Breville is one of the largest brands of home coffee makers, producing some of the… best espresso coffee machines I tested here at TechRadar. Its semi-automatic machines guide you through every step of the coffee-making process, like a friendly barista in your own kitchen. But which one is right for you?
As TechRadar's resident coffee expert, I've put together a short list of the three best Breville espresso machines that I think you should consider, outlining the differences and similarities, and what to expect from each.
Suitable for beginners
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If you're new to making espresso at home, the Breville Barista Touch Impress is a great option that guides your hand without overwhelming you with more features and options than you need, clearly explaining each step with a bright touchscreen that makes any instruction manual redundant.
I really enjoyed testing this machine, which introduces you to barista skills in a friendly and simple way. You'll discover the impact of every variable on the finished drink (including dosage, grind size, tamping pressure, and brewing temperature), and the machine will offer feedback and suggestions if the flavor isn't quite right.
The Puck Impress system, which compacts freshly ground coffee with just the touch of a handle, is especially convenient and greatly reduces the mess compared to manual tamping. Unlike the Breville Oracle Jet below, I had no issues with static causing the coffee to stick to the grinder.
Launched earlier in 2025, this model is an updated version of the original Barista Touch Impress with the ability to brew a shot of espresso using room temperature water directly from the reservoir, bypassing the ThermoJet heater. It works well, producing a nice, round, smooth-tasting shot in a couple of minutes that's great as a base for a variety of chilled drinks and cocktails. However, it is worth noting that the Barista Touch Impress does not have a cold milk frothing system. For this, take a look at a machine like De'Longhi Eletta View.
The Barista Touch Impress offers both manual and automatic milk steaming options, with settings for dairy and plant-based alternatives, but I found that it worked significantly better with oat milk than full-fat dairy, which is unusual. I prefer to steam the milk by hand, which is easy and the pitcher has a nice spout for pouring latte art.
Read our full Breville Barista Touch Impress Cold Press Review
Premium
Breville Oracle Jet
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The Breville Oracle Jet is the newest and most expensive machine in this review, and while at first glance it looks very similar to the Barista Touch Impress, there are a few significant updates that improve its quality.
The most obvious of these is the absence of the Puck Impress System lever on board the Oracle Jet. This is because its intervention is completely automated, so you don't have to do anything yourself. We found that the grinder can be a little messy (static electricity is a fairly common problem with semi-automatic coffee machines), but overall the brewing experience is nearly flawless.
The Oracle Jet has more grind settings than the Barista Touch Impress, which our reviewer Lee Bell really appreciated: “This is a really valuable feature, especially since I found a lot best espresso coffee machines Getting it right takes a lot of trial and error, which is a waste of time (and coffee). Oracle Jet truly doubles down on this by providing real-time feedback on extraction and helping you get the perfect shot every time.
Less obvious is that the Oracle Jet has not one, but two ThermoJet water heaters, with the second used to heat the group head. This should mean that your coffee is extracted more evenly every time since the temperature of the water does not drop after it leaves the boiler. The temperature can be adjusted in 1 degree Celsius or Fahrenheit increments.
The Oracle Jet can sometimes be purchased at a discount, but it is still a premium machine with a price tag to match. It's also worth noting that this is the largest and heaviest of the Breville espresso machines in this review, weighing in at over 12kg. This is not what you need for compact kitchens.
Read our full Breville Oracle Jet Review
The most affordable
Breville Barista Impress Express
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The Barista Impress Express is another great espresso machine that has the same smart dosing and recording system as the Breville Touch Impress at the top of this guide, but at a more affordable price. This is partly because it's a slightly older model (we first reviewed it in 2022), and partly because it has physical controls rather than a color touchscreen.
Which system you prefer is a matter of personal preference. If you're new to the world of home espresso, you may find the display more useful as it virtually eliminates the need for an instruction manual, but the Impress Express buttons and dials are still easy to use. Barista Impress Express still guides you through the process of preparing the perfect espresso, providing dosage and compaction information on a small LCD display.
I also particularly like the presence of a central pressure gauge that clearly shows whether the machine has reached the correct pressure when extracting shot, so you can immediately see whether it is likely to be under- or over-extracted.
The Barista Impress Express has a very good manual steam wand, but does not have an automatic milk frothing feature. Since the AutoMilq system is perhaps the Barista Touch Impress's weakest point, I'd say it's not that big of a loss.
Cold extraction has only become commonplace in home coffee machines in the last 12 months, so it's no surprise that it's not offered on this slightly older machine. However, if you don't mind that and are willing to give up the touchscreen, the Barista Impress Express is a great mid-range option.
Read our full Breville Barista Express Impress review
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