Breville The Barista Express Impress BES876
VerifiedMPNs: 18531, 18532, 18533 and 9 more28 reviews
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Our old Breville dual broiler was no longer working. We went to buy at Harvey Norman, very happy once again with their service. We were choosing between Breville dual Broiler or a downgrade to a more affordable to our budge Barista Express vs. the Delonghi equivalent. We went with the Barista express because it was within our budget and fit the… Read more
colour scheme of our Kitchen. We also chose it because we wanted the grinder to be built in so that it doesn't have spills. I must say the Grinder is 5 stars, exactly what we wanted it to be no spills and the dose perfect level feature is great. And it provides great crema 5 stars. However the frothing feature is a disappointment. Two reasons, 1. once you've used the Breville dual Broiler, it's hard to downgrade. 2. Don't like the switch type feature and like the dial better. Overall as a Home Barista I am very happy with this product!
Great machine, easy to use and delivers consistently great coffee. Show details
Easy to use coffee machine that makes a great cup of coffee. Was a little worried going from a pod machine to a coffee bean grinder one, but I am very happy with this machine. After a couple of coffee's was able to get the grind and the tamp down pat, and the milk frother was easy. Very happy I bought this machine, its also very easy to clean. Highly recommend. Show details
This coffee machine is so easy to use and makes a great coffee. The milk frother can take a little bit of getting use to (as in getting your milk hot), but after a bit of practice it's is now easy. Easy to clean, and looks great in the kitchen. Would happily recommend. Show details
I love this machine!! I’m making barista quality lattes for a quarter of the price. So easy to use! I’ve owned it for around 3 years and it’s still going strong. Show details
Pressure gauge failed soon after purchase, sent away for repair for a couple of weeks. Got it back and gauge is still not working as it should. Even when the coffee is too packed or fine the water fails to come out but the gauge shows its low on pressure instead of high. Lots of reviews with the same issues, avoid Breville quality has gone down hill, my house is full of Breville but I certainly won't be buying anymore Show details
We bought this machine from Appliances Online and as usual, their service was excellent. On to the machine itself. It took a while for me to get it sorted so it was worth persevering with it. Initially I thought the shots were bitter and watery so I made an adjustment to the grinder burrs and it made all the difference. It seems that all… Read more
Brevilles out of the box have a factory setting that is incorrect. Explained in this YouTube video……. https://youtube.com/shorts/0fRb067JaGs?si=z2nrSDPlEUlgNz92.
I wound the burrs back to 3 and the grind adjustment to 8. Will need fine tuning according to the freshness of your beans. I use the single wall double basket in the portafilter. My rating of 4 for consistency is myself rather than the machine. The shot shown in the photo had been sitting for a while.
The other thing is to set the single cup dose to 30 ml and the double to 60 ml. Instructions in the manual.
The lever tamper is brilliant imo and takes the guesswork out of getting the coffee perfectly tamped.
It seems nearly impossible to replicate a good cafe result at home (compared to a machine costing thousands of dollars), but we are fairly close for a nice brew at home now. Easily a better result than some of the larger franchise shops.
Superb machine...only had for 10 months but can't fault. Very easy to use & easy to maintain. Makes a better coffee than my old much dearer & consistently faulty Jura machine. Very consistent performance across my 3 cups a day for past 10 months. Temperature of machine needs adjusting slightly ? Impressive machine for a very reasonable outlay. Show details · 1
This is my first "real" coffee machine and I am very happy with it. My son has the Barista Express and is very happy with it as well. The tamping feature of the Impress works really well. I used Nespresso pods (or Aldi pods) and they are quite good. This is cheaper and better in the long run. I like that it has the maintenance reminders for descaling. I have had it for almost a year and very happy so far. Show details
This is easy to use and clean. We use it every day, multiple times a day and the coffee is always good. Show details
Excellent machine - the second one, that is! My first Impress BES876 had consistency issues with factory settings for shot volumes and temperature settings, the electronics were obviously amiss. But the biggest issue was with the grinder settings. Two friends who live within a stone's throw of me have the same machine, use the same beans, have the… Read more
same grind external setting circa 14 (inner burrs left at factory default of 6), and the coffee is excellent. But I couldn't dial in my first BES876 after five days of frustration. I got passable results after adjusting inner burr setting and reducing external grind setting to 2, and adjusting shot volumes, but this was so different from the BES876s at my friends it was ludicrous. However, my second BES876 is terrific! And, most interestingly, all the settings are consistent with my friends' BES876. I deducted one star because of Breville's ineffective customer service (still haven't heard back from the "technical team" as promised) but this is the wrong place to complain about that. What I will complain about is the quality control at Breville, because this machine when right makes very good coffee indeed. My final settings for those interested: Inner burr setting untouched; external grind setting circa 11 for most beans; temperature lowered a degree to 92c; one-cup shot volume programmed for 25g for lattes and cappuccinos (grind set slightly finer); two-cup volume normally 1/2 ratio of 36g or 45g for a slightly weaker espresso.
