Breville Barista Touch BES880BSS vs Gaggia Classic Evo Pro RI9380/49

A household where more than one person makes milk drinks and nobody wants to learn to steam

Scores higher on steam power & milk texturing, build quality & durability, ease of use & learning curve.

Anyone who wants commercial fittings at home and expects to keep the machine for a decade

Scores higher on value for money.

• +Hands-free milk texturing with 8 texture levels and a temperature you choose between 104F and 167F.
• +A 30-setting hardened steel conical grinder built in, dosing to Breville's stated 18g.
• +ThermoJet heating that Breville publishes as reaching extraction temperature in 3 seconds.
• +Two-year warranty, double the one year Breville gives the Barista Express and the Infuser.
• +Five preset drinks plus eight you can create, name and save.

• −$999.95, which buys a super-automatic that also pulls the shot for you.
• −A 54mm portafilter, not the 58mm commercial size, so accessories are less interchangeable.
• −The tamp is still manual, so the one step most likely to ruin a shot is left to you.
• −Breville publishes no pre-infusion pressure and no shot volumes, only the 9 bar extraction.

• +A 58mm commercial portafilter, the same size professional machines use, so every accessory fits
• +9 bar published as the actual extraction pressure rather than a pump maximum
• +Solid steel housing with brass and stainless steel, made in Italy, with a 2.1 litre tank

• −No built-in grinder
• −A single uncoated aluminium boiler, which is the part that most needs descaling
• −1200W, and no warranty term is published