Breville is an award-winning kitchen appliances brand with a particularly popular range of espresso machines. Breville expertly focuses on skill level, needs, and price point to produce a versatile catalog of offerings to the new, growing, or advanced barista.
Top 5 Breville espresso machines from $500 to $3500 selected for this review:
We have compiled this list of five of Breville’s most popular machines in each skill level and price category to help you find the machine best suited to you.
Ask yourself the following questions before you begin reading through our comparison guide to help you along the way:
- What is my skill level?
- What is my budget?
- What balance of automation and manual features am I looking for?
We have no doubt that one of these Breville models will fit the bill.
Breville Comparison Table: Bambino Plus vs. Barista Express vs. Barista Touch vs. Dual Boiler vs. Oracle Touch
Each of the machines in this Breville lineup uses a pre-infusion brewing technique that offers a nuanced, full bodied shot of espresso, and they all also include a steam wand of some sort. Beyond that, the machines are very different.
Common Features found in these 5 Breville models:
- Heated Top Cup Warmer.
- Filter-compatible Water Tanks.
- Integrated Steam Wand.
- Gorgeous Stainless-Steel Casing.
- Pre-Infusion Brewing.
- Stainless-Steel Milk Jug Accessory.
Which Breville model should you get?
Each machine is for a unique purpose and skill range, so there are less shared features than usual among this lineup. Let’s examine what each machine offers in detail, so you can find your perfect match!
Tip: Virtually all machines featured on our site are new espresso makers. We would occasionally show a renewed model that is in near pristine condition, and has an attractive sale price.
1. Breville BES500BSS Bambino Plus
The Bambino Plus is a perfect choice for espresso newbies looking for their first machine to start to learn the craft more seriously. This entry-level machine is one of the Breville models on our list that doesn’t include an integrated bean grinder, but it does include an excellent automated, hands-free milk frothing solution.
- Item Package Dimension: 17.64L x 16.99W x 10.24H inches
- Item Package Weight - 15.74 Pounds
- Item Package Quantity - 1
- Product Type - COFFEE MAKER
An espresso machine without an integrated grinder won’t be a big deal if you either already have a good coffee grinder. Or you prefer pre-ground coffee or fresh grounds or specialty blends as it is. On the Brightside, even with an external grinder, you’ll still save significant counter space with this compact machine.
Just 7.7 inches wide, 12.2 inches tall, and 14 pounds, the Breville Bambino Plus is the smallest and lightest weight model on this list.
The Bambino Plus is small, but mighty. It has a rounded compact appearance in a stainless-steel casing, but a strong set of features new espresso machine owners want.
The machine heats up in just 3 seconds, it incorporates low pressure pre-infusion at a digitally controlled temperature.
It has a built in automatic micro-foam milk texturing steam wand, and comes with a leveling accessory and stainless-steel milk jug. You can adjust the milk texture and temperature in three levels.
The only drawback on this machine is its portafilter. At 54mm, that’s fine for beginners, but many coffee aficionados hold the opinion that the more difficult to use 58mm portafilter produces the highest quality results.
If you’re just starting out in the espresso making world and have a pension for milk-based drinks, the Breville Bambino Plus is the one for you. At around $500, it offers great value for your money, too.
2. Breville BES870XL Barista Express
The Breville Barista Express is the ideal all-in-one beginner to intermediate setup for at-home baristas.
- Earn up to $200 cashback with a Beanz coffee subscription when you purchase a selected Breville espresso machine....
- The Breville Barista Express delivers third wave specialty coffee at home using the 4 keys formula and is part of...
- DOSE CONTROL GRINDING: Integrated precision conical burr grinder grinds on demand to deliver the right amount of...
- OPTIMAL WATER PRESSURE: Low pressure pre-infusion gradually increases pressure at the start and helps ensure all...
You get all of the essentials from the espresso making component with pre-infusion and aroma functions, to an integrated conical burr grinder with dose control and 16 settings, and a 360-degree swivel mounted commercial grade steam wand.
You’ll even get a tamp with its own hanging location to keep your setup tidy. Additional cleaning tools are stored under the drip tray.
Like the Bambino Plus, it has a beginner-friendly 54mm portafilter, which might be a detracting point for more advanced baristas. Unlike the Bambino Plus, it has a manual commercial steam wand, which might be a detracting point for beginners who have no idea how to texture milk. However, a manual commercial wand will offer you the most control and allow you to texture your milk precisely how you want it, and the 360-degree swivel on this one makes the job easier.
Aside from the obvious addition of an integrated burr grinder, you’ll get additional features like a dedicated hot water spout for authentic americanos and long blacks, multiple-user programmability, programmable brewing, and expanded temperature controls. The machine heats up in 60 seconds.
The Breville Barista Express is an excellent choice for beginner baristas who want to learn how to dial in shots and froth milk, as well as intermediate to advanced baristas who enjoy being involved in their espresso making process and want to upgrade to an all-in-one set-up.
It offers an ideal balance of manual and automatic features. And, for about $200 more than the Bambino, achieving the integrated grinder alone makes it worth the money in our opinion.
3. Breville BES880BSS Barista Touch
The Breville Barista Touch looks just like the Barista Express, aside from its enhanced interface. As stated in the name, it has a full color touch screen where you can select drink recipes. For an additional $300, the Breville Barista Touch revolutionizes the experience the Express offers. Grinding is now hands free and so is milk texturing. It even accelerates the heat up time to just 3 seconds.
