Breville BES870XL Barista Express

One of Breville’s Best Espresso Machines

One of the best espresso machines on the market is the Breville BES870XL Barista Express.

It won the Best New Product – Coffee or Tea – Preparation and Serving Equipment (Consumer) award in 2013 (SCAA). Once you take a good look at the quality construction and the features you will agree that having this espresso maker in your kitchen is all you need when it comes time to start serving hot drinks.

The secret behind great espresso is beans that have been ground just before preparation. You have probably seen this in your favorite coffee shop. The Breville Espresso Machine accomplishes this with ease. I has a vast selection of on-board tools and features designed to bring the coffee shop experience to your kitchen. It’s  stainless steel conical burr grinder which, through its design alone, maximizes the overall grind surface and extracts more flavor from each individual coffee bean, making this one of the best espresso machines around. The grinder has multiple settings allowing you to tailor your flavor with fine to coarse grinds. You also choose how much of the ground beans end up in the filter basket – which automatically fills with a push of the 54-millimetre stainless steel portafilter leaving your hands free to attend to other steps needed to make an excellent espresso drink.

As you will find in all the best espresso machines, this Breville model features a bean hopper that will hold up to a half pound of coffee beans. It also has a built-in locking system which you will appreciate when the time comes to transfer, remove or store beans in the machine. There’s also a 54-millimetre tamper that stores with a built-in magnet so you can always keep it nearby – attached to the side of the espresso maker.

The Breville BES870XL Barista Express

also has a large capacity water tank (67 fluid ounces) which is designed to be filled from the top and has a replaceable water filter. You can program single or double cup volumes, control the espresso pressure and water temperature with the built-in 1600-watt thermocoil heating system. If that’s not enough, Breville has incorporated an auto purge system that activates after the steam has been released to adjust water temperature. The steam wand has a swivel that allows it to move freely a complete 360-degrees.

Then there’s the friendly automatic reminders which set this unit apart as one of the best espresso machines in the marketplace. For example, if you get so involved in making the most incredible espressos for yourself, family and friends and lose track of how often you’ve used this espresso machine, don’t worry. A ‘clean me’ light will illuminate telling you it’s time for a good flushing of the entire system. To make that step even easier Breville has included a cleaning kit. The front drip tray is also automated with an ‘empty me’ indicator light when it gets full so you don’t have to keep track of how many spills it takes to get the light to go on. Add to this Breville’s patented The Razor generic topamax online dose trimming tool, which contains a uniquely designed twist blade, for correct puck trims.

If you need more evidence that this is one of the best espresso machines here are some more features: There’s a pre-infusion function which expands the ground beans with a low water pressure to produce an even extraction when the higher water pressure hits. Plus, a total of four filters are included and they are single and dual walled baskets made from stainless steel.

Then there’s the extras including a coffee scoop, stainless steel milk jug, cleaning disc/tablets, brush, tool and Allen key to provide access to the inner workings of the machine you can’t clean from the outside and you know this is one of the best espresso machines around.

The Breville Barista Express has been rated 4.5 out of 5 stars and online reviewers have posted a number of incredible and positive posts about this product and the company that manufactures it. Pluses noted online include the solid, well-built construction of the overall unit. It looks professional and produces a professional drink. Customer support rates extremely high with examples posted of replacements made of complete units with no questions asked, at no cost to the customer and in some cases, outside the warranty period.

All of these points verify that the Breville Barista Express could very possibly be the best espresso machine you will ever own. You will need some serious counter space to store this unit, though. It takes up a footprint of quite a bit more than your standard coffee machine and sits 13.2-inches tall without the bean hopper attached (16-inches with bean hopper). The company does stand behind this product with a one year limited warranty but has been known to honour some claims that have occurred outside of that warranty period.

When you take this into consideration, and all the additional tools, extras and features, you can easily see that there is quality and value compared to the cost. This espresso maker is intended to be used on a regular basis and not tucked away for most of its life and pulled out ‘every so often.’ This is evident in the stainless steel construction and solid frame that surrounds the machine. Plus, with on board storage, you don’t need to look in your fridge or pantry for coffee beans as they can sit comfortably in the attached coffee bean hopper.

So if you are just a casual espresso drinker or serious about hosting and making a series of the hot, steaming drinks, the Breville Barista Express is an espresso maker that should be on your ‘must have’ kitchen appliance list. We highly recommend it based on the online reviews posted by consumers who have the machine and by all the details Breville added to make it one of the best espresso machines, it is available at a great price and it holds our #1 position as our Best Home Expresso Machine.