Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 vs Breville Infuser BES840XL
Ahead
The verdict
Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 is narrowly ahead, 7.1 to Breville Infuser BES840XL's 6.8. It leads on steam power & milk texturing and ease of use & learning curve.
Breville Infuser BES840XL costs $1,163.45 less.
Who each one suits
Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881
A grinder, assisted tamping and hands-free milk behind one touchscreen
Scores higher on steam power & milk texturing, ease of use & learning curve, maintenance & cleaning.
Breville Infuser BES840XL
Someone who already owns a grinder and wants the shot control without paying for a second one
Scores higher on shot quality & extraction, build quality & durability, value for money.
How they score, criterion by criterion
Both are scored the same way against the rest of their category, from what their makers publish. The weight is how much each criterion moves the total. How the score works
| Criterion | Weight in category | Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 | Breville Infuser BES840XL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shot Quality & Extraction | 22% | 5.8 | 8.5 |
| Steam Power & Milk Texturing | 16% | 7.5 | 5.5 |
| Build Quality & Durability | 16% | 7.2 | 7.6 |
| Ease of Use & Learning Curve | 12% | 8.0 | 3.3 |
| Maintenance & Cleaning | 12% | 10.0 | 5.8 |
| Workflow & Ergonomics | 12% | 8.8 | 5.6 |
| Value for Money | 10% | 3.5 | 10.0 |
What each one costs
| Price | $1,499.95 | $336.50 |
Where they differ
Every specification the two makers publish differently. Everything they match on is in the full table below.
| Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 | Breville Infuser BES840XL | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1,499.95 | $336.50 |
| Best for | A grinder, assisted tamping and hands-free milk behind one touchscreen | Someone who already owns a grinder and wants the shot control without paying for a second one |
| What sets it apart | — | PID temperature control adjustable in two degree steps, with volumetric shot control and no grinder to pay for |
| Automatic milk frother | ✓ | ✕ |
| Bean hopper | 340, published as 12 oz | — |
| Boiler Type | ThermoJet heating system | — |
| Built in Grinder | ✓ | ✕ |
| Burr Material | Hardened steel | — |
| Colour Options | Brushed Stainless Steel, Damson Blue and Black Truffle | — |
| Dimensions | 414 x 351 x 338, published as 16.3 x 13.8 x 13.3 in (W x D x H) | — |
| Display Type | Touchscreen | — |
| Grind steps | 30 | — |
| In Box Accessories | 54 mm portafilter, 480 ml milk jug, single and dual wall baskets, water filter holder, water hardness strip, Razor trimming tool, cleaning tablets, cleaning disc, brush, steam wand cleaning tool and descale powder | — |
| Machine Type | Semi-automatic espresso machine with built-in grinder and touchscreen | Semi-automatic espresso machine |
| Model | BES881 | — |
| PID control | — | ✓ |
| Portafilter Material | Stainless steel | — |
| Portafilter Size | 54 mm | — |
| Power | 1750 W | 1650 W |
| Pre Infusion | — | ✓ |
| Price Note | $1,499.95 on breville.com | — |
| Ships to | — | US |
| Ships to Note | — | Confirmed on Amazon US, which is where this link points. Availability in other Amazon stores has not been checked, and a regional store may substitute a different product. |
| Steam Wand Type | Automatic, a hands-free milk texturing wand with a milk temperature sensor | Manual steam wand |
| Tamping | The Impress Puck System, assisted tamping with dosing that corrects itself | — |
| Voltage | 120 V, 60 Hz | — |
| Warm-up time | 3, Breville's figure for reaching extraction temperature | — |
| Warranty | — | 1 year |
| Water Tank | 2, published as 67 fl oz | 1.7 L |
| Weight | — | 7.9 kg |
Pros and cons
From each full review, written from the same published facts as the scores above.
Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881
- +Hands-free milk texturing with settings for dairy, almond, oat and soy.
