Breville Bes870xl Barista Express Espresso Machine - Review

Breville BES870XL Barista Express Espresso Machine - My Personal Recommendation

The difference is clear: espresso made from beans ground one minute ago (left) produces crema that is noticeably more rich and thick than espresso made from beans ground ten days ago (right). The verdict? Fresh beans are always preferable.

Included dual wall filters provide excellent practice for budding baristas

Included single wall filters provide a more challenging experience for those who have already mastered the art of espresso

Convenient hidden storage compartment for the filters and included cleaning kit.

Hands-free filling for the portafilter directly from the integrated burr grinder

Fresh is Best

In the world of coffee, freshness can be measured in seconds. By the time even five minutes has passed, ground beans have started to lose their flavor. Grinding beans every time you want fresh espresso takes time, though, and oftentimes it becomes a tradeoff between taste and convenience. The Breville Barista Express solves this problem, delivering fresh, quality espresso at remarkable speed, thanks to its integrated burr grinder. Go from beans to espresso in under a minute—all in the comfort of your own home.

Café quality espresso in your home

Espresso making is notorious for being both an art and a science, requiring you to carefully adjust each of the inputs (grind size, grind amount, etc.). But even complete beginners and aspiring baristas can pull a perfect shot from the Breville Barista Express. For beginners, it comes with two dual-wall, pressurized filters that regulate pressure and help optimize the extraction. For more experienced baristas, the Barista Express includes two single-wall, non-pressurized filters that give you more room to experiment with different grind sizes, grind amounts, and tamping pressure. As either a crash-course or a continuation study, the Barista Express gives you free rein to explore the art of espresso.

In addition to its integrated burr grinder, the Breville Barista Express has an Italian-manufactured 15 bar pump and thermocoil heating system that ensures accurate regulation of water temperature for a full-flavored espresso. A pre-brew function and flat shower head make sure that the water is optimally distributed through the coffee puck. The Barista Express also has several helpful features, such as a cup warmer on the top of the machine and a feature that removes excess water from the filter basket after coffee extraction, so the used grounds form a dry puck for quicker cleanup. Lastly, it has a stainless steel 360 degree swivel-action steam wand for lattes and cappuccinos.

For beginners and aspiring baristas alike, the Barista Express makes good espresso accessible and easy to make.

Designed with the consumer in mind

The Breville Barista Express is built from high-quality materials so the resulting machine is as sturdy as possible. No-slip feet keep the machine from sliding across the counter when the burr grinder is activated. The Barista Express is housed in a sleek stainless steel casing, making it an attractive and timeless addition to any kitchen. The entire unit is easy to clean and comes with a hideaway storage compartment for the included cleaning tools, in addition to an easily removable drip tray.

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Product Features

1. Integrated conical burr grinder and half-pound bean hopper: stainless steel conical burrs optimize extraction of flavor from the bean by maximizing the surface area of the grinds. Use freshly ground beans for every shot for more full espresso flavor. Hopper has locking system for easy removal, storage and transfer of coffee beans.
2. Grind size and grind amount selector dials: choose among grind settings from fine to coarse and adjust the amount of freshly ground espresso dosed into the filter basket.
3. Filter size button: indicate whether you are using a single- or double-wall filter basket and the grinder will dispense the required amount of ground coffee for the appropriate filter type.
4. 54mm tamper: for expert tamping control. With magnetized storage, but removable for easy tamping.
5. Hands-free grinding cradle: push portafilter into cradle and freshly ground espresso will be dispensed directly into the filter. Grinder automatically stops when the indicated amount has been dispensed.
6. 54mm stainless steel portafilter: with commercial style spouts.
7. 67 fl. oz. removable water tank: top-fill tank with replaceable water filter to reduce impurities and scale.
8. Volumetric control: preset 1 and 2 cup volumes, manual over-ride, or reprogrammable shot volumes.
9. Espresso pressure gauge: monitors espresso extraction pressure.
10. Thermocoil heating system: integrated stainless steel water coil accurately controls water temperature.
11. Clean me light: indicates when a cleaning cycle is required. Cleaning kit included.
12. 360-degree swivel action steam wand: for effortless milk texturing.
13. Auto purge function: automatically adjusts water temperature after steam for optimal espresso extraction temperature.
14. Removable drip tray: partitioned for both wet and dry spills, with 'Empty me!' indicator for when it’s full.

