Breville Barista Pro (BES878)

The Barista Pro is for someone who wants to make espresso by hand, with the grinder in the same box. You grind into the portafilter, tamp, start the shot and steam the milk yourself, but the machine is ready almost as soon as it is switched on and shows what it is doing on an LCD. Business Insider named it the best overall espresso machine in its August 2026 test, NBC Select's March 2026 guide also puts it first, and it is the best overall pick on our list of espresso machines with a built-in grinder.

It is the wrong machine for two kinds of buyer. If you want lattes at the press of a button, the Barista Touch Impress or the fully automatic KitchenAid KF6 does the milk for you. If you suspect you will want a better grinder in a year or two, a compact machine plus a standalone grinder, as on our beginner espresso list, leaves that door open; the Pro's grinder cannot be swapped out.

Heat-up is the first difference you notice. Breville rates the ThermoJet heater at about three seconds to extraction temperature, and Business Insider found that the same speed lets the machine switch from pulling a shot to steaming milk faster than others in its class, which matters when two or three people want coffee before work. Temperature is held by a PID controller, and each shot starts with low-pressure pre-infusion before the 15 bar pump ramps up to 9 bar at the coffee.

The grinder is the second. Breville fits a hardened steel conical burr set, branded Baratza European Precision Burrs, with 30 settings. That is almost twice the 16 steps on the Barista Express, and finer steps are what make it possible to adjust a shot that runs a little fast without overshooting into one that chokes. Reviewed notes that grinding starts when the portafilter touches the sensor and that the basket takes up to 19 g. Business Insider got thick, syrupy crema after only one or two adjustments and found the Pro's shots the most consistent of any semi-automatic it tried.

The interface keeps the process readable. The LCD shows grind setting, dose and a shot timer, and Business Insider set the machine up by following the on-screen prompts without opening the manual. It also flags when cleaning or descaling is due. Breville's two-year limited warranty is double what it gives the Barista Express.

Milk takes practice. The wand is manual, and Business Insider found it so powerful that it blew milk out of the jug until the tester found the right angle, and that good microfoam took a while. The same review describes the frothing attachment and the removable water tank as flimsier than expected for the price class, though neither affected performance. Reviewed, by contrast, rated its frothing strong; the difference is mostly how much patience you bring.

It is big. Business Insider lists it at about 13.9 in wide and 16 in tall with the hopper, and Reviewed called it gigantic and thought its controls could intimidate a first-timer. There is no assisted tamping either: you use the magnetic hand tamper, so puck quality depends on you. Buyers who want the machine to take over dosing and tamping should look at the Touch Impress.

The grinder is also a ceiling. It is good for a built-in unit, but it cannot be replaced on its own, so if it wears out or you outgrow it, the whole machine goes with it.

Against the Barista Express, the Pro keeps the 54 mm portafilter, 15 bar pump, pre-infusion and 67 oz tank, and changes the parts that matter day to day: ThermoJet instead of a thermocoil, 30 grind steps instead of 16, an LCD with a timer instead of a pressure gauge, and two years of warranty instead of one. The Express remains CNET's best overall machine, and it is the one to take if a lower price class matters more than speed.

Against the De'Longhi La Specialista Arte Evo, the Pro offers far finer grind control and faster heat-up; the Arte Evo is narrower, sits in a lower price class and adds cold brew. Against the Barista Touch Impress, the Pro gives up assisted tamping, touchscreen guidance and automatic milk in exchange for a much smaller outlay and more direct control.

The Barista Pro is the best balance of control, speed and grinder quality among one-box espresso machines. It rewards someone who wants to learn the craft and does not mind a manual wand and a hand tamper. If you want the machine to do the tamping and the milk, spend more on the Touch Impress; if you want to spend less, the Arte Evo is the budget route.