Breville Barista Touch Impress Espresso Machine

First, let me start with the positives… we loved this machine for the first 10 months (when it worked). The espresso was great, the machine is easy to use and produced consistently high quality results. As a bonus, it was a wonderful hospitality option to treat our guests. These positives were awesome and ultimately why I still give this two stars.

Unfortunately, our machine suddenly stopped turning on (blank screen… no obvious reason) about three weeks ago, and our Breville story has turned into a customer service nightmare since that time.

First it takes a lot of time to work your way through their glitchy call in system. They clearly use an international call center which led to a difficult communication environment to start with. What should’ve been the easiest part (Shipping back the product which was thankfully still under warranty) was NOT, as we were given INCORRECT instructions at the beginning (said they would send a shipping box in 2-3 days, only to receive a call three days later saying they didn’t have shipping boxes and we would need to take care of this ourselves). When we finally did get the machine shipped at UPS, it took over one week for them to receive the machine at their warehouse.

It then took almost A WEEK just to confirm what we already knew – the machine didn’t turn on… but Breville customer service didn’t communicate the results directly to us. We received a very short and confusing email essentially saying “our order was back ordered and wouldn’t ship for 1-3 weeks at the soonest. Upon again braving the call in center labyrinth, I found out the details including the incomprehensible statement that the stainless steel model we owned wasn’t available (note: checked Amazon and it could deliver one to us in 1 day) but they did have other colors. Upon me telling them I’d take other colors, they said we’d hear back shortly… but now over 24 hours later, I AGAIN called only to hear that 1. “The warehouse hasn’t responded yet and there’s nothing the rep can do to expedite” and 2. Upon requesting a supervisor to lay out the frustrating customer service facts of the last several weeks, they said “we can only put you in a queue to speak with a supervisor and it will take 24-48 hours”.

After all this, all the positive good will Breville build over 10 months has been eroded in weeks. For a $1,500+tax premium consumer product, I’m horrible disappointed by this experience. Hopefully we’ll get a machine soon… Will update this post if anything materially changes.

[update at end] When the machine works, it’s great, but I am currently on my second unit, and about to return this one. The first unit would randomly shut down, and/or, do a factory reset while frothing milk. I called support and they advized that it would be best to return it to Amazon. I did, however it cost me an extra $300 because the first one was purchased on a Christmas sale that was now over. Since when it works we liked it we went ahead and got another unit.
The second unit arrived and the frothing now works every time, however the hopper keeps complaining that there are no beans even though there are. The original never did this. I followed the instructions and removed the burr and completely cleaned all beans and coffee grounds out, then put it all back together. It only took it 2 times to fail again. We did notice that the grinding times are a lot longer on the second unit even when it does work. Everything looked fully functional when I cleaned it, including the hopper which I tested while it was off.
Another interesting thing is that the firmware on the “newer” unit is an older rev than the first unit we bought a month ago. Support says there is no way to upgrade the FW at home, so it’s strange they display it. We have to wait until the credit shows up for the first return before we can order the 3rd replacement because this is a hefty chunk of change.
Hopefully someone from Breville reads this and can improve their quality control, because I feel that if I had a system that worked every time, it would be good. I’ll update this review as the coffee drama progresses.
[update] I just got my unit back from Breville and I was very impressed with them. When I called them they set up a video chat so they could see the problem. She immediately said it was faulty and e-mailed me a return shipping label. From the day I shipped it I had it back in 1 week (maybe I was lucky). It grinds faster, brews faster, and tastes better (although the latter may be because I’ve been drinking coffee from a pot for the last week). It also has a newer firmware version so that probably fixed a lot of problems too since I was an early adopter of a brand new design.

I really wanted to like this machine, it is incredible how a lower end model from Breville such as the bambino has the option to configure to brew consistently for x amount of seconds, there is no such option in the impress touch. You can only configure based on predetermined volume which is nowhere near precise and is the biggest flaw of this “espresso” machine. BTW this setting of brewing against volume cannot be turned off.

One could think that since you can save different presets you can have multiple beans, single dose accordingly, and press a button, WRONG. Since you cant brew for predetermined seconds this is simply not possible, who wants to brew against a volume setting that doesn’t work?

