The Best Home Espresso Machine of 2026: We Tested Three Breville Models So You Don’t Have To

This new column came about in the most natural of ways: me wanting to buy stuff and religiously pouring over reviews in an effort to find the best possible item at the best possible price. Avid WL fans may recall documenting my foray into buying a new vacuum here and here. It’s going to be like that. And as we move forward a few key ground rules that once upon a time would have been a given but now, not always:

1. No one pays to be in the column. Subjects are decided by me looking for stuff I’m actually about to buy, not by what’s randomly sent to me to review;

2. If a sample is provided for a test drive we will be transparent about that. And samples are provided on the condition that we will give an honest review and—this should go without saying—the manufacturer has no input into the review.

So for this inaugural edition on the best home espresso machines, I’m doing a bit of a cheat, because both my wife and my daughter’s boyfriend, Ben, already have different versions of the Breville espresso machine—so I’ve had several months of working with the interface and operation. That being said the manufacturer, Breville, did send this new version of the machine—higher-end than both the models I’ve used—to test drive and so I’ll chat about all three as I go through.

Why We Chose Breville

I’m so Nespresso’d out. No offence to the revolutionary Swiss machine, but at some juncture you can only tell yourself “at least it’s better than Keurig,” so many times. And the capsules…not a great feeling. So I was looking for the next step up.

If we’re being honest, I can admit my first stop to research the best home espresso machines was the New York Times Wirecutter, probably the most widely read consumer review resource in North America. They said the Breville, if you wanted something automatic.

But as much as I love Wirecutter, I am a tad concerned about their recent foray into things not empirically testable—like best plant pots. Or indoor shoes.  Stay in your lane NYT—we’ll take care of the home decor, thank you very much.

But my true source was Ben, the aforementioned daughter’s boyfriend, who has an engineering degree, researches things like a lunatic and is a serious coffee nerd. He’s also on a budget, so I trust him not to opt for style over substance. He had gone deep on the sector and, like the NYT, had also emerged with a Breville (although he favoured a more entry-level model than the one NYT chose, because he didn’t want to pay for an automatic tamping system). The engineer in him loved that while it’s an automatic machine, you can fine-tune almost everything about if you’re so inclined.

Finally, my sister-in-law spoke up for a Jura, a seriously high-end, Swiss machine that does literally every step for you. She has one for her office and loves it. But my parents had splurged on one years ago and all I remember was that it broke down not infrequently and was seriously pricey to repair. Plus, while I wanted some automatic features, I still wanted to play barista a bit and use the handle and knock out the grinds like a pro—I wanted it to feel like I was making espresso.

Breville Touch Impress vs. Oracle Jet vs. Double Boiler: How They Compare

So ultimately I spent time with three Brevilles: Ben’s more basic Touch Impress, my wife’s Oracle Jet, which is sort of a middle of the road high-end machine and the provided test machine, the Breville Double Boiler, which at almost $3,000 is Breville’s highest-end machine. So I’ll talk about all three.

For starters none of them has had any technical issues (and that’s for over a year with the first two machines). I feel like I need to lead with that because as key as the coffee is, I was equally stressed about costly repairs on an automatic machine. They all have touch screens, which not only take you through each drink but also prompt you when I need to descale and then walk you through the process as if you’re a child. I’ve done that twice and it takes 10 minutes. Even though I only drink really drink espresssos/americanos, my wife loves cappuccinos and she has two a day. The milk wand needs cleaning about once a month and it takes about 5 minutes, but is infinitely satisfying.

