Yesterday, we posted about Lelit’s first ever 20% off sale that is going to May 13. Lelit was acquired by Breville a few years ago, but the full transition took some time, eventually becoming complete last fall, and the last big change was Breville taking over US distribution of the brand from the previous sole importer. That was completed at the start of this year.
What we didn’t mention is that many (but sadly, not all) Breville espresso machines are also enjoying a full 20% off sale right now, through May 13, 2024. This sale extends to every machine in the Barista lineup of espresso machines and the Bambino Plus, which we have labelled as one of the “Best Espresso Machines” ever.
Sadly, they did not extend this sale to the Dual Boiler or the Infuser, two excellent machines that we love here at CoffeeGeek. Indeed, the Breville Dual Boiler is such a special and capable machine, that it is our core comparison and testing machine for all espresso machine reviews we conduct.
And the Infuser… the Barista Express without a built in grinder. Such a fantastic machine: if it were on at 20% off, it would be the highlight of our article today. But it is not.
Unlike our Lelit post yesterday, the links below do go to our Amazon affiliate link, so if you purchase via these links, you help our website out and help us to continue producing content. But there’s other good reasons for using these links. Amazon has a fantastic return policy that doesn’t cost you anything to ship a product back if you are unhappy with it, during the first few weeks. They will even pick it up at your door in most metro US areas.
Second, all Breville machines sold officially via Amazon are fully covered by Breville’s warranty and service, so if you have a problem with the machine down the road, you get the exact same service as you would if you bought from an espresso machine vendor online, or your local supermarket. So there’s good peace of mind there.
With that said, what’s up on offer, and what is the best deals? Let’s get into it.
The Breville Bambino Plus – $400
We love the Bambino Plus machine. Instant on, instant steam, automatic frothing, proper microfoam? Even a low water sensor for the water reservoir (many sub $750 machines don’t even have this feature). 3 way solenoid valve. Rock steady 200F temperatures at the grouphead. Tiny footprint. A gazillion colours available.
It’s such a feature packed, tiny machine, it is one of two machines I declared to be the best espresso machines of all time for the home consumer.
Even at $500 list, it’s an excellent package. At $400, just that much more. I always like to think in a historical perspective, and $400 in today’s dollars is the equivalent of $250 in 2005. Back then, the $250 machines available to consumers were Krups and cheap Delonghi machines with no features, aluminum portafilters (that didn’t even have springs holding the filter baskets in place) and wildly unpredictable brewing temperatures. Today, $400 gets you a state of the art machine that will even steam the milk for you, automatically, to 3 different temperature levels and 3 levels of microfoam.
Breville Bambino Plus in Brushed Steel, at Amazon.
The Bambino Plus is also available in a variety of colours: Sea Salt White, Black Truffle, Damson Blue, Red Velvet Cake, and even more colours available on Breville’s website, including Olive Tapenade (!!)
The Barista Express – $560
The world’s top selling espresso machine, and with good reason. Make sure you check out our updated First Look on this all in one espresso machine. During this sale period, the price has dropped to $560, which is historically the lowest price this machine has ever been offered at. Right now, it is actually cheaper than the Breville Infuser, which is kind of nuts.
The Barista Express, at its heart, is a fantastic entry level “traditional” automatic espresso machine, meaning you manually microfoam the milk, you grind the coffee, tamp the coffee, load it up, and pull the shot. What’s key about the machine is all that it offers (some of which is missing from other sub $600 traditional machines). There’s a hot water tap. The steam performance is excellent. Transition time from brew to steam is very short. There’s six programmable brewing temperatures. Built in preinfusion. Manual shot mode, including some manual control over preinfusion.
And the entire machine is put together exceptionally well. The grinder is essentially the Smart Grinder Pro built in (without the Smart Grinder Pro’s advanced UI). And because of the machine’s popularity, there are thousands of after-market, third party options and accessories available for it, from chopped portafilters, to dosing cups and custom levers for the steam/hot water switch.
Breville Barista Express in Brushed Steel, at Amazon.
Breville Barista Express in Black Sesame, at Amazon.
The Barista Touch Machine – $800
Of all the updates to the Barista line, this may be my favourite, because it’s an amalgamation of the Barista Express, the Bambino Plus, and the Oracle Touch line, to an extent. It also has two barely-known updates to it recently that make it an even better choice. During this sale period, it is $800, all in for a very advanced espresso machine.
The Touch features Breville’s instant on / instant steam system revolving around their thermojet heating system technology. This system has been recently updated to have more of Breville’s new MilQ software technology, for very advanced auto frothing and heating for milk and plant-based “milk” drinks. It also presents a lot more control and options for heating and frothing milk than the Bambino Plus does.
The other recent update is the burrs used in the grinder: it now uses the Baratza / Etzinger M2 burr set, which is a very substantial improvement to grind quality. Unlike the Barista Express, the grinder and timer system in the Touch is very precise, allowing for better dosing control and options.
