Breville - Barista Touch Impress (BES881)

I had a superautomatic. (Note past tense.) What I loved: push-button ease of brewing many different drinks. Easy enough for everyone in my family. What I didn't love: Drinks were at best "okay." Guests (like my parents, inlaws) were still, for whatever reason, apprehensive about/scared to use it. Clean up and maintenance just sucked. Lots of crevices and nooks on the inside that needed q-tips to reach; the inside stayed moist from the evaporating pucks and was prone to mildew/mold; 100% plastic, everywhere, except maybe a metal screen in the brew unit -- some of the plastics exposed to high temps were developing microfissures on the surface that I was worried would lead to failure in the future. We switched to a Barista Touch Impress. Very slight learning curve for the non-coffee nerds in the house, but the guidance system and automations are good enough that everyone can use it. Guests definitely don't touch it though, we're making all the coffee for them. Since it's *just an espresso machine* it's your standard drip tray cleaning, group flushing, and periodic descale. But the big win is that the drink quality is simply a level above superautomatics and now we can only beat what we make at home in a few specialty coffee shops. For less budget, the Ninja Luxe with the tamper (if you can swing it) would be an even better value. I'd take that over any superauto, any day. Just for completeness though, even though it's probably not a fit - if you didn't want an "all in one" type system but still wanted to maximize ease of workflow, I'd consider a Sette 270Wi (grind by weight) - $600 new (although they are easy to fix, great parts supply, so used is an option), alongside a less pricey machine. The Casabrews 5418 Pro is $200 and has fast heatup like the Bambino. However, you'd have to step up to the Bambino+ ($500) to get auto-milk, if you have family members that won't learn how to froth.

Buy a Sage touch impress. 3mins with heating up for 98% of what 100% manual labor can do. For me the perfect Cappuccino every morning and during work breaks. I love that thing so much.

What I like about the Touch Impress is that it will tell you whether or not youre too fine or too coarse on the grind based on the time it took to pull the shot. Super convenient. Also you can save those settings and name so that it appears on the touch screen. One last thing the built in tamp reads the amount of ground and the compaction all on its own.

Breville/Sage Barista Express hands down. Lets you tinker a bit, which can prepare you for the “big leagues” if that’s your goal. Otherwise they produce consistent, amazing results, are built like tanks and I consider them a great investment. I bought my first Barista Express for $500 new, prices went up over the years and I sold it 6 years later for $500. Literally had a free espresso machine for 6 years. I moved into the super automatic world for 2 years and couldn’t stand it. Sub-par quality or just “meh” results, and these machines were 4x the price of the Breville. I’m back to Breville again with the Touch Impress. I’ve had it for 3 years already and again, same quality, amazing coffee. And I’ll sell it in a few years for likely around what I paid for it. Next move is to the big leagues with a La Marzocco Linea Mini R! Good luck and most importantly, enjoy the journey!

I ended up getting a Breville Impress Touch simply because I got tired of making lattes for everyone. Now they have a relatively easy machine to work with. 🥲 I still mourn for the other machines I could have bought for that price. (And for my little Gaggia gathering dust in the closet because I simply have no more counter space)! 😭

This. Nespresso Breville touch Impress. Been a solid machine over a year and two shots a day. Not a hiccup.

It will definitely be a better machine. With that budget, maybe look into the Barista Touch Impress. It would be a bit more work, but the machine will guide you (you need to pull down the lever and move the portifilter from one place to another). Will make much better coffee. Avoid getting a Sage Oracle, they still have the old worse built-in grinder.

The Touch Impress has an automatic milk frother. You fill the pitcher between the min and max lines, place it under steam wand, and it will stop when ready. I have that for my Bambino Plus and it works well.

I like the Breville touch impress. Consistent easy repeatable results with my own beans. But I wish I had the oracle jet. Slightly nicer.

