Price: $849.95
(as of Nov 19, 2024 05:37:16 UTC - Details)

Breville Barista Pro Espresso Machine BES878BTR, Black Truffle
Item Package Dimension: 17.49L x 15.99W x 15.99H inches
Item Package Weight - 27.14 Pounds
Item Package Quantity - 1
Product Type - COFFEE MAKER
Reviewer: P The Critic
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Best Espresso Maker I've Used
Review: 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.

Reviewer: Amazon Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Beautifully made, use it every day!
Review: I waited about a year to write this review, to make sure I used the machine enough to have an opinion. It works amazingly. I use it every day - and have since I purchased it. The initial set up will take time, like any other good espresso machine. You’ll need to dial in your beans and find the right grind size, brew time, etc. I found a YouTube video and followed it to help me out. After that, I just began practicing every day with steaming the milk and after a while I was able to make the perfect drink for me. It has eliminated my daily coffee runs, I of course will still grab a coffee while I’m out running errands just for fun but the price of the machine has paid out for how much I use it.The machine will tell you when to descale and when to flush based on how many pulls you are doing which is great. I bought extra tablets and will flush it probably once every 2 months and then descale it quarterly. All of the cleaning parts are fairly cheap on Amazon and breville has videos online to follow.I clean the tray and steam wand weekly and found that soaking my wand in 1:2 white vinegar/hot water works the best for getting any scalded milk out of the nozzle and keeps it steaming perfectly. You can twist the nozzle off after soaking for an hour and use a straw cleaner to scrub the wand out. This helps eliminate blockages in the wand which I was having in the beginning after a couple weeks of use even after purging the wand after every use.Everything comes apart really easily for cleaning and moving - I kept the original box and styrofoam for moving since I moved across the country and everything held up perfectly. I did end up purchasing a different tamp but the one that comes with it works fine I just preferred a heavier weighted one.Overall, I highly recommend this and will keep using breville products if they are all built this well.

Reviewer: Amazon Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Well built and makes great espresso
Review: 5 star for sure. The machine is well built and great quality. I’m a big fan of Breville and own many of their products. It’s a great value also and not hard to use at all. Those that are lazy might disagree but I would rather take 5 minutes out of my morning to make my own espresso drink for just pennies compared to what coffee house’s charge for the same quality product. That’s not an exaggeration, it takes me literally 5 minutes for the whole espresso making process. That include grinding the coffee beans and steaming the milk, 5 minutes. You waist a lot longer driving to a coffee shop, waiting in line to order and waiting in line behind people also waiting on their coffee. Also, do the math, if you buy a coffee, just one coffee, for 5 or 6 dollars and that is a low end price at a coffee shop per day you can expect to spend $1,825 to $2,190 a year. A Barista Pro at 600 or 800 dollars, depending on if you catch them on sale, will pay for itself in a matter of months and my first machine lasted 7 years before the boiler gave in. That’s literally thousands of dollars saved not buying 1 cup of coffee per day at a coffee house and getting the same quality drink. I, with no doubt, will keep purchasing Breville espresso machines as long as they keep making the same quality machines at the reasonable prices they have now.

Reviewer: Mr. Sunny
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Pulls some good espresso!!!
Review: Pretty good espresso machine with an excellent heating element. Can pull espressos instantly without needing much time. The built-in wand is also good; I use it for heating the milk for lattes, milk tea etc.The built-in grinder has several grind options ranging from super fine to coarse. Occasionally, you may need to open, wipe clean the bean chamber to remove any old coffee oil residue stuck to continue getting your best tasting coffee.I have been using this machine daily for over an year pulling at least 3 to 4 espresso shots; highly recommend this one without a doubt. Just makes sure you flush and de-scale on a regular basis to ensure the longevity of the machine.

Reviewer: Vlad
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: 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.

Reviewer: Brian Stauffer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: My first purchase of an espresso press machine. Was concerned. In the end my concern is misplaced. This machine makes espresso indistinguishable from my usual coffee shop. It is a good starting point but you will likely in the future want more/better. It’s a quality staring point. Depending on your demands, maybe a forever.

Reviewer: J. Chen
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Was intimidated at first with all the pieces and learning curve to get the right grind, dose, pulling a perfect shot, and steaming the milk. After two weeks and watching some YouTube videos, it’s second nature. Pros: intuitive to use, fast heat up, makes delicious coffee! Cons: pricey, but worth it for our family of 4 coffee drinkers. So far it’s been great once we got our adjustments made with some trial and error. Highly recommend!Update: it’s been nearly 4 months since owning this machine and my barista skills have improved! Able to pull good single and double shots, everything works great, and my latte art has improved too. Orange cup is 4 months later!Note: I have since purchased leveler/tamper, new pitcher and barista cloths from Amazon.

Reviewer: MOUSA J AYYASHI
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: يعيبها البورتافلتر ماتعرف اش عيوب الطحنه او التوزيع او الكبس بسس انه مغلق اما الباقي ممتازة جدا الماكينه استرالية ويجي معها ادابتر يحول الى بريطاني

Reviewer: Daniel Abraham
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I am new to the world of making my own espresso, but one thing I can say is I am no stranger to drinking it. This machine is beautiful, robust, and makes a fantastic beverage. It is simple to use, has only a small learning curve, and gets a lot of compliments. Ultimately it will pay for itself in about six months if you make your daily mug at home instead of buying it on the road, so there's no downside. It's fun too!