5.0 out of 5 stars Replacement machine works like a dream... paid for itself in less than 6 months. Update 9/19/2020– The machine continues to may fantastic coffee. Enjoying some right now. One of our most used small appliances during the pandemic. Will never go back to SB again. It compares very poorly to what I can make at home now. Have run the descale cycle once because the light turned on, but I think it is set to turn on at a certain number of cycles rather than based on actual scale build up since we use RO water and scale build up is minimal. In any case, certainly does not hurt. Another tip I’ve got is to get yourself some disposable earplugs and set them next to the machine. The decibels during steaming can be really high and they hurt my ears. I also keep a quick read thermometer on the machine to know when my steamed milk is at the temp I like.Update 6/17/2020: This has ended up being one of my favorite birthday presents I gotten in years. Prior to owning the machine my family had a $100/week Starbucks habit. Since purchasing this machine 4 months ago, we’ve spent maybe $40 at SB. With COVID19, we’ve been at home and using this machine several times per day. The coffee it makes has only gotten better as we’ve learned to calibrate it. It has more than paid for itself in a few short months. It is well designed. We drink mostly Americanos so the hot water dispenser with automatic shut off is one of my favorite features. We were able to reprogram the machine to raise the water temperature very easily. The only glitches have come with the grinder which is a bit temperamental with certain beans, but these have been minor. The coffee the machine produces is delicious with a good amount of crema. I run a cleaning table through the machine about once per month, but because we have a reverse osmosis filter on our tap, we have had no need to descale. I highly recommend using reverse osmosis filtered water in the machine to cut down on internal build up. The machine is fairly easy to clean and has a lot of nice touches like the little float indicator that tells you when you need to empty the drip tray. We also like the ability to calibrate shots. I am raising our review from 4 to 5 stars since it seems that our poor experience with the first machine we received was just luck of the draw and we really have no complaints with our current machine. It is wonderful!Update: 2/18/2020 Amazon agreed to swap out the lemon (see original review below) for a new Breville Barista Express. It arrived today. I set it up and ran two cleaning tablets (3 cleaning cycles) before I even tried to make my first cup of espresso. I let the machine warm completely and set the grind size at 5 as suggested. Pulled my first shot and the new machine performed perfectly with the pressure reaching and staying in the middle of the gray extracting zone as it should. The shot was smooth with beautiful crema. I took the opportunity to program this shot so that it would be exactly 1 oz using my little espresso cup. I then pulled a double shot and did the same thing programming the machine to fill two of my espresso cups. Again the pressure was perfect at the level 5 grind size setting and the coffee is absolutely delicious with a beautiful smooth crema. Apparently the first machine I received was a dud. I’m glad Amazon allowed me to swap and will be sending the old one back tomorrow. I’ve changed my rating from 1 to 4 stars. If the new machine continues to perform as it did in its maiden voyage, I will revisit the rating and perhaps raise it to 5 stars. I highly recommend that anyone who buys one of these start off with a couple of clean/descale cycles before trying to make coffee. Save yourself a headache and a lot of wasted coffee.Pros: Very attractive and sturdy. The hot water dispenser is super convenient for making Americanos which is what I drink. I now don’t have to heat up a separate kettle of hot water. It’s great. The built-in grinder is really nice and its automatic function that also allows manual operation is convenient. The programmable temperature and shot amount adjustments are great.Cons: Because it takes so much water to keep the machine clean and operating well (it flushes itself after each use of steam or hot water) the water receptacle has to be refilled OFTEN (around every 3-4 coffees for me). I wish the machine had a bigger water tank. The drip tray also needs to be changed fairly often because the machine flushes itself, but this is does not bother me as much and it is not as often as the water tank. The grinder amounts tend to fluctuate and I’m still trying to figure out what adjustments or cleaning will might fix this. I’m not impressed with their customer service. When I tried to get help for the first unit I purchased (which ended up being defective), it took a couple of days to get a response and then that was an email with the exact same information contained in the user’s manual (I guess the assumption was that I had not read it) along with a flat dismissal that there could be anything wrong with the machine. Thankfully, Amazon dealt with the problem quickly by replacing the machine so I did not have to rely on Breville. I hope that I have a better response if I ever need to contact Breville in the future.Original review:I’ve wasted almost a pound of coffee over the past day trying to get the pressure on this machine to the “espresso” level that the instructions say is required. The machine will not go beyond the “pre infusion” level. I have