There's definitely something appealing about having a little coffee station on your countertop, no? Breville's Barista Express' relatively unique design offers just such an experience: A traditional espresso machine with a grinder integrated into the case, offering you a one-stop home coffee makin' shop (as it were). We've heard rumors that this configuration is Breville's best selling model, which makes sense given that, as of this writing, it's the only one of its kind in the US. A common inquiry we receive, however, is concerning how well the grinder actually performs. It's true that the previous generation Barista Express (the BES860XL) included a grinder that didn't go quite fine enough for our tastes, and owners often had to employ the dual wall / pressurized baskets in order to get a good shot. With the recent upgrade to other elements of the Barista Express, we wanted to know how much of an improvement Breville made to the grinder itself ... and how that compared to their popular standalone grinder, the Smart Grinder. In this video, Gail examines the burrs of these two different grinders and then compares their grind quality and consistency, both at their finest and coarsest settings. If you're considering one of these pieces of Breville gear for your coffee setup, watch Gail find out how they measure up against each other to get a little insight into how they perform.
Breville Compare: Smart Grinder vs. Barista Express Grinder
Kat is a passionate coffee enthusiast and seasoned blogger. Read her posts for insights on brew methods, coffee recipes, and machine reviews.