Capable of producing excellent coffee – - Pros Ease of use Grinds into basket and tamps without mess Capable of producing really nice coffee Cons Difficult to achieve pressure Drip tray fills quickly Requires user to perform periodic cleans that seem complicated My last coffee machine was an automatic Delonghi Magnifica which was okay but it struggled to produce a coffee with… Read more
complexity of flavour. So I went for the Breville when the time came to replace it, as their machines are less automated, so there's more options to adjust for flavour. I chose the Barista Express Impress due to the housing around the basket when grinding, so there is less mess.
Using the machine is easy. Insert basket in housing, press button and it grinds into the basket, you pull the lever to tamp, remove and insert basket to the group head, then press button to pour.
The instructions say to set the dial to grind to 16 to start and then adjust as required. Did that and the water poured straight through like there was nothing in the basket and the coffee was terrible. 16 was far too coarse. Using the single shot basket was useless; very little flavour. Adjusted down to dial setting 5 and used the double wall double basket and finally achieved okay coffee, but still not great. Pucks were watery and could not be tapped out of the basket as they'd stick to the sides. Had to be scraped out with a spoon.
Watched some Youtube videos on how to operate the machine, and the pour I was getting did not look like any of those; it was much faster. I came across a coffee blogger who was doing sponsored posts for Breville and messaged him to ask for suggestions. He replied that best results he got with this machine were to use freshly roasted coffee beans, set the dial on 2, use the single wall double basket, and pour a double shot. I brought some beans from a roastery, did what he suggested and, voila, it worked!
The pour still comes through far more quickly that I saw in any of the instructional videos online. The freshly roasted beans do seem to help to create more pressure, but it is still not high. It's never achieved more than about the one third mark of the "expresso range" on the dial and the pour is much faster than that shown in the videos. However, it has a respectable amount of crema and tastes like cafe coffee.
With my machine, when it is on, there is a steady stream of water dripping into the tray at the bottom of the machine from inside it. I have a cup under the group head for drips and priming/rinsing, so it is only the water coming from inside the machine in the tray. I make one coffee a day, and the tray needs to be emptied about every three days or it will overflow.
For maintenance and cleaning, the water tank has a water filter pod in it that requires changing every four months. The group head requires a cleaning cycle every few months with a cleaning tablet, descaling will need to be done when the light comes on (hasn't happened yet). There are instructions in the manual saying that the shower screen should be removed and cleaned and the grinder should be dismantled and cleaned every so often. I'm not sure how I am going to go with this as I am no mechanic, but cross that bridge when I come to it. Having said that, the ability to clean the machine is probably a good thing. With my old Delonghi, I messaged customer service and asked how they recommend I clean it as the water coming through was brown in the end, and I got a stock reply back inviting me to bring it to my nearest service centre, ie you can't.
I bought the Sea Salt colour which is an offwhite with a pearl finish, and it is very nice. It comes with a plastic guard that sits on top of the front edge of the drip tray. I would assume this would be because this finish requires protection in areas of high use or it could chip or wear. The plastic cover is a bit pesky. It falls off with a clatter if you don't remember to remove it first when taking out the drip tray to empty it, but probably a better option than a damaged paint finish.