Reviews of Breville Bes870xl Barista Express Espresso Machine

Very good value for the money
Rating by : Andrew,

I have not written reviews before, but I have been a coffee, capucchino drinkers for years. Although I don't claim to be an expert in any sense of the word, I think that I am knowledgeable about making a good espresso and cappuchino. I read the 4 reviews that were posted on this machine prior to writing my own review, and I felt this machine deserved my review as well. Although this machine is not perfect and does require some trial and error over days/weeks, I think that it does a great job for the price and is well worth the investment!!!!!

I have had my machine for over a month now. I make 3-6 capuchino's a day for my wife and I. Compared to the Starbuck's espresso/capuchino barista machine we bought years ago, this machine is wonderful. We were inspired to buy it when we were in Puerto Rico and had a latte/capuchino at the airport with Latte art. Not only did we enjoy the art work, we realized how poor our old espresso/capuchino machine was.

Appearance

Although appearance and looks aren't everything - lol -, it is important. I personally think that this machine is gorgeous and looks great on my kitchen countertop. I love the stainless steel. I love the way it is laid out. I love the way the tamper is held. I love the way it looks when you turn it on and the lighting that it has. Everything is easy to access. If you need to put in water and its under a counter top, you just pull the machine out so you have room to refill it or turn it sidewise. I have absolutely no complaints about the layout of the machine. I think the design is fabulous.

Burr Grinder

On the good side, I must say that it is fabulous having a grinder on the machine that directly feeds grinds into the container that you make your espresso in. It makes making an excellent espresso so easy. The espresso/coffee also really does taste soooo much better when you are grinding beans immediately before you use them versus having them ground for days or weeks ahead of time. It is also sooo convenient not have a separate grinder, and it is such a nice system to have. I went into a local Starbuck's the other day, and they had a very similiar layout on the machine with the coffee beans in a conical plastic holder above the machine feeding into the grinder just like the Breville machine.

Personally, I cannot comment on the burr grinder and how well it does because I am not that knowledgeable. The grinds seem consistent and well done, and I have no complaints about the burr grinder's grinding.

On the negative side, I currently have the grinder grinding the minimal amount of coffee possible RYI, there is a range of settings on how much it should grind on the front of the machine. I have my setting on the most minimal coffee to grind, and I have the grind setting on a very fine grind. When the grinder is on its automatic function of grinding, it grinds an amount that slightly over flows the container that the coffee goes in and you lose some coffee. You would think when your grinder is set on the minimal amount of coffee grinds and a fine grind on top of that, it would deliver an amount that would not spill over the side and cause wastage of your coffee. I haven't dared to set the grinding amount at anything more than the minimal amount fearing it would just waste more coffee. The actual amount of ground coffee that is wasted is not much whatsoever, its the principal of automatic settings still wasting coffee grounds that bothers me. For your information, you can always control the amount that is being ground by manually starting and stopping the grinder by pushing the basket in and out, but I like to start the grinding, walk away from the machine, and not have to worry about it grinding slightly more than it should. Of course, once you tamp it down, you will probably have to grind a little bit more in order to have it at the right level so although its a minor inconvenience overall its absolutely great to have fresh ground coffee so easy to grind and put into the holder to brew great fresh espresso.

Making espresso shots

I have to admit, even after a month of using this machine, I still have to play with different factors to make great espresso. One of the things that I really love is the pressure gauge that works when you draw each and every shot. The pressure gauge helps you determine whether you have the right pressure each time you brew a shot to create a great shot. Without the pressure gauge, you would have absolutely no idea the pressures or barr being generated by the machine. Now I can look at every shot and know the pressure and whether it hit the right zone to make the perfect shot.

