Breville Barista Express

My Breville is now 10years old in July and has given tremendous service and coffee. At least 5 members of our family have bought them and love them too. Time for a new machine and after seeing bad reviews of Sunbeam and the number of deLonghi's on repair shop shelves awaiting part I figure I'll stick with the brand that we know and love. Show details

Purchased Aug 2021. Fantastic machine, it works brilliantly. Saves us so much time and money. The capacity to customise the grind is wonderful. Cons: If it wasn't for the occasional unpredictable water tank leak, would buy again. Seems to be a known flaw (store knew and replaced once, refused twice, also mentioned on consumer boards). This one… Read more

has lasted 5 years and still going well. No filters needed if water is filtered. The previous was a 12 year old steel Sunbeam. All metal is definitely the way to go. They last decades. If you're decaf, recommend Campos. All up, it is much better than most on the market. We use a second grinder for different coffee.

We bought this during covid 19 lockdowns so 4/5 or so years ago. We researched models and prices before we bought and this suited our needs and was within our budget. It's been great and gives us that "barista" made coffee experience. Once you get the grind setting right it's very simple to use. A friend of ours recently visited us from the… Read more

USA. She loved it so much she bought one when she returned home lol.

We enjoy ours and use it regularly.

Love my Breville Barista Express – I would highly recommend the Breville Barista Express as a beginners machine. I have had my Breville Barista Express for several years and It has been a great learning experience for me. You have to be willing to learn the basics if you want great espresso. Purchasing a coffee scale and weighing your coffee beans before grinding and during… Read more

extraction will help you to dial in your coffee. I have also upgraded my grinder.

Maintaining the machine is relatively easy, it has a clean/descale light which comes on when it needs cleaning. I follow ‘Hoons Coffee’ on YouTube for Breville cleaning tutorials. I am now using the program mode and dialling in great shots.

Great machine... if you take the time to maintain it well and do your research to sort out any issues – I'm writing this review having spent a few (more) hours of my time troubleshooting pressure issues with our six-year-old Breville Barista Express BES870 (Brushed Stainless Steel) coffee machine. In between thorough cleaning and descaling, changing coffee beans, replacing the steam ring shower head, and brushing out the upper and lower burrs, my… Read more

husband and I watched a few different YouTube videos to see if we could (a) best solve the issue and/or (b) find a better new model to invest in.

"I just want to check one last thing," I said, before checking and adjusting the setting on the top burr from number five to number one. After putting it all back together I pulled one more shot. Bingo! Great pressure and a great-tasting espresso. "You are a genuis," came the response. The man of the house, who uses this machine more than I do, was all smiles. Not only could he enjoy his morning latte, but I'd saved us several hundred dollars on the purchase of a replacement.

The Breville Barista Express BES870 is our second Breville espresso machine. We sold the last one, a smaller model minus the grinder, after it had served us well for many years. Like the present model, we always maintained it well, and had taken the time to carry out research to try and solve any issues.

Will this one last another six years? Only time will tell. Watch this space.

Would we buy another Breville? Yes, I think we probably would.

I have previously reviewed a Breville Barista Touch Impress https://www.productreview.com.au/reviews/9d531a76-4570-5881-8232-9023e61312b00 and was unhappy with it. This machine, though, has been great. It's basic and mostly manual, but I quite enjoy the coffee making process. The grinder does not give a consistent dose, so I don't fill the hopper… Read more

with beans, instead measuring out each shot. Lots of other good reviews of this machine here, so I'll add the shortcuts I've developed.

Aldi "Lavazzo" dark beans. For a double shot, use the single-wall filter. For each shot, fill the double-wall filter just-below-level with beans and toss one of these into the hopper. Grind at setting 14.

Illy decaf beans (from amazon, in the silver tin): Grind at setting 10.

I use small cups, and don't use a lot of milk. So it's tricky to steam the milk in the supplied jugs. Being a lazy sod, I bought a door wedge https://www.kmart.com.au/product/wooden-door-stop-42476511/ and then prop the jug on the door wedge on an angle. Once you wiggle the steam wand, you can get the tip just below the milk surface for good steaming.

Breville got it right with this machine. 12 months old, 3-4 uses per day and it hasn't missed a beat.