As for the procedure, they are substantially the same. For the Oracle Jet, you choose the drink from the touch screen and you have an insane number of options: espresso, americano, flat white, latte, cappuccino, cold brew, cold espresso, cafe crèma, espresso shakerato, latte shakerato and hot chocolate. You place the handle in the grinder and it grinds and tamps (you have to manually tamp Ben’s machine) and makes a perfect puck of beans. Then you unlock the handle, move it over to the main body, lock it in and press the screen again and the shot is pulled. And it’s super fast— the machine heats up in under 30 seconds (there’s an app you can you to preheat, which seems seriously superfluous). If you’ve chosen americano after the shot is delivered, the hot water comes in (you can customize the amount). If you’ve chosen a milk-based drink, once the shot is “pulled,” you lower the wand into the provided steel cup that’s filled with milk, and it automatically froths it. No moving it around.

The major difference I noticed with the double boiler is that you can do both those things at the same time (because, there are two boilers), so it saves some time. If you’re only making one, it wasn’t a huge thing for us, but if you were making three, for example, I imagine the time savings would be welcome.

The Verdict: Which Breville Espresso Machine Should You Buy?

I mean, they are all awesome machines—as they should be at this price point. They are light years better than the endless Nespressos machines we have had. For me, I might opt for the Oracle Jet to save some money as we only have 1 person in the house who makes milk-based drinks. And if I were on a tighter budget, the unit that Ben got—the Touch Impress—still has a touch screen and much the same insides, you just have to tamp the grind yourself. And while we’re still on price, I’ll note that these machines seem to go on sale a couple of time a year—at Best Buy and Williams Sonoma and online.

Finally I’ll admit that one of the the of the things that initially attracted me—the ability to customize—has turned out to be something I’ve rarely used. It worked like a charm for us on the factory settings, so tinkering hasn’t been a factor. In some ways I feel like one of those guys (it’s always guys) that buys a super-cool Porsche made for the track and never do anything but drive them to the grocery store. But I, like them, revel in the idea that I could open ‘er up at anytime if I so chose. I do love the moving the handle into place and I love knocking the handle against the knock box to get the used grounds out, just like the do at your fave coffee spot. Another proviso: you really need good beans if you want to make a great americano (the milk-based drinks were quite a bit more forgiving for us), but I’ll dive into that below. But the review? An emphatic yes.

Bonus: How to Buy the Best Beans for Home Espresso, According to a Pro Roaster

For the first few weeks of test driving I opted for Lavazza from Costco, because in my mind, the brand was synonymous with espresso and because, you know, Costco is a really good deal. And while it made for great cappuccinos, my americanos were solid but not revelatory. So I, rather presumptively in retrospect, reached out to Peter and Jeff, the owners of the local legendary roaster Timbertrain Coffee for some help. In retrospect it was sort of a ballsy move: I didn’t really know them and my quest was in some ways less than helpful for two guys who sell coffee to people for their livelihood. But they couldn’t have been more gracious and luckily both were fans of the Breville—if you were going the making coffee at home route (I get the impression that they are the customizing type).

In searching for beans, I think their starting point was you should always be going to your local roaster—naturally—but they were willing to share some general guidelines that were a godsend for me going forward.

1. Nothing is more important than beans to a great espresso/americano;

2. The roast date is of key importance above all. In the perfect world you’ll be grinding beans (or your machine will) between 10 and 30 days after the roast date.

3. The new trend towards “Best Before Date” instead of “Roasted On” date is BS (I’m paraphrasing here). Your goal is to have as fresh beans as possible and companies who use the Best Before over the Roasted On are to be viewed with skepticism.

4. As a general rule, companies who use bags with that plastic valve on them are your peeps as that valve allows gas to escape and the beans to be in more optimal conditions.

5. When it comes to roasting think of a steak analogy: a lighter roast is like rare meat, you get the most nuance from the bean, with a more transparent flavour profile. The longer/deeper your roast the bean, the more sweetness and acidity will depart.

6. While your local roaster is always their preference, they conceded under hard questioning that some of the smaller brands at your grocery store can do a suitable job.

In my year I’ve found that Victoria’s Fernwood (which I got at Safeway) had a roasted-on date and produced really good results. And on occasion you can find 49th Parallel in larger bags at Costco. And in a jam, Kicking Horse.