Breville Barista Express
- Built-in grinder with dose control
- Rich espresso with good crema
- Steam wand for proper milk texture
- You're the barista — it isn't one-touch
Look for: Sage Barista Express SES875. We earn a commission from these links.
Updated 6 Oct 2026
Is the Breville Barista Express worth it?
Yes — if you want to learn real espresso.
It grinds, doses and lets you control the shot, and the steam wand makes proper microfoam once you've practised. It isn't one-touch, it's a bit noisy and messy, and in the UK it's sold as the Sage Barista Express.
Get it if…
- You want café-style espresso and enjoy the process.
- You'd rather not buy a separate grinder.
- You want to tweak dose, grind and temperature.
Skip it if…
- You want coffee at the press of a button.
- You want a quiet machine.
Things to know before you buy
- 01
It's noisy when grinding.
- 02
It gets a little messy around the grinder.
- 03
The filter baskets are fiddly to take out of the portafilter.
Ideal Home found great coffee with excellent crema, plus control over dose, shot volume, temperature and grind. Coffeeness rates it a top pick for beginners but finds the steam pressure on the low side — and it takes practice, because it's an espresso machine with a grinder, not a bean-to-cup.
What owners say
97%of 1,468 buyers give it 4 or 5 stars
Owners love the coffee and the build. The unhappy ones found it hard to learn or had faults.
What they love
- Makes great, café-style coffee32 of 100
- Easy to use once it's dialled in27 of 100
- Well built and good looking20 of 100
What they complain about
- Took a lot of trial and error, and wasted beans, to get a good shot7 of 37
- Needed repair or stopped working within months5 of 37
- Lost pressure, so shots stopped coming out right3 of 37
- The steam wand is hit and miss or hard to keep clean3 of 37
We counted every rating on Currys, read all 37 reviews of 3 stars or lower and the 100 newest of 4 or 5 stars, in October 2026. Currys reviews come from verified buyers and include its sister shops in the Nordics and Greece. How we do this
Not quite right? Get this instead
Ninja Luxe Café Premier
Suggests the grind and weighs the dose for you, so it's easier to learn.
Still deciding?
How we reached this verdict
We compared independent expert reviews with the manufacturer's specifications, then checked it's sold at a major retailer where you live. We don't test products ourselves.
Sources: Ideal Home, Coffeeness, Coffee Blog, TechRadar, Trusted Reviews, Tom's Guide, manufacturer specifications.
Updated 6 Oct 2026How we decide