The only reservation is that I am having to buy expensive freshly ground coffee beans, and even so it cannot produce the slow drippy pour that Breville and other instructional videos show. Nonetheless, it's still cheaper than buying cafe coffees and they do taste pretty good.
Update 2/5/25 - I can confirm freshly roasted beans are required with this machine. Went on holiday earlier this year and while away, it was hot weather. Came home, filled the hopper from the container I keep them in, no change to any settings, and the water shot through like there was nothing in the basket. The dial showed there was almost no pressure. It was so bad, I thought the machine was broken. Looked up trouble-shooting on Youtube and one video said to swap out the single wall basket for the double wall one, and run a shot of water through it while empty to test if there was pressure, and there was. Machine was not broken, just cannot use old or dry beans in it. Went and bought some fresh beans and it was fine again, but had to throw out almost a kilo of beans. I am now buying beans, and freezing them in small batches in ziplock bags to bring out a small amount at a time. Seems to be working so far.
It’s the love of my life! Next to my wife! – I cannot tell you how much this thing has improved my life! I’m in love with it! It works perfect it’s what I want times ten! I get to show off with BETTER than coffee shop coffee! I seriously bounce out of bed in the morning to make coffee now. Show details
Find out how Breville The Barista Express Impress BES876 compares to other Semi-Automatic and Manual Coffee Machines
Know better, choose better.
Breville Barista Express Impress BES876 – I was sceptical that I could find a coffee machine as good as my sunbeam cafe series but the Breville is up there. Very easy to use, love the automatic dose and built in tamper. Keeps the area around machine clean and doses a perfect amount of coffee every time. Like how the grind is easy to change and makes great coffee. The only slight downside… Read more
is you can't froth milk and have the coffee brewing at the same time. I pour the coffee then turn on the milk frother as I get the milk from the fridge as the wand heats and then good to go. Excellent purchase for the money. Have had the machine for 6 months.
Average - disappointing – After having the smaller Bambino for 4 years with no issues we thought we'd upgrade. This machine got good reviews for the quality of the coffee which is correct, however the frother is highly inadequate - not powerful enough. The self tamping is great but the indicator very rarely works correctly even if you don't change any settings. We have had… Read more
this machine for 12 months and it has been in for repair twice - for the frother and the grind/tamp issue. After sales service and communication from Breville directly was extremely lacking and communication was horrendous. Harvey Norman is helpful but limited in what they can help with. Will be looking for a different brand, possibly the Delonghi sooner rather than later.
So bad we went back to the Barista Express – Barista ExpressOur old Barista Express made a great coffee, well it actually pulled 1000’s of great shots but after 7 years a flow valve and a few other pieces I replaced I thought why not upgrade. We purchased the Barista Express Impress and whilst asthetically it’s a great looking machine the tamp feature is mediocre at best. I’ve used good… Read more
beans,great beans and there is something about the auto tamp that just does not do the machine justice in terms of pulling a great shot with a good crema on top.
I got that frustrsted as I used to tamp with our old machine manually and the pressure would be spot on and pull a beautiful shot of coffee. No water on top of the coffee puck either just a great shot everytime and nice firm puck when you knocked it out of the group.
I used the auto tamp on a very good bean and pulled a shot and it came out watery so I thought I’ll just grind the coffee and tamp the old way and I got a better coffee doing it the old way.
Another issue is that there is always grinds falling out of the auto tamp mechanism all over the bench or on to the grate. The Barista Express was a very tidy machine that didn’t create a lot of mess.
This is not the only drawback we had, The grinder decided to crap itself after only 6 months so off to a Breville repair centre and had it fixed. 2 weeks later we get our machine back.
Do yourself a favour and buy the Breville Barista Express not this over rated gimmick featured machine. It’s a good selling point but not practical if you like a good coffee.
