Breville Barista Espresso Machine

What it is

Breville's Barista Express, model BES870XL: a semi-automatic espresso machine with an integrated conical burr grinder, a 54mm portafilter, a 15-bar pump, a thermocoil heating system, low-pressure pre-infusion, programmable volumetric dosing, a 360-degree steam wand and a two-liter removable reservoir. A 54mm tamper stores in the base. It is, in one box, the grinder, the machine and the tools.

Why it's on this list

Espresso is not a product you buy. It is a skill you acquire, and the barrier to acquiring it has always been that a serious grinder and a serious machine are two purchases, not one — and the grinder is the one people cheap out on, which is precisely backwards. The Barista Express collapses that problem. The burr grinder is built in, it grinds on demand into the portafilter, and the machine gives you enough control — grind size, dose, shot volume, a real steam wand — that the coffee is your fault. That is the correct amount of responsibility for a home machine.

Buy it understanding what it demands. You will spend the first weekend dialing in your beans, learning that grind size is everything, and pulling shots you throw away. Then it clicks, and you stop paying six dollars a cup.

What to know before you buy

• Temperature control is coarse. The brew temperature adjusts in roughly four-degree steps, which is blunt compared with a machine holding one-degree precision. In practice it is stable enough. In principle, it is a real limitation, and the reason serious hobbyists move on.
• The built-in grinder clumps. A cheap distribution tool (a WDT — essentially a set of fine needles) fixes it in ten seconds and materially improves the shot. Buy one with the machine.
• It is a single boiler. You brew, then you steam. No pulling shots and steaming milk at once. For a café, that is disqualifying. At home, it is a five-second wait.
• The reservoir is at the back. If it lives under a cabinet, you will be pulling the machine forward to fill it. Plan the counter space.
• If you want good coffee without a hobby, buy something else. A moka pot, an AeroPress, or a decent drip machine will make you a satisfying cup with none of this. This machine only pays off for someone willing to learn it.
• It needs descaling and backflushing. Skip the maintenance and it will die. Every espresso machine is a small appliance with a hard life.