Loads of comments and answers. I will give my 2 cents too. Main point is the time involvement to make the espresso in the morning. Is it worth it for YOU? If it's worth it for you, the 500 bucks cost will never be an issue. (There's a rabbit hole later on "did I spend too little? Can I do this EVEN BETTER? - and even later - "Am I missing out if I don't upgrade my grinder/portafilter/espresso machine etc?" But that's another topic). What I'm getting at is the money is not your issue but stick to budgets you consider objectively disposable for your income as upgraditis is a real thing and can get wild. So time... What's your routine in the morning? How much time you have to spare to make a cup of coffee will dictate the machine you buy. A machine like Breville Barista Impress will get you amazing coffee in under 5mins from switching it on and that includes grinding your beans fresh on the spot. Another 2mins of cleanup afterwards and done. Other machines will need upwards of 10-15mins to warm up but you can start making some cereal by the time it needs to warm up, or setup a timer plug for it to startup at a set time to be ready and reduce waiting time. Your time is something I can't put a value on and the person who uses it in the house also matters so their time as well. For example a machine that will make you latte/capuccino/flat white milk on its own vs you and your partner learning how to properly steam milk. If you live alone or your partner doesn't drink coffee then the choice is easier. My mrs was professionally trained to make coffee but will ALWAYS use to auto function as she is that cartoon on all the t-shirts that wakes up ready to use the nuclear missile unless she has coffee first. And she's always in a hurry as she loves snoozing but is NEVER late for work. I've bought 20gr phials so I can have her doses ready and sealed to be ground fresh since I forbade her from filling up the grinder hopper plus she was complaining I was making her tastier coffee (my coffee puck prep and milk is pretty good so does make a difference compared to a 5'5" brunette zombie fumbling their way to the portafilter hehehe) So downsides: mainly you the user (not you personally). Making a mess because you didn't pay attention and spilled your ground coffee everywhere or tamped it out on the side and the used puck is now in little clumps and crumbs of coffee everywhere on your little corner of the counter top whereas the Nespresso you might get some coffee dripping out of the catchcan at most. You not doing your puck prep right and not getting the right shot. That's something you learn relatively quickly by trying but new roasted beans from different roaster has the try-fail-try-succed journey a lot. Did I mention upgraditis? Oof... The last part you have to think is this, loads of friends of mine that CAN tell the difference between Nespresso and freshly ground coffee, don't care enough. When they want a decent espresso they pay the money to get one in a coffee shop and at home they have a Nespresso machine or instant coffee. If you ask me "Hey bud, would you ever go back to NOT having a proper espresso machine?" The answer would be a a hard "Nope." I have worked in coffee shops and restaurants that make great and shit coffee for around 25 years, I was NEVER a fun of instant to begin with despite where I'm from if you drink coffee you drink instant at some point. My journey went from Ice Chocolate to Iced Espresso and any attempt to try instant was a down the drain (pun intended). As for Nespresso, I will drink it if it's the only option or I'm offered at someone's house and smile for two reasons. One: they offered of course. Two: they made an effort to give me something they think I would appreciate, no matter how bad the pod they chose is, they wanted to please me so I will always smile and happily drink their intentions and love it. Despite me cringing downing a bad nespresso dark roast pod juice. Don't take this as a negative or attempt to dissuade you from getting a proper coffee machine, take it as food for thought on what machine to buy. Something like a Gaggia that is "barebones" in the sense you learn and do everything manually? Takes a few weeks and then you're off to the races. I recommend this if all you care about is espresso and Americans drinks and down the line you might wanna try learning some latte art and steaming milk properly in general. Something like the Breville Barista Touch Impress that kinda does everything for you but still maintaining the manual feel and of course the taste of the espresso? I recommend this if you and anyone in the house want milk based drinks. Day one you absolutely amazing lattes and capuccinos and no more of a learning curve than going though a menu to choose a preset drink and place portafilter in grinder and then group head. I've gone for the latter in order to suit my situation. Upgraditis is strong and have used Pavlovian techniques to get my Mrs excited about a more expensive machine like the La Marzocco Linea Mini R down the line when we can afford it comfortably but as I said, different topic. There's no real wrong choice, only what you find convenient and of course worthy to spend money for.