- +The Impress lever tamps at a set pressure and corrects the next dose.
- +Heats to extraction temperature in 3 seconds, Breville's ThermoJet figure.
- +Thirty grind settings on hardened steel Baratza burrs.
- +A 340 gram hopper, larger than the 227 grams on the Barista Touch.
- −$1,499.95, about $500 more than the Barista Touch listed on this site.
- −Breville publishes no pump pressure, pre-infusion detail, warranty or weight for it.
- −No pressure gauge is listed; the touchscreen is the feedback.
- −54 mm portafilter, not the 58 mm the Oracle Jet uses.
Breville Infuser BES840XL
- +PID temperature control adjustable in two-degree steps, which is finer than most machines offer at any price
- +Low pressure pre-infusion and a 1.7 litre tank
- +$336.50, less than half the $699.99 median
- −No built-in grinder
- −A manual steam wand
- −One-year warranty, where Breville's newer machines publish two
Every specification, side by side
| Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 | Breville Infuser BES840XL | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ||
| Price | $1,499.95 | $336.50 |
| Who it suits | ||
| Best for | A grinder, assisted tamping and hands-free milk behind one touchscreen | Someone who already owns a grinder and wants the shot control without paying for a second one |
| What sets it apart | — | PID temperature control adjustable in two degree steps, with volumetric shot control and no grinder to pay for |
| Specifications | ||
| Automatic milk frother | ✓ | ✕ |
| Bean hopper | 340, published as 12 oz | — |
| Body Material | Stainless steel | Stainless steel |
| Boiler Type | ThermoJet heating system | — |
| Built in Grinder | ✓ | ✕ |
| Burr Material | Hardened steel | — |
| Colour Options | Brushed Stainless Steel, Damson Blue and Black Truffle | — |
| Dimensions | 414 x 351 x 338, published as 16.3 x 13.8 x 13.3 in (W x D x H) | — |
| Display Type | Touchscreen | — |
| Grind steps | 30 | — |
| In Box Accessories | 54 mm portafilter, 480 ml milk jug, single and dual wall baskets, water filter holder, water hardness strip, Razor trimming tool, cleaning tablets, cleaning disc, brush, steam wand cleaning tool and descale powder | — |
| Machine Type | Semi-automatic espresso machine with built-in grinder and touchscreen | Semi-automatic espresso machine |
| Model | BES881 | — |
| PID control | — | ✓ |
| Portafilter Material | Stainless steel | — |
| Portafilter Size | 54 mm | — |
| Power | 1750 W | 1650 W |
| Pre Infusion | — | ✓ |
| Price Note | $1,499.95 on breville.com | — |
| Ships to | — | US |
| Ships to Note | — | Confirmed on Amazon US, which is where this link points. Availability in other Amazon stores has not been checked, and a regional store may substitute a different product. |
| Steam Wand Type | Automatic, a hands-free milk texturing wand with a milk temperature sensor | Manual steam wand |
| Tamping | The Impress Puck System, assisted tamping with dosing that corrects itself | — |
| Voltage | 120 V, 60 Hz | — |
| Warm-up time | 3, Breville's figure for reaching extraction temperature | — |
| Warranty | — | 1 year |
| Water Tank | 2, published as 67 fl oz | 1.7 L |
| Weight | — | 7.9 kg |
Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 vs Breville Infuser BES840XL: common questions
Which is better, Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 or Breville Infuser BES840XL?
Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 scores 7.1 against 6.8, both computed from published specifications rather than opinion. Breville Infuser BES840XL is still ahead on shot quality & extraction.
Is Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 or Breville Infuser BES840XL cheaper?
Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 starts at $1,499.95, and Breville Infuser BES840XL at $336.50.
Who is Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 for?
A grinder, assisted tamping and hands-free milk behind one touchscreen
Who is Breville Infuser BES840XL for?
Someone who already owns a grinder and wants the shot control without paying for a second one
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