresso machines that are best suited for those just learning how to brew authentic espresso or who want to get started at home. Brewing creamy espresso is a daunting challenge, but Breville offers coffee drinkers the ability to create delicious espresso at home without intense training or trial and error.

The Breville Barista Express and the Breville Barista Touch are excellent daily espresso machine options for different audiences. But how do you choose the right one for you and your lifestyle?

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Why Choose One Breville Machines?

You can make various excellent espresso drinks with both Breville espresso machines, including lattes, macchiatos, cappuccinos, flat whites, Americanos, and more.

Barista Express vs. Barista Touch: Side By Side Comparison

When you’re buying your first espresso machine, you want to look at a few main factors, mainly your budget, your level of experience, the specific features you want, and whether the machine is readily upgradeable.

Another thing to consider is how long your espresso machine will last before you’re ready to move on to something more advanced. If the machine is too beginner-friendly, you may find yourself soon wishing you’d gotten a higher-end model after a few months. Upgradeable devices will last longer.

Breville Barista Express

If you’re looking for a compact, easy-to-use machine that creates a beautiful espresso beverage rivaling high-end appliances at a fraction of the price, the Breville Barista Express espresso machine is a fantastic option.

Those who are willing to put a little bit of work into tweaking and customizing their machine and manually going through the process of brewing espresso will be rewarded with beautiful shots of espresso, perfect for making their favorite espresso drink at home.

Things We Like:

• User-friendly and approachable operation: This machine includes everything you need to start brewing espresso right away, even without previous experience or know-how.
• The Barista Express includes a wide variety of customizable settings to tweak your cup of coffee, so it’s just right.
• The chic retro design might not appeal to all coffee fiends, but those who want an old-school approach will love this look!
• The machine produces adequate pressure for high-quality espresso extraction and an excellent milk froth.
• Quality construction and workmanship, plus its variety of options and features, make this machine an excellent value for the mid-range price tag.
• It features convenient accessories, such as a stainless steel milk jug, dual and single wall filter baskets, coffee scoop, and more.
• The 360-degree swiveling adjustable milk frother is convenient and versatile, allowing you to move the milk jug around for a better, more thorough froth, perfect for a variety of espresso drinks.

Things We Don’t:

• The attached grinder, while convenient, is perhaps the machine’s biggest let-down. At its finest setting, the grind size is much coarser than other competitive grinders.
• Since this is a hybrid semi-automatic machine, it’s more labor-intensive than a (more expensive) fully automatic espresso machine.
• Since it’s a single boiler machine, you cannot steam and brew simultaneously, which can be a disappointment to those who want a quick espresso brew in the morning.
• It takes time to learn to operate the machine and familiarize yourself with its parts, especially with many customization options. While it’s a relatively beginner-friendly machine, it’s still a steep learning curve for the first-time espresso brewer.

Breville Barista Express is stylish and non-intimidating to coffee newbies; it’s an excellent choice for a first-time espresso machine with an extremely user-friendly design. It’s an outstanding value for its price and makes quality espresso that will thrill every beginner coffee fiend.

However, those on the fast track of their coffee-brewing journey may find that they’ll outgrow this machine quickly and may be better off with a more advanced device. Those who want a more modern iteration with the latest technology should probably go with the Breville Barista Touch.

Breville Barista Touch

If you’re looking for a much more precise brewing experience and not manually customizing your settings every time, you might be willing to pay a few hundred dollars more for the convenience, control, and features that the Breville Barista Touch has to offer.

The built-in touch screen takes you step-by-step through the brewing process, giving beginners more control over the result. With customizable drink profiles and preprogrammed espresso drink recipes, it provides all the convenience of a more high-end machine for a reasonable price.

• Things We Like:

• The integrated stainless steel burr grinder with 30 different grindsw2ettings ensures you have complete control over your grind.
• The Barista Touch’s main feature is the touch screen for easy, hands-free operation, giving you the ability to create genuine, delicious espresso with a system that’s suitable for beginners.
• Its appearance is very similar to the Breville Barista Express, but with a more streamlined appearance due to the lack of buttons and premium brushed metal finish.
• The steam wand included with the Breville Barista Touch has a built-in thermometer, allowing for more precise temperature and texture control over your milk froth.
• Its Thermojet Heating System means you can heat water in just three seconds.
• Eight customizable drink profiles and five preprogrammed drink recipes make this the perfect machine for office or family environments

Things We Don’t:

• It is not a fully automatic machine and requires manual tamping.
• The machine is relatively heavy, weighing about 23 pounds, which might be too bulky for some homes.
• The water tank is not accessible from the front, and with the machine’s weight, this could be inconvenient for some users.
• Lack of preheating system for mugs; this isn’t a dealbreaker by any means, but in a machine with this many features, it’s a little bit of a downer.
• The lack of a complete automatic cleaning system means there’s more work involved in keeping it clean (although the automated cleaning system for the steam wand is helpful)
• It’s a single boiler system, which means it can’t brew and steam milk simultaneously (however, this is mitigated by the Thermojet heating system).

Final Words

The Breville Barista Touch is a step above the more manual Barista Express, with easy hands-free operation while offering many features that make the much pricier Barista Oracle Touch such an excellent machine.

However, the high-tech specs of the Barista Touch come at a cost. If you’re on a tighter budget and don’t mind spending a bit more time manually working your machine, you’ll likely prefer the lower-priced Breville Barista Express.

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Last update on 2024-04-27 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API