Breville Barista Express 860 vs 870: Which One Is Better?

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Do you love coffee? If you want to drink a delicious coffee, Breville Barista Express 860 vs 870 is one of the perfect choices for you.

Breville Barista 870 and Breville Barista 860 are part of the Barista Express series of Breville, so they are very similar when it comes to their dimensions as well as their functionality when it comes to the process of making a cup of espresso.

A new version of Breville Barista 870XL has been introduced. This machine is an upgraded version of Breville Barista 860XL, so some of its features will be slightly better than its predecessors, such as the integrated blender and the conical blade that allows for super high precision grinding.

Compared to the 870XL series of Breville Baristas, the 860XL series is slightly inferior to the 870XL series as it does not have the upgrade that the 870XL series does. 

However, there are still a lot of cool things about it, such as its highly customizable nature of it. Considering the fact that you can play with the output size of the grind, the time it takes the water to pass through the group head, and the temperature of the water, you will be able to do this.

Breville Barista Express 860 vs 870: Comparison Chart

Image
THE WINNER (#1)
Breville Barista Express Espresso Machine, Brushed Stainless Steel, BES870XL
THE RUNNER-UP (#2)
Breville BES860XL Barista Express Espresso Machine with Grinder
Model
Breville Barista Express 870
Breville Barista Express 860
Dimensions (LxWxH)
12.5 x 12.6 x 13.1 Inches
11.5 x 14.5 x 13.25 inches
Water Tank Capacity
64oz
56.32 oz
Hopper Capacity
0.5 pounds
0.5 pounds
Milk System
No automatically steaming milk
Built-in grinder
Weight
23 Pounds
22 Pounds
Grinder
Built-in grinder
Built-in grinder
Grinder Settings
Adjustable grind size
Adjustable grind size
Customizable Drinks
Preset Drinks
Display
Button
Button
Number of Presets
2
2
Create Your Own Personal Profile
Double Shot
Heating System
Thermcoil
Thermcoil
Cup Warmer
What I Like
Price
$709.98
$1,160.00
THE WINNER (#1)
Image
Breville Barista Express Espresso Machine, Brushed Stainless Steel, BES870XL
Model
Breville Barista Express 870
Dimensions (LxWxH)
12.5 x 12.6 x 13.1 Inches
Water Tank Capacity
64oz
Hopper Capacity
0.5 pounds
Milk System
No automatically steaming milk
Weight
23 Pounds
Grinder
Built-in grinder
Grinder Settings
Adjustable grind size
Customizable Drinks
Preset Drinks
Display
Button
Number of Presets
2
Create Your Own Personal Profile
Double Shot
Heating System
Thermcoil
Cup Warmer
What I Like
Price
$709.98
More Info
THE RUNNER-UP (#2)
Image
Breville BES860XL Barista Express Espresso Machine with Grinder
Model
Breville Barista Express 860
Dimensions (LxWxH)
11.5 x 14.5 x 13.25 inches
Water Tank Capacity
56.32 oz
Hopper Capacity
0.5 pounds
Milk System
Built-in grinder
Weight
22 Pounds
Grinder
Built-in grinder
Grinder Settings
Adjustable grind size
Customizable Drinks
Preset Drinks
Display
Button
Number of Presets
2
Create Your Own Personal Profile
Double Shot
Heating System
Thermcoil
Cup Warmer
What I Like
Price
$1,160.00
More Info

Last update on 2023-03-30 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Breville Barista Express 860 vs 870: Differences

The Breville Barista Espresso 860 and 870 series of coffee makers are a full version of the same model, but the 870 version is an upgrade from the 860 version, therefore the 870 is slightly better than the 860 version. 

Due to this, the Breville Barista Expresso 870 had a 3-1 win over the Breville Barista Espresso 860.

Coffee Flavor

The winner: Breville Barista Express 870

Barista Express 870: Coffee Flavor
Barista Express 870: Coffee Flavor

In regards to the Breville 870 coffee machine, there is a clear difference in the level of flavor when coffee is made when using it.

The perfect dose of 19-22 grams of freshly ground coffee beans is used to create a strong coffee with a rich and complex flavor with a full body. 

For a true cafe quality result, at this dose, the coffee will be able to fully showcase its incredible aroma, intense flavors, and distinctive character for a result that is true to its cafe origins. 

It is important that you do not take more than the optimal dose since anything less will result in a watery and weak taste.

In contrast, for the 860, perhaps the coffee taste when brewed will not be equal to the 870 version because most other automatic machines only dose 11-13 g of ground coffee. 