Good coffee, pretty easy to use – Fantastic machine, automatic basket fill is great, ease of use is good, takes a couple of coffee's to get the grind right per coffee bean change which is normal for any grinder. Overall very happy. Show details
Breville coffee machine – Love, love this machine so far. It took a bit experimenting to get the grind level right but wasn't too hard. The thing I found out was that you need to work out grind level when changing to a different brand of beans. I'm glad I purchased this product and the staff member at The Good Guys Thomastown was very helpful and new everything about the product. Show details
Amazing barista coffee for the home – Having recently added this machine to my kitchen, I'm impressed by the quality of the coffee, and how close to a cafe quality coffee I've been able to make. Pros: Espresso Quality - Let's start with the most crucial aspect: the quality of the espresso. Thanks to its built-in conical burr grinder and precise dose control, you have complete… Read more
control over every aspect of the brewing process, resulting in consistently delicious espresso with rich crema and complex flavor profiles.
Customization Options - One of the standout features of this machine is its versatility and customization options. Whether you prefer a single or double shot, a ristretto or lungo, the Barista Express has you covered. With adjustable grind size and dose, as well as customizable temperature settings, you can tailor each cup to your exact preferences, ensuring a truly personalized coffee experience every time.
Built-In Grinder - Un upgrade to the model below, the built-in conical burr grinder is activated with just a lever. Not only does this feature save you time and effort, but it also ensures maximum freshness and flavor retention. Plus, with adjustable grind size settings, you can achieve the perfect grind consistency for espresso, giving you unparalleled control over the brewing process.
User-Friendly Interface - Despite its professional-grade capabilities, the Breville Barista Express is remarkably user-friendly and intuitive to operate. The clear and concise interface guides you through each step of the brewing process, making it easy for beginners to achieve barista-quality results with minimal effort.
Cons:
Learning Curve - While the Barista Express is relatively easy to use, mastering its full range of features and capabilities may require some practice and experimentation. Achieving the perfect grind size, dose, and extraction time can take time to perfect, especially for those new to espresso making. The frothing of the milk also takes a few cups to master. And coffee art is not something I've been able to master yet.
Price Point - the Breville Barista Express is not cheap. While it's certainly an investment, it may not be within everyone's budget. However, considering its exceptional build quality, performance, and longevity, many coffee enthusiasts will find that the benefits far outweigh the initial cost.
Cleaning - Unlike nespresso machines, these require to be cleaned after every use. You will need to rinse out the milk frother, the coffee grinder and drip tray at the bottom.
Conclusion: In conclusion, the Breville Barista Express Espresso Machine is a standout performer in the world of home coffee brewing. With its exceptional espresso quality, customization options, built-in grinder, and user-friendly interface, it's a must-have for anyone serious about their coffee. While the learning curve and price point may be deterrents for some, the unparalleled taste and experience it delivers make it well worth the investment for true coffee lovers.
Overall Rating: 4/5
It will take a few shots to achieve greatness! – I received this coffee machine for Christmas, what a great present that keeps on giving! I am not a barista, but I worked in hospitality for years so the art of making coffee is still alive. This machine is the closest to a professional machine I have ever had the pleasure to use. You can set everything to your liking, from the size of your grind,… Read more
to the temperature of your extraction. For some fonctions, it is easy to set up, you use a wheel to size your grind, you turn the non to select the amount of grind you want. The other one you will have to pull the manual out because it’s not so straightforward. It’s not complicated but you need the instructions. You will have to adjust some settings a few times to get what you want because it’s a trial and error system, nothing is automatic it’s all done by you changing something to achieve your preferred result. If you use to put a pod in a machine and tada! Coffee greatness appears, you will have a few surprises! It took me about 250g of beans to finalize my coffee and have it the way I want it. I mainly had to adjust the grind to get there but also the quantity in the basket. It comes with all the tools you need, the 2lt water tank is great but you can only use 1.7lt because it doesn’t use the last 250ml in the tank. It has paid itself off because my wife now only drinks coffee from home, she doesn’t buy hers anymore I make it at home, also we are not buying pods anymore. I love the fact that I can buy the coffee I want, where I want. I prefer light roast as I drink my coffee black, I never get espresso or long black from baristas because the roast is way too strong, as it is roasted for adding milk to it, making it unpleasant if you have it black. You will never have a bad coffee with this machine it will constantly provide you with what you asked, for some it will be a challenge to get there, but if you know a little about coffee then it shouldn’t be too hard to set up. The cleaning process is simple, get the product you need as they only provide you with a couple of samples, and read the manual, follow the instructions and it’s done. You will have indication when to clean your machine, don’t delay it, it is important for the life of your machine. Coffee buildup is the main cause of failure in every machine even professional ones, it won’t affect the quality of your coffee if you don’t do it, but you will shorten the life of your investment!
