Breville Infuser BES840xl Espresso Machine Review: Is It Worth A Buy?
A dual-purpose machine for people who already own a grinder — and a poor buy for anyone who does not.
Buy it if
- You already have a burr grinder
- You want PID temperature control under $600
- Counter depth is limited
Skip it if
- You have no grinder yet
- You want to hand-profile shots
- $95 more is not a real obstacle
The Infuser is the Barista Express with the grinder removed and about ninety-five dollars taken off the price. That single sentence decides this review for most people, and the rest of the page is about who the exception is.
The $95 question
There is one thing worth settling about the Infuser, and it is not whether it makes good espresso. It does. The question is whether you should spend ninety-five dollars more.
Breville Infuser BES840XL Espresso Machine
PID, low-pressure pre-infusion, both basket types. No grinder. 54 mm portafilter.Check price
Breville Barista Express BES870XL
Same brew group, with a conical burr grinder built in. A separate grinder of that quality costs more than the gap.Check price
Where the 8.6 comes from
Five criteria, weighted toward shot quality and value — which is what a machine at this price is bought for. Each score is a judgement we are willing to defend, including the one that is not good.
Specifications
What it does well, and what it does not
Low-pressure pre-infusion ramps gradually rather than hitting the puck at nine bar from a standing start. That is unusual at this price and it is most of why a slightly uneven tamp still pulls something drinkable. The PID holds brew temperature within a degree or two — the Gaggia Classic Pro at a similar price does not, and you taste that on light roasts.
It ships with both pressurised and non-pressurised baskets, which matters more than the spec sheet suggests. The pressurised ones flatter bad grind; the standard ones do not. Most owners start on the first pair and never move across, which is the quiet reason a lot of Breville reviews read better than the machines deserve.
What we like
- PID temperature control at this price
- Genuine low-pressure pre-infusion
- Both basket types included
- Narrower footprint than the Barista Express
What to know
- 54 mm portafilter, not the 58 mm commercial standard
- No grinder — budget another $150 minimum
- Single boiler: brew, then steam, never both
- Plastic housing at a price where metal exists
What else to consider
Breville Barista Express
Same brew group with a grinder built in. The default answer unless a grinder is already on your counter.Check price
Gaggia Classic Pro
Commercial 58 mm portafilter and a metal body, but no PID. You gain an accessory ecosystem and lose temperature stability.Read our review
All Breville machines compared
Where the Infuser sits in the range, and which model needs the least maintenance.Buyer guide
How we scored it
This review is editorially researched. We worked from Breville’s published specifications, the owner record on Amazon, and comparison against machines in the same bracket, and confirmed price and availability on 12 August 2026. We have not run this machine ourselves and do not claim to have. Where Breville publishes no figure — heat-up time — the spec table says so rather than carrying a guess.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Infuser the same as the Barista Express without the grinder?
How long does the BES840XL last?
Can I use 58 mm accessories with it?
Does it come with a grinder?
Only if the grinder is already on your counter
The Infuser pulls a better shot than anything else near $590, and PID plus real pre-infusion at this price is a genuine bargain. But ninety-five dollars does not buy a grinder, and the machine is useless without one — which is why we would send most readers to the Barista Express instead.