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These days, it seems like everyone and their mother has taken a plunge on a pricy home espresso machine — but it’s an investment that many coffee drinkers confess is well worth the cost. I’m one of the guilty ones, having plunked down several hundred dollars on Breville’s popular Barista Express, and I can attest that it’s been a game-changing luxury that I feel very fortunate to own. Being able to brew a cafe-quality latte from the comfort of my kitchen is both a convenience and a joy that I look forward to every single morning.
Given that these machines don’t come cheap, we’re always on the hunt for the best possible prices, and we’re happy to report that a new sale has surfaced on Breville’s advanced Barista Touch model. It boasts a digital touchscreen for creating pre-programmed drinks, an automatic milk frother, a built-in grinder, and the ability to heat up water in a whopping three seconds, calibrating it to just the right temperature to ensure precise extraction. (It also has 4.7 star rating and 1,586 five-star ratings on Amazon.)
Many reviewers note — and I can also concur — that it helps to familiarize yourself with the conventions and best practices of using a semi-automatic home espresso machine, and these devices do require regular cleaning and maintenance to keep firing off perfect shots. Ahead, you can read first-hand accounts from buyers who have embraced the third-wave coffee lifestyle — or just scroll up to get your hands on one of these buzz-worthy machines ASAP.
Promising reviews for the Breville Barista Touch on Amazon:
“This machine is sturdy and well built. The touch screen allows you to make multiple preset espresso drinks, but the machine also lets you customize your espresso drinks to your individual taste. This machine has been the perfect combination of “push button convenience” for my wife and “do it exactly the way you like it” for me.” — Mongo
“I have owned my Barista Touch for almost a month now. If you think that your going to make great espresso right out of the box you my find yourself a little bit frustrated at first as I did. While this machine makes it possible to make high quality drinks at home there is a definite learning curve that must be endured. You will waste a bag or two of coffee in the process of learning how to adjust the grind,dose and extraction time for the beans you select. I recommend going to store that sells and demonstrates these machines to get some expert advice on settings, extraction and which beans will help get the best from your machine.
Having said all that I am really loving this machine! I am now getting consistent shots with great taste and the milk frother makes it really easy to make great tasting drinks at home. Even my daughter, who used to be a barista was impressed. I’m even beginning to branch out and experiment with new recipes and drinks. I highly recommend the Barista Touch.
Have owned this machine now for over a year and use it one or two times daily. It still works great and I love using it and still recommend it.” — James M Connerly
“The first espresso machines I’ve tried were all Brevilles: 2 Barista Express’ and a Barista Pro. I did return all of them before the 30 day return period to Amazon. I thought they were not working properly. After a few weeks, I purchased a Lelit Victoria. Big mistake. It does not froth milk ‘properly’ or because I don’t know how? So, I put it away for almost a year and I switched back to my dependable drip coffee machine the Technivorn Moccamaster. However, I keep up with what are the latest espresso machines on the market and their reviews, including the “poor” Brevilles. The Breville reviews are mostly positive. I thought I’ll give a Breville machine one more try. I was leaning toward buying a Barista Express again or the dual tank Breville. Honestly, I don’t think I did Breville justice in any of my evaluations. This time I chose the Barista Touch, instead, due to its automatic and manual milk frothing, whichever you choose. I’m sorry, Breville, I was wrong about your machines. All I can say now is Wow. This machine will be hard to beat on performance and price point! This may be the last espresso machine I’ll be using until it goes haywire. Milk frothing is outstanding.... I would highly recommend this machine or the the Barista Pro with manual knobs to save yourself a few hundred bucks.” — Ricardo A. Seneris
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