Breville and Gaggia have established their strong reputation in the semi automatic espresso maker industry. Today, we will compare 2 of their popular models in this review on Gaggia Classic Pro vs Breville Barista Express to see which is the better machine to buy.
Gaggic Classic Pro is really for someone who have experience with brewing espresso and don’t mind spending more efforts to get the perfect brew.
However, for those new to espresso making, Barista Express makes a better option as it comes with features such as automatic preinfusion and temperature control to optimize the espresso extraction. Additionally, the grinder is integrated to minimize the chance of the freshly grind coffee losing its freshness to the air exposure. That means you have less variables to figure out when your espresso didn’t turn up the taste you expect.
Gaggia Classic Pro vs Breville Barista Express : 3 Key Similarities
1 Commercial Style Steam Wand
Gaggia Classic Pro and Breville Barista Express both comes with commercial style steam wand capable of 360 swivel, giving you absolute control to texture milk to your desired preferences.
2 User Interface
In terms of user interface, both machines use dial knobs and buttons for operation.
3 Capacity
Both have the same huge water tank capacity. Barista express can hold 67 ounces of water and Gaggia Classic Pro can hold up to 72 ounces.
Breville Barista Express vs Gaggia Classic Pro : 4 Key Differences
1 In-built grinder
The most crucial difference is the grinder. Barista Express comes with a grinder but not Gaggia Classic. That means you really have to be really fast at transferring your coffee grounds after grinding to the portafilter to minimize air exposure which is going to affect the many flavour and aromatic compounds in the grounds. Not forgetting that the grinder in Barista Express is a high quality one. And you would have to set up aside some monies to get a grinder of equal quality.
2 Brewing Technology
Barista Express comes with automatic pre-infusion and temperature control technology for optimizing the extraction of espresso. However, Gaggia doesn’t come with temperature control although you can still perform pre-infusion manually. So you would require a steep learning curve to perfect your espresso making.
3 Heating System
Gaggia Classic Pro does better in this department as it uses two separate heating system for steaming milk and brewing espresso. So you don’t have to wait long between these 2 activities, unlike Barista Express.
4 Three-way solenoid valve
It’s can be hard to get the wet coffee puck out of the portafilter. And Gaggia Classic Pro uses a commercial three-way solenoid valve which can release the pressure by draining the water from the coffee puck. However, Barista Express doesn’t come with this feature
Gaggia Classic Pro or Breville Barista Express: Which is a better choice?
Both espresso machines have an excellent built. But which one to choose would depend on how involved you want to get with espresso making.
Gaggic Classic Pro is really for someone who have experience with brewing espresso and don’t mind spending more efforts to get the perfect brew.
However, for those new to espresso making, Barista Express makes a better option as it comes with features such as automatic preinfusion and temperature control to optimize the espresso extraction. Additionally, the grinder is integrated to minimize the chance of the freshly grind coffee losing its freshness to the air exposure. That means you have less variables to figure out when your espresso didn’t turn up the taste you expect.
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Hope this review on Gaggia Classic Pro vs Breville Barista Express has helped you make a choice on which is better to buy.