We have had the Breville Espresso Machine since April of 2020 (COVID purchase) and it's performance is not worth the price.The first issue was pressure. The system would never get up to the "espresso pressure range" and the coffee tasted very bitter. We called customer service and sent the machine back. took about 6 weeks for the system to be fixed. The issue was resolved.The second issue involves the preset brew time. The brew time sometimes would stop when programmed and sometimes not and continue to brew requiring manual stop - this would lead to a poor brew requiring a restart and a frustrated user. Tried reprogramming and it temporarily fixed the problem but would reoccur after a couple brew cycles.The third issue is inconsistent volume of grinder output. ... MoreWe have had the Breville Espresso Machine since April of 2020 (COVID purchase) and it's performance is not worth the price.The first issue was pressure. The system would never get up to the "espresso pressure range" and the coffee tasted very bitter. We called customer service and sent the machine back. took about 6 weeks for the system to be fixed. The issue was resolved.The second issue involves the preset brew time. The brew time sometimes would stop when programmed and sometimes not and continue to brew requiring manual stop - this would lead to a poor brew requiring a restart and a frustrated user. Tried reprogramming and it temporarily fixed the problem but would reoccur after a couple brew cycles.The third issue is inconsistent volume of grinder output. Without changing the grind knob, we would get variable volumes of ground coffee. This would inevitably result in poor espresso output. Again, leading to a frustrated user.I would send the system back for repairs but do not want to shell out the expense to fix a faulty machine.When it works it yields a great espresso.

I purchased this product a year ago. For the past couple decades I have been a Gaggia Classic person, and it is a fine long lasting machine though manual, so when my second one gave out I thought it time to move up to something easier to use and automatic, especially for spouse & guests - and relive me from barista duty. (note: this review is for the Touch model in Black Truffle)Frankly, it took me a while to shell out this money & deciding on which product to go with. So much so I spent several months after my old machine broke going out for my morning espresso (my spouse likes to point out that I spent more going out for espresso than this machine costs - and she is probably right as I like quad shots & sometimes twice a day, at $6 a pop it adds up, not to ... MoreI purchased this product a year ago. For the past couple decades I have been a Gaggia Classic person, and it is a fine long lasting machine though manual, so when my second one gave out I thought it time to move up to something easier to use and automatic, especially for spouse & guests - and relive me from barista duty. (note: this review is for the Touch model in Black Truffle)Frankly, it took me a while to shell out this money & deciding on which product to go with. So much so I spent several months after my old machine broke going out for my morning espresso (my spouse likes to point out that I spent more going out for espresso than this machine costs - and she is probably right as I like quad shots & sometimes twice a day, at $6 a pop it adds up, not to mention the tip & pastry she doesn't know about).I must say I am very pleased with my purchase. For me, the resulting temperature, crema, froth are all excellent. And the machine is uncomplicated and easy to use.I read all the reviews beforehand and frankly there is nothing to add to those other 5 star reviews. And to the 1 star reviews all I can say is I have never experienced your issues (that is heat, grind & steaming problems called out have never been an issue for me).This is not to say it's perfect, just that where it could improve does not affect the quality of the result (of course I'm hopeful it will stand the test of time, don't expect it to last as long as my old manual ones, but frankly if this lasts 6 plus years I'll be happy).And if you want to know my nitpicks:- I might not do black again. The body is fine and well made but the pull out tray is less robust and now has a couple little chips in the color.- The metal tray is thin and very easily scratches (but it is easily replaceable).- The grinder will occasionally not feed because the beans in the bottom can eventually stack in a way to block enough from feeding (easily handled as now I just stir the beans up in the hopper on refill, but I suppose where the beans feed could have more horizontal height to prevent this).- You can push the portafilter into the grinding cradle to auto start the grinding, but be aware if you do quickly/hard then the resulting position of portafilter may be off in cradle enough to cause the grind to spill over the edge (can't really blame the product, though hopefully Breville are aware most customers are still half asleep when using the machine).- It will slide under standard height mounted cabinets over countertop, though it will not for those of us that later installed under lights to existing cabinets (not a criticism, just a shout out to those considering who may have the same situation then end up with less counter space than expecting).See, I said they were nitpicks.I hope you have as much success and enjoyment as me.

My wife had been at me for a couple of years to get a coffee machine, but I was concerned it would just become another appliance collecting dust in our kitchen (plus I rarely drink coffee so it seemed quite an expensive purchase for one person). Anyway, her birthday snuck up on me and I became desperate for a gift :-) so I decided to take a closer look at coffee machines. All my research pointed to the Breville range (no, I’m not affiliated with the company in any way). I couldn’t justify the dollars for an Oracle so I looked at the Barista range. Any of those would have been suitable but I was drawn to the Barista Touch. I liked the look of it, it doesn’t take up too much bench space, and the touch screen is nice and easy to use (and I was able to negotiate a good ... MoreMy wife had been at me for a couple of years to get a coffee machine, but I was concerned it would just become another appliance collecting dust in our kitchen (plus I rarely drink coffee so it seemed quite an expensive purchase for one person). Anyway, her birthday snuck up on me and I became desperate for a gift :-) so I decided to take a closer look at coffee machines. All my research pointed to the Breville range (no, I’m not affiliated with the company in any way). I couldn’t justify the dollars for an Oracle so I looked at the Barista range. Any of those would have been suitable but I was drawn to the Barista Touch. I liked the look of it, it doesn’t take up too much bench space, and the touch screen is nice and easy to use (and I was able to negotiate a good price).Since getting it I’ve been surprised how easy it is to get a decent coffee out of it (I have at least one a day myself now). Manually tamping the ground coffee is super easy (getting the pour right only took a couple of test runs), and the auto milk frother is great. All in all, I’m very happy with my purchase. I guess my only concern is how durable the product is. There seems to be quite a bit that could go wrong. Hopefully I get 5+ years out of it.