Other comments

Build quality: OK so far. The painted black front edge of the drip tray is a bit chipped, but I honestly don't care. Value for money. Excellent. It's an easy machine to get started with, though the instructions could be a bit clearer in places.

Ease of use: Good. Getting the grind and dosing correct can be tricky if you're just starting out, this is another area where the instructions could be better; pointing to a video would be good. Two areas where Breville could improve are: 1. Change the font on the grinder setting. My old eyes can't read it, and all the numbers look the same shape. A window on the front of the machine with a nice big number would be good. 2. The steam/hot water setting knob should be a much larger knob, or a lever. It can be quite stiff and anyone with finger issues (eg me) can find it hard to turn sometimes.

Cleaning and maintenance: Good, it would be nice if the button sequences for clean/descale were printed somewhere on the machine.

Noise level: grinding and steaming are noisy

Consistency: the grinder doesn't dose consistently, though this is a known issue. The grinder is ok for what it is.

Milk frothing: definitely an art. My best advice is "don't wank the milk" ie move the jug up and down. Just stick the tip of the steam wand under the surface of the milk and keep it there - but remember that as the milk gains volume you will have to move the jug down the wand a little.

Happy drinking!

I bought this machine in Nov 24. Had trouble getting the brew right, and in the end found the unit was failing Breville high Pressure test , which is on youtube and breville website When unit came back, it had scratches, authorised Breville repairer in Sydney, and Good Guys Kotara was kind enough to replace with a new ( luckily I had taken out… Read more

Gold cover) New machine same fault, fails high pressure test. So back to repairers. Guess what, it comes back with scratches again, and a few dents. Machine replaced again, and guess what, new machine fails high pressure test GG offer to give me new, but I declined, saying that I need this resolved and there is no faith in new machines. Unit comes back, yes you guessed it, with scratches. Luckily most scratches were on the drip tray, so I swopped tray only. Now the high pressure test still fails, needle goes off scale on high end, but I am using it as I have been without good coffee for so long It is easier to get good brew now as the pressure is higher, but after testing both low and high pressure, this machine goes back if not tests fails. I recommend owners pressure test their machines, and if it fails, and unit is under warranty, send it back for repairs. Maybe then Breville will get processes and quality checks right in the factories, so that new machines are correctly set for pressure

Coffee making basics start with a few metrics: single shot 12g, double shot 22g of ground beans. Extract for 20-30 seconds. A shot is 30ml, double is 60ml. The Breville does not even come close: the MAXIMUM grind for double is 18. Any more and the basket can't be inserted into the brew unit. Extracts for 16 seconds, and on the double shot setting… Read more

produces 12ml - that is 12 !! So the coffee is weak and watery. The only way to get anything like the right extraction is to press the button twice. Hopeless. I've pulled out the bean hopper and adjusted gringer burs, adjusted the grind on the hard-to-see external wheel, different beans, but it is just hopeless. I'm taking it back as I don't have a boat!

The machine is OK when working but they don't last long. Breville refused to comply with ACL on my first machine. Against my better judgement I bought another with a discount direct from Breville and I was meant to also receive some free items from a promotion- which I never received despite following up. Now the flow meter is faulty which also… Read more

happened on my first machine which was repaired.

Their support is terrible I can't lodge any tickets, their online Salesforce platform coming up with system error message.

Another irony they require a "batch code" and provide an image where to find it but my machine had it stamped in a different location with no ink so almost invisible.

I'd avoid Breville they take customers for mugs. No wonder they're so profitable.

I've heard back from Breville but as yet unresolved, the tone of if so far is it's my fault for taking too long to complain. The communication is via email instead.

Love making a latte at home with fresh beans. Purchased the coffee machine and was great for a while. 9 mths in and it started playing up. Press two cup strength coffee and would fill cup if i didnt turn off manually. This was intermittent, work one day not the next. Breville dont replace only fix. Took back to good guys and were sending off to… Read more

be fixed. Phoned GOODGUYS 2wks later to see if any updates and they forgot to send off. Not happy. So 3 wks and got machine back only to it stop working again 6 wks later ( same problem). Good guys wanted to send off again to be fixed but after discussions was given a new machine which only lasted 3mths and same problem as last time. Never again will I get a breville coffee machine. They are total waste of money.

