The Breville Barista Express and Barista Pro are both all-in-one espresso machines, but they differ significantly in speed, control, and user interface. The Express uses a slower ThermoCoil heating system and analog pressure gauge ideal for beginners, while the Pro features a near-instant ThermoJet heating system, an LCD screen for precise digital control, and a more powerful steam wand for serious home baristas.
Here’s everything you need to know to choose the right Breville espresso machine for your home coffee bar.
Breville Barista Express
The Barista Express has been a go-to choice for years for people getting into home espresso. It integrates a quality burr grinder, impressive temperature control, and manual settings into one compact machine, offering everything a budding barista needs to learn the craft of pulling a perfect shot and steaming milk.
- What it is: A semi-automatic, all-in-one espresso machine with an integrated conical burr grinder designed for aspiring home baristas.
- Key features: Built-in conical burr grinder with 16 settings, ThermoCoil heating system, analog pressure gauge for extraction feedback, powerful manual steam wand, and precise digital temperature control (PID).
- Price: Around $699 - $749
- Dimensions: 12.5" x 12.6" x 13.1" - fits well under standard kitchen cabinets.
- Materials/Construction: Durable brushed stainless steel housing with a high-quality build that feels sturdy and reliable for daily use.
- Style: Classic and functional appliance aesthetic with intuitive buttons and a prominent pressure gauge that gives it a professional look.
- Pros: Excellent value for an all-in-one machine. Teaches the fundamentals of espresso making with its manual controls. Comes with everything you need to get started. Proven, reliable performance with a huge community of users for support.
- Cons: Slower heat-up time (around 45-60 seconds). Grinder has fewer settings than the Pro, offering less fine-tuning. Transitioning between brewing and steaming takes longer. Can feel complex for absolute beginners.
The Barista Express is perfect for the patient enthusiast who truly wants to learn the art of espresso making from scratch and prefers hands-on, analog control.
Shop this product: breville.com/us/en/products/espresso/bes870.html
Breville Barista Pro
The Barista Pro is the modern evolution of the classic Express, engineered for speed and superior performance. It keeps the all-in-one design but swaps out key components for faster, more precise, and digitally guided operations, making it ideal for the busy coffee lover who demands cafe-quality results without the wait.
- What it is: A high-performance, semi-automatic espresso machine that enhances the original Barista Express formula with a faster heating system, more precise grinder, and an intuitive LCD interface.
- Key features: ThermoJet heating system for a 3-second heat-up time. Integrated conical burr grinder with 30 settings. LCD screen interface provides real-time feedback. More powerful steam wand for better quality milk foam.
- Price: Around $849 - $899
- Dimensions: 13.9" x 13.5" x 16" - slightly larger than the Express.
- Materials/Construction: Sleek brushed stainless steel construction with a premium fit and finish, designed for durability and a modern aesthetic.
- Style: Modern and tech-forward with its clean lines and central LCD display, offering a more contemporary look than the Express.
- Pros: Incredibly fast heat-up and steam-ready time eliminates waiting. More control over grind size allows for greater precision. LCD screen simplifies the process of dialing in a shot. Produces better steam pressure for superior lattes and cappuccinos.
- Cons: More expensive than the Barista Express. Some users may miss the classic analog pressure gauge. The learning curve is still present, though guided by the digital interface.
This machine is for the home barista who values speed and convenience just as much as quality and wants to perfect their latte art with a powerful steam wand.
Shop this product: breville.com/us/en/products/espresso/bes878.html
Barista Express vs. Barista Pro Comparison
Heating System & Speed
The most important difference between these two machines is the heating system. The Barista Express uses a ThermoCoil system, a metal tube coiled within a heating block. It's accurate and reliable but takes roughly a minute to get up to brewing temperature. Transitioning from brewing espresso to steaming milk also requires a brief wait to increase the temperature.
The Barista Pro uses Breville's innovative ThermoJet system, which can reach the optimal extraction temperature in just three seconds. This makes it ideal for busy mornings. It also allows for a nearly instant switch from brewing to steaming, dramatically speeding up the workflow for milk-based drinks.
