I have now been using my Breville Barista Touch for more than ten months. I am updating my post.
My wife told me she'd like an espresso machine. I thought, I'll get her one for Christmas. But, I did not know a thing about espresso machines. I did some research. The Breville Barista Touch got rave reviews. It was said to be not too simple nor too complex. Goldilocks would understand.
Even Wirecutter, the product review section of the New York Times, said this was the espresso machine for those who cannot afford an ultimate machine; I cannot. Some ultimate machines cost thousands more than the Barista Touch.
I found mine on sale for $1280 Cdn at Canadian Tire. Yes, Canadian Tire. The store famous for motor oil, snow tires and automobile windshield cleaner also sells espresso machines. I checked the Internet and the nearest store had four. I got up early and got to the store minutes after its 8 a.m. opening.
At the check-out I confessed to the cashier I felt quite the fool. Who spends this much to brew coffee? I love my wife but I had to wonder if I loved her this much. I was conflicted. I mentioned to the cashier that I was surprised the store only had four Barista Touch left. "You're wrong," the cashier replied. "Someone beat you; eliminating the one you are buying, the store has only two left." Successfully snagging a Barista was like winning a lottery.
I was pleased. I had a great gift. My wife loves it. Sadly, she no longer loves our drip coffee. It's too weak, lacks character. Character? Who talks like that?
To the right is a latte I brewed for Judy. It's one quarter espresso and three quarters frothed, foamed milk. Personally, I like a flat white better. The tighter coffee to milk ratio, 1:2, keeps the coffee flavour upfront. A latte is more milk dominant.
The latte shown is in a Trudeau 11 oz., insulated, double-walled, glass cup bought on sale at Homesense. I preheat the cups by microwaving water in them while brewing the espresso.
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WARNING:
I am going to start my review with a warning. The Breville Barista Touch pumps out random amounts of brewed espresso. Pull two shots, one right after the other. The first one might be as little as 32 g and the other as much as 64 g. These numbers represent the minimum and maximum amounts of espresso I have personally brewed when pulling an espresso shot.
This amount of variance a problem. I have downgraded my opinion of the Barista Touch. A $1280 machine should brew consistent shots. My machine can't. A big disappointment.
My solution? When making two lattes, one for my wife and one for me, I brew two double shots, capture both in one cup, stir in the sugar and then split the espresso equally between two cups. The payoff? Consistency. If you have a better solution, please comment.
One positive note: despite the differing volume of espresso, my wife likes every latte I brew. Some lattes are stronger than others but they are all good. They are certainly better than lattes from local coffee shops.
A CAUTION:
Quality may be a problem. Before buying the Barista Touch I read a number of user posts mentioning quality problems. I cannot say I have encountered the ones mentioned but I do have a problem. The on/off power button only works intermittently. It goes a long time without a problem but when it fails it can take up to seven presses before success. I fear the day will come when it will fail permanently.
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Espresso machines like the Breville Touch have a learning curve. Breville understands and has posted videos and short articles addressing the most common problems encountered by newbie owners.
Let me give you some links.
Find more articles and videos with Google.
Why I bought the Breville Baristra Touch Espresso machine.
As I mentioned, Wirecutter in the New York Times, thought very highly of this café-quality espresso machine. Encouraged by the NYT positive review, further searching found lots of independent reviews, all in agreement with Wirecutter. Let's discuss some of the features reviewers appreciated.
1. All-in-One, Built-In Grinder
No need for a separate grinder. The Breville Touch has a high-quality integrated conical burr grinder. Burr grinders produce a consistent, even grind resulting in richer flavour and improved extraction.
About to brew an espresso? Use freshly ground coffee each time. Nice. The grinder drops the ground coffee straight into the portafilter. Thanks to a special collar or funnel attached to the portafilter, there is no mess, no spilled coffee grounds.
On the downside, the Breville Barista Touch controls the dose by time. Controlling the dose size by weight is the preferred method. My Touch cost me enough already. I'll accept a little randomness in the size of my doses. Anyway, the variation is usually no more than a gram and rarely more than two. I can live with that.
2. Intuitive Touchscreen Controls
A full-colour touchscreen guides you through grinding, brewing, and milk foaming. Setting the grind (finer or coarser), degree of milk foaming and final milk temperature can be daunting for a novice. That said, I only make lattes. All the automatic stuff is wasted on me.