Furthermore, it seems that the Breville Barista Espresso 860 does not grind the coffee beans finely and, as a result, the flavor of the espresso is not as strong as that of the 870 series when the beans are grinded.

Utilities

The winner: Breville Barista Express 870

In terms of the two products that we have examined, we are easily able to tell that these are two products that are incredibly easy to use for consumers due to the fact that both of them have some of the most convenient features in the market today. 

The Breville Barista Espresso 870 can, however, be viewed separately as more straightforward to use and is favored by manufacturers due to the fact that it offers a few more extremely useful features to consumers in addition to being somewhat easier to use. 

As an example of this, the 870 series has been added by the manufacturer to have a feature of boiling water and steam, whereas the 860 does not have this feature.

Grinding Coffee Beans
Grinding Coffee Beans

Milk System

The winner: Breville Barista Express 860

You are probably also wondering why the Breville Barista Express 860 has an improved milk system over the 870 because you may also be wondering that.

The Breville Barista 860 has been designed by the manufacturers in order to be a great addition to your coffee-making experience with an interesting feature, which is the ability to automatically steam the milk, which allows you to enhance the flavor of the coffee as well as create artistic foam on top of it.

In contrast, version 870 does not include this feature. There are however foam wands available from the manufacturer so that you can easily create milk foam to be used for decorating the surface of the coffee. 

As a result, it may take you a long time to get it foaming as you have to stir it until it does.

Cleaning & Maintaining

The winner: The Breville Barista Express 870

In general, both of the devices are very easy to use and disassemble when you want to clean them. 

In comparing Breville Barista Express 870 and 860, one will see that if you just take a look at them side by side, the 870 is quite a bit easier to use than the 860. 

It is important to note that when it comes to cleaning & maintaining, both versions have a lot of advantages, but the 870 is slightly better when it comes to cleaning & maintaining than the 860.

BES870: Design
BES870: Design

Design & Material

The winner: The Breville Barista Express 870

+Size

Compared to the 860 version product line, you will notice that the 870 version product line is slightly larger in size in comparison to the 860 version product line, although not much bigger, it is significant enough that users will have a greater level of convenience.

The Breville Barista Express 870 measures 12.5 x 12.6 x 13.1 inches, while the Breville Barista Express 860 measures 11.5 x 14.5 x 13.25 inches in size. Based on this, it can be seen that the Breville Barista Express 870 is a more convenient size than the Breville Barista Express 860.

The fact that it is such a small size means that it won’t take up too much room in your kitchen.

On the other hand, the Breville Barista Express 860 is a little bulkier than the 870 due to its inconsistent size index which makes it less efficient than the 870. It should be noted, however, that the 860 is quite large and, as a result, will occupy quite a bit of kitchen space.

+Water tank capacity

When comparing these two devices on the basis of weight, it is clear that the Breville Barista Express 870 weighs more than the Breville Barista Express 860 in terms of overall weight. 

I would like to point out that the Breville Barista Express 870 can hold up to 64 ounces, whereas the Breville Barista Express 860 only holds 56.32 ounces. As a result, the 870 will be able to supply users with a greater amount of coffee than the 860.

Breville Barista Express 860 vs 870: Similarities

In addition to the differences between the two coffee grinders, these two models also have a number of similarities, such as the capacity of the hopper, the grind size, the setting for the grinder, and the customization and preset functionality.

In addition, Thermcoil is the company responsible for designing the heating element of both coffee grinders. You will be able to quickly warm up your coffee with this method, allowing you to enjoy a delicious and clean-tasting cup of coffee.

Quick Rundown Of Breville Barista Express 860

Breville BES860XL Barista Express Espresso Machine with Grinder
  • Stainless steel conical burr grinder with ½lb bean hopper
  • 15 bar Italian pump
  • 1450W stainless steel thermocoil heating system
  • Adjustable grind size and grind amount settings
  • Preset, manual over-ride or re-programmable shot volumes

Last update on 2023-03-30 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Pros
  • Affordable price.
  • Large water tank and bean hopper.
  • 1600W Thermocoil heating system.
  • PID temp control equipped.
Cons
  • No auto shut-off function.
  • A bit hard to feed the beans.

Quick Rundown Of Breville Barista Express 870

Sale
Breville Barista Express Espresso Machine, Brushed Stainless Steel, BES870XL
  • Please refer to user guide or user manual or user guide (provided below in PDF) before first use

Last update on 2023-03-30 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Pros
  • Steep coffee bean hopper.
  • Hot water dispenser available.
  • Auto shut-off function.
  • Effective Thermocoil system.
Cons
  • Expensive water filter.

Product Video

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