Generating the right pressure may be tricky at times. The pressure apparently depends on several things such as grind fineness,how much grinds you put in the basket, the bean type and other factors. You just have to play with these features to find the best combination for the perfect shot of espresso. I also think that each type of coffee bean that you use, the amount of time since the bean was roasted, and the age of when that coffee bean was roasted also plays a factor in terms of what grind you use and how much you have to pack or tamper the grinds.

Customer support

I have talked with customer support many times as I try to learn how to create a great espresso and great microfoam for capuchinos and latte art, and I must highly commend Breville for having a technical support line staffed with people really willing to help out. It is a major reason why I kept my machine and will keep it. Any company that cares about their products and their customers satisfaction with their products should model themselves after Brevilles customer service department. They are very friendly. They try to be very helpful, and I think generally they are very knowledgeable. Although at times, you can get frustrated with them because they really tell you that there are so many factors involved including the type of bean you are using, when it was roasted, how it was roasted and a myriad host of other factors. At first when I was in the learning stages, I actually went to whole foods grocery store as they will tell you and tried to buy the coffee that they recommend. Unfortunately, after making a trip there, I can tell you that the coffee they recommend apparently is unique to the California market, and they do not sell that type in any of their stores in Florida. The bottom line though is that I think the customer service department really makes a good effort to understand your needs and to get you to use the machine properly to produce the espresso and microfoam that you are after. Although I ended up not believing everything they told me and rightfully so, I think that most of their advice is very appropriate and helpful.

Microfoam

Microfoam is an art. I have been searching to perfect the technique over the last month, but its not necessarily easy. I think it can depend on the machine. I think that it can depend on the milk you use, and I think that it can depend on your technique and a combination of all these factors. Sometimes, I steam the milk (I usually use 2%) and the taste is absolutely devine, and I can't wait for the next cup. Other times, too much of the milk remains as heated milk rather than turn mostly into microfoam so I still feel that I am learning. Overall, when I do it correctly which is about 80% of the time, I am in heaven with my fresh espresso and microfoam, and the other 20% of the time, it is very good.

Ideally, I wanted to be able to do latte art with this machine. I have tried over and over and over to do it, but to be honest, I just can't get the microfoam or something write like they show you on the video's on youtube. I don't know if its the machine (remembering this is only a $599 machine versus the many many thousands of dollar machines at commercial places) or me, but I haven't been able to make my latte art "hearts" or other things well or consistently.

Overall, I really like this machine makes excellent espresso and microfoam with trial and error initially, and it is well worth the price. Use the customer service provided to help you learn about how to use this machine if you need help. I am sure that this Breville machine is not nearly as good as a commercial machine that cost megabuck or maybe even other models that only cost thousands, but for the asking price, I really don't think you can ask for much better, and I am really glad that I bought it. I hope this review helped.

PS The rating for this Breville machine price deserves a 5 star. I gave it a 4 star rating only because it seems that the people buying these machines are very, very particular and want the best even the price is nothing like you would pay for a commercial machine that would give them their ideal coffee.

4.5 stars
Rating by : L C,

I more than "like" this machine so 4 stars isn't adequate but it's not truly 5 star rating.
(previous experience with espresso machines: Delonghi Magnifica & random other non-fully auto machines)

Pros: Makes an excellent (espresso, latte etc). Use good, fresh coffee and you won't be disappointed.
The infusion gauge is really helpful to see where you need to adjust your grind, tamp or coffee amount to get a proper shot.
Love the inclusion of the "pre-infusion" stage as well as the ability to minutely adjust your coffee shot to be the way you want it.
Milk is easy to steam, properly...unlike so many consumer machines on the market.
The wand is much easier to clean than most consumer machines. No dis-assembly required.
Grinder is very nice...easily adjustable to whatever grind you prefer and can grind extremely fine. You don't have to have the machine turned on to adjust it.
The storage space for the tamper is perfectly designed.
It comes with a milk pitcher. A nice bonus
I neglected to mention that it comes with 4 baskets (2 dual wall for pre-ground coffee and 2 single wall) as well as a cleaning kit.
I was also impressed with the sturdy build of the machine. None of the components feel or look flimsy.

