Barista Touch Impress Espresso Machine, Brushed Stainless Steel

Why it works as a gift

The Barista Touch Impress is Breville's answer to the two things that make home espresso hard: grinding and tamping. It has an integrated burr grinder with 30 grind settings, and its Impress puck system tamps with an assisted 22 lb press and corrects the dose for the next shot. A touchscreen walks you through each drink, with 13 café presets and room to save 6 of your own.

Milk is handled too. Breville's Auto MilQ wand textures milk hands-free, with settings for dairy, soy, almond and oat milk and adjustable temperature and texture. The machine can also make cold brew in under three minutes and a cold espresso in just under two, which suits households where someone drinks iced coffee all year.

This is a big, shared gift, and it works best as one: from grown children to parents, or between partners who start every day with a latte. Compared with a capsule machine it asks for more cleaning and fresh beans, but it lets them make espresso from fresh beans, as a café does. For a smaller step into espresso, the Barista Express Impress in our catalog keeps the grinder and tamping help without the touchscreen and automatic milk.

Who it’s for

• A couple who buy two lattes a day and would rather make them at home
• Parents who host family on weekends and like making coffee for everyone
• A household with mixed tastes: one oat-milk flat white, one iced coffee
• A joint gift from siblings to parents who love their coffee

Skip it if

• They drink one black coffee a day; a pour-over set or a good drip machine is simpler
• Counter space is tight; this is a large machine with a grinder on top
• They want zero upkeep; espresso machines need regular cleaning and descaling

Giving it

• Measure the counter and the space under the cabinets before you buy; Breville lists it at 16.3 × 13.8 × 13.3 in
• Add a bag of beans from a local roaster so they can make the first drink the day it arrives
• It's a heavy box; have it delivered to them rather than carrying it to a holiday visit

The facts

Grinder

Integrated burr grinder with 30 grind settings and dose control

Tamping

Impress puck system: assisted 22 lb tamp and auto-correction of the next dose

Milk

Auto MilQ hands-free texturing for dairy, soy, almond and oat; 104°F to 167°F, 8 texture levels

Drinks

13 café presets plus up to 6 custom drinks on the touchscreen; cold brew in under 3 minutes

In the box

54 mm stainless steel portafilter, 480 ml milk jug, single and dual wall filter baskets, water filter, Razor trimming tool and cleaning kit

Consider instead

• Breville Barista Express Impress — A similar built-in grinder and the same assisted tamping for less, with a manual steam wand and no touchscreen.