Breville Barista Touch Impress
- Intuitive touchscreen for easy operation.
- Built-in grinder for fresh coffee grounds.
- Automatic milk frothing for perfect textures.
Pros
- Touchscreen Display: The intuitive touchscreen is incredibly easy to use, making it simple to customize your drinks.
- Automatic Tamping: This feature ensures perfect tamping pressure every time, leading to consistent espresso shots.
- Customizable Profiles: You can save up to eight personalized coffee settings, perfect for households with different preferences.
- High-Quality Microfoam: The steam wand produces excellent milk foam, ideal for making lattes and cappuccinos.
- Built-in Grinder: The integrated grinder delivers fresh grounds, and the grind size is adjustable for different brewing styles.
Cons
- Price: The Breville Barista Touch Impress is on the expensive side, so it may not be suitable for those on a tight budget.
- Size: It’s a bit bulky, so it requires sufficient counter space in your kitchen.
As a coffee enthusiast, I've always been on the lookout for the perfect espresso machine that combines ease of use with exceptional performance. The Breville Barista Touch Impress caught my attention with its promise of delivering café-quality beverages at home. After several weeks of hands-on experience, I'm excited to share my comprehensive review of this impressive machine.
Unboxing the Breville Barista Touch Impress
Upon receiving the Breville Barista Touch Impress, I was immediately struck by its sleek stainless steel design. The machine exudes a modern aesthetic that complements any kitchen decor. Included in the package are essential accessories: a stainless steel milk jug, single and dual wall filter baskets, a portafilter, and a razor trimming tool. The thoughtful inclusion of these tools ensures you're well-equipped to start brewing right away.
Setting Up the Breville Barista Touch Impress
Setting up the Breville Barista Touch Impress was a breeze. The intuitive touchscreen interface guided me through each step, from filling the water tank to calibrating the grinder. This user-friendly setup process is particularly beneficial for beginners, eliminating the intimidation often associated with operating espresso machines.
Exploring the Touchscreen Interface
The standout feature of the Breville Barista Touch Impress is its responsive touchscreen. Navigating through the menu is straightforward, with options to select various beverages such as espresso, Americano, latte, cappuccino, and flat white. Each selection provides customizable settings for coffee strength, milk texture, and temperature, allowing for a personalized brewing experience.
Grinder and Dosing System
Equipped with a built-in grinder featuring 30 grind settings, the Breville Barista Touch Impress offers precise control over coffee grounds. The intelligent dosing system automatically adjusts the grind time to ensure the optimal amount of coffee is delivered into the portafilter. This feature simplifies the process, ensuring consistency in every shot.
Assisted Tamping with the Impress System
One of the most innovative aspects of this machine is the assisted tamping mechanism, known as the Impress system. After grinding, a lever on the side of the machine allows for tamping with consistent pressure and a 7-degree barista twist, resulting in a polished puck ready for extraction. This design minimizes mess and ensures a uniform tamp every time.
Brewing Performance
The Breville Barista Touch Impress excels in brewing performance. The ThermoJet heating system ensures the machine is ready to brew in just three seconds, a significant advantage for those busy mornings. The espresso shots produced are rich, full-bodied, and topped with a beautiful crema, rivaling those from professional cafés.
Milk Frothing Capabilities
The automatic milk frothing feature, known as AutoMilQ, is a game-changer. It offers settings for various milk types, including dairy, oat, almond, and soy, adjusting the steam pressure and temperature accordingly to achieve the perfect microfoam. This versatility caters to diverse preferences and dietary needs, enhancing the overall beverage quality.
Customizing and Saving Beverage Preferences
The machine allows users to customize and save up to eight personalized beverage settings. This functionality is particularly useful for households with multiple coffee drinkers, as each person can have their preferred drink ready at the touch of a button.
Cleaning and Maintenance
Maintaining the Breville Barista Touch Impress is straightforward. The touchscreen provides reminders for routine cleaning tasks, such as descaling and cleaning the steam wand. The drip tray and water tank are easily removable, facilitating hassle-free cleaning. Regular maintenance ensures the machine continues to operate at peak performance.