And of course, there’s the touchscreen controls and the ability to build drinks automatically, akin to what the $2,500 Oracle Touch does. Quite a nice package.
Breville Barista Touch in Brushed Steel, from Amazon.
Breville Barista Touch in Damsel Blue, from Amazon.
Other colours are available from Breville Direct.
The Breville Barista Pro – $680
This machine is an interesting, slightly outlier machine in Breville’s lineup. It’s only $120 more than the Barista Express, but offers a lot more inside and via the controls. You also give up something, which will be up to you to decide if the trade off is worth it. It normally retails for $850, but is on for $680 during this sale period.
In effect, this machine is the Barista Express with a) Breville’s instant on thermojet system, b) better, more powerful manual steaming system that is available right after brewing, c) Baratza’s M2 burrset, d) much better grinder timer and dosing system, e) better temperature controls, f) a shot timer, and g) low water sensors for the water reservoir. What do you give up? The Express’ pressure gauge, and because it’s Breville’s instant on thermojet system, you absolutely have to run blank shots to heat everything up.
I think it’s worth the $120 jump in price, especially considering transition time from brewing to steaming is nil. Not to mention conveniences like the low water sensor, the shot timers and more.
Breville Barista Pro in Brushed Steel from Amazon.
The Barista Pro is also available in many other colours, including Black Truffle, Damson Blue, and Red Velvet Cake. Even more colours are available at Breville Direct, including Royal Champagne.
The Breville Barista Express Impress – $720
A very unique machine and a new take on Breville’s Oracle auto tamping system, bringing intelligent auto dosing of your ground coffee down to a more reasonable price point. The Barista Express Impress is essentially the Barista Express, but with an entire auto-dosing and semi-auto tamping system to take the guesswork out of prepping your bed of coffee. It’s normally $900, but down to $720 during this sale.
Look, us espresso nerds love manually prepping the portafilter. The single dosing, applying WDT, measuring down to .1g, lovingly levelling, tamping with panache, and locking the portafilter into the espresso machine. The thing is, we’re like 10% of home espresso lovers. For the other 90%, this machine automates one of the more frustrating aspects people feel revolve around espresso, and it is actually fun to use, with the lever pull for tamping down, and the lightboard lighting up to show you if your dose is correct or not.
Otherwise, this machines everything the Express is, from the advanced thermoblock system (that means the machine gets properly heated up, no need for blank shot flushes, but not Breville’s instant thermojet system), good steam ability, volumetric shots, preinfusion, and the nifty pressure gauge up front. All for $720 right now.
Breville Barista Express Impress, in Brushed Steel, from Amazon.
The Barista Express Impress is also available in Black Truffle, Damson Blue, and Black Sesame. More colours are available at Breville Direct, including the lovely Sea Salt White.
The Breville Barista Touch Impress – $1,200
We’re currently reviewing this machine and were impressed (heh) that, for $1600, you were essentially getting a $2,800 Oracle Touch machine for $1,200 less, with just a few minor sacrifices. Well, at the $1,200 sale price, this could be the ultimate “bean to cup” automated machine on the planet right now.
This is the latest tech from Breville. It was the first to feature their full MilQ system which not only does an excellent job steaming for every milk-based coffee drink you could imagine, but also has advanced algorithms for plant based “milks”. The grinder uses Baratza’s M2 burr set, and offers more control over the grind and dose than any other Barista machine. It uses Breville’s thermojet system, so everything is instant and quick. Quite literally the only thing you have to do in the morning is turn it on, swipe the screen, make your drink selection and follow the on screen directions. Move the portafilter from grinder area to grouphead. Place your cup and steam pitcher. The machine does the rest.
Make sure to check out our initial article on the Breville Barista Touch Impress. At $1,200, there is no other bean to cup machine that can output better tasting espresso drinks.
Breville Barista Touch Impress, in Brushed Steel, from Amazon.
Breville Barista Touch Impress, in Black Truffle, from Amazon.
Breville Barista Touch Impress, in Damsel Blue, from Amazon.
A reminder that these sale prices are only in effect until May 13, 2024. Some, including the Barista Touch Impress and Barista Express, are at their lowest all time prices right now. Most of the links above generate a small commission for CoffeeGeek via our Amazon affiliate program. We use 100% of our Amazon income to fund our small blogging team’s contributions to this website.
Mark has certified as a Canadian, USA, and World Barista Championship Judge in both sensory and technical fields, as well as working as an instructor in coffee and espresso training. He started CoffeeGeek in 2001.
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Mark Princehttps://coffeegeek.com/author/markprince/
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Mark Princehttps://coffeegeek.com/author/markprince/
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Mark Princehttps://coffeegeek.com/author/markprince/
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Mark Princehttps://coffeegeek.com/author/markprince/
