Breville Barista Express (BES870XL) vs Cuisinart Espresso Bar Grind & Brew Espresso Machine (EM-640)
Same class, different tax brackets.
About CA$95 apart — the split below is what the gap buys.
Breville
US$699–749 · CA$745–800
The Barista Express remains the default recommendation for anyone who wants a single footprint to grind, dose, and pull a shot without buying separate gear. Accept that the integrated grinde…
Full record & live prices →
Cuisinart
US$599–649 · CA$555–800
The EM-640 packs a grinder, assisted tamper, cold-extraction, and manual steam wand into one cabinet at a price that puts it in direct competition with more refined machines. What you must a…
Full record & live prices →The split
Where they actually differ
On 8 of 11 measures these two tie. The 3 rows below are the entire argument.
Barista Express (BES870XL)
Espresso Bar Grind & Brew Espresso Machine (EM-640)
Parts & repair
Barista Express (BES870XL) leads, decisively
Reliability record
Barista Express (BES870XL) leads, clearly
Value per dollar
Barista Express (BES870XL) leads, clearly
The price
Espresso Bar Grind & Brew Espresso Machine (EM-640) costs less, clearly
CA$745–800· CA$555–800
weakerstronger
The counter’s vote
Looks barely figure in either machine’s record — the counter can sit this one out.
Barista Express (BES870XL): Sleek brushed-steel form factor demonstrably drove early adoption (kitchen-approval talk, "looks like a real espresso bar" comments in reviews); polarizes slightly on modern design language versus…
Only the Barista Express (BES870XL): PID temperature control.
Where they tie: milk & steam · shot ceiling · back-to-back drinks · ready when you are · forgiving to learn on — don’t let a spec sheet invent a difference.
On the counter
The size difference, to scale
So — which one?
Take the Barista Express (BES870XL) if —
- You plan to fix, not replace
- It has to just work, every day
- Every dollar has to earn its place
- You want the temperature argument settled
Take the Espresso Bar Grind & Brew Espresso Machine (EM-640) if —
- The difference stays in your pocket — or goes into beans
The Barista Express (BES870XL) at ~14% more buys real things: parts & repair and reliability record. If those aren't your mornings, the Espresso Bar Grind & Brew Espresso Machine (EM-640) does the job and keeps the difference in your pocket.
Known weak points
Barista Express (BES870XL)
Pressurized basket design teaches bad technique; single boiler limits workflow (shot-then-steam bottleneck); grinder burrs wear quickly under espresso demand; group head thermal stability second-tier for the price; no commercial-style portafilter customization (proprietary basket fit).
Espresso Bar Grind & Brew Espresso Machine (EM-640)
Frother wand durability concerns; proprietary portafilter and parts limit long-term serviceability.
For the row-by-row readers
The whole sheet, side by side
Matching rows fade back — the ink is where they differ.
Barista Express (BES870XL)
Espresso Bar Grind & Brew Espresso Machine (EM-640)
Type
Thermoblock / thermojet
Thermoblock / thermojet
Heat-up time
30 seconds
30 seconds
Steam power
2.5/5
2/5
Brew + steam at once
No
No
Guest recovery
2/5
1.5/5
Shot quality ceiling
3/5
2.5/5
PID temperature control
Yes
No
Milk system
Manual steam wand
Manual steam wand
One-touch drinks
2
—
Removable brew group
No
No
Hot-water tap
Yes
Yes
Cup clearance
10 cm
20 cm
Workflow demand
3/5
3/5
Maintenance
3/5
2.5/5
Noise
3/5
3/5
Build longevity
2.5/5
2.5/5
Dimensions
31.8 × 35.1 × 40.4 cm
37.9 × 40.6 × 41.5 cm
One owner each
“The frother wand was perhaps the trickiest aspect of this machine to get to grips with, although that's no different to other models I've tried with this functionality.”
Wrong match-up? Change one side → — any two on file compare.
Still torn?
This page weighs them against each other. The finder weighs them against your mornings.
Two minutes of questions — milk, noise, budget, space — scored across everything on file. It’s honest when the answer is neither of these.
Take the two-minute finder →