Breville Barista Pro vs Touch: Which one is Best for You?

Breville has become a well-known name in the world of espresso machines, thanks to its Barista line. They have a recognizable brushed stainless steel exterior and the ability to make café quality coffee. However, with so many machines available, the choice can be overwhelming. Today, I’m narrowing it down to two: Breville Barista Pro and the Breville Barista Touch.

I’ve used and tested countless automatic and semi-automatic espresso machines over the years, including the Breville Barista range. In my opinion, there’s no clear winner between Barista Pro vs Touch. The Barista Touch comes with a better display and an automatic steam wand. The Barista Pro offers a simpler, more hands-on display at a cheaper price. Both machines are great options with Breville’s thermojet heating systems and built-in grinders, which brew excellent espresso.

In this Breville Barista Pro vs. Touch review, I’ll go into detail about all differences and similarities of these two machines, so you can decide which one better suits your needs.

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Key Differences

Let’s start with the differences that separate these two machines. The main point is the different displays, as the ease of use for making espresso drinks sets these two apart. The aesthetics, steam wand, and drink options are also somewhat different.

Design and Ease of Use

The biggest difference between these two machines is in display screens. Breville Barista Pro has a basic blue backlit LCD screen with buttons, while the Barista Touch has a color touch screen.

Breville Barista Pro LCD allows you to see the info about the grinding time, grind size, one or two espresso shots, and extraction controls (water temp and pre-infusion time). You navigate the screen using the buttons, as the screen is not interactive.

As the name already says, Breville Barista Touch has a full-color touch screen that has more customization options than Barista Pro. The Barista Touch screen allows you to choose espresso strength, milk temperature and create up to 8 saved drink profiles. These personalized espressos can have their own image and name.

I personally liked the 8 customizable drink profiles, as my family members have different preferences. This will come in handy if you plan to use this espresso machine in a shared environment, such as a family home or an office.

Another feature that makes these espresso machines easy to use is the “Empty Me” sign that pops up when the drip tray is full.

Overall, both Breville espresso machines are easy to use and are suitable for beginners and baristas looking to further their craft.

If you love a modern touchscreen and want to be able to save up to 8 coffee drink preferences, go for the Barista Touch. Personally, I preferred the Breville Barista Touch display.

If you already know how to brew espresso and like traditional control in the form of buttons, go for the Barista Pro.

Drink Options

When it comes to drink options, Barista Touch is the winner. There are customizable settings for a latte, flat white, and more. I mentioned you can choose the level of ground coffee according to your preferences. You can also adjust the coffee strength, milk temperature, and texture.

Apart from having the option to save 8 drink recipes, the Barista Touch comes with 5 pre-programmed drinks: espresso, Americano, cappuccino, flat white, and latte, plus a hot water option for making teas.

The Barista Pro doesn’t come with this option. That’s not because you can’t make different drinks. You certainly can. However, the Pro is a more “classic” semi-automatic espresso machine where you make the espresso and steamed milk by hand.

Aesthetics

Both Barista Pro and Barista Touch have very similar aesthetics. These machines have brushed stainless steel exteriors. However, the Barista Touch only comes in silver and black options, while Pro comes in five different color options.

Both machines have modest footprints. Breville Barista Pro dimensions are 13.9 x 16.1 x 16 inches, and it weighs 20 pounds. Meanwhile, the Breville Barista Touch dimensions are 12.7 x 15.5 x 16 inches, and it’s somewhat heavier at 26.8 pounds. Barista Touch is wider, while Barista Pro is deeper and bulkier, as it has thicker parts. Both of these should be able to fit in your kitchen without taking up a lot of kitchen real estate.

The biggest difference between the two is that the Breville Barista Touch has a touchscreen (as discussed), which makes it look more modern compared to the Barista Pro.

Both of these espresso machines come with a built-in burr grinder, steam wand, drip tray, and a water tank with a 67oz capacity. The water tank is removable in both machines, which means there’s no need to have a pitcher on hand for refilling. Plus, it’s easier to clean and maintain the water tank.

Steam Wand

The next Breville Barista Pro vs. Barista Touch difference is in these espresso machines’ steam wands.

Barista Pro has a manual steam wand, which creates good microfoam milk for your lattes and cappuccinos. This steam wand is more hands-on. You should hold the milk container and keep an eye on the frothing. You’ll be able to create latte art, but there’s a learning curve if you’ve never done it before.

The Breville Barista Touch has a more advanced, automatic steam wand. The drip tray has a built-in thermometer, which allows you to create microfoam based on your temperature and milk texture settings.

