Breville BES860XL Review

Breville BES860XL Barista Express Espresso Machine with Grinder

Rating: List Price: $799.99 Sale Price: $578.00 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Eligible For Free Shipping

Product Description

The difference is clear: espresso made from beans ground one minute ago (left) produces crema that is noticeably more rich and thick than espresso made from beans ground ten days ago (right). The verdict? Fresh beans are always preferable.

Convenient hidden storage compartment for the filters and included cleaning kit.

Fresh is Best

In the world of coffee, freshness can be measured in seconds. By the time even five minutes has passed, ground beans have started to lose their flavor. Grinding beans every time you want fresh espresso takes time, though, and oftentimes it becomes a tradeoff between taste and convenience. The Breville Barista Express solves this problem, delivering fresh, quality espresso at remarkable speed, thanks to its integrated burr grinder. Go from beans to espresso in under a minute—all in the comfort of your own home.

Café quality espresso in your home

Espresso making is notorious for being both an art and a science, requiring you to carefully adjust each of the inputs (grind size, grind amount, etc.). But even complete beginners and aspiring baristas can pull a perfect shot from the Breville Barista Express. For beginners, it comes with two dual-wall, pressurized filters that regulate pressure and help optimize the extraction. For more experienced baristas, the Barista Express includes two single-wall, non-pressurized filters that give you more room to experiment with different grind sizes, grind amounts, and tamping pressure. As either a crash-course or a continuation study, the Barista Express gives you free rein to explore the art of espresso.

In addition to its integrated burr grinder, the Breville Barista Express has an Italian-manufactured 15 bar pump and thermocoil heating system that ensures accurate regulation of water temperature for a full-flavored espresso. A pre-brew function and flat shower head make sure that the water is optimally distributed through the coffee puck. The Barista Express also has several helpful features, such as a cup warmer on the top of the machine and a feature that removes excess water from the filter basket after coffee extraction, so the used grounds form a dry puck for quicker cleanup. Lastly, it has a stainless steel 360 degree swivel-action steam wand for lattes and cappuccinos.

For beginners and aspiring baristas alike, the Barista Express makes good espresso accessible and easy to make.

Designed with the consumer in mind

The Breville Barista Express is built from high-quality materials so the resulting machine is as sturdy as possible. No-slip feet keep the machine from sliding across the counter when the burr grinder is activated. The Barista Express is housed in a sleek stainless steel casing, making it an attractive and timeless addition to any kitchen. The entire unit is easy to clean and comes with a hideaway storage compartment for the included cleaning tools, in addition to an easily removable drip tray.

Hands-free filling for the portafilter directly from the integrated burr grinder

Included dual wall filters provide excellent practice for budding baristas

Product Features

1. Integrated conical burr grinder and half-pound bean hopper: stainless steel conical burrs optimize extraction of flavor from the bean by maximizing the surface area of the grinds. Use freshly ground beans for every shot for more full espresso flavor. Hopper has locking system for easy removal, storage and transfer of coffee beans.
2. Grind size and grind amount selector dials: choose among grind settings from fine to coarse and adjust the amount of freshly ground espresso dosed into the filter basket.
3. Filter size button: indicate whether you are using a single- or double-wall filter basket and the grinder will dispense the required amount of ground coffee for the appropriate filter type.
4. 54mm tamper: for expert tamping control. With magnetized storage, but removable for easy tamping.
5. Hands-free grinding cradle: push portafilter into cradle and freshly ground espresso will be dispensed directly into the filter. Grinder automatically stops when the indicated amount has been dispensed.
6. 54mm stainless steel portafilter: with commercial style spouts.
7. 67 fl. oz. removable water tank: top-fill tank with replaceable water filter to reduce impurities and scale.
8. Volumetric control: preset 1 and 2 cup volumes, manual over-ride, or reprogrammable shot volumes.
9. Espresso pressure gauge: monitors espresso extraction pressure.
10. Thermocoil heating system: integrated stainless steel water coil accurately controls water temperature.
11. Clean me light: indicates when a cleaning cycle is required. Cleaning kit included.
12. 360-degree swivel action steam wand: for effortless milk texturing.
13. Auto purge function: automatically adjusts water temperature after steam for optimal espresso extraction temperature.
14. Removable drip tray: partitioned for both wet and dry spills, with 'Empty me!' indicator for when it’s full.

