the Barista Touch™ Impress

EmyW · October 27, 2026

The Barista Touch Impress is an amazing at home espresso machine. It's stylish, modern appearance will make a great addition to your kitchen counter or coffee bar. I'm someone who loves to drink specialty coffee drinks but knows absolutely nothing about making them. This machine is so user friendly it makes you feel like you know what you're doing. The touchscreen walks you through set up step by step, by providing both photos and text. So much detail was put into the design and functionality, from the handle on the water reservoir to the hidden accessory tray and to the accessories themselves. To begin, choose which drink you want to prepare, and the touchscreen guides you through choosing your grind size, if you want a double or single and lastly milk texturing/frothing. My favorite thing was that this machine not only works with whole milk but is also programmed for plant based milks including oat, almond and soy. For someone with more barista experience, it's also important to know that you can customize and save your own coffee drink creations and it will be saved to the drink carousel screen to use in the future. As far as cleanup, all the pieces and attachments are hand wash only. The frother will automatically "purge" by spraying hot water into the drip tray after use and the group head can also be set to a purge cycle for cleaning. I really found this machine to be extremely user friendly and I'm having a great time creating (and consuming!) so many new caffeinated drinks. Up next, froth art!

AllieMMCA · October 10, 2026

The Breville Barista Touch Impress is a machine that allows you to make high quality espresso drinks at home with guidance on a digital screen. This is my first time using an espresso machine that does not use capsules and soon found out there is a steep learning curve but the Barista Touch Impress made it a lot easier. I found that this machine is different from other ones in that it has a touchscreen for most of its functions, there is assisted tampering and the steam wand is mostly automatic. These three things allowed me to learn how to make espresso a lot faster than I would otherwise but allows me room to advance into more manual methods if I choose to in the future. As a complete beginner, I read through the included instruction book and watched a lot of the very useful videos created by Breville before I turned on the machine. I was quite surprised and relieved when I turned on the machine for the first time and the screen provided me with a step-by-step tutorial and guidance on how to set up the machine (including testing my water hardness) and then brewing my first few cups. The overall construction and physical design of the machine is really well thought out. The machine itself is not small but Breville did well with maximizing space to make it as space conscious as possible. The water tank container is flush with the machine and holds plenty for two or three days worth. I was impressed they thought of even adding in a handle to the top of the water container. Another detail I appreciated was the inclusion of an accessories tray that uses up room that would have otherwise been wasted empty space underneath the machine which pulls out when the drip tray is pulled out. The bean hopper is not too high above the machine so that it can still fit underneath my kitchen cabinets, which is not the case with all coffee machines I have used. All the metal and plastic components feel substantial and well made. I like that so many accessories are included that are necessary and useful to have (not a lot of gimmicky tools or extras). They include four filter baskets so I don’t have to buy any extra. The only thing I wish they perhaps included was some kind of tool to remove the filter baskets from the portafilter. The 1 cup dual wall filter basket is especially difficult to remove and it has to be removed each day to wash fully. I like that you can switch out the beans easily. I found that the machine is easy to use for the most part. The machine heats up incredibly fast. I do think that the digital screen could be a bit smoother but it does what it should. The only non-screen functions or buttons are the power button, the pull down tamper lever and the grind size dial. The machine will tell you when there is enough grounds in the portafilter or if more needs to be added. It will also tell you if the grind size needs to be changed and if extraction is too fast or slow. I found this highly helpful as a beginner since I am not experienced enough to the ultimate extraction speed or ground size. It took however many extractions and days for the machine to learn the right levels. The first two times I made drinks required almost a dozen times of adding more grounds. Sometimes extractions are still too fast and slow even after having made successful drinks with the same grind size and beans previously, so it is a continuous learning experience for both myself and the machine. Even though this machine is really good, I did find some things I would improve on. As automated this machine is, it does not automatically switch the extract cup size when you change the filter cup size even though Breville recommends using a double with the 2 cup and a single with the 1 cup. I initially found myself making watery drinks until I realized I had to switch it. It would be nice if the screen automatically switched it or gave a warning that this is not the recommended size for the type of filter used. Another function I wish the machine had was a menu function or step included to warm up the cup and the portafilter rather than having to pick a drink and then press the hot water spout function or use the tea function. As a beginner, I wish there was more guidance or measurements on the milk jug or the instruction booklet on the quantity of milk that is recommended for each type of drink and what the min/max lines are in terms of ml or oz. Overall, I think this is a really good machine for someone who wants to learn how to use an espresso machine and wants to flatten the learning curve a little bit. There is still a ton to learn but it is really useful to have the machine tell me what adjustments I need to make. It is also really great for someone who no longer wants to use a tamper and manually heat up their milk. The Breville Touch Impress provides speed and precision for a really good cup.

Cynthia · October 10, 2026

I bought the Breville Barista Express three years ago and I never had any problems. Recently I gave it to my sister-in-law since I updated the barista touch impress. I don't regret it. I love it. It looks beautiful, easy to use and the results are amazing.