So is the price tag worth the investment, my answer is yes. It is expensive compared to other options but none of them will give you this amount of flexibility. You want barista quality coffee, you can save yourself a lot by investing in this machine, I guarantee you will not regret it, you will save money by not paying $5 a coffee every day because you will have it made at home! No more expensive pods too! And you can buy the coffee beans you want!
worst coffee machine – Would have to say this is the worst machine ever. Ended up taking it two days later. Extraction of coffee was rubbish either it was too much on one side and not enough on the other or simply overflowed with coffee cups and didn't stop automatically. Show details
Great looking machine capable of making a professional tasting coffee! – Great looking machine capable of making a professional tasting coffee! Very well priced and can't fault it! Get the extended warranty on any coffee machine as they do tend to need servicing and wear out due to heat and water. Show details
Find out how Breville The Barista Express Impress BES876 compares to other Semi-Automatic and Manual Coffee Machines
Know better, choose better.
We went back to the basic Barista Express – Our old Barista Express made a great coffee, well it actually pulled 1000’s of great shots but after 7 years a flow valve and a few other pieces I replaced I thought why not upgrade. We purchased the Barista Express Impress and whilst asthetically it’s a great looking machine the tamp feature is mediocre at best. I’ve used good beans,great beans… Read more
and there is something about the auto tamp that just does not do the machine justice in terms of pulling a great shot with a good crema on top.
I got that frustrsted as I used to tamp with our old machine manually and the pressure would be spot on and pull a beautiful shot of coffee. No water on top of the coffee puck either just a great shot everytime and nice firm puck when you knocked it out of the group.
I used the auto tamp on a very good bean and pulled a shot and it came out watery so I thought I’ll just grind the coffee and tamp the old way and I got a better coffee doing it the old way.
Another issue is that there is always grinds falling out of the auto tamp mechanism all over the bench or on to the grate. The Barista Express was a very tidy machine that didn’t create a lot of mess.
This is not the only drawback we had, The grinder decided to sh@t itself after only 6 months so off to a Breville repair centre and had it fixed. 2 weeks later we get our machine back.
Do yourself a favour and buy the Breville Barista Express not this over rated gimmick featured machine. It’s a good selling point but not practical if you like a good coffee.
Beautifully Easy Professional Looking Machine – The Breville Barista Express Impress. Certainly lives up to its name. From the very first coffee its impressed us beyond our dreams. Having always bought Breville, we knew that we were getting a great product at a great price point. Never having had a coffee machine with inbuilt grinder and assisted tamper was a bit of a concern. But needn't have… Read more
worried at all. The puck system is a coffee lovers dream assistant. Perfectly grounded beans, with 25 grind settings. Making any brand of bean easy to brew. The assisted tamping really is my favorite feature, no more mess all over the counter top. The dose is perfect,I find doing a 2nd tamp makes it better and neater. Honestly you'll adore this feature. You can easily switch from auto to manual if you have pre -grounded beans. A large 2 L water tank is a nice feature, push button for 1 shot or 2 shots of coffee. I bought the black truffle because I was tired of stainless steel and since we also recently bought a new fridge and microwave both black wanted it to match. The only negative is that you have to be careful not to scratch the black when doing the cleaning. So always use a soft cloth. I give this coffee machine 10/10, without doubt my favorite appliance. Plus Breville have videos so its super easy to watch them before first use. And customer service has always been very good for us they are only too happy to help. It's such a pleasure to make that first breakfast coffee now. Love love it!
Best upgrade from a pod machine! – We were using a Nespresso pod machine and wanted to upgrade our coffee game without overcomplicating it. I was a little skeptical about this machine, having never used anything other than pods, but was blown away by not only how good the coffee is but also how easy it is to clean! The autotamping function especially takes away the need for… Read more
coffee grinds to spread across every kitchen surface.
