Breville Barista Professional Espresso Machine BES878BSS, Brushed Stainless Metal

Best Espresso Maker I’ve Used
I’ve had a few different espresso machines over the last decade, and have tried and returned a couple as well. This one is, by far, my favorite machine for several reasons. Throughout the review I will reference differences primarily with the Barista Express, as that is one that I had for some time as well. The overall appearance of the machine looks good. I have the stainless steel version, and it looks sharp and well built. Breville is the only company I know that has the magnetic tamper holder underneath the top of the unit, and it’s a nice touch. A place to put the tamper, and always know where it is. Also, the tamper is a nice metal one, rather than the thin, light plastic many other brands use. I also like that most, if not all, of what comes in contact with hot liquids is metal rather than plastic (though the portafilter does have some plastic, but I use a naked bottom portafilter as stated below). I kind of like the ease of the automatic machines that grind, tamp, and pull the shot, but the plastic group head makes me a bit uncomfortable. I try to minimize hot foods and liquids contacting plastic as much as possible. If plastic particles can leach out of water bottles, then heated plastics most likely will leach more. As far as performance, I will touch on the grinder, pulling of the shots, hot water spout, and very importantly, the steam wand: I have seen some complaints about Breville’s grinders, and I don’t understand why. Granted, I do believe that most of the complaints come from people who are much more advanced in their coffee preparation and understanding than I am. Nevertheless, I do find the grinder to do a good job. It has fine adjustments that you make with the dial on the left of the machine, plus larger scale adjustments that you can make with the grinder itself under where the bean hopper sits. I wouldn’t say the larger adjustments are super easy, but definitely doable if you follow the directions. I’ve made a single adjustment on the grinder itself and only rely on the fine adjustments other than that. As a side note, I saw on an instructional video by another reviewer that you want to make the fine adjustments while grinding to prevent getting anything stuck. I’m not sure if this is necessary but I do it just in case. I am impressed by how little of a mess the grinding makes. The dosage amount and grind size is consistent once I dialed everything in and left it there. Plus it’s easy to switch from single to double dose. Pulling shots is rather straight forward as well, but does take time getting things right. As far as getting it right, that’s more dependent on the size and dosing of the grinds as well as the tamping force, but you see the results during the shot pull. I don’t use the included portafilter because I’ve always liked the appearance of the naked bottom portafilters, so I found one on Amazon that’s sized for this machine. The naked bottom ones look cool pulling the shot, but make a bit more of a mess than the standard portafilter, and are a little less forgiving than the included one. With a fairly good grind size and amount, you can get good consistent shots. With my Barista Express, I noticed that the second pull was usually more bitter and not as good tasting as the first shot, if pulled within a few minutes of each other. With this machine, I can pull a double shot, steam the milk, then pull another double shot without any issues or difference in taste. The Barista Pro also has the three second heat up time vs the thirty second or so on the Barista Express, which isn’t a huge deal itself but I believe the newer heating unit is more advanced and allows for the better second pull. The hot water spout is angled and can dispense right into the cup after the shot is pulled without having to move the cup to a different location. Also, I like the angled spout versus the one on the Barista Express. As far as the steam wand, it doesn’t seem like there is much advertised or discussed about the improvements of the steam wand versus the Barista Express, but in my opinion, it is far more powerful. I had a lot of difficulty getting the correct texture of milk for latte art, but with the Barista Pro, the steam wand seems much more powerful, faster to steam the milk, and can more easily achieve that proper texture and consistency for good latte art (my latte art isn’t very good, but I’m going to blame that on my skills rather than the steamer). For fairness, I will say that my skills have improved some since having the Barista Express, but I definitely feel a significant difference with this steam wand. Such that I feel that alone makes it worth the increased price compared to the Barista Express. I have also tried an automatic machine. I would say that the automatic machines are easier to use, less of a learning curve (though there is still somewhat of a learning curve) and most give you the option to make a regular drip coffee as well. They don’t usually have as good a shot pull or taste as a unit like this one, and personally I like the “artsy” part of going from grind to shot manually. To conclude, I would definitely recommend this machine to anybody who is looking for very good espresso drinks that are better than what you will usually find in coffee shops, at the comfort of your home. If you’re willing to learn how to use the steam wand well for lattes and cappuccinos, I feel this machine is better than the Barista Touch, and better than other machines in this price range. Within a few months, the machine pays for itself versus getting a latte a few times a week at a coffee shop.

