For Barista Express vs. Barista Touch, pick Express for hands‑on control; choose Touch for 3‑second heat‑up and automatic milk.
Breville Barista Express (BES870XL)
Breville Barista Touch (BES880BSS)
Best Value Latte/Cappuccino Route
- Manual steaming with pressure gauge feel
- Consistent shots with PID temp control
- Lower cost tier; great first barista build
Breville Barista Express BES870XL
Fastest Morning Routine
- 3 s warm‑up; less waiting
- Touchscreen recipes; save profiles
- Auto milk temp & texture options
Breville Barista Touch BES880BSS
Countertop espresso changes how your mornings run. Breville’s Barista Express favors hands‑on control, while the Barista Touch goes for speed and repeatability with a touchscreen and auto milk. This guide gives you the fast verdict plus the trade‑offs that matter when you’re picking a machine you’ll use every day.
In A Nutshell
The Express suits buyers who enjoy dialing in grind and steaming by hand. It uses a Thermocoil system with PID control, a pressure gauge, and a classic button layout. The Touch suits anyone who wants café drinks with fewer steps. It adds ThermoJet heat in 3 seconds, a touchscreen menu, and automatic milk texturing.
Side‑By‑Side Specs
ℹ️ Good To Know: Pre‑heat your cups and flush hot water through the group head before your first shot of the day. It warms the metal parts and improves temperature stability.
Breville Barista Express — What We Like / What We Don’t Like
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✅ What We Like
- Thermocoil heating with PID helps hold brew temp steady for balanced shots.
- Low‑pressure pre‑infusion and a pressure gauge make learning espresso more intuitive.
- Integrated conical burr grinder with a handy dose control and 16 grind steps.
- Solid 54 mm portafilter and included Razor™ trimming tool keep dosing consistent.
- Great value tier if you want to steam by hand and practice latte art.
⚠️ What We Don’t Like
- Warm‑up takes longer than ThermoJet models, so the first shot isn’t instant.
- No touchscreen or built‑in drink presets; everything is manual by design.
- Fewer grinder steps than the Touch, so ultra‑fine tuning can take more time.
Breville Barista Touch — What We Like / What We Don’t Like
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✅ What We Like
- ThermoJet hits brew temperature in 3 seconds, so mornings move faster.
- Touchscreen with café presets and room for up to 8 saved drinks.
- Auto MilQ steams milk to a chosen temperature and texture; still lets you steam by hand.
- Integrated precision grinder with 30 steps gives finer control over flow rate.
- Shorter overall height helps with low cabinets while keeping a roomy work area.
⚠️ What We Don’t Like
- Higher cost tier than the Express.
- Touchscreen simplicity can hide the craft some buyers enjoy.
- More electronics means more to learn in settings and care menus.
Barista Express Or Barista Touch: Which Fits You Better
Power & Throughput
The Express uses a Thermocoil system paired with digital temperature control to deliver stable brew water and traditional steaming power. It’s quick for a Thermocoil machine, but you still wait a bit before your first shot and before steam pressure is ready. The Touch swaps in ThermoJet, which hits extraction temperature in roughly three seconds and moves from shot to steam quickly. If speed is your daily pain point, the Touch clears that hurdle with ease.
Noise & Comfort
Both models run a vibration pump and a conical burr grinder. You’ll hear the grinder spin and the pump ramp during pre‑infusion. The Touch’s fast warm‑up cuts idle hum between steps, and its guided on‑screen cues reduce guesswork. The Express counters with tactile feedback: a pressure gauge and manual steam knob that many home baristas enjoy.
Cleaning & Parts
Each machine includes a cleaning disc, tablets, a milk‑wand tool, a brush, and the Razor™ dose trimmer. Both accept a drop‑in water filter and display a light when a cleaning cycle or descale is due. Keeping burrs brushed, swapping filters on schedule, and wiping the steam wand right after use keep either machine running smoothly.
Safety & Standards
The Express manual specifies that parts touching coffee, water, and milk are BPA‑free, and both models use a 54 mm portafilter with robust stainless components. Use caution around hot metal surfaces, purge steam safely, and let the machine cool before maintenance. Follow the user guide steps and you’ll avoid most mishaps.
Warranty & Service
Breville supports these models with replacement parts, consumables, and service routes. Water filters, cleaning tablets, and replacement tanks are easy to source. If you live with hard water, a filter program and regular descale cycles preserve performance.
Pricing & Packages
Think in tiers, not dollars. The Express sits in a lower cost tier and ships with the same core tools many buyers add later: baskets, jug, tamper, cleaning kit, and filter. The Touch lands one tier higher because of ThermoJet, the touchscreen, 30‑step grinder, and automatic milk. For reference, see Breville’s official product pages for the Barista Express and the Barista Touch.
Method note: This comparison compiles features and specs from Breville’s US product pages and instruction books, with attention to heating systems (Thermocoil vs ThermoJet), grinder steps, interface, and care routines.
Price, Value & Ownership
Reading the table, two gaps matter daily: heat‑up time and milk workflow. If you want fast, predictable drinks for a family or guests, the Touch pays off right away. If you like to shape the shot and texture by feel, the Express keeps the process tactile and costs less.
Where Each One Wins
🏆 Budget — Barista Express
🏆 Ease Of Use — Barista Touch
🏆 Latte Art Practice — Barista Express
🏆 Under‑Cabinet Fit — Barista Touch
Decision Guide
✅ Choose Breville Barista Express If…
- You want to learn espresso by feel with a gauge, manual steaming, and fine control.
- You prefer a lower cost tier and still want an integrated grinder and 54 mm workflow.
- Your kitchen routine leaves room for a short warm‑up before the first shot.
✅ Choose Breville Barista Touch If…
- You want the fastest path from beans to cup with near‑instant heat‑up.
- You like one‑touch drink presets, profile saves, and automatic milk texturing.
- You prefer a shorter machine that fits under cabinets with room to spare.
Best Fit For Most Kitchens
If you care most about speed and consistency across different users, the Barista Touch is the smarter buy. It starts fast, guides you with a touchscreen, and steams milk automatically to a target temperature and texture. If your goal is to learn espresso craft, stretch budget dollars, and enjoy manual steaming, the Barista Express delivers a classic feel with excellent results. Either way, you get a 54 mm workflow, pre‑infusion with 9‑bar extraction, and an integrated burr grinder that keeps counters clean and the routine tight.
Spec highlights used here come from Breville’s US pages: the Express lists a Thermocoil with PID, low‑pressure pre‑infusion, 16 grind settings, and 12.5″×13.8″×15.9″ dimensions; the Touch shows ThermoJet 3‑second heat‑up, 30 grinder steps, Auto MilQ with adjustable milk temperature and texture, and a compact 12.4″×12.8″×13.4″ frame.