The Breville Barista Express and Barista Express Impress are both popular all-in-one espresso machines from Breville, but they target different users. The main difference lies in preparation: the Barista Express has a classic, fully manual workflow that requires you to learn dosing and tamping, while the newer Barista Express Impress features an assisted tamping and intelligent dosing system designed to remove guesswork and provide consistent results.
Here’s everything you need to know to decide which of these excellent espresso machines is the right one for your home coffee bar.
Breville Barista Express
The Barista Express is a long-standing favorite for aspiring home baristas, offering an integrated grinder and manual controls in a compact package. It's the classic choice for anyone who wants to learn the hands-on craft of pulling a perfect espresso shot, from dialing in the grind to tamping the puck perfectly.
- What it is: An all-in-one, semi-automatic espresso machine with a built-in conical burr grinder and manual steam wand.
- Key features: Integrated conical burr grinder with 18 settings, precise dose control, low-pressure pre-infusion, a pressure gauge for extraction feedback, and a thermocoil heating system for fast heat-up times.
- Price: Typically retails around $700 to $750.
- Materials/Construction: Built with a durable brushed stainless steel housing and professional-grade components designed for consistent performance extraction after extraction.
- Style: A functional, café-inspired aesthetic with prominent knobs and an iconic analog pressure gauge that gives it a slightly retro, professional look.
- Pros: Excellent value for an all-in-one machine, gives you full control over the brewing process, the pressure gauge provides great feedback for learning, and it has a proven reputation for reliability.
- Cons: Has a significant learning curve to master grind settings, dosing, and tamping. Can be messy during the learning phase. Getting consistent results takes time and practice.
This machine is ideal for the coffee enthusiast who wants to fully engage in the craft of espresso making and enjoys tinkering with variables to achieve the perfect shot.
Shop this product: breville.com/us/en/products/espresso/bes870.html
Breville Barista Express Impress
The Barista Express Impress takes the successful platform of the original Express and adds modern technology to solve the most common frustrations for beginners. Its standout feature is the "Impress Puck System," which provides intelligent dosing and assisted tamping for consistently perfect espresso pucks every time, streamlining the workflow significantly.
- What it is: An all-in-one espresso machine with an integrated grinder and steam wand, plus an automated dosing and assisted tamping system.
- Key features: The intelligent "Impress Puck System" ensures the correct dose and applies a 22lb tamp with a simple lever pull. It features a conical burr grinder with 25 settings and a fast thermocoil heating system.
- Price: Retails around $900, reflecting the upgraded technology.
- Materials/Construction: Has a premium brushed stainless steel construction, very similar in quality and durability to the original Express.
- Style: Sleek and modern, sharing the same core design as the Express but has a cleaner look thanks to the smart dosing system and the prominent assisted tamping lever on the side.
- Pros: Dramatically simplifies puck preparation, creating less mess and far more consistency. Removes the learning curve associated with dosing and tamping. Great for households with multiple users. More grind settings offer finer control.
- Cons: Costs noticeably more than the original Express. It offers less hands-on control for purists who want to master tamping themselves. More complex internal mechanics than the original.
The Express Impress is perfect for beginners who want cafe-quality espresso without the frustrating learning curve, prioritizing consistency and convenience over a fully manual process.
Shop this product: breville.com/us/en/products/espresso/bes876.html
Breville Barista Express vs. Barista Express Impress Comparison
Workflow & Ease of Use
This is the most significant difference between the two machines. The standard Barista Express requires a multi-step, manual process: grind the beans into the portafilter, distribute them evenly, then use a separate tamper to apply precise pressure. This process takes practice to perfect and can be messy. It’s part of the ritual and craft of making espresso.
The Barista Express Impress revolutionizes this workflow. After grinding, you simply pull a lever on the side of the machine, which applies a calculated 22 lbs of pressure to tamp the puck perfectly. The machine’s intelligent dosing system even tells you if you need a little more or less coffee for an ideal puck. This system drastically reduces mess, eliminates guesswork, and ensures shot-to-shot consistency.
Grinding & Dosing
Both models feature an integrated conical burr grinder, but the implementations differ. The Barista Express has 18 grind settings that you dial in manually based on visual cues and the results of your extraction. You also control the dose with an adjustable dial.
