Let’s say you’ve been thinking about getting into making espresso at home but you find the idea of futzing with all that specialized equipment a little too daunting. Instead, you want a machine that does most of the work for you so you can have a drink you enjoy each morning and get on with your life.

If that sounds like you, then you need to have a look at the Breville Barista Touch Impress, released earlier this year. This espresso machine with a touchscreen display is designed to automatically produce barista-quality lattes, from coffee dosing/grinding to assisted tamping to steaming microfoam milk that’s ready for pouring latte art.

As I often enjoy adding to these posts, watch their cheesy promo video to get an idea of what the workflow looks like:

It’s not so hands-free as to be considered a superautomatic machine, but for a lot of people it’s close enough. And it does feel good to still be a part of the process, y’know?

For me personally, these are some of the machine’s best features:

• You can select different types of drinks to prepare, including lattes, flat whites, cappuccinos, americanos, straight-up espressos, and even tea.
• If your espresso shots pull too quickly or slowly, the machine will tell you so, offering suggestions on adjusting the grind.
• The “ThermoJet” water heating system is incredibly fast, capable of reaching optimum extraction temperature in three to five seconds. Obviously this doesn’t account for the additional time you might spend preheating your cup, the portafilter, and/or the steam wand (and I do recommend doing those for best results) but man that’s impressive.
• There are settings for alternative milks (almond, oat, and soy) that the machine can use to calibrate the temperature and air injection time as needed. It works really well too.

Anyway, this is a sweet introductory espresso machine and it can be yours for $1,500 on Amazon in your choice of Brushed Stainless Steel, Black Truffle, or Damson Blue.

Posted By Chris Gonzales