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Compare the Barista Express (BES860XL) with other Breville espresso machines

Model	Dual Boiler	Barista Express	Infuser
Dimensions	16.25"x15"x15"	13.25"x12.5"x14.5"	10.25"x12.5"x13.25"
Weight	30 lbs	23 lbs	17 lbs
Heating system	Dual boilers, stainless steel	Thermocoil, stainless steel	Thermocoil, stainless steel
Temperature control	Electronic PID (for better temperature stability)	Electronic PID (for better temperature stability)	Electronic PID (for better temperature stability)
Pump	Dual Italian pumps	15 bar Italian pump	15 bar Italian pump
Wattage	1700W	1450W	1600W
Water tank	84 fl. oz. top-fill and rear-fill	67 fl. oz. top-fill with handle	61 fl. oz. top-fill with handle
Water filtration	Yes, 1 year supply	Yes, 1 filter	Yes, 1 filter
Pressure gauge	Yes	Yes	Yes
Accessories	2 x 58mm dual wall filter baskets, 2 x 58mm single wall filter baskets, 58mm integrated tamper, stainless steel milk jug, cleaning tool, cleaning disc and tables, allen key, water filter holder and filters, coffee scoop	2 x 54mm dual wall filter baskets, 2 x 54mm single wall filter baskets, 54mm integrated tamper, stainless steel milk jug, cleaning tool, cleaning disc and tables, allen key, water filter holder and filter, coffee scoop	2 x 54mm dual wall filter baskets, 2 x 54mm single wall filter baskets, 54mm integrated tamper, stainless steel milk jug, cleaning tool, cleaning disc and tables, allen key, water filter holder and filter, coffee scoop
Pre-infusion	True low pressure (gradual ramp up)	Triple prime (3 burst full power)	True low pressure (gradual ramp up)
Volumetric control	Preset, manual over-ride or reprogrammable	Preset, manual over-ride or reprogrammable	Preset, manual over-ride or reprogrammable
Dry puck feature?	Yes	Yes	Yes
Auto purge?	Not required	Yes	Yes
Steam wand	360 degree swivel, 3 hole tip	360 degree swivel, 1 hole tip	360 degree swivel, 1 hole tip
Hot water	Yes, dedicated outlet	No	Yes, dedicated outlet
Cleaning alert	Yes	Yes	Yes
Concealed storage tray	Yes	Yes	Yes
Breville assist plug	Yes	Yes	Yes
Other	Over-pressure valve (OPV), actively heated group head, heat exchanger (HX), programmable extraction temps, programmable pre-infusion, backlit LCD, espresso shot clock, auto start, audio alerts (high, low, mute), drop down swivel foot	.5 lb bean hopper, conical burr grinder, grind size dial, grind amount dial, hands-free grinding cradle
Housing	Stainless steel; parts that come in contact with water, coffee, and milk are BPA free	Stainless steel; parts that come in contact with water, coffee, and milk are BPA free	Stainless steel; parts that come in contact with water, coffee, and milk are BPA free

Details

• Stainless steel conical burr grinder with ½lb bean hopper
• 15 bar Italian pump
• 1450W stainless steel thermocoil heating system
• Adjustable grind size and grind amount settings
• Preset, manual over-ride or re-programmable shot volumes

Breville BES860XL Reviews. Part 1

I and my wife came across the Breville Barista Express BES860XL machine with grinder when were looking for a present for my sister-in-law. She is a barista and likes to drink only high quality and well-prepared coffee. We decided a unit like the Breville BES860XL can become appropriate. It did and we also made our minds to buy another one for ourselves. So far we are enjoying a perfect coffee every morning thanks to this smart coffee machine with grinder.

Personally I like this machine for its sophisticated work and refined design involving the participation of Italian manufacturers. Besides its stylish look the Breville BES860XL can boast a powerful thermo-block pump and decent capacity enough to prepare up to 15 cups at the same time. There is also a capacious and well sealed coffee bean hopper along with an integrated burr grinder. For sure, for those who prefer to choose such units being followed by the technical details this particular coffee machine has a convenient removable tank for water with a smart filtration system. I think there is no need to mention such a smart coffee machine is also equipped with pre-programmed regimes for making coffee.

Besides the default regimes the Breville BES860XL has the set of nice-feel buttons for manual setting of the machine. It can be set up to make capuccionos, americanos, espressos and what not, having a cool steam wand frother which after few months of almost permanent usage works flawlessly. According to my preferences I choose the special “barista” filters included into the Breville BES860XL, but there are also “filters for beginners”. Both of them work perfectly, it is the matter or taste and choice and, luckily, the unit can offer few options to select from.

Breville BES860XL Review. Part 2

Few words about the pump of this model – it is a pure satisfaction to exploit it because it is very powerful and has the spacious waste tank which allows enjoying favorite coffee during few days before the necessity of cleaning this reservoir. Speaking about cleaning, the coffee machine has conveniently detachable parts which will require emptying or washing after using the appliance. There is even the illuminated button which switches with “Clean” when there is a need to wash the unit after few cycles of using according to the built-in timer.

This coffee machine is also equipped with the adjustable grinder which is so far the only drawback the unit has. It is the first grinder-equipped coffee maker by Breville and that is why its practical usage is not as good as I wished. The bean tank is not compatible completely with a grinder that is why you are to stir beans in a tank on your own to make sure they will turn into powder in a grinder. Another lack of this grinder – it can be out of order if you put within oily beans and I know that many people like dark roasted coffee. And in addition to this the grinder is extremely hard to clean because of its inconvenient design. Let’s just say the model would be the sample of perfection without an integrated grinder.

That is why my rating for the Breville’s Barista Express BES860XL machine is 4.5 from 5 because of grinder’s lacks. Still this is the good unit for decent price from the well-known manufacturer.