Grinder, Controls & Interface
While both machines feature an integrated conical burr grinder, the Pro offers a clear advantage in precision. The Barista Express has 16 grind settings, which is enough for beginners to learn on, but can feel limiting. The Barista Pro doubles that with 30 fine-grained settings, giving you much more control to "dial in" different types of beans perfectly.
The user experience is also radically different. The Express features analog controls - dials, buttons, and a signature pressure gauge to monitor extraction. In contrast, the Pro is built around a slick LCD display that provides clear feedback on grind size, shot duration, and cleaning alerts. This digital interface simplifies the process and provides an easier, more guided user experience.
Steam Wand & Milk Frothing
Both machines can create excellent milk foam, but the Barista Pro does it better and faster. The Pro is equipped with a more powerful, four-hole steam tip (compared to the Express's one-hole tip), which pushes more steam into the milk. This allows for faster texturing and creates a finer, velvety microfoam that's essential for pouring high-quality latte art. The Express is perfectly capable of daily lattes, but the Pro delivers truly cafe-level steam performance.
Price & Value
The Barista Express is priced around $700, making it one of the best "bang for your buck" machines on the market for serious entry-level espresso. It provides everything you need to make great coffee at home without a massive investment. The Barista Pro typically costs around $150-$200 more. This price increase is easily justified by its massive improvements in speed, convenience, grinder range, and steaming power. If your budget can stretch, the quality-of-life upgrades of the Pro deliver outstanding value.
Which One Should You Choose?
Both machines are excellent choices capable of producing amazing coffee, but they are built for slightly different users and priorities.
Choose the Breville Barista Express if:
- You're new to home espresso and want to learn the fundamental skills.
- You have a budget of around $700 and want the best all-in-one package for the price.
- You enjoy a more hands-on, analog process and don't mind a one-minute wait for heat-up.
- You value a machine with a proven track record and a huge online community for tips.
Choose the Breville Barista Pro if:
- Speed and convenience are your top priorities for rushed mornings.
- You want more precise control to experiment with different beans and fine-tune your espresso shots.
- You are serious about making high-quality milk drinks and want to nail your latte art.
- You prefer a modern digital interface that offers guided feedback.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the main difference between the Breville Express and Pro?
The main difference is speed and a modern interface. The Pro has a ThermoJet heating system that heats up in 3 seconds, a digital LCD screen for more control, a grinder with more settings (30 vs 16), and a more powerful steam wand compared to the Express's slower ThermoCoil system and analog controls.
Is the Breville Barista Pro worth the extra money?
For most people, yes. The roughly $150-$200 price difference gets you significant quality-of-life improvements. The near-instant heat-up time, better grinder control, and superior steam performance make the coffee-making process faster and more enjoyable, especially for daily users.
Which machine makes better espresso?
With an experienced user, both can pull an excellent shot of espresso. However, the Barista Pro's wider range of grind settings gives it an edge, allowing for more precise adjustments to a particular coffee bean, which often results in a more consistent and better-tasting shot.
Is the Breville Barista Express good for beginners?
Absolutely. The Barista Express is widely considered one of the best machines for beginners who want to learn espresso fundamentals. Its pressure gauge provides great real-time feedback, and its all-in-one design simplifies the setup process.
How long does the Barista Pro take to heat up?
The Barista Pro is ready to brew in just 3 seconds, thanks to its ThermoJet heating system. This is one of its most popular features and a major advantage over the 45-60 second heat-up time of the Barista Express.
Can I use pre-ground coffee in these machines?
Yes, both machines work with pre-ground coffee. They each include single-wall (for fresh-ground beans) and dual-wall (for pre-ground coffee) filter baskets, giving you flexibility if you run out of whole beans.
Which machine is easier to clean?
Both machines have very similar and straightforward cleaning processes. They both feature automated cleaning alerts on their interface - the Express uses indicator lights while the Pro shows a message on its LCD screen to let you know when it's time to run a cleaning cycle or descale.
How does the steaming performance compare?
The Barista Pro has significantly better steaming performance. Its steam wand is more powerful and features a four-hole tip, creating silky microfoam much faster than the Express. This makes it a much better choice for anyone who aims to pour detailed latte art.
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