"I've been thinking about purchasing an espresso machine for quite some time now. Only problem, I spend much more time researching the "right" machine to purchase, meaning I won't make a decision. Luckily my partner decided to take it into her own hands and gifted this machine to me during the holidays.

I'm really happy with it. Unfortunately it broke on me after about a week. However! Breville's awesome customer service shipped me a new machine as soon as they had one in stock, they covered the shipping charges and everything was hassle free.

I've had my second machine for about 3 months now and it puts out the most beautiful shots of espresso. I purchase my beans from a local roaster and have to adjust the grind with varying types of beans, I have no problem with that, it's how it's supposed to be.

The pressure gage is really helpful and helps me balance the amount grind I want per shot.

The steaming wand is okay. It provides enough pressure to create a good latte or cappuccino foam. The amount of pressure isn't all too powerful but that may be a good thing for beginners like myself.

I also appreciate the storage box behind the water and grind catcher.

My only complaint, it wastes a lot of water.

I can totally see the passion and artform in being a Barista. "

"I discovered that moisture had somehow gotten into the grinder mechanism and rendered it useless until the grinder parts are dismantled and the moist ground coffee allowed to dry and pushed through. Be sure to inspect the espresso beans from your preferred coffee roaster to make sure that they aren't overly oily as this will also contribute to the ground coffee fouling up the burr grinder head. Use the enclosed long bristle cleaning brush regularly to clear the coffee grinder chute where it deposits into the portafilter.

Other than the above issues, this machine performs very well for a well made espresso machine with integral burr grinder."

"I've been a hardcore home-grown barista since the mid 90's. I even went to school to improve my skills.

I've wanted a machine like this for some time now, but was just not ready to get into the nightmare of the low to mid-range pump machines, as they can be inconsistent and quirky at best. It was a killer sale price and some careful consideration that lead me to the Barista Express.

I have to be truthful; if not for the problematic grinder, I would go five stars on this machine. With the proper grind and skills, it is capable of heavenly, awe-inspiring shots with the single-wall filters. (My first shot out-of-the box was to-die-for!!) The grinder however seems to be prone to "going course" without any known reason. I HAVE found that a carefull and METICULOUS cleaning and re-assembly of the entire grinder, including the lower impeller seem to remedy this, if only for a while. Espresso is truly an art of love.

I took a water temp reading at the portafilter outlets to see if this machine can produce the required 204 F temp to make good espresso. Guess what? 208 !!!!!!!! Awesome. Not many machines in this range that I've tried would do this!!

HEY, BREVILLE: how 'bout going halfzies w/ me on a good grinder?? :)
"

"Makes great espresso with finely ground beans from my local shop.

Makes crema free coffee with beans from the integrated grinder."

"Someone wrote last year: "First bought the machine a month ago. Excellent expresso... huge noise, refused to work. Send the machine back and got a new one...Is anyone having this same problem ?"

I've had a similar experience: my first one was working fine, until 'that noise'. My second one does not grind finely enough, as if the grinder is 'miscalibrated'. Don't know if I'll try number three, or go to their model that doesn't have an integrated grinder.

Makes a fine espresso, however, when it works.

"

"The Barista Express has proven to be a very popular machine amongst the customer reviews that we've found across the Internet. Makes great coffee and is reasonably easy to clean, which is not often the case for semi-automatic machines that include a burr grinder!

"

"Was a little nervous about spending the money and scared i wouldn't like the machine but I finally broke down and bought it. Looks and features were the first things that made me want the Barista Express. I researched the machine and seemed like all I read was good. I am a lover of quality espresso so the fact that it had an integral grinder and single wall filters as well as double wall was a good selling point. I got the machine and was very impressed with the overall appearance and quality. Grinder is A+! Great steaming wand and very nice machine. One thing that I liked was the fact that it has a overheat prevention on both grinder and thermo-coil. Also has power save mode that comes on after thirty minutes of idle time. This is the only machine I will need for years! Would recommend this to anyone and it is worth every penny of the price. I have no complaints at all and props to Breville for a GREAT machine. Thanks Breville!"

"I have this machine and while I am on my third machine in a year, all because of different reasons everytime I had a problem I call, they send a label and in no time I get a new one. Yes it is a little inconvienient however I am so in love with the performance of this maching that I am willing to deal with this. I bought another brand so I could have a back up and by the time my Breville got back I was ready to pitch the substitute in the trash.
If you want a machine that produces good coffee and is easy to manage this is the one. But most important is the great customer service. Just think of the box your machine comes in as a suitcase!
A great product and a great company, go Breville!"

"Had difficult time finding the tablets. Ended up ordering online, but they are quite expensive. The local Organic grocery told me that they use 100% Pure Citric Acid to clean their machines. It is essentially the product Breville sells only not in tablet form. We love the machine, but the products are hard to find. "

"Just got it the other day. This machine is great so far. I'll update in a couple of months."