It took us a few days to work out the grind size that gives us the best extraction, but we have now nailed it and the grind setting can stay where it is.
We love everything about this machine, and cannot fault it. We have bragged about it so much that some of our friends and family have gone on to purchase (and loved it just as much)!
- +1
I'm impressed – Breville Barista Express Impress I've had my coffee machine for two weeks and made about thirty coffees. The first beans were from Woolworths on sale, Lavazza Crema E Gusta Classico, which were strong and tasty. The Breville made a mug of strong coffee using the two-shot filter basket, and I topped it up with frothed milk. The intelligent dosing… Read more
and tamping is superb, so easy and without any mess. Previously I had a SMEG coffee machine and used a tamping Mat and tamper, I had spilt coffee grounds around the Sunbeam grinder and around the tamping mat, and I used an extra jug to purge the steaming wand. The Breville is a lot tidier and easier and makes better coffee. My SMEG was quite good, but with the Sunbeam grinder, I ended up with a bland coffee using old beans. I passed my three and half-year-old SMEG and Sunbeam to my Nephew in perfect working condition. I've saved half my coffee beans for my Nephew. The Breville is quicker, makes better coffee, and is easier to clean, the steaming wand is purged straight into the cleaning tray, and you have a helpful pressure gauge and intelligent dosing. I wasted about seven cups of coffee getting my grind size right; I set the inner coffee grinder to four and the outside thumb wheel to six. Again when I bought my Aldi medium coffee beans, I wasted a few cups; and with them, it was much easier to get my pressure reading right, but I then had to achieve my eight-second preinfusion and twenty-five to thirty-second shot times. The Aldi coffee beans are quite good, and you get the impression that they are only a couple of weeks old, just right for brewing. Cheap as chips! So far, I'm really pleased with my Breville. I tried with the one-shot filter basket and a smaller 280-millilitre coffee cup, but I prefer using the two-shot basket and a 12 oz, 340-millilitre coffee mug; the coffee tastes better. I have only made flat whites. I find the coffee temperature consistently Ok.
Amazing coffee, easy to use – After much, research and deliberation ,I purchased this great coffee machine a week or so ago, I was realistic about what I needed as we only drink 1 type of coffee, a flat white, so all the options with fancy photos from other machines are irrelevant to me, i just want a good coffee , a machine that's easy to use that i can have a bit of control… Read more
if i want to. The set up was simple and from the first coffee I made it's been fantastic.simple to use tamping handle that helps you to get it perfect., no mess, Perfect crema, velvety milk omg the best coffee , would highly recommend to anyone. Update!!! 2 years later, still working beautifully.
Great looking machine....DISAPPOINTING! – Went to Harvey Norman Waun Ponds to buy a Breville Bambino Plus and Breville Grinder pro. Seemed like a good combo. Saw the Barrister Express Impress in white and thought what a great looking machine. Having seen the barister express has great reviews and this was supposed to be an updated machine, I decided to purchase it. What a mistake. Took… Read more
it home, set it up, made 1 coffee and then couldn't get it to make another. Seemed to have had an air lock. Rang Harvey Norman, they tried to help me fix problem but didn't work. So I was told to box up machine and come in to swap out new 1.
Took 2nd machine home set up, made a few coffees. Machine goes into stand by mode after 1 hour and then turns off after 3 hours. Went to turn machine on and water started pouring out of purge drain in tray. Couldn't stop it. Had to turn machine off at wall numerous times to stop water pouring out.
Thought I did something wrong so let machine turn itself off. Turned machine on again and same problem. Rang Harvey Norman up and told to box up machine again and bring back.
I have reached out to numerous forums and seems this is a common problem with this model.
I would avoid purchasing this product.
Also Harvey Norman and Breville both have zero f.....ks so I am reluctant to buy from Harvey Norman or a Breville product agains.
Prices
Breville Barista Express Impress Coffee Machine Sea Salt BES876SST4IAN1 - FREE Delivery & Price Match*
$790- $794
- $798
Breville the Barista Express Impress Stainless Steel. BES876BSS
$845- $845
- $849
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Now the steam wand works intermittently. Last Breville purchase ever