Breville Barista Touch Review (BES880BSS Espresso Machine)

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What takes you to Starbucks- espresso, cappuccino, latte, Americano, or flat white? What about getting a machine that creates any of these milk-based beverages and many more? We are referring to the Breville Barista Touch espresso machine.

This model is among the latest releases by Breville. It’s also one of the most advanced espresso machines in 2020 and our recommendation if you plan to splurge on a high-end coffee machine.

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What exactly makes it the dream machine for most coffee snobs this year? Let’s find out in this Breville Barista Touch review!

Breville Barista Touch is Most Loved By:

• Coffee snobs looking forward to immersing themselves fully into barista-quality milk-based coffee brews at home.
• Anyone willing to spend a pretty penny for one of the best semi-automatic espresso machines in the world.
• Coffee lovers who want to skip Starbucks and still get their daily café treat without compromising on quality.

Breville Barista Touch Technical Specifications

Comes ready to brew 

The Breville BES880BSS Barista Touch comes fully assembled and ready to brew. It also comes with pretty much everything that you’ll need to use and maintain it; 

• 54mm portafilter- with two pressurized and two non-pressurized filter baskets 
• 480ml stainless steel milk pitcher 
• The Razor Precision Dose ground trimming tool 
• Magnetic tamper 
• Cleaning kit

Premium build design and construction materials

For a machine that costs what this model does, you wouldn’t expect any shortcuts as far as the quality of the construction materials is concerned. Luckily, this is one of the areas that Breville products shine. 

A key highlight in this Barista Touch Espresso Maker review is the all-stainless steel brushed jacket used for this machine. Besides adding a timeless touch of style to your kitchen, this metallic construction profile oozes durability and ease of maintenance too. 

CoffeeVerdict review team also appreciates that the built-in grinder is made of stainless steel. Although ceramic grinders have the upper hand in terms of retaining their sharpness, stainless steel mills don’t crack easily when encountering foreign objects among coffee beans. 

In our review, we feel that Breville did justice on this espresso maker’s design. It’s simple and clean and doesn’t look or feel cheapish.

Size- will it fit on your tabletops?

This unit measures 13.25’’ by 12.5’’ by 15.75’’ (height). It’s not the most compact if you were to compare it with other affordable manual espresso machines. However, thanks to its 3-in-1 design, the Breville BES880BSS takes up much less space on your surfaces than a standalone grinder, espresso maker, and manual frother would consume. 

In addition, its height- 15.75’’- means that it will easily slide under most kitchen cabinets that have a standard clearance of at least 18 inches. 

There is one crucial highlight that comes up a lot in most reviews, though: the placement of the water reservoir. Since the 67-ounce water tank is located at the back, you might want to scoot the entire machine on your surface to access it for refills. So, be sure to factor in the additional depth requirement if your kitchen has narrow countertops. 

Breville Barista Touch Review: Key Features 

Intuitive, full-color touch display 

This espresso maker packs a wide array of high-end functions compared to competitors that have the lowest price on Amazon. However, the intuitive, colored, and touch-sensitive control panel is the most reviewed feature. This is a superb addition, especially in an era where most of us are accustomed to touchscreen devices.

This is a swipe-and-select panel that lets you; 

Create 5 different milk-based coffee beverages

Whether you are into espresso, cappuccino, latte, Americano, or flat white, all of these have been programmed for you. You’ll only need to swipe and choose the type of drink that best fits your mood, and the Breville Barista Touch will make just that. The fact that it’s programmed means everything for first-timers who are just switching from café-bought coffee varieties to home-made shots.

Personalize your drink (temperature, froth size, and grind duration)

Programmed beverages eliminate the hassle that comes with brewing a praise-worthy cup of Joe using a manual maker. However, the ability to personalize some key components, especially temperature, froth size, and grind duration, could mean the difference between a regular and an out-of-this-world shot of cappuccino.

The Breville BES880BSS Barista Touch can offer all of these adjustment options. This versatility is actually what makes it one of the best espresso machines that the market can offer in 2020.

Be creative and add 8 custom beverages to your options

Another bonus that gets reviewed a lot is the ability to come up with up to 8 personalized drinks from the available custom beverages. For instance, you could take a latte and tweak the grind time, milk froth level, and temperature to come up with something different and perfect for your taste buds. You can also go ahead and name it as you wish.

Once you’ve saved the new settings, your new beverage type will be added to the options so that you can jump right to it in the future. The ability to create up to 8 personalized drinks makes this model a perfect fit for a household of several milk-based coffee lovers and coffee parties.

Conical Burr Grinder and Portafilter- because freshness matters

The freshness of a shot of Joe calls for 3 things; the best coffee beans, a top-tier grinder, and being able to minimize the time you take between grinding and brewing.

Two features that we have to mention in this Breville Barista Touch review are the included stainless steel burr grinder and a portafilter. A burr grinder is the mill of choice for most baristas thanks to its consistent grind. The ability to adjust the fineness or coarseness of the grounds to suit different brews is a priceless feature too for coffee aficionados.

Importantly, being able to grind directly into a portafilter means that all the essential oils in the coffee beans will end up in your cup before they are oxidized.

Interestingly, and something that we rarely see in machines that have the lowest price on Amazon, the Barista Touch comes with 2 pressurized and 2 non-pressurized filter baskets. The former will offer above-average results even if you are not experienced with the intricacies of espresso brewing. These baskets may allow you to get away with using an inconsistent grind.

On the other hand, non-pressurized single-wall baskets allow you excellent control of your brews. This is the reason most coffee professionals tend to gravitate towards single-wall filters.

Automatic Self-Purging Frother 

An essential feature of the Breville Barista Touch that is regularly mentioned in most reviews on Amazon is the automatic micro-foam frother. What’s so interesting about it is the ability to adjust the foam size as well as the temperature of the frothed milk to your liking.

In addition, the frothing wand will auto-purge after the frothing process to remove all the milk residues inside the tube. It may be a simple feature compared to others in this Breville Barista Touch review. However, it means a lot as you don’t want smelly milk carried forward to your next cup.

Review Verdict

Although it will cost you handsomely, the Breville Barista Touch is hard to beat for a unit that combines a professional burr grinder, pre-programmed café drinks, and an automatic milk frother in a compact footprint. We love that this model is designed with both experienced and first-timers in mind.

For novice coffee enthusiasts, the programmed coffee brews and pressurized filter basket will be a perfect combo. For experienced home baristas, you are free to play around with the adjustable temperature, grind, and froth settings for personalized and customized shots. 

Breville Barista Touch FAQ