Breville is one of the best known and most respected coffee machine brands. Its espresso machines, in particular, are excellent, with both low- and high-cost options that are perfect for espresso masters and total beginners alike. For the latter, though, two machines stand above the rest of Breville’s models: the Barista Touch Impress and Barista Express Impress espresso machines.
Both are packed with features that can help anyone who loves espresso easily make their favorite drinks. For beginners, however, the Touch Impress is the better choice, while the Express Impress is the better one for those espresso lovers who fall between novice and expert.
The main difference between the Barista Touch Impress and Express Impress is that the Touch Impress has a touch screen, which changes the drink-making experience. The Touch Impress is particularly good for beginners because the screen guides the user through the espresso-making process, including the hardest part: dialing in the grind size of the beans. Using the screen’s guidance cut our prep time during testing down to about 15 minutes, compared to an hour or more for machines that had no such help. We did find that the touch screen had some lag in following through on our commands, though, and it could sometimes take a second tap to get our input recognized.
You can do everything with the Express Impress that you can do with the Touch Impress, but you must do almost all of it manually rather than have the machine do it automatically.
These machines are essentially the same other than the touch screen on the Touch Impress and the more traditional controls on the Express Impress. Both machines have an automated grinder that measures out a dose for you and a built-in tamping lever that replaces the need for a traditional tamper. We can’t say enough how much we appreciated this tamping lever, as it led to much less mess compared to traditional tamping. It also doesn’t hurt that the lever was much easier on our arms compared to tamping and twisting the traditional way.
Let’s take a closer look at the best features on these machines.
Automated grinder: Both machines have a built-in grinder, though the Touch Impress's is larger (12 ounces) than the Express Impress's (9 ounces). The grinders automatically grind and dispense the correct amount of grounds into the portafilter, resulting in less mess and waste. We appreciated that we could still tweak the ground settings easily enough, so it never felt like it was outside our control.
Built-in tamper: Instead of using a separate tamper to compress the coffee grounds, both of these machines have a built-in tamper connected to the grinder. Just pull the lever down gently, usually twice, for the right amount of tamping.
Milk wand: It wouldn’t be a good espresso machine without a milk wand. The Touch Impress’s milk wand has less range of motion since milk frothing is automated (a process it brands as “AutoMilQ”), though you can still do it manually if you prefer. The Express Impress’s wand has extra motion range so you can get better angles on your milk, making it much easier to manually control the foam’s texture and quantity to your preference.
Included accessories: Both machines come with the same accessories, including several portafilter inserts, such as one for single and one for double shots, and a stainless steel milk jug for use with the milk frother.
Breville currently offers a dozen espresso machines in three pricing tiers.
The first tier of seven models of espresso machines all cost less than $1,000. These include the Breville Bambino, the least expensive at $300, and the Breville Barista Express Impress at $900.
The second tier of three models cost between $1,000 and $2,000. These include the Breville Barista Touch Impress at $1,500.
The third tier contains two models that cost more than $2,000: the Breville Oracle at $2,200 and the Breville Oracle Touch at $2,800.
This espresso machine is built to help even novice espresso drinkers create deliciously perfect espresso every time.
Product specifications: Espresso Machine Type: Semiautomatic | Pressure: 15 bar pump, 9 bar extraction | Grinder: Burr | Materials: Stainless steel and plastic | Water Reservoir Capacity: 67.6 oz (2 L)
The Breville Barista Touch Impress was easily our favorite espresso machine for many reasons. It’s larger and includes more features than most espresso machines on the market. Its built-in grinder eliminates the need for a separate coffee grinder, which helps cut down on the mess that grinding coffee beans can make. Because it’s automated, it grinds the right amount of beans for a single or double shot. In addition, it recognizes if it has ground too much or too little and automatically adjusts for the future. All of these settings helped us make some of the best lattes and cappuccinos out of all the machines tested, but most importantly, it made the process almost as easy for us as ordering a drink at a coffee shop and waiting.
Its biggest and best feature is the touch screen. This screen takes care of all of the complicated settings that are usually tweaked with buttons, knobs and levers, making for a much simpler interface. The screen shows you all the steps for whatever drink you want to make, helping you create drinks you’ve never made before without having to experiment with settings. The screen also guides you through the process. For example, if you’re not steaming milk, you won’t see on the screen any options for adjusting the milk in your drink. It’s not perfect though. We found the screen had a consistent lag to it, often being a little stuttery as it would load into whatever screen would be next to make our drink.
This more affordable machine is similar to the Touch Impress, but it isn’t as beginner-friendly and doesn’t have a touch screen.
Product specifications: Espresso Machine Type: Semiautomatic | Pressure: 15 bar pump, 9 bar extraction | Grinder: Burr | Materials: Stainless steel and plastic | Water Reservoir Capacity: 67.6 oz (2 L)
The Breville Barista Express Impress is, in essence, a Touch Impress without the touch screen or automation. It shares many of the same helpful features, such as automated grinding with a built-in grinder, but it requires more skill and knowledge to use all of its features.
The lack of a touch screen means you have to adjust all the settings with knobs, buttons and lever. This can be a bit confusing for beginners, but experienced espresso makers might prefer to have quick and easy access to all the settings to fine-tune their drinks to their taste.
At the end of the day, both the Touch Impress and Express Impress are fantastic espresso machines. However, the Touch Impress has an edge over the Express Impress, for beginners especially, because of its touch screen and the guided drink-making help. If you already know how to make espresso or you don’t mind learning the ins and outs yourself, the Express Impress delivers the same quality results at a lower cost.
Prices listed reflect time and date of publication and are subject to change.
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