The short answer
Buy the Barista Express Impress if you want tamping and dosing automated and value the extra grind settings. Buy the Barista Express and add a calibrated tamper if you are willing to learn the routine - the espresso hardware is the same.
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Quick picks
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1. Choose this to automate the tamp
Breville Barista Express Impress
Mid tier · The Barista Express with assisted tamping and dose correction added.
Assisted tamping, dose correction and 25 grind settings.
The Impress adds an assisted tamping lever - 10 kg, or 22 lb, of pressure with a 7-degree twist - so tamp pressure stops being a variable.
It reads the depth of the previous shot's puck and adjusts grind time, with feedback on the front panel when the dose is out of range.
Its conical burr grinder has 25 settings against the Barista Express's 16, and its double basket holds up to 19 g.
The espresso hardware underneath is unchanged, and so is the integrated-grinder ceiling.
Specification
- Grinder
- Conical burr, 25 settings
- Basket
- Double basket, up to 19 g
- Tamping
- Assisted lever, 10 kg / 22 lb, 7-degree twist
- Dosing
- Adjusts grind time from the previous shot puck depth
What it does well
- Removes tamp pressure as a variable, which is the hardest one to keep consistent
- 25 grind settings against the Barista Express 16
- Dose feedback on the front panel tells you when you are out of range
Where it gives ground
- Solves a problem a calibrated tamper also solves, for far less
- Same integrated-grinder ceiling as the Barista Express
- The automation is the product; the espresso hardware is unchanged
Skip it if
Skip it if you are happy to learn to tamp. A calibrated tamper solves the same problem for far less - see espresso tampers.
2. Choose this and add a tamper
Breville Barista Express
Mid tier · The all-in-one: espresso machine with a conical burr grinder built into the case.
The same espresso hardware, and a very large owner base.
The Barista Express pairs a 54 mm stainless portafilter with an integrated conical burr grinder of 16 settings and PID-controlled Thermocoil heating.
PID temperature control at this level is not a given, and its enormous owner base means parts and answers are easy to find.
16 grind settings is coarse resolution for espresso dialing, and the built-in grinder cannot be upgraded.
A calibrated 53.3 mm tamper covers the main thing the Impress automates.
Specification
- Portafilter
- 54 mm stainless
- Grinder
- Integrated conical burr, 16 settings
- Heating
- Thermocoil, 200 F, PID controlled
- Footprint
- 15.9 x 13.1 x 12.4 in
What it does well
- One box, one price, one plug - nothing else to buy
- PID temperature control at this level is not a given
- Enormous owner base, so parts and answers are easy to find
Where it gives ground
- 16 grind settings is coarse resolution for espresso dialing
- The built-in grinder is the weakest component and cannot be upgraded
- Wide footprint for a single-boiler machine
Skip it if
Skip it if you want the machine to correct your dose for you. That is the Impress's job.
What the extra money buys
Tamp pressure is the hardest variable to keep consistent, and the Impress removes it. Dose correction and more grind settings help too. What it does not change is the grinder's ceiling or the espresso hardware - which is why a calibrated tamper on the Barista Express solves the main problem for far less.