Barista Express

Many years with their Barista Express: amazing coffee cheaply, grinder included.

“I've had a Breville Barista Express for many years now and I'm more than content, it makes amazing coffee for super cheap, grinder included.”

Their Barista Express lasted 10 years.

“I had BBE for 10 years until I replaced it this weekend.”

They call their Barista Express a warrior.

“My barista Express is a goddamn warrior”

Their Barista Express is still going strong after twelve years.

“Twelve years and our Breville Barista Express is still going strong.”

Their Barista Express lasted their first 8 years in the hobby and was a great little machine.

“My Barista Express got me through my first 8 years in the hobby, RIP. Such a great little machine.”

8-9 years with their Barista Express and no problems with the built-in grinder, though a separate grinder was a big upgrade.

“I’ve had a BBE for 8-9 years, Sette 270Wi was a huge upgrade for me 2 years ago. Didn’t have any problems with the BBE’s built in”

Their Barista Express needed a costly solenoid repair from Breville.

“that's less than what I paid Breville to fix the solenoid on my Barista Express when I sent it in for repair.”

Their Barista Express makes really good espresso if kept clean and descaled.

“It makes really good espresso you just have to keep it clean and descale regularly.”

Their Barista Express has run perfectly for 10 years of daily shots and gives amazing shots with a good grinder.

“Over 10 years I've pulled 1-3 shots a day and it's STILL running perfectly.”

The built-in grinder on their Barista Express kept breaking.

“We had the barista express with the Baratza grinder for a while - the grinder kept breaking”

Their two Barista Express machines (6 and 11 years old) kept breaking and needed parts sourced.

“Verdict: plastic+pressure+age doesn’t last long.”

Their daily-use Barista Express is 10 years old, but its built-in grinder slowly died from year 7.

“The BE grinder was slowly dying from years 7 through 10”

Their Barista Express is a great machine, but its built-in grinder has big steps, inconsistent dosing and retention.

“I got the Express and it's a great machine. But two months in I already got frustrated by the grinder.”

Their Barista Express worked reliably for about 10 years.

“upgrading from a Breville Barista Express that worked reliably for probably 10 years”

They love their Barista Express and make 3-4 drinks a day, but it is too involved for their wife.

“I have a Breville Barista Express at home, I love it”

Six years with their Barista Express working well, though they need a separate grinder.

“I've been doing well with the breville barista express for 6 years. Works well, but it needs a separate grinder”

They never got close to good coffee from their Barista Express until adding a separate good grinder.

“I used to own a barista express. I never got even close to getting good coffee until i bought a genuinely good grinder”

A barista who owns one, they pull beautiful shots from their Barista Express after resetting the inner burr and adding aftermarket parts.

“Fresh medium roast beans (1-4 weeks old) pull beautiful shots on a 5-6 grind.”

Their Barista Express espresso is bitter, acidic and sour, so they bought a Profitec Go.

“The espresso I’ve had from my Breville barista express is bitter, acidic, sour”

Four or five years of consistently decent extraction from their Barista Express once they learned its grinder.

“i've been using mine for the past 4 or 5 years, and i'm constantly getting decent extraction and no channeling”

Their Barista Express setup is grinder-limited; a J-Ultra hand grinder fixed it on a budget.

“It's frustrating but all those accessories will never make up for the fact that the setup is grinder limited.”

The built-in grinder on their Barista Express broke on light roast after 3 months; they call it cheap plastic.

“Since grinder in my Barista Express exploded from some light roast just after 3 months of ownership”

Five years with their Barista Express: the grinder isn't great but good shots are possible once dialed in.

“I had a barista express for 5 years.”

After a year they found the Barista Express can make good coffee, even light roasts, with extra work for inconsistency.

“you can absolutely make good coffee (even with lighter roasts) with this machine and grinder.”

They never managed real espresso on their Barista Express, even with a better grinder.

“I had this machine many years ago - never was able to make a real espresso.”

They gave up on the Barista Express's built-in grinder quickly and use the machine with a much nicer grinder.

“I pretty quickly gave up on using the built in grinder.”

Their Barista Express worked well enough for lighter roasts with max temperature and a 1:3 ratio, though its grinder suits medium to dark roasts better.

“I had a BBE for years and that worked well enough for lighter roasts that shots were tasty.”

They love their Barista Express, though the steam wand failed after three months and Breville handled the repair on the first call.

“I bought the Breville barista express for $800, and love it, too. The steam wand developed some problems after only three months”

Five years with their Barista Express; its built-in grinder works pretty well.

“Has a built in adjustable grinder that works pretty well. Been using it for 5 years”

A decade of daily shots on their Barista Express with one paid service; the grinder struggled with light roasts. 8/10.

“I give it a 8/10, pretty good imo for the cost and great for a beginner.”

They have repaired their Barista Express twice, a triac failure and then a pump failure, and find it repairable.

“I've repaired the BBE twice (triac failure and then pump failure).”

Very happy with the Barista Express's built-in conical grinder for medium-dark to dark roasts.

“Very happy with both: flats and conical which perform great”

Their Barista Express was great to start on and made tasty coffee for years, but shots were inconsistent until they added a separate grinder; it was easy to clean.

“The barista express was great for starting but I really struggled with inconsistencies in-between shots.”

Replaced their Sage Barista Express, which was terrible for spurting shots, with a Wendougee machine.

“Im shocker how few squirters im getting. My old machine was terrible for it.”

Their second-hand Barista Express lasted six years making about 1.5 L of espresso a week, so after looking at everything under $5,000 they bought another.

“I just bought another Barista Express for $550 after exploring every option under $5,000. The thermocoil is absolutely fine”

Their long-serving Barista Express has started failing.

“My faithful BE is on the blink, and I’m thinking about “what’s next”.”

Had a Barista Express (BES870XL) with no issues and only gave it away when moving.

“Thank you I had the Breville BES870XL Barista Express Espresso Machine No issues with it we ended up giving it away because we were moving”

Owned the regular Barista Express before their Impress and found it excellent once dialled in and reliable with maintenance.

“This is my second one, the prior was the non Impress model but I gifted it to my brother. Excellent machines once you dial them in.”

Their Barista Express heats quickly, but the group and portafilter need about twenty minutes before shots taste right, so they automated warm-up with smart relays.

“My Barista Express heats its thermoblock in a couple of minutes, but the group head and portafilter need twenty minutes before the first shot tastes right.”

Their Sage Barista Express started leaking after six years of use.

“My Sage Barista Express has started leaking after six years, so I’m taking that as my opportunity to upgrade properly.”

On their Barista Express back-to-back shots vary widely even with randomised doses; they blame the thermoblock's temperature consistency.

“In my experience using the barista express which is basically the same thermojet jet up as the bambino I also have the same issue.”

Has used their Barista Express at least daily for seven years without it letting them down, and finds it close to a much pricier setup.

“I absolutely love my Barista Express. I’ve used it at least once a day for the past seven years, and it has never let me down.”

Three-plus years with the Barista Express as their first machine; the built-in grinder isn't good and makes dialling in hard, so a Bambino plus a better grinder might have been wiser.

“The grinder on the breville barista express isn’t that good and it was hard to dial beans even with fresh beans.”

Ran a used Barista Express (BES870) for six years at three cups a day with only a cheap gasket replacement; finds these machines durable and worth the money.

“I purchased a Breville BES870 used in 2018. 3 cups per day for 6 years. No problems except gasket under the brew head, $2.00 and 10 minutes fixed it.”