The Touch steam wand is easier to use as it’s more hands-free when it creates the microfoam for milk-based drinks. You’ll be able to walk away while the steam wand does its thing.

However, always make sure the milk pitcher on the Barista Touch is sitting on the temperature control button. Otherwise, the wand won’t register the temperature, and it’ll keep frothing and trying to heat the milk. I walked away from it once without appropriately setting the milk jug, and when I came back, there was milk everywhere.

The rotation is different on the two machines. The steam wand only goes up and down on the Barista Touch, while the Barista Pro has a ball joint that rotates (almost) 360 degrees. That makes it easy to do manual steaming on the Pro, while you’ll have to stick wit the automatic options on the Touch.

You’ll also be able to create latte art with both machines. That is, both steam wands can make the right microfoam, but you’ll have to learn to pour the latte art.

Key Similarities

I talked a lot about the crucial differences between these top-rated espresso machines. Here are the two biggest similarities.

Espresso Quality/Internals
Both Breville Barista Touch and Barista Pro have a thermojet heating system, which has the water ready for brewing in 3 seconds. It’s much faster than most other espresso machines and the thermocoil system on the Breville Barista Express. The fast heating time extends to both brewing and steaming temperatures.

It took me about 25 seconds from the time I pressed the power button to the time I could take my first sip of espresso. If you’re like me and can’t function first thing in the morning without a dose of caffeine in your system, you’ll love this.

Apart from thermojet technology, both machines have digital temperature control with a PID. The PID is a sensor that makes sure water temperature is consistent. Thanks to PID, the water temperature won’t go up and down, and you won’t have boiling water come out of the machine. The PID ensures a consistent temperature for optimal brew extraction. As a result, you’ll have a flavorful and bold espresso every time you pull the shot.

Also, keep in mind that these machines have single boiler systems. You can’t brew and steam the milk simultaneously. However, the wait time between these two operations is negligible thanks to the extremely fast heating time with Thermojet.

Finally, another factor that contributes to high-quality espresso shots is the low-pressure pre-infusion. Both machines have a pre-infusion option. This means ground coffee will be moist at low pressure before water is forced through the coffee at high pressure. This also aids even extraction and will result in better espresso flavor.

Integrated Burr Grinder

Another similarity between Breville Barista Touch and Breville Barista Pro is the integrated burr grinder. Both machines have a conical burr grinder that lets you choose how fine you want the ground coffee to be and how much coffee grounds you want. Burr grinders create consistent grind size, which helps achieve optimum extraction of flavors and aromas.

Both grinders have 30 sizes, which gives you more room to dial-in the right setting. It’s important to get the right grind size for coffee, and particularly for espresso. The right grind size varies by bean, and Breville’s 30 settings make it easy to get the best espresso flavor.

You can also set the amount of ground coffee per serving with each grinder. Place the portafilter under the grinder, hit the button to start, and you’ll get a full basket. It’s easier to measure each portion and setting the portafilter leaves less of a mess.

Recommendation: It Depends On The Buyer

Both the Breville Barista Pro and Barista Touch are great semi-automatic espresso machines. The Thermojet system, powerful steam wands, and integrated burr grinder make excellent espresso or latte drinks.

However, the two machines have different advanced features and a different price point. The right choice depends on your preference of ease of use (Touch) vs price (Pro).

With that big caveat in place, I’ll give separate recommendations in terms of who each machine is best for.

Breville Barista Touch Buyer

The Breville Barista Touch is more automated compared to Breville Barista Pro. There’s a lower learning curve thanks to the pre-programmed espresso recipes and a high level of customization, as the parameters can be adjusted.

Barista Touch also has automated milk texturing, which makes creating microfoam easier.

Buy the Barista Touch if:
– You’re a beginner. The Barista Touch is easier to use, comes with pre-programmed drinks, and allows you to get your espresso with a touch of a button
– You want an espresso machine for an office or household. The Barista Touch can save 8 different profiles.

Breville Barista Pro Buyer

The Breville Barista Pro has a more classic brewing system and manual steam wand. It comes with some learning curve, and it’s slightly less suited for beginners.

Buy the Barista Pro if:
– You want a machine that lets you be more hands-on with espresso.
– You prefer the physical buttons instead of a touch screen.
– You are on a budget and want a cheaper option.

Final Thoughts

Deciding a winner between Breville Barista Pro and the Breville Barista Touch really depends. Ultimately, it comes down to your budget and preferences, but whichever of these machines you choose, you’ll get a high-quality coffee device that will last for years.

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Last update on 2024-04-25 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API