Breville Barista Express Impress - Black Truffle

The Breville Barista Express Impress grinds fresh into the portafilter, then tamps the puck for you at a consistent 22 pounds with a 7 degree finishing twist. You pull a lever, the machine handles the part that usually goes wrong, and the grounds stay inside it rather than across your counter.

Almost every disappointing shot at home comes from the same place: too much coffee or too little, tamped crooked or too soft, and the water channels straight through. The Impress Puck System takes that away. It grinds a measured dose into the basket, the lever applies the same pressure every time, and the machine reads the result and corrects the next dose. The shot and the milk are still yours to run.

Highlights

• Impress Puck System: intelligent dosing, a lever-assisted 22 pound tamp, a 7 degree finishing twist and automatic correction of the next dose
• Integrated conical burr grinder with 25 settings, grinding straight into the portafilter in the cradle
• 54 mm stainless portafilter with an 18 gram dose, with single and dual wall baskets and the Razor trimming tool included
• Low-pressure pre-infusion, then 9 bar extraction from a 15 bar Italian pump, giving the shot an even start and a fuller body
• Thermocoil heating with PID control holding 200 degrees Fahrenheit, plus a front pressure gauge so you can see the extraction rather than guess at it
• A dedicated hot water outlet alongside the steam wand, so Americanos, long blacks and tea are all on the menu

Who it's for

• First espresso machine buyers who want real portafilter coffee without months of learning to feel for a good tamp
• Anyone coming off pods or a drip machine who wants to grind fresh and pull a proper shot
• People who want to learn to texture milk and pour latte art, with the puck already handled

Three things to be clear about. The milk is yours: this is a manual steam wand, so you texture it yourself and it takes practice before it comes out silky. It is a single boiler, so it brews and then steams rather than doing both at once. And like any machine grinding fresh for every shot, it rewards freshly roasted beans bought more often in smaller amounts. If you would rather the machine textured the milk, call us or visit a showroom and we will show you the ones that do.

Living with it

Daily, purge and wipe the steam wand and knock out the puck. Milk is the one job on a machine with a wand that will not wait.

Then periodically, the maintenance light tells you when a cleaning cycle or a descale is due. Tablets, descaling powder, a cleaning disc and brush, a water filter and the wand tool are all in the box. Fit the filter on day one and descaling stays rare.

FAQs

• What does the Impress Puck System actually do?
  It grinds a measured dose into the basket, then you pull the tamp lever and the machine applies a consistent 22 pound tamp finished with a 7 degree twist. It also reads whether the dose was right and corrects the next one. You are still in the loop, you just cannot get the tamp wrong.
• Do I need a separate grinder?
  No. A conical burr grinder with 25 settings is built in and grinds straight into the portafilter in the cradle. Fresh beans are all you add.
• Do I have to steam the milk myself?
  Yes. This is a manual steam wand, not an automatic one. With practice it produces real microfoam, the silky kind latte art is poured from, and plenty of people buy this machine to learn exactly that. If you would rather it was hands-free, ask us about the automatic options.
• Can I make an Americano or a cup of tea?
  Yes. There is a dedicated hot water outlet separate from the steam wand, so hot water goes straight into the cup without passing through the group head.
• Can it brew and steam at the same time?
  No. It has a single heating system, so it brews and then switches to steam. For one or two milk drinks that is barely noticeable. For several back to back, ask us about dual boiler machines.
• Who handles warranty and service in Canada?
  Breville products are covered and serviced directly by Breville Canada, at 1-855-683-3535. We are here for setup, dialling in your first beans and questions about using it, before and after you buy.

Specifications

• Type: Espresso machine with integrated grinder and assisted tamping
• Puck system: Impress, lever-assisted 22 lb tamp, 7 degree twist, automatic dose correction
• Grinder: Integrated conical burr, 25 grind settings, grinds into the portafilter
• Portafilter: 54 mm stainless steel, 18 gram dose
• Extraction: Low-pressure pre-infusion, then 9 bar extraction, 15 bar Italian pump
• Heating system: Thermocoil with PID temperature control, 200 degrees Fahrenheit
• Boiler: Single, so brewing and steaming happen in sequence
• Milk system: Manual steam wand
• Hot water: Dedicated hot water outlet
• Water tank: 2 L, removable
• Bean hopper: 250 g
• Dimensions (W × D × H): 33 × 38 × 42 cm
• In the box: 54 mm portafilter, single and dual wall 1-cup and 2-cup baskets, Razor precision trimming tool, 480 ml stainless steel milk jug, water filter and holder, cleaning tablets, descaling powder, cleaning disc, cleaning brush, steam wand cleaning tool, Allen key

Why buy from Coffee Warehouse?

• Two Ontario showrooms, Markham and Richmond Hill, where we will run the Impress tamp in front of you, plus live virtual demos if you are not nearby
• Help dialling it in, from beans to grind setting, so it performs at home the way it did in the showroom
• Free shipping and financing available
• Toll-free support at 1-888-742-1777, before you buy and long after