Then there is the Baratza grinder using M2 burrs, which is “ok” as it is the same one found on the encore esp. There is just one big problem when manual grinding based on predetermined seconds, just one second can throw off a few grams more, this can be fixed by simply adding to the software 0.5 second intervals or 0.25 seconds instead of one second intervals so that each dose can be as precise as possible, again this setting is not available.

Unfortunately I was looking for an espresso machine that I can customize and save presets for others to use around the house based on grinding dose and brewing time, this is not that machine.

Most of the issues can be fixed via a software update, but again this 1,500 USD machine can only be updated by an authorized technician.

Recommendation, stay away from this espresso machine, buy a bambino and a good grinder, it will be way more consistent.

I was excited to get this machine as I have heard good things about Breville. This machine does make a nice cup of coffee. After 6 months of gentle use it started to exhibit an intermittent issue. Called Breville, no one answer the phone. Emailed and waited for a response. Sent them the video about the issue and now after a month still do not have a resolution. Their staff take a week or so for every email. Very poor support after purchasing the unit for almost $1500. Would not buy Breville again given that they not able to support their product properly.

A couple things I had to learn about this machine to realize its amazing abilities:

1) The beans you use are absolutely critical. I tried some high end stuff from Whole Foods, some Espresso beans from Costco, … I could never get the “perfect shot”. I ended up hearing about a roaster called Onyx on the espresso subreddit, bought some of those, when they arrived at my house they were only 2 days since roasting. Every shot is now perfect, dialed in! .. What’s a perfect shot?

2) Basically what you’re shooting for is the espresso to start pouring into your cup at the 7 second mark, and complete somewhere really close to 30 seconds. The consistency should be like a slightly watered-down honey, and you’ll see it change color and consistency a few times during the 30 seconds. (For reference, some of the beans I talked above would never perform like this, 50-60 seconds, non steady streams, etc). Use the single-wall basket. (Adjust grind size to hit that 30 seconds)

3) The temperature reading on the milk heater is odd, odd enough that I spent a couple hours with Breville support techs trying to figure out what was wrong. Let’s say you set the temp to 150. As the milk is heating, you’ll see the display climb.. 110.. 120.. 130.. And then it shortly after 130 it just says it’s done. (It never hit 150, let alone 140!) .. An instant read thermometer will confirm the temps are very close to 150, however. What’s going on is the unit is measuring the temp of the milk jug.. And as the milk inside rapidly is rising in temp, the jug itself won’t be as hot.. So there’s some estimation going on… Anyhow, what you should take from this: Don’t think the temp not reaching the target means something isn’t working — it is.

I purchased this Breville Barista Touch Impress twice. The first one I had kept getting a ER09 Error Code, so I returned it since it was still within the return period. I read horror stories regarding Breville Customer Support when looking up ER09 error code online and didn’t want to go through that trouble.

The return by the way was still a hassle – Amazon doesn’t make it easy to return large appliances. I returned it and never received my refund. I had to contact customer service multiple times – who then told me to “just wait another week” 3 times – very annoying. They took many weeks to give me a refund and eventually had to get an exec to override and issue a refund because “the return was stuck in processing” – whatever that means.

Due to the fact that my wife and I both enjoyed the first one when it worked, I gave it another chance and ordered a replacement.

The second one has now stopped working after 7 months.

Breville customer service is terrible. In order to honor their own warranty, they need to see video proof, have a video call with you, watch you use the machine, make you sing a song and dance like a circus clown. Last two are a joke by the way lol

The point is… Breville makes you run around and jump through hoops for them to honor their own warranty on a well-known defective machine. There are countless sites and threads online where people complain about this exact model having so many issues. I honestly don’t even know why Amazon sells this model.

Please do yourself, your family and your wallet a favor and skip this model. It is nice while it works but it breaks down extremely easily. Then you are out of $1500+ and your only solution is to pay money to return the product to Breville after they make you jump through hoops – only to get another one that will break again.

Rinse, wash, repeat. Heed the warnings of myself and many others – STAY FAR AWAY FROM THIS DEFECTIVE MACHINE.

I would give this product ZERO STARS if I could. Never going to purchase another Breville product again.