Ok but requires patience and tweaking – It's so so. It can certainly make a decent coffee if you have the patience to tweak things to your preferences. I find that results vary wildly from one bag of beans to the next - so it always needs some adjustments. But that is the nature of manual espresso machines I suppose. When it's good it's a bargain - but when it's bad the coffee is… Read more

dishwater.

I also had the issue with the seal on the group-head failing under warranty. Was a simple fix and had been fine since until the same issue came back a couple of years on. Had to take in for repair.

If you love tweaking and have patience - it's a go. If you want consistency with no effort - go for an automatic machine.

Unreliable – I bought the machine 41/2 years ago. Purchased an additional 3 year warranty (total 4 years). The machine makes good coffee when it is working. Every year since purchase I have had to return it for repair ( faulty gauge or valves). From this and similar experince with another Breville coffee machine I can only conclude that the product is unreliable due to unreliable components Show details

Barista Express? More like Barista depress – I’ve been disappointed with the Barista Espresso Coffee Machine due to recurring issues with the group head seal and poor performance. The seal began failing after just two months, and I’ve replaced it eight times since then—far more frequently than acceptable. Even with a new seal, the group head is loose, leaks, and cannot maintain proper… Read more

pressure, making it impossible to produce a decent coffee. I've since learnt there is a common fault, where threadlock was not applied to the group head screws, over time allowing them to losen to a point where no matter what the group head and portafilter will never form a proper seal. Customer service was unhelpful, insisting I send the machine to a repair center and cover the costs myself.

I’ve lodged a complaint with the ACCC, as this product doesn’t meet basic quality or durability standards. I cannot recommend it until these issues are resolved.

Breville coffee machine stopped working – Was great while it worked, looked after it, plenty of tablet cleans and descales, wiped it over and washed drip tray often, sometimes it would lose pressure in the steam wand but a good flush would fix it, the last time used it, wouldn’t pressurise at all and there was almost nothing coming out the steam wand, nothing I tried fixed the issue, I… Read more

believe the pumps gone and perhaps a leak in the system causing lack of pressure, I was really unhappy about this as it only lasted a year and a half, just past the warranty, funny that, I’ve bought a DeLonghi as replacement 2 year warranty plus 3 year care plan to hopefully avoid this in the future. I wouldn’t recommend a company that only gives the bare minimum warranty, but if your going to buy a breville pay for extra warranty or care plan it might seem pricey but it could save you the cost of a whole new system and also make sure you research the company you have the care plan with, insurances are notoriously scummy.

Broke Down - 2 years old… – My coffee machine was great right until it broke out of the blue, right after the 2 years warranty had expired. The coffee grinder mechanism failed. Was always cleaned and maintained as per manual. These machines are apparently supposed to last 10-15 years according to the people that fix them. I will write a separate review on the customer experience in dealing with Breville which has been atrocious. Show details

Full Refund after 3 years, but I had to work hard to get it – We purchased on sale $699 rrp $1199 this coffee machine as a back up and holiday machine. We used it on about 5 occasions over 3 years; cleaning it carefully after each use. On the 6 occasion the machine did not turn on. I took it back to Briscoes with receipt showing it was purchased 3yr 3 mths earlier. About a week later Breville wanted $75 to… Read more

inspect it. I said no, Consumer Guarantees Act. Briscoes said they would cover it as goodwill. Another week later Breville said $275 to repair. I said no, Consumer Guarantees Act. Briscoes said they would cover it as goodwill. Consumer Org said I should try for a refund. I phoned Briscoes and said I wanted a refund. After consultation with the manager, the customer service person said ok come in and get a a refund. $1200 indicates a certain quality and in turn a certain length of service expeced. Consumer Org said 3 - 5 years. Briscoes and Breville both tried to make me pay for services that are covered by Consumer Guarantees Act. There is no such thing as goodwill; they are both legally obliged to comply with the Act. Be prepared to resist their demands to pay by quoting "Consumer Guarantees Act" . It seemed to help my situation by referring to Consumer Org as well. This machine may be fine if used every day, but it does not seem to store well for several months between uses.