Comparing the Breville Barista Touch Impress to Other Models
When compared to other models in Breville's lineup, the Barista Touch Impress stands out for its combination of automation and user control. While the Barista Express Impress offers assisted tamping without a touchscreen, and the Oracle Touch provides more automation at a higher price point, the Barista Touch Impress strikes a balance, offering advanced features at a more accessible price.
Is the Breville Barista Touch Impress Worth the Investment?
Considering its advanced features, ease of use, and the quality of beverages it produces, the Breville Barista Touch Impress offers excellent value for those serious about their coffee. It bridges the gap between manual and fully automatic machines, providing a customizable yet user-friendly experience.
Product Review Conclusion
In conclusion, the Breville Barista Touch Impress is a remarkable espresso machine that delivers on its promises. Its blend of automation and user control, coupled with consistent performance, makes it a standout choice for both novice and experienced coffee enthusiasts. While it requires a substantial investment, the quality and convenience it offers make it a worthy addition to any kitchen.
For a visual demonstration and further insights, you might find this video review helpful:
FAQ
Q: What is the price of the Breville Barista Touch Impress?
A: The Breville Barista Touch Impress is priced at approximately $1,500. However, prices may vary depending on the retailer and ongoing promotions.
Q: How does the Breville Barista Touch Impress differ from the Breville Barista Express Impress?
A: The Breville Barista Touch Impress includes a touchscreen interface, advanced customization options for drinks, and an automated milk frothing system, while the Barista Express Impress focuses on assisted tamping without a touchscreen and has fewer automated features.
Q: Is the Breville Barista Touch Impress suitable for beginners?
A: Yes, the machine is very beginner-friendly thanks to its intuitive touchscreen interface, guided setup, and features like assisted tamping and automatic milk frothing. It simplifies the process of making café-quality beverages at home.
Q: What is the ThermoJet heating system, and how does it work?
A: The ThermoJet heating system is a technology used in the Breville Barista Touch Impress that heats the machine in just three seconds, allowing you to start brewing almost immediately.
Q: Can I use non-dairy milk with the Breville Barista Touch Impress?
A: Absolutely! The machine’s AutoMilQ technology is designed to froth a variety of milk types, including dairy, oat, almond, and soy. It adjusts the steam pressure and temperature for each type to create ideal microfoam.
Q: How many drinks can I customize and save in the Breville Barista Touch Impress?
A: The machine allows you to customize and save up to eight personalized drink settings. This is particularly useful for households with multiple coffee drinkers.
Q: Is the Breville Barista Touch Impress hard to clean?
A: No, the machine is designed with ease of maintenance in mind. It provides on-screen cleaning reminders for tasks like descaling and steam wand cleaning. The water tank and drip tray are removable, making them easy to wash.
Q: How consistent is the assisted tamping system on the Breville Barista Touch Impress?
A: The Impress system delivers consistent tamping with a 7-degree barista twist every time, ensuring a polished puck for optimal extraction. It minimizes mess and reduces variability in your espresso shots.
Q: What are the dimensions of the Breville Barista Touch Impress?
A: The machine measures approximately 12.7 inches wide, 15.5 inches deep, and 16 inches high, so it requires a decent amount of counter space.
Q: Can I adjust the grind size on the Breville Barista Touch Impress?
A: Yes, the built-in grinder features 30 adjustable grind settings, allowing you to fine-tune the grind size for your coffee beans.
Q: What beverages can the Breville Barista Touch Impress make?
A: The machine offers presets for espresso, Americano, latte, cappuccino, and flat white. You can also customize and experiment with other beverages by adjusting the coffee strength, milk texture, and temperature.
Q: Does the Breville Barista Touch Impress come with a warranty?
A: Yes, most purchases come with a 1-year limited product warranty. Be sure to check with the retailer or Breville directly for specific warranty details.
Q: Is the Breville Barista Touch Impress worth the price?
A: For coffee enthusiasts who value convenience, customization, and high-quality results, the Breville Barista Touch Impress is worth the investment. Its blend of automation and control offers a premium at-home coffee experience.