Perfect for the beginner or experienced barista!
This was an amazing purchase and at a steal of a price at 20% off the original price. This machine grinds, brews and steams your milk for that perfect latte. Now I’m honing in my expresso skills and this is the machine that can do it all.UPDATE 2 months later:This is still fun and exciting making that perfect ☕️I have purchased many accessories that aren’t required but highly recommended. Get a dosing funnel first and foremost. I picked one sold from Cafe Home Shop for $13.98 p/n B08JPXXT9R. I went with plastic over stainless for the simple fact I didn’t want metal on metal and potentially scratching either the portafilter, basket or funnel. It fits tight on the breville Portafilter but not my after market bottomless one (although it still fits, just not as snug)2nd is get a puck screen. This is a inexpensive way to keep the group head clean (less flushing & descaling means less pump wear and tear) I went with one sold by Jokmae “2Pcs 1.7mm & 1.0mm Thickness 53.5mm Espresso Puck Screen” which offers 2 sizes in a combo pack. I use both based on the type bean I am currently using.3rd is get a scale to weigh your beans so you’re not guessing and wasting coffee. I typically weigh 18g – 20g and grind only the amount I need to preserve the coffee freshness. Yes the Barista pro has a timer with preset values for single and double shot but ultimately I was trying different beans and grind sizes so weigh it don’t waste it. 😉Those are must have in my opinion and should’ve been included with this machine but unfortunately they’re not.Now some other accessories that are great to have but not a must have.1- Bottomless Portafilter2- knock box/tamping station3- Coffee Distributor & Tamper puck style 2 in 1 tool4- Replacement Steam Lever sold by CREMA COFFEE PRODUCTS5- clear doublewalled glasses for viewing all the beautiful creme layers. I chose Glass Coffee Mugs Set of 4, Clear Coffee Mug 15 Oz sold by Mfacoy6- container for storing coffee. I chose “Planetary Design Airscape Stainless Steel Coffee Canister” as you don’t trap air like a sealed container but rather push it out with its innovative design.These are nice accessories to have but not required.All in all the Barista pro has been the single best investment I’ve made in a long time. Daily Starbucks trips for my wife and I each at around $7-$12 was adding up. This way we can make the same coffee (or better) and to our liking for much cheaper in the longer run

We bought this espresso machine in october 2022 and we used it daily.It still works perfectly, grinds perfectly, etc.Nothing bad to say since it was as advertised.

Lo pensé mucho para animarme a comprar una máquina como esta. Considerando que la máquina tiene 2 años de garantía (es decir, al menos debería durar eso funcionando bien), el costo por taza es menor que en un local especializado o de marca reconocida (y no necesariamente bueno) y tengo oportunidad de disfrutar de una buena taza de café todos los días.En su rango de precios, es difícil conseguir algo mejor. La Breville Barista Pro cuenta con una bomba italiana de 15 bares, un aceptable sistema de calentamiento (ThermoJet) con el cual no hay que esperar demasiado para poder preparar la primer taza de café, y un molino aceptable, considerando que viene integrado en la máquina. Es lo suficientemente automatizada para controlar las principales variables en el proceso de extracción, a la vez que lo suficientemente manual para permitir mejorar la técnica personal de preparación; antes de brincar a una máquina más profesional (y mucho más cara), si es lo que se desea.Esta máquina es un poco inconsistente durante su proceso, lo que dificulta obtener siempre los mejore resultados, pero, en este precio, creo que no se puede encontrar algo que brinde mejores resultados. Así que, para empezar, es una buena alternativa.Otra buena opción, posiblemente mejor en cuanto a la extracción, podría ser una Gaggia Classic Pro emparejada con un buen molino. Pero no me animé a tomar este camino porque, al menos en México, no vi que sea muy factible el poder hacer válida su garantía. Por lo mismo, con las máquinas Breville, hay que tener cuidado de comprarla solo si es vendida directamente por Amazon México, no Amazon EEUU por un tercero desconocido, y que no vaya a ser una máquina reacondicionada. Al recibirla, hay que registrarla en la página de Breville México; con eso te aseguras de que la garantía de tu máquina esté vigente.Para poderle sacarle el mayor provecho, esta máquina requiere un cierto nivel entendimiento de lo que se está haciendo; pero el poder disfrutar una buena taza de café cuando lo desees – y no solo una regular, por tomar café – para mi lo vale. Si ajustar varias cosas para buscar preparar el mejor café posible no es lo tuyo, te pueden venir mejor las versiones “touch” de estas máquinas, pero, si solo tomas café americano, igual te puedes quedar con una máquina de goteo y sería mucho más barato.Para poder preparar una buena taza de café se requieren 3 cosas: Un buen café en grano, un buen molino de café y una buena máquina para realizar la extracción. El molino y la máquina de extracción son suficientemente buenos para empezar a profundizar en el mundo del café, pero, si no utilizas un buen café, no tendrás buenos resultados.Para tener el mejor precio, hay que estar cazando las ofertas en Amazon. La puedes conseguir hasta en un 25% menos que su precio de lista en la página de Breville México, vendida directamente por Amazon y sin ser reacondicionada. Eso si, hay que comprar varios accesorios para tener mejores resultados.