This Breville Espresso Machine Does 99% of the Work for You

I’ve been using the Breville Barista Touch Impress for months and can say it is, unequivocally, the easiest espresso machine I’ve yet to try.

For starters, it has a large, bright touchscreen. Scroll through it and you’ll select the drink you want to make (espresso, latte, cappuccino, babycino, tea, etc.) and the screen walks you through it. The Touch Impress has a built-in grinder with 30 grind settings (it uses Baratza burrs, which is a first for Breville espresso machines) and an assisted tamping lever, both of which work together for the machine’s coffee dosing system. When your coffee puck’s at the right level, a green check mark shows up by the portafilter image on the espresso machine’s digital screen. To start the espresso shot, just tap the correlated icon on the screen—the Touch Impress even times your shots for you, letting you know if your shot is just right or too fast or slow and telling you how to adjust your grind setting accordingly.

When you’re ready to steam your milk, the included frothing pitcher has minimum and maximum lines etched onto the outside of it to make measuring easier. The Touch Impress also has different temperatures and settings for non-dairy milk, to better achieve microfoam even if you use almond or oat milk. The steam wand auto-purges after frothing, too, to prevent it from clogging up. (See? Easy!)

There are other handy usability features with this model, like a pop-up tab that tells you when it’s time to empty the water catcher and a removable tank for easy filling. Its one con is, of course, its cost. The Touch Impress is no small investment—however, we liked it enough that we named it one of our favorite espresso machines.

Good to Know

• Grind settings: 30
• Comes with: Stainless steel milk jug, 1- and 2-cup single and dual wall filter baskets, water filter holder with filter, water hardness strip, the Razor precision trimming tool, cleaning tablets, steam wand cleaning tool, cleaning disc, cleaning brush, descaling powder
• Warranty: 2-year limited