cleaned it with the cleaning tablet as suggested in some of the reviews and I have adjusted the grind fineness and grind amount to every combination I can think of. Both settings are currently at the maximum levels. I’ve tamped the coffee harder and also used less pressure. NOTHING works. Like I said, I grew up with espresso as it is a daily drink in my culture. When I was little, my mom made it a the little stovetop espresso pot. My last espresso maker was a $79 Mr. Coffee that lasted almost 7 years and made very decent coffee with a nice crema everytime. No fuss. Then it finally broke and I can’t find that model. I didn’t want the new models with milk receptacles. Yuck! Anyway, I thought, well if I’m going to spend over $200 on Mr. Coffee, why not just splurge and get the Breville. The coffee I’ve so far gotten from this machine is thin and acidic and has almost no crema. As I’ve said, I have tried everything suggested. The pressure gage only reached the correct level on two shots after I had just cleaned it and then it went back to barely registering. IT SHOULD NOT BE THIS DIFFICULT TO MAKE A DECENT CUP OF COFFEE! Right now I feel like all these 5 star reviews are a product of the psychological phenomenon that happens with very expensive wine, where people report it tastes better because they don’t want to seem stupid for paying so much and not liking it. I will update if it turns out I’m just missing the magic key to having this thing not be a ridiculously expensive pain in my coffee loving butt. But I’m not feeling hopeful.Variation: Color: Brushed Stainless Steel

5.0 out of 5 stars Exactly what I wanted. Ok, I’ve had this machine long enough I believe I can write a useful review. I don’t do many reviews.My wife and I love Espresso and coffee. We wanted to be able to make great coffee without the drive through cost. We’ve had some other coffee/ espresso machines as well. I eventually did the math and figured out I could save 100’s a month if I didn’t have to buy pods. In a few months I’d save enough for this to pay for itself. Easy decision. In that regard this machine is wonderful.Out of the box it was easy to set up. I didn’t expect the amount of patience it takes to dial the espresso in. Each bean is different. I suggest finding a bean you love and stick with it. Pressure, grind coarseness, and fluid amounts can change from bean to bean. So for consistency it is very important. Once you have your bean you have to start messing with all the adjustments. Getting the grind coarseness right, ground amount right, and duration of steam produced right and the flavor quality these settings create perfect takes time and patience. However it pays off.I cannot drink coffee late in the day/afternoon or I will be up all night. I bought a Breville stand alone grinder as well for decaf espresso. That allowed me to save the hassle of swapping out whole bean coffee from the hopper. It also allowed me to adjust that machine to a perfect coarseness and level for that specific bean for my machines settings. I wouldn’t do it any other way now looking back.Pro’s: café tasting espresso at home, cost savings over a pod/ store, looks fantastic on a shelf, ability to adjust to your perfect taste.Cons: it takes patience to get perfect, it can get pretty messy around the machine if you use it regularly.I am completely satisfied with my Breville espresso machine. Everyone in the house loves it. I would make this purchase again 100x over.Do not buy if you are not willing or are afraid to play around to get the settings perfect. This is what makes having this machine so amazing. We make 10-20 espressos in this house every day. They all come out amazing and the machine has been a workhorse! I love it.Variation: Color: Brushed Stainless Steel

5.0 out of 5 stars Quality made Espresso machine. Somewhat loud, and for a rookie a learning curve. **Breville Barista Express: 5 stars, would wake the neighbors again**First things first: this machine is built like it has opinions about your coffee habits. Solid, heavy, brushed stainless steel — it looks like it belongs in a cafe and quietly judges your kitchen for not being one. The quality is genuinely impressive. Nothing rattles, nothing feels cheap, and the grinder is built right in, which means one fewer appliance hogging counter space and one fewer excuse for not making real espresso at home.Now, the honest part: it is loud. Not “annoying hum” loud — more like “small jet preparing for takeoff” loud, especially when the grinder kicks in. My household now knows exactly when I’ve decided to have a latte. On the bright side, it doubles as an alarm clock for everyone else.And there is a learning curve. Your first few shots will not look like the pictures. They may look like sad, watery apologies. Mine did. But once you dial in the grind, the tamp, and the timing, something magical happens: a real shot with actual crema — that golden, tiger-striped layer that tells you you’ve finally done it right. From there, the milk frother takes over, and you can steam milk into that silky, creamy texture that turns your kitchen into a latte bar. The first time I poured a proper latte with real crema underneath, I felt like I should be charging myself $7.So yes: it’s loud, it demands practice, and it will humble you for a week. But once you learn its ways, it makes genuinely cafe-quality espresso and creamy lattes at home — and it does it every single morning without complaint. Worth every decibel.Variation: Color: Brushed Stainless Steel