Breville Barista Express - Brushed Stainless

The Breville Barista Express is a grinder and an espresso machine in one, with 16 grind settings, a 54 mm portafilter and a manual steam wand. It grinds fresh straight into the basket, then hands the rest to you: the tamp, the shot and the milk.

This is the machine most home baristas start on, because it puts every step in front of you without asking you to buy the steps separately. Beans go in the hopper, the grinder doses into the portafilter, you tamp with the tamper built into the machine, and a pressure gauge shows you what the shot is doing. Get a variable wrong and you can see it. Get it right and you can repeat it.

Highlights

• Integrated conical burr grinder with 16 settings and automatic dose control, grinding straight into the portafilter
• 54 mm stainless portafilter with an 18 gram dose, with single and dual wall baskets, a dosing funnel and the Razor trimming tool for levelling the dose before you tamp
• Integrated tamper that swings out of the machine, so the tool is always where you need it
• 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 and volumetric shot control
• A dedicated hot water outlet alongside the swivel steam wand, for long blacks, Americanos, tea and pre-heating your cup

Who it's for

• Anyone coming off pods or drip who wants to learn espresso properly rather than press a button
• People who want a grinder and a machine built to work together, without pairing two pieces of equipment themselves
• Households where making the coffee is part of the point, not a chore to be automated away

Three things to be clear about. You tamp the puck yourself, with the built-in tamper, the dosing funnel and the Razor to get the dose level and repeatable. The milk is yours too: a manual wand takes practice before microfoam comes out silky, which is exactly why some people want it. 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 handled the tamp or 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 cleaning light tells you when a cleaning cycle is due, and the machine prompts a descale. Tablets, descaling powder, the disc and brush and a water filter are all in the box. Fit the filter on day one and descaling stays rare.

FAQs

• Do I need a separate grinder?
  No. A conical burr grinder with 16 settings and automatic dose control is built in and grinds straight into the portafilter. Fresh beans are all you add, and the grinder and machine are already matched.
• Do I have to tamp it myself?
  Yes, and the machine is set up for it. The tamper is built into the body and swings out when you need it, and the dosing funnel plus the Razor let you level the dose before you tamp, which is the step that usually goes wrong.
• Do I have to steam the milk myself?
  Yes. This is a manual steam wand on a 360 degree swivel, not an automatic one. With practice it produces real microfoam, the silky kind latte art is poured from. 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. It is also the fastest way to pre-heat a cup before a shot.
• What does the pressure gauge tell me?
  It shows extraction pressure as the shot runs, so you can see whether it is pouring fast or choking and change the grind accordingly. It turns dialling in from guesswork into something repeatable.
• 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: Semi-automatic espresso machine with integrated grinder, manual tamping
• Grinder: Integrated conical burr, 16 grind settings, automatic dose control
• 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
• Shot control: Volumetric, 1 shot, 2 shot or manual
• Milk system: Manual 360 degree swivel steam wand
• Hot water: Dedicated hot water outlet
• Display: Pressure gauge and status lights
• Water tank: 2 L, removable
• Bean hopper: 250 g
• Dimensions (W × D × H): 31.8 × 35.1 × 40.4 cm
• In the box: 54 mm portafilter, single and dual wall 1-cup and 2-cup baskets, dosing funnel, Razor dose trimming tool, coffee scoop, integrated tamper, 480 ml stainless steel milk jug, water filter and holder, cleaning tablets, descaling powder, cleaning disc, cleaning brush, Allen key

Why buy from Coffee Warehouse?

• Two Ontario showrooms, Markham and Richmond Hill, where we will pull a shot on it and walk you through the grind, dose and tamp, 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