Cons: Messy. It makes a great cup but just be prepared for a mess (coffee grounds) every time. Coming from a fully auto machine, the mess is going to take some getting used to...
Water tank in back. This is very inconvenient for kitchens with top cupboards without a lot of space btw the counter and cupboard.

Overall this is the best consumer machine I've used so far. I'm very impressed.

Excellent machine
Rating by : Todor Jelev "Tony Jelev",

I have been espresso double shot drinker for well over 20 years. Growing up in Europe i actually did not know anything else but espresso. After reading many reviews - good and bad i decided to pull the trigger on Breville BES870xl. Few things i have noticed with this machine- using a Lavazza Super Crema beans i can not make the machine to get into the right extraction zone- i am always bellow with the point. However even so the espresso comes little quick than the manufacturer recommendation it has nice thick crema and strong flavor- does not feel under-extracted at all. I would try use at least two other brands to see if the reason is beans or just inaccurate gauge reading. I never pour milk in my espresso as this ruins the flavor of the coffee completely but the steam seems to produce nice micro bubbles in about 90sec. Fine tuning the temperature control before exctraction - +,-4F in 2F increments is great if changing coffee beans often. "Auto Purge" function ensures the ground coffee will not be burnt by the initial water flow from the thermocoil being too hot right after using the steam. That hot water is automatically released into the drip tray after the steaming to ensure optimal temp. for the coffee.
Espresso coming out of that machine is Heaven and takes minimum skills. As this is the newer model of BES860 i was unable to find any information about the well known 860XL problem with water leak which occurs in about a year in most of the reviews that i found. I would love to hear from Breville expert if they take any steps to address that issue. The main competitor in my purchase list was Ranchillio Silva v3, which is proven champion during the years but comes about $500 more expensive- for the new one with installed PID controller $200 and a nice grinder -about $330

UPDATE: 06/11/2013
BES870XL is back at Amazon...Replaced it wit Breville Infuser + Breville Smart Grinder. Build in grinder comes out a complete joke. With new Smart Grinder i have a lot more flexibility and can handle pretty much any beans that i throw in. Thing that you would missed is programable temperature, which is not big deal for me because build in PID plus ne thermocoil deliver consistent results at great temperature.
UPDATE: 06/28/13
Breville Infuser is a good machine but Smart Grinder is not capable of grinding fine enough. On finest setting, my Lavazza Super Crema still comes fast, and even the crema looks ok it taste sour and felt under-extracted. At this point i am don experimenting with different Breville combinations and got Ranchilio Silvia V3 with Auber PID and Ranchilio Rocky grinder. It comes more expensive but considering the 3 years warranty(2 from factory and 1 from retailer) , much better, almost commercial build in quality and a lot more capable Grinder it is justifying the cost. If you are not straight espresso shooter- Breville Infuser+Smart Grinder could be a good solution.
Forget to mention my Smart Grinder start changing the grind setiings on its own after pressing Start button- it goes all the way to the finest setting regardless of what i've set ...so reliability of this brand is highly questionable for me.
Good luck everyone and let the best Espresso machine win ;))))

An integrated burr grinder and 15 BAR pump make the Breville Barista Express BES870XL a solid choice for perfecting your latte art.

Capture the freshness with beans to espresso in under a minute. Buy the Barista Express with free shipping from the official Breville store!

Energize with espresso in under a minute with this brilliant barista. A clever accent to any countertop, this espresso machine understands the art of coffee with a ...

The difference is clear: espresso made from beans ground one minute ago (left) produces crema that is noticeably more rich and thick than espresso made from beans ...

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