Loads of comments and answers. I will give my 2 cents too. Main point is the time involvement to make the espresso in the morning. Is it worth it for YOU? If it's worth it for you, the 500 bucks cost will never be an issue. (There's a rabbit hole later on "did I spend too little? Can I do this EVEN BETTER? - and even later - "Am I missing out if I don't upgrade my grinder/portafilter/espresso machine etc?" But that's another topic). What I'm getting at is the money is not your issue but stick to budgets you consider objectively disposable for your income as upgraditis is a real thing and can get wild. So time... What's your routine in the morning? How much time you have to spare to make a cup of coffee will dictate the machine you buy. A machine like Breville Barista Impress will get you amazing coffee in under 5mins from switching it on and that includes grinding your beans fresh on the spot. Another 2mins of cleanup afterwards and done. Other machines will need upwards of 10-15mins to warm up but you can start making some cereal by the time it needs to warm up, or setup a timer plug for it to startup at a set time to be ready and reduce waiting time. Your time is something I can't put a value on and the person who uses it in the house also matters so their time as well. For example a machine that will make you latte/capuccino/flat white milk on its own vs you and your partner learning how to properly steam milk. If you live alone or your partner doesn't drink coffee then the choice is easier. My mrs was professionally trained to make coffee but will ALWAYS use to auto function as she is that cartoon on all the t-shirts that wakes up ready to use the nuclear missile unless she has coffee first. And she's always in a hurry as she loves snoozing but is NEVER late for work. I've bought 20gr phials so I can have her doses ready and sealed to be ground fresh since I forbade her from filling up the grinder hopper plus she was complaining I was making her tastier coffee (my coffee puck prep and milk is pretty good so does make a difference compared to a 5'5" brunette zombie fumbling their way to the portafilter hehehe) So downsides: mainly you the user (not you personally). Making a mess because you didn't pay attention and spilled your ground coffee everywhere or tamped it out on the side and the used puck is now in little clumps and crumbs of coffee everywhere on your little corner of the counter top whereas the Nespresso you might get some coffee dripping out of the catchcan at most. You not doing your puck prep right and not getting the right shot. That's something you learn relatively quickly by trying but new roasted beans from different roaster has the try-fail-try-succed journey a lot. Did I mention upgraditis? Oof... The last part you have to think is this, loads of friends of mine that CAN tell the difference between Nespresso and freshly ground coffee, don't care enough. When they want a decent espresso they pay the money to get one in a coffee shop and at home they have a Nespresso machine or instant coffee. If you ask me "Hey bud, would you ever go back to NOT having a proper espresso machine?" The answer would be a a hard "Nope." I have worked in coffee shops and restaurants that make great and shit coffee for around 25 years, I was NEVER a fun of instant to begin with despite where I'm from if you drink coffee you drink instant at some point. My journey went from Ice Chocolate to Iced Espresso and any attempt to try instant was a down the drain (pun intended). As for Nespresso, I will drink it if it's the only option or I'm offered at someone's house and smile for two reasons. One: they offered of course. Two: they made an effort to give me something they think I would appreciate, no matter how bad the pod they chose is, they wanted to please me so I will always smile and happily drink their intentions and love it. Despite me cringing downing a bad nespresso dark roast pod juice. Don't take this as a negative or attempt to dissuade you from getting a proper coffee machine, take it as food for thought on what machine to buy. Something like a Gaggia that is "barebones" in the sense you learn and do everything manually? Takes a few weeks and then you're off to the races. I recommend this if all you care about is espresso and Americans drinks and down the line you might wanna try learning some latte art and steaming milk properly in general. Something like the Breville Barista Touch Impress that kinda does everything for you but still maintaining the manual feel and of course the taste of the espresso? I recommend this if you and anyone in the house want milk based drinks. Day one you absolutely amazing lattes and capuccinos and no more of a learning curve than going though a menu to choose a preset drink and place portafilter in grinder and then group head. I've gone for the latter in order to suit my situation. Upgraditis is strong and have used Pavlovian techniques to get my Mrs excited about a more expensive machine like the La Marzocco Linea Mini R down the line when we can afford it comfortably but as I said, different topic. There's no real wrong choice, only what you find convenient and of course worthy to spend money for.

Short answer: Quality. Long answer: You need to try it out yourself. I went to my local Williams Sonoma and tried out the Philips Lattego, Delonghi Dinamica plus and Jura Z10. And also the Breville impress touch semiauto. I was pretty sure I would get the Delonghi. But after we tried the Jura, it really was no match. The Breville Semiauto and Jura Z10 were the same quality, others just tasted vastly inferior. So I’d recommend calling a local williams Sonoma, asking if they do demos and if they have the 3-4 machines you’re interested in trying and try them out.