3. Automated But Customizable
I like to call the Barista Touch a semi-automatic machine. It is left to the barista to fine-tune settings such as the the size and style of basket, the grind amount and size, the degree of tamping and the milk texture. Get all the variables right and you can save the "recipe". It is possible to save up to eight personalized coffee brewing profiles. This all may be true but, when since I just make two daily lattes, I have no need for individualized profiles.
4. Fast Heat-Up Time
The Breville Barista Touch Espresso machine reaches the optimal brewing temperature in about three seconds thanks to the ThermoJet® heating system. In a hurry? No worry. Still, I like to turn on the machine the moment I start getting ready to brew a latte or flat white.
5. Automatic Milk Frothing
The Breville AutoMilQ hands-free microfoam system steams milk to the texture and temperature you choose for making lattes and cappuccinos. The claim is that it makes excellent foam for every style of drink. I have found that the AutoMilQ system works very well. That said, many online self-proclaimed experts prefer to manually foam the milk. Not me! I love my foam-topped lattes.
6. Precision Brewing (?) I think not!
Low Pressure, pre-infusion followed by 9-bar extraction pulls balanced, rich espresso shots. Do it right and you are rewarded with good crema, as well. That is the claim.
Like many high-end espresso machines, the Breville Touch has PID temperature control. PID? A Proportional Integral Derivative extraction temperature controller. I cannot say any more. Google it, if you are still curious. I lost interest on "proportional".
I originally titled this "Precision Brewing". After more than ten months of use, I have changed my opinion. The brewing is anything but precise. My doses consistently weigh about 19g. My espresso shots can weigh from 32g to 64g.
I have tired everything and followed all advice found on the Web. I usually brew two lattes. I have taken to capturing two double-espresso shots in one cup with enough sugar for two drinks. I stir the espresso to dissolve the sugar and then I pour exactly half the espresso into a second cup. It is not a perfect solution but it makes both milk drinks taste the same. If anyone has a solution, I am listening.
7. Built for Daily Use
As mentioned earlier, many of the reviews I consulted were impressed with the ease of cleaning and the in-machine storage areas for accessories. For instance, when not in use the tamper hangs from a magnet concealed in the machine. Sadly, the ultimate build quality was questioned by some reviewers but I found a lot of positive comments from many satisfied owners. I find I must now express some concern. The power button has become intermittent. It may take up to seven tries to get the machine to turn on or off. This should not happen on a $1280 machine.
8. Café-Quality Drinks at Home
Lastly, the Barista Touch lets you make coffee shop quality coffee drinks at home. This does not sound like a big deal but do the math. You will be amazed. If you get your lattes or flat whites from Starbucks, you may pay for your espresso machine in less than a year. Make a latte or flat white for yourself and your partner every day and the coffee-drink-ritual will pay for the machine in as little as three months.
Warnings
Do not drag the stainless steel milk jug over the sensor. Place the jug on the sensor with care. Do not let water or milk wet the button sensor/switch. Do not fill the stainless steel milk frothing pitcher higher than the maximum fill line. Always place the pitcher on top of the sensor button. By following these two rules, I have not had an incident like my wife did in ten full months.
2. Another warning: do not change grinder settings by more than two and one is wiser. I had heard this recommendation on a number of YouTube videos on the Breville Barista Touch. I did not listen. This was a mistake.
When I did not get enough gound coffee in my portafilter, I increased the grind time by four seconds. During grinding, the portafilter with an installed basket overflowed. I had coffee grounds all over. Make changes one at a time
3. When cleaning the milk-frothing wand after use you will probably have the wand extended at an angle away from the espresso machine. Make sure it stays extended. The moment the wand is returned to its upright position, the purge cycle starts.
First, wipe the froth from the extended wand with a damp cloth. Next, fold the wand down and the purging cycle will start immediate. I always have a dry cloth covering the milk temperature sensor button. You do not want to get the sensor wet. Letting the wand purge directly into the drip tray allows the wand to purge freely with two short blasts of hot water and a final burst of steam. This milk wand purging is just one more reason to rinse the tray after each use of the Barista Touch.
