‘I’ve saved £2,000 making cafe-worthy espressos at home with a machine now on sale’

The Breville machine I’ve used for more than two years is on sale as one retailer cuts £162 off

Gone are the days of spending £4 on a cappuccino – daylight robbery if you ask me. I’ve ditched takeaway coffees for a barista machine and saved thousands.

The Breville Barista Max is a compact espresso machine which grinds any type of bean, filters the coffee and steams the milk. Since my original review back in 2023, I’ve used the machine multiple times a day and as Amazon cuts £162 off the price, I’d recommend it to anyone out there looking for an upgrade.

Espresso, cappuccinos, and perfecting (well, nearly) latte art with the steam wand attachment. The machine has everything needed to make a cafe-like coffee at home. While initially quite pricey, I’ve been able to save more than £2,000 by swapping my old daily £4 takeaway habit (during the work week) to making one at home.

In the time since I’ve cut out takeaway coffees, I’ve saved a total of £2,920 just by ditching my £4 cup each morning. And, the Breville machine has helped me make them to the same standard.

A standout point for me is the price, usually £461, it’s now on sale for £299 at Amazon. This was a step up from the previous Nespresso Vertuo I had, but the end result is far tastier, in my opinion. My biggest gripe with the Nespresso Vertuo was that you had to stick to their pods, with the Breville Barista, I can try new bags of beans.

The Breville has similar features to the high-end Sage Barista Express, apart from the swanky temperature gauge, which it misses out on. This tells users the right brewing settings depending on the bean type and cup size – ever heard of burnt coffee? That’s when it’s been brewed too hot, so having one of these on an at-home machine could really help with taste.

The Sage is on sale for £499, down from £629. Apart from that, the much cheaper Breville Barista has the same features and even a similar worktop style.

It has an integrated bean grinder, a steam wand for making hot frothy milk, and a water tank that holds 2.8 litres of water. I like to try new beans, especially from local independent cafes, so it’s handy having the tap-and-go grinder, fitted with 30 different grind settings.

Over the years, and hundreds of cups of coffee made later, the one thing I’d change, however, is cleaning. I’m house proud and a bit of a neat freak, so a bug bear is how easy the stainless steel marks – even cleaning with a stainless steel spray can leave rust-like marks.

Our team of shopping experts recently shared the machines we have all tried, tested, and love. The Breville Barista was included as a higher-end option for strong, espresso drinkers. Another option is the De’Longhi Dedica Style, which our writer Eve uses.

The machine takes ground coffee, and then brews and pours it into the cup below. An option for those who don’t want to fork out hundreds on a bean-to-cup model with an integrated grinder.

As Eve said: “I can attest that this coffee machine stands the test of time – I’ve had it for a solid six years, and it’s still running good as new. I can’t even begin to imagine the amount of money it’s also saved me in that time.”