- Item Package Dimension: 17.39L x 16.19W x 16.19H inches
- Item Package Weight - 28.25 Pounds
- Item Package Quantity - 1
- Product Type - COFFEE MAKER
The key feature of this model is its touch screen, which lets you choose from 5 pre-programmed café favorites: espresso, americano, latte, flat white, and cappuccino. But what’s even more special is the ability to create 8 custom recipes of your own! You can select a single or double espresso and type of milk froth among 8 levels, choose a custom photo, and name your new drink.
You can also easily select steamed milk or hot water to dispense for hot cocoa, teas, oatmeal, and more. Like the Barista Express, it has a purge function, but it completes this purge automatically after you’re done with the steam wand to keep it clean.
The Breville Barista Touch is great for a more specific type of customer that wants an even mix of automation and manual.
If you like to be involved in your coffee making process but want as many conveniences as you can have along the way under $1,000, the Barista Touch might be a great choice for you.
Similarly to the Barista Express, the Barista Touch only has one boiler, so you cannot brew and froth simultaneously and it has a 54mm portafilter. Our next two options on the list will correct these two drawbacks.
4. Breville BES920XL Dual Boiler
The Breville Dual Boiler is a well-loved machine amongst intermediate and advanced baristas, and even small café owners.
- Please refer to user guide or user manual or user guide (provided below in PDF) before first use
This Dual Boiler is best suited towards home or business baristas who care about the advanced technical features the Dual Boiler offers like volumetrics, timing pre-infusion, and temperature exacting to dial in that perfect shot.
The BES920XL improves upon prior entries with a professional quality 58mm portafilter and the ability to froth and brew simultaneously, an essential workflow function for café owners.
The manual wand is also a lot better for advanced or pro baristas; it’s an insulated commercial grade steam wand with a 3-tip hole.
This espresso maker does not come with a grinder. Now, if you are an advanced barista or a café owner, you must already own a Conical Burr Grinder. This machine does include a dedicated hot waterspout – most useful for barista to make a Long Black or an Americano.
The control center includes a pressure gauge and a digital screen to access more features like temperature, volume, auto cleaning, and an auto start clock function, which is great considering this machine takes longer than the others to heat up.
The digital screen also displays the exact seconds as your shot is being extracted. You can use this as a reference when using the manual feature to customize pre-infusion and brew time.
One of our personal favorite features on this machine that none prior to it has, is the front-filling door for the large water reservoir. This is great for anyone trying to save time and vital for commercial use. With all of the other models before this, you’d have to move around the machine to refill. This machine is a great value for money with its features, as other machines out there with the same or less features go for a lot higher price.
If you love a lot of the cool features on this machine like the front access water filling door, dual boilers, and 58mm portafilter, but you’re not yet an advanced barista and you are focusing on at-home use, then our next option might be a great one for you.
5. Breville BES990BSS Oracle Touch
The Breville Oracle Touch makes the great espresso making experience from the Dual Boiler accessible to the beginner with an incredibly intuitive full color touch screen, pre-programmed recipes, customizable recipe save files, an incorporated grinder, and a wonderful automatic steam wand.
- Please refer to user guide or user manual or user guide (provided below in PDF) before first use.Grind Settings :...
The Oracle Touch is a top-of-the-line high-end machine for those of you who were impressed by the Barista Touch but are willing to go up in price for even more conveniences.
It boasts an experience as convenient and automated as you can possibly get without skipping all of the work with a bean-to-cup machine.
It offers the same pre-programmed beverages as the Barista Touch and the same 8 customizable drink slots but allows you to customize the milk further with an astounding 9 programmable milk selection by textures and milk temperature exact degree.
The Oracle Touch vastly improves upon the Barista Touch by borrowing the awesome Dual Boiler features like the dual boiler itself for simultaneous brewing and frothing and the pro quality 58mm portafilter for authentic third wave specialty coffee. Another incredible feature it borrows is the front access water filling drawer on the massive 84-ounce water reservoir.
The integrated grinder on this machine offers an amazing 40 fineness settings for the absolute best extraction possible.
Even better, with the Oracle’s smart tamp technology, it tamps the grinds for you all within the dosing mechanism, so you merely have to move it into the group head. This is also the only machine that comes with a knock-box accessory to conveniently dispose of your grounds from the portafilter.
The only thing we could see consumers missing on this machine is the ability to brew different coffee types like something close to drip coffee. You also can’t use volumetric to create ristretto or espresso Lungo like you could with the Dual Boiler.
However, if you love milk-based espresso drinks and you want the best of the best, the Breville Oracle Touch will serve you perfectly.
Final Thoughts
Depending on your preferred level of involvement and automation in an espresso machine, Breville has you covered. We hope you’ve found a machine that suits your needs perfectly, be it at home or at your small café.
Recap: Top 5 Breville Espresso Machines on the market – for every skill and budget – reviewed!
If you’re a beginner barista, you may be starting with the Bambino Plus, and coming back to revisit this list when you want to advance to a more technical and feature-rich machine.
If you like to be more involved in crafting your espresso drinks, the Barista Touch is an excellent choice for under $1000, while the Barista Express is the best value for under $700.
If you own a boutique café, the Dual Boiler will save you time, and it has many convenient features to help crafting a beverage efficiently. The Dual Boiler is also an excellent choice for advanced home baristas who want technical features such as volumetric, timing pre-infusion, and temperature exacting.
When it comes to the best money can buy, the premium Oracle Touch takes the crown among all Breville models.