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Breville is one of the world-leading brands many coffee lovers visit for new coffee gears. Its espresso machines bring a quick and efficient solution to brewing coffee at home. And the Breville Barista Pro is not an exception either.
In this article, I’ll conduct a complete Breville Barista Pro espresso machine review, including the pros and cons of everything it has to offer, how to clean it, and how it compares to other competing espresso machines in the market.
Breville Barista Pro Review – The Details
The Breville Barista Pro espresso machine can be considered the appliance of coffee connoisseurs’ dream.
Despite the steep price, its upgraded impressive and smooth-sailing functions from previous Breville espresso machines and sleek appearance make it all worth it in the end.
Function
The Breville Barista Pro belongs to the Barista Series specializing in bringing one-solution espresso machines with a built-in grinder to help you make coffee from scratch to finish in under 1 minute.
The product is equipped with an integrated burr grinder that can automatically deliver highly precise ground doses on demand to maximize coffee extraction.
And, thanks to the ThermoJet heating system, the Breville Barista Pro can achieve optimal brewing temperature in as fast as 3 seconds.
The Breville Barista Pro espresso machine also provides easy navigation and innovative technologies to accurately control the water temperature, water pressure, and milk texturing to help you brew a more balanced, better-extracted, and more visually pleasing cup of coffee filled with favorable coffee content and inviting aroma.
Appearance
The Breville Barista Pro espresso machine with its sleek and professional-looking design is a great addition to your kitchen counter.
The reflective stainless steel material makes it look modern and clean. On Breville’s official website, you can find the espresso machine in 8 colors.
Your choices range from the popular Brushed Stainless Steel and common shades of blacks and greys to brighter colors such as Sea Salt white and Royal Champagne. Surely, with this many everyone can find a match that suits their personal taste.
The Specs
- Weighs 20 pounds (9.1 kg).
- 13 x 12 x 13 inches.
- Stainless steel.
- Removable water reservoir capacity: 67 oz (2 l).
- An integrated burr grinder.
- 15 bar pump and pre-infusion function for a more balanced extraction.
- ThermoJet heating system for a fast heat-up time of 3 seconds.
- Digital temperature control (PID) technology to optimize extraction.
- Steam wand for manually texturing milk.
- Comes with a set of accessories.
Best Features Of The Barista Pro
So, what kind of top-tier traits can you expect from the Breville Barista Pro espresso machine that makes it worth the price tag? I’ll review some of the best features of this appliance.
Integrated Grinder For Consistency
As I’ve briefly mentioned above, this magnificent semi-automatic espresso machine also comes with a built-in conical burr grinder.
This makes the process of delivering coffee seamless from bean to cup, with minimal human interactions with the espresso machine.
So, what’s so great about a conical burr grinder? A blade grinder uses flat blades to cut up the beans into uneven pieces of ground coffee. This inevitably affects the balance in taste and quality of the cup of coffee.
So, different from the inferior blade grinder, a burr grinder’s construct gives you complete control over the grind size and ensures consistency for optimal espresso extraction.
But having a flat grinder producing a completely uniform size isn’t what we’re looking for either.
The shape of the conical burr grinder in question helps deliver bimodal coffee particles that can be large and small.
While the small particles restrict the flow of water, more coffee solubles can be drawn from large particles in the process of pulling an espresso shot, making the conical grinder ideal for working with espresso machines.
In addition, the grinder also gives you complete control over the coffee ground dose and grind size thanks to the adjustable function and 30 different grind settings.
Semi-automatic espresso machines have their perks of doing the hard job yet not taking away your freedom to make decisions.
You can expect a cup of coffee full of flavor delivered by the 54 mm portafilter that can hold the right amount of grind of 19 – 22 g every time.
ThermoJet System For Speed
The ThermoJet heating system enables the Breville Barista Pro to reach the optimal water temperature at a lightning speed of 3 seconds.
No need to wait around for the espresso machine to slowly get started and preheated on early busy mornings where you just need your dose of caffeine boost fast.
Moreover, the Barista Pro can also instantly transition from espresso shot to steam mode, which is really impressive considering this isn’t a double-boiler espresso machine that comprises a brew boiler and a steam boiler.
Pre-Infusion Function For Balance
In addition to the 15 bar pump, the Breville Barista Pro espresso machine also utilizes low-pressure pre-infusion technology to gradually build up the pressure from the beginning to the end.