The Barista Express Impress offers more brewing flexibility with 25 grind settings for finer control. More importantly, its intelligent dosing syncs with the tamping system, learning from previous pucks to adjust the dose automatically, which simplifies getting a perfectly prepared shot.
Style & Design
While sharing the classic Breville DNA and a brushed stainless steel finish, the two machines have a few visual differences. The Barista Express is known for its iconic analog pressure gauge, a hallmark for many home baristas learning to dial in shots. It embraces a slightly more industrial, hands-on aesthetic.
The Barista Express Impress has a slightly cleaner and more modern fascia without the pressure gauge. Instead, it features an LED indicator system for dosing and tamping. The most prominent design difference is the large tamping lever on the left side. Both machines have a similar footprint, measuring around 12-13 inches wide and 14-15 inches high, making them suitable for most kitchen countertops.
Price & Value
The standard Barista Express typically costs around $700-$750, making it an incredible value for an all-in-one machine that can produce true café-quality espresso. Its value is rooted in providing all the necessary tools for someone to learn and perfect their craft without needing separate grinders or pricey accessories.
Priced around $900, the Barista Express Impress costs about $150-$200 more. This premium price covers the advanced technology of the Impress Puck System. Its value lies in convenience, consistency, and time saved. If the frustration of uneven tamping and dialing in a dose would discourage you, that extra cost easily pays for itself in less wasted coffee and a better morning routine.
Which One Should You Choose?
Both machines are excellent choices, but they are built for fundamentally different home baristas.
Choose the Breville Barista Express if:
- You want to fully learn the hands-on craft of making espresso.
- You are on a tighter budget and want the best machine for the price level.
- You enjoy the process of tinkering with variables like grind size, dose, and tamp pressure.
- You don't mind a bit of a learning curve and are the primary user of the machine.
Choose the Breville Barista Express Impress if:
- You prioritize convenience and consistency above all else.
- You find the idea of manual tamping and dosing frustrating or messy.
- Multiple people with different skill levels will be preparing drinks on the machine.
- You're willing to pay a premium to remove the guesswork from your morning espresso routine.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the absolute main difference between the Barista Express and the Barista Express Impress?
The main difference is the "Impress Puck System" on the Barista Express Impress. This is an integrated system that automates the dosing and tamping process for perfect, consistent espresso pucks, which is a fully manual process on the standard Barista Express.
Is the Barista Express Impress worth the extra money?
For most beginners, yes. The biggest challenges in learning espresso are proper dosing and tamping, which the Impress automates. This leads to less frustration, less wasted coffee, and more consistent taste. If you enjoy the hands-on process and want to save money, the standard Express is still a tremendous value.
Which Breville machine is better for a total beginner?
The Barista Express Impress is undeniably better for a total beginner. Its assisted systems remove the steepest parts of the learning curve, allowing you to pull great shots from day one.
Do the machines use the same quality grinder?
Yes, both use high-quality steel conical burr grinders. However, the Barista Express Impress offers finer control with 25 settings compared to the 18 settings on the original Barista Express. The Impress also integrates an intelligent dosing system with its grinder.
How do they compare in size on the countertop?
They are almost identical in size. The Express is approximately 12.5 x 12.6 x 13.1 inches, and the Impress is about 13 x 14.8 x 16.1 inches. Both fit well on a standard kitchen counter without monopolizing space. Check cabinet clearance, the Impress may be taller with a full bean hopper.
Does the Barista Express Impress make better-tasting espresso?
It doesn't inherently make "better" espresso, as both machines share similar brewing technology. However, it makes more consistent espresso, especially for new users. A perfectly pulled shot on the standard Express will taste just as good, but it's much easier to achieve that perfect shot consistently on the Impress.
Can you manually tamp with the Barista Express Impress?
No, the system is designed to be fully integrated. You would not use a separate, stand-alone handheld tamper with the Impress, as the built-in assisted tamping lever is the core feature of the machine.
How long do these Breville espresso machines typically last?
Both machines are well-built with stainless steel components and should last for many years with proper care and regular maintenance, such as descaling and cleaning. Breville offers a standard 1-year product warranty.
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