Breville The Barista Touch Impress (BES881)
Good Points
- Very good taste test score.
- Very good milk frothing score (when in manual mode).
- Drip tray full indicator.
- In-built grinder.
- Can accommodate taller cups easily.
- Built-in tamper allows for consistent pressure and digital display will tell the user if the correct amount of grinds is in the basket.
- Although manual machines are more complicated and require more practice to make a good espresso, they allow for more customisation and control.
- Digital display can help guide the user to make better coffee with live tips as the coffee is being made.
- Comes with blind filter for group head cleaning.
Bad Points
- Steam wand can only be moved forward and backward and is placed quite close to the group head. can be slightly awkward and feel in the way when making espresso.
- Screen is quite slow and has a low frame rate. Feels delayed when using.
- Grinder setting will often change by itself if sitting between two settings.
- Default volume is inaccurate and seems to produce much less water than what is stated. Default double shot is stated to be 60ml but in practice was more around 40ml. Had to change the double should setting to 90ml to get 60ml of espresso.
- Unit is light, need to have one hand on machine to stop it from moving on the bench when locking and unlocking the group handle.
- Stainless steel exterior requires extra effort when cleaning, shows fingerprint marks
- Enough vibration to make it worth staying close while the shots are being poured.
- Milk frothing in automatic mode is only OK as it creates very little foam.
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