This helps ensure that the compounds from coffee beans are drawn out evenly throughout the shot pulling process to deliver an optimal extraction and a more balanced brew.
Temperature Management For Precision
The digital temperature control (PID) helps users calculate the desired temperature and enforce adequate power to achieve that ideal effortlessly with very little variation.
You can expect the brewing temperature not to stray from the goal below or above 2 degrees Celsius.
LCD Screen For Direction
With every product of Breville, the brand strives to make them as easy to use as possible.
Likewise, the Breville Barista Pro espresso machine can show you accurate real-time information thanks to the LCD screen.
This intuitive interface displays all you need to know about the beans grinding and extracting processes to make adjustments or stop the show at any time.
A single shot should take around 20 seconds and a double shot should take around 20 seconds to 30 seconds. So be it a single or a double shot, you can expect coffee to be delivered in under a minute.
Manual Steam Wand For Milk Texturing
What’s more, this all-in-one espresso machine also comes with a manual wand, enabling you to make espresso-based milky drinks such as latte and cappuccino and get the creative juices going with latte art.
Accessories For Assistance
And other than the espresso machine, Breville also provides you with a bunch of accessories to assist you with pulling espresso shots and steaming milk.
The accessory kit includes:
- Single and Dual Wall (1 and 2 Cup)
- Filter Baskets
- Razor Precision Dose Trimming Tool
- 16 oz (480 ml) Stainless Steel Milk Jug
- Cleaning Kit
- Water Filter
Just grab your bag of coffee beans and clean water, you’re ready to start making coffee with the Breville Barista Pro espresso machine.
The Downsides Of The Barista Pro
Nobody’s perfect. Neither is the Breville Barista Pro, the center of the espresso machine review today. Below are some drawbacks you should take into account to sort out your priorities and make an informed decision about the machine.
No Pressure Gauge
Sadly, Breville Barista Pro doesn’t have a pressure gauge in the front display, which is considered one of the most important assets by many coffee lovers.
Some other models of Breville come with a pressure gauge, reporting reliable real-time pressure so that users can tell whether the grind is perfect, the extraction is going well, and the coffee is not under or over-extracted.
Nevertheless, you can find detailed enough information shown on the intuitive LCD screen so you can time your grind and espresso shot for optimum extraction.
So the Breville Barista Pro can still work for those who don’t mind the absence of the pressure gauge, especially those who can’t be bothered to check the hands of the gauge with their sleepy eyes and foggy mind so early in the morning.
And, once you’ve figured out how best to prepare your coffee beans and dial your espresso machine, is there really a need to check the process all the time?
A Learning Curve Involved
Since the Breville Barista Pro is still a semi-automatic espresso machine, there is a learning curve involved.
You won’t be able to make excellent coffee right away if you’re not familiar with pulling an espresso shot and manually steaming milk.
Practice makes perfect. Keep at it and one day you can make affordable third-wave coffee at the comfort of your home.
Steep Price Tag
The Barista Pro is more pricey compared to its espresso machine counterparts both within the Breville system and the market.
However, considering the improved speed of heating elements, higher accuracy in temperature, flexibility in grind settings, and more powerful steam wand, the rise in the price of the Breville Barista Pro is well worth it for those looking for a long-term espresso machine.
How To Clean The Breville Barista Pro
Like many coffee makers, this machine notifies you when to run cleaning and descaling cycles with alerts. So no need to keep up a notebook of how many shots you have pulled.
This machine is not only easy to use but maintenance is also virtually effortless, as long as you’re a responsible user.
Cleaning
When the LCD screen shows the FLUSH alert, you need to run a cleaning cycle. Follow the below steps to clean the Breville Barista Pro:
1. Fill the water tank to the MAX line and put it back into place.
2. Insert the cleaning disc into the filter basket in the portafilter and place a cleaning tablet on top of the disc.
3. Lock the portafilter into the group head.
4. Empty the drip tray and put it back into place.
5. Press the MENU button and use the GRIND AMOUNT dial to navigate to and select FLUSH.
6. Press the illuminated 1 CUP button to start the cleaning cycle.
7. The machine returns to the READY mode when the cycle ends. If there’s still some remaining of the cleaning tablet left, run the cycle again.
8. Empty and rinse the portafilter, cleaning disc, and drip tray.
Other than that, you also need to clean the steam wand, filter baskets, portafilter, group head after every use using soap, warm water, and a non-abrasive sponge.