I purchased this machine in June when it’s price was $1500.00. By August it had to be sent in for repair. The computer touch screen quit working and there is no manual way to operate this machine.
The company then sends me a “remanufactured” machine saying the computer needed to be “updated”.
The machine I received has the same serial number so I don’t know if they transferred my number or just sent me back the same machine.

It worked fine until the latter part of November. It gives a message when it needs to be descaled, etc. So I followed the onscreen instructions to descale using the Breville solution. Not long after that the machine started again with the computer failing. I found information on the internet that descaling can cause a fuse to blow and it’s a known problem.

The machine will undoubtedly have to be returned to Breville again. We are trying to talk to customer service but haven’t been able to get through. If they are going to make us pay this time, i’m taking the machine to the dump despite what I paid. I’ll buy something different.

When I searched Google for “Best espresso machines”, this model came up several times as “best overall” back in June. Not anymore but now they say the Breville Express Impress is the best. I don’t know if I want to buy another one. I think i’ll check out other brands.

Great machine, and very easy to use once you get the grind settings dialed in. There’s a walkthrough in the setup menu for doing just that. The sweet spot for the grind setting and time will vary depending on the beans used. So you’ll likely need to make adjustments when using a new batch of beans. Early on, you’ll likely be prompted to grind a bit more one or two times after tamping, but the machine does learn quickly and adjust the grind level so eventually it will hit the target nearly all of the time.

The self-purging feature on the steaming wand is a gift from the gods, and there’s a very handy storage tray to hold brushes and filter baskets that fits behind the drip tray, which itself has a nice roomy capacity. It’s great not to be constantly emptying the drip tray.

A few minor things worth knowing:

In the pre-set drink menus, there’s no indication of the amount of milk to use. The milk pitcher has minimum and maximum levels marked, but it’s left up to the user to decide how much to use. The minimum mark is about 4 ounces, more than needed for some drinks. Smaller amounts can be done manually.

When filling the water reservoir, the max level is quite high, so water can slosh out if you aren’t very careful when carrying it by the handle. It’s also a bit cramped for normal size hands when you’re washing it before initial use as the manual recommends or inserting/replacing the filter cartridge. The lid gets in the way and I see no way to completely remove it.

During the grind calibration process, the puck did sometimes stick to the group head when using the double-walled baskets.

All in all, very happy with this machine. For the price, I certainly hope it proves reliable.

Could’ve been great but lots of issues.
1-it’s constantly telling you to fill the hopper when it’s already full.
2-after you grind the coffee, it frequently says ‘add a little more’ sometimes several times for one cup.
3-For the Americano, it occasionally decides not to dispense the water. Then if you select the water, it not only dispenses, but then also brews a second time.
4-it’s messy. We purchased this one to avoid the manual tamping and mess but this machine constantly drops grounds and is messy.
5-The coffee puck frequently doesn’t come out with the portafilter and then makes a big mess
6-removing the filter basket is difficult and has sharp edges. You have to pry it out with a knife to remove it. Forget about switching to a single.
Unfortunately, these are not returnable once used, otherwise we’d be sending it back.
Very disappointing

This is my first espresso machine, and I love how it introduced me to being a barista. I can’t even imagine trying to learn this on my own initially. As the machine guides me, I feel like I’m slowly understanding what it means for a shot to be under extracted or over extracted and how the grind and tamp can impact it.

Anyhow, so far so good.

However, USE FRESH BEANS. I tried to use an unopened bag of Starbucks espresso beans as well as an unopened bag of lavazza beans. However, both bags were very old, and the extractions were wildly inconsistent. One brew would be extremely watery, the next wouldn’t even push through the portafilter, causing me to change grinds and keep trying to calibrate the machine. Eventually I threw out all the old beans, cleaned the burrs, went to a local place and bought beans that were roasted just a week ago. I switched to the single wall double filter. The results are completely different. Much more consistent, much better aroma, better crema, and of course better taste. Initially I didn’t really believe the age of the beans mattered much, I would French press or make cold brews before and it didn’t seem to matter to me anyhow. However, for espresso and at least my experience with this machine it absolutely matters. Strongly recommend using freshly roasted beans!