A very impressive machine that makes great coffee with minimal effort and fuss - and easy enough for me to master means anyone can use it.

This unit fits in our kitchen, looks great, is easy to maintain and we love the coffee it makes

Cheaper coffee makers were make do and then fell apart.

Takes a bit of practice to use but makes great coffee (although that has something to do with the quality of the beans as well)

I got comments that the coffee was not hot enough, and actually measured 143 degrees on espresso shot and 150 degrees on hot water

Now we have adjusted the machine to our own preferences and have that great cup of coffee, Latte, Americano, Cappuccino whenever we want.

Then came the sale and well, I have to say that it does make a great cup of espresso.

But we were always missing that great coffee shop cup of coffee.

Dial in the grinder after a few tries to ensure the pressure is in the upper third, and you will get a consistent cup of coffee

The difference in price is not insignificant and the extra features in our opinion are more for convenience than to make a better cup of espresso (hence 4-stars out of 5-stars)

great product I have had several and this is the best for the price

Breville has always made reliable and quality products and there's no reason to believe otherwise regarding this espresso machine

this is a good product and money well spentYou will not regret

I decided to purchase the 878BSS mainly because it was listed as an "Oprah's Favorite" product.

Great product glad I spent the extra money instead of going for a lesser machine

I also love the fact that I can have hot water for my tea at night

I got comments that the coffee was not hot enough, and actually measured 143 degrees on espresso shot and 150 degrees on hot water

As far as performance, I will touch on the grinder, pulling of the shots, hot water spout,

Hot water is available almost instantly!

The hot water spout is angled and can dispense right into the cup after the shot is pulled without having to move the cup to a different location

There are so many variables that it seems only an actual barista would be comfortable using it - at least for a while

Love love my barista so much

I love being my own barista

The grinder does a great job of grinding the right amount and optimum grind for getting consistently excellent extractions

With a fairly good grind size and amount, you can get good consistent shots

Like everyone, it takes some experimenting to arrive at the right grind, tamping pressure, extraction duration, etc

and also since I perfected catching extra grinds in the plastic carton during tamping.

The grinder, perfect amount every time

The ease of using it... the perfect brew and flavor every single time

Have even better tasting coffee made EXACTLY to your liking every time

Great shot every time just need to dial it in.

Breville does a very good job with their instruction manuals and this unit is no exception

Nevertheless, I do find the grinder to do a good job

It has a built in filter, the espresso comes out so velvety, the milk frother does a great job and the espresso isn't bitter

The grinder does a great job of grinding the right amount and optimum grind for getting consistently excellent extractions

I love the ease of this and more importantly the flavor of the espresso

The ease of using it... the perfect brew and flavor every single time

The machine looks great but the one I received (bought directly from Breville) never reaches the correct temperature (195 to 204) required for optimal flavor extraction

i purchased this as a "gift" for me and my partner, as I really wanted to go beyond the french press for coffee, as well as make the odd latte here and there

This machine paid for itself over and over, and makes far better lattes than we get outside the home on average

i purchased this as a "gift" for me and my partner, as I really wanted to go beyond the french press for coffee, as well as make the odd latte here and there

I had a lot of difficulty getting the correct texture of milk for latte art, but with the Barista Pro, the steam wand seems much more powerful, faster to steam the milk, and can more easily achieve that proper texture and consistency for good latte art (my latte art isn't very good, but I'm going to blame that on my skills rather than the steamer)

To conclude, I would definitely recommend this machine to anybody who is looking for very good espresso drinks that are better than what you will usually find in coffee shops, at the comfort of your home

It is hard to figure out, but once one does It makes fantastic espresso

It has a built in filter, the espresso comes out so velvety, the milk frother does a great job and the espresso isn't bitter

I'm looking forward to many years of great espressos, and lattes, and practicing my Latte art with this new machine.

If we are making lousy espresso, we don't know it and don't care

I wouldn't say the larger adjustments are super easy, but definitely doable if you follow the directions

It has fine adjustments that you make with the dial on the left of the machine, plus larger scale adjustments that you can make with the grinder itself under where the bean hopper sits

As a side note, I saw on an instructional video by another reviewer that you want to make the fine adjustments while grinding to prevent getting anything stuck

As a side note, I saw on an instructional video by another reviewer that you want to make the fine adjustments while grinding to prevent getting anything stuck

I've made a single adjustment on the grinder itself and only rely on the fine adjustments other than that

Coolest thing I ever spent this much money on that will slowly pay me back.

Not a bad thing I can say about this product

This thing gets hot immediately

This thing is so sexy

All these things made me wonder if the problem was with my inexperience or was a machine malfunction