Clean the burr grinder once in a while to remove the oils that build up during the grinding process that may affect the device’s performance. Empty and clean the drip tray whenever the tray shows EMPTY ME!. Wipe the outer housing with a damp cloth to keep the espresso machine shiny on your countertop.
Descaling
No matter what coffee maker you use, over time, minerals and oils can build up on the components, affecting the operation of the espresso machine, such as the brewing flow and temperature, and the taste of your espresso extraction.
To effectively avoid this, you need to descale once in a while to keep the machine in tip-top shape and the quality of your cup of Joe consistent all the time.
Every 2 months, you also need to replace the water filter so that you don’t have to descale as often.
Similar to the cleaning cycle, the machine calls for a descaling cycle by displaying a DESCALE alert. You need to perform the following steps to revive your machine:
1. Empty the drip tray and put it back into place. Take the water tank out and remove the water filter from the tank.
2. Fill the water tank to the DESCALE line, add a descaling agent to the water, and put the tank back into place.
3. Press the MENU button and use the GRIND AMOUNT dial to navigate to and select DESCALE.
4. Press the illuminated 1 CUP button to start the descaling cycle. The machine beeps after each stage in the cycle (coffee, hot water, and steam) is completed. Make sure to manually turn the STEAM DIAL to HOT WATER and STEAM position when indicated on the LCD interface.
5. After the descaling cycle, the machine needs to run a rinse cycle. Empty the drip tray and put it back into place. Empty the water tank and fill it to the MAX line and put it back as well.
6. Press the illuminated 1 CUP button to start the rinsing cycle which’s also performed in 3 stages. And likewise, manually position the STEAM DIAL when indicated so.
7. The machine returns to the READY mode when the cycle ends.
8. Rinse the drip tray and water tank.
Main Competitors – How Does It Compare?
As I’ve mentioned, Breville is one of the top providers of coffee gears, including espresso coffee makers. I’ll review how the Breville Barista Pro compares to its siblings?
Breville Barista Pro Vs Breville Barista Express
The Barista Express is also a semi-automatic espresso machine that’s part of the same Barista Series, so it also comes with an integrated burr grinder that allows dose control on demand.
However, the Barista Express only has 18 grind settings, almost half less than that of Barista Pro.
Other identical features the Barista Express machine shares with the Pro version are the pre-infusion function, PID, and manual milk texturing wand.
So, compared to the Barista Express, the Pro has been improved in terms of speed thanks to the incorporated ThermoJet technology that enables instant heat-up and transition from espresso to steam.
The LCD interface on the Pro also makes it easy to use and navigate, which doesn’t exist on the Barista Express machine.
However, what many people miss on the Pro is the pressure gauge, which is a well-loved feature on the Express as it lets you know just how your extraction is doing, under or over-extracted.
Nevertheless, as I’ve said above, this may not be a big deal to those prioritizing improved functions and ease of use.
Breville Barista Pro Vs Breville Oracle Touch
Unlike the former, the Oracle Touch is a super-automatic espresso machine that takes care of everything from grinding beans to serving coffee.
All you have to do is swipe on the touch screen, select, and enjoy, as Breville promotes it.
The Oracle Touch automatically:
- Grinds, doses, and tamps 22 g of ground beans;
- Adjusts the right temperature with the digital temperature control and dual boiler construction
- Controls the water pressure during extraction with the Over Pressure Valve to pull a precise shot of espresso;
- Textures milk to create milk foam and self-cleans the steam wand afterward.
So, although you can’t intervene and do anything by yourself, you can expect a satisfying personalized cup of espresso delivered by adjusting the strength, temperature, and milk foam with a few simple touches.
But if you enjoy the experience of getting your hands in there and the rewarding cup of espresso that you brew yourself, Barista Pro is the way to go.
Not to mention the super high price that comes with the super-automatic functions makes Barista Pro’s tag doesn’t seem that steep anymore.
Our Final Verdict
So from my Breville Barista Pro review, is the Breville Barista Pro worth it?
Definitely, if you’re looking for an upgraded version of semi-automatic espresso coffee makers.
This coffee machine isn’t the most compact or cheapest out there and one of your favorite features might be missing, but you will fall in love with its speed, flexibility, ease of use, and degree of control it gives you.
It’s certainly one of the all-in-one products for coffee aficionados to enjoy third-wave coffee as both the barista and the customer.
