The Breville Barista Express is My New BFF

For coffee lovers, there’s nothing quite like savoring a perfectly brewed espresso made right at home. Enter the Breville Barista Express – a game-changer in the world of home coffee machines. In this review, we’ll dive deep into its features, benefits, and why it might just be your next kitchen essential.

I sometimes wonder if I would make it out of bed or through the day if I didn’t have coffee.

I did it while pregnant, so I know I can, but things were different then. When I was pregnant, I didn’t have a toddler. Or a puppy. Or have to get out of my pajamas if I didn’t want to. So, I had it relatively easy.

These days are a lot different. These days are filled with never-ending laundry piles and poo piles; dirty dishes, dirty diapers, and dirty faces; playdates, gym dates, and dog park dates; singing, teaching, reading, and training; cooking, cooking, cooking, and more cooking; and lots and lots of boo-boo kisses.

You guys, this is a good life.

But the good life is exhausting, and this mama NEEDS coffee.

And weeks when your child is sick (like last week with hand, foot, and mouth of all things!), a mama needs more than just a cup of regular bland coffee. I don’t know about you guys, but I need a cup of STRONG wake-up mama juice. I’ll probably need a few to get through the day.

1…2…3…4…5…6… espresso shots should do the trick (not all at once. I’m not crazy).

Features and Specifications:

1. Built-in Grinder: The integrated conical burr grinder ensures you always get the freshest cup. Adjust the grind size and dose at the twist of a dial.
2. Digital Temperature Control (PID): Offers precision that leads to a more consistent extraction and a better-tasting cup of coffee.
3. Micro-foam Milk Texturing: The steam wand performance allows hand-texturing of micro-foam milk, enhancing flavor and enabling latte art.
4. Express Heat System: The innovative heating design achieves optimum extraction temperature in a few seconds.

Benefits of the Breville Barista Express

• Speed: Go from beans to espresso in under a minute. Perfect for morning rushes!
• Flexibility: Whether you’re an espresso beginner or a coffee expert, the machine caters to everyone with its easy-to-use features and customizable settings.
• Design: Sleek, modern, and built to last – it’s a stylish addition to any kitchen countertop.

The husband and I love our coffee. Coffee is our favorite part of our morning and my favorite post-gym pick-me-up and nap-time mama drink. One day, it hit me: whoa, we drink a lot of coffee. The husband and I agreed to procure a better espresso machine.

Then the question came, manual or automatic? I wanted an automatic, and he wanted a manual.

After lots of research (my husband is comprehensive), we decided to give the manual a try. My only requirements were that it had a built-in grinder and a large water tank, and he was responsible for maintenance. Oh yes, it couldn’t take up our entire kitchen counter space.

The Breville Barista Express was precisely what we were looking for.

Deal.

We’ve had this beautiful Breville Barista Express espresso-making machine for a couple of months now, and we are IN LOVE with the coffee and the machine. It fits nicely on our kitchen counter without taking up too much space and is pretty to look at, too (always a bonus when a machine takes up permanent residence on your counters).

Is the Breville Barista Express easy to work?

Once you learn some new words (portafilter, tamper, etc.) and tweak a few magic settings like grind size and grind amount (don’t worry, this took me and my husband a few test trials) along with how hard to tamp the fresh coffee grinds, you will be ready, SET, GOOOOO for fresh, creamy espresso every morning without any thought. It also has a built-in swivel steam wand to steam and foams your milk (no more microwave for me!)

Just the other afternoon, the husband and I were out and away from our much-loved coffee machine when it came time for our afternoon coffee break. OH, NO! What to do? We go to the nearest chain coffee shop (not to be named). It had been nearly two months since I had had any other fresh-brewed espresso, and I expected a latte on at least the same level as I brew at home.

You guys, it was so wrong! SO BAD!

The coffee that comes out of the Breville Barista Express is legit. It’s the real deal. AND I CAN HAVE ANYTIME I WANT (without spending $5 a cup).

And when guests come over, rather than offering them old coffee, waiting to brew new, or microwave milk, I can serve them fresh coffee-shop quality (but better!) coffee in just a few minutes.

Is It Worth the Investment?

Absolutely! The Breville Barista Express is a cost-effective solution in the long run, especially compared to daily café trips. Its combination of speed, versatility, and quality offers significant value for its price.

Maintenance and Care 

Like all coffee machines, regular maintenance is essential. Thankfully, the Barista Express has a ‘Clean Me’ light that illuminates when a cleaning cycle is required. The removable drip tray and water tank make cleaning more straightforward, ensuring your machine has a long and efficient life.

How is cleaning the Breville Barista Express?

Cleanup is so easy even I can do it – I do all the cleaning, so I didn’t want to add one more thing to my list.

After all, coffee is there to help make the load feel lighter, not make the burden heavier.

But seriously, it is so easy! The removable drip tray has a tray full indicator that reads “Empty Me!” so there is no guesswork involved in when to clean.

Another great feature I LOVE about this brilliant gadget is hot/boiling water at just the turn of a dial. One less kitchen gadget takes up space, and no more waiting for hot water. When you have a toddler (or husband) who wants his breakfast and wants his breakfast NOW, this makes making oatmeal so easy you can do it with one hand (which is usually all I have).

After a thorough review, my husband and I agree that we love our Breville Barista Express and that it is precisely what we were looking for. Perhaps one day (20 years from now), we’ll invest in a more expensive automatic espresso machine, but I’m pretty convinced that automatic does not translate to better.

The Breville Barista Express stands out in the crowded world of coffee machines. This machine is a top contender for those yearning for café-quality coffee from the comfort of their home. From its grind-to-brew feature to the micro-foam milk texturing, it always promises a barista-level experience.

This post has been sponsored by Breville. All thoughts and opinions are my own.