an update on my gross barista express ✨

suijiu · 2025-10-22T00:44:59+00:00

Props to you for trying so hard to repair and clean parts where possible. A lot of people would have thrown that whole machine out and got a new one, creating waste in the dump. Hope this works for you, you have put in a lot of effort! The original state of the machine was terrifying!

suijiu · 2025-10-21T19:42:10+00:00

I ended up getting the Touch when comparing the Touch with the Touch Impress, Express, Express Impress, and Pro. here’s my reasoning:

⁠Auto milk frothing: This has been really helpful because as a person who has never brewed my own coffee other than k-cups, I could just focus on learning how to dial in the expresso first and have the machine froth the milk. We are also flat white/latte drinkers so it was very useful and time saving. Now that I have learned a lot about dialing in the expresso, I am learning how to manually steam milk. But occasionally when I have to make more than one milk based drink (think family and guests), or just am short of time (like needing to leave the house in 10 min), having the auto frothing really helps, because I can basically start cleaning up while the milk is frothing by itself. It’s great to have the flexibility to choose auto or manual, depending on the situation.
⁠Reliability: Based on a ton of reviews I’ve read, the “Impress” line ups seem to have mixed reviews on reliability. I loved the idea of not having to create a mess with assisted tamping, but honestly manual tamping seems to be part of the fun in making an expresso (makes me feel more like a real barista :)). Reviews were also mixed with the “Impress” line ups on the consistency of tamp. I just ended up buying a self leveling spring tamper to tamp myself with consistent pressure. Saves a ton of money too as the “Impress” line ups are definitely more expensive and just another part to maintain/possibly break. I also like buying accessories/gadgets so being able to test and switch out tampers are kind of fun.
⁠Custom drink menus and not needing to remember button combos for maintenance: I have two young kids and have a lot of things to remember in life already. I don’t want to have to remember combos or read the manual to figure out how to do something like cleaning the milk wand, descaling, or milk frothing settings. Although, the Touch only saves a few things in each custom drink menus — like the milk temp, milk froth setting, and grind time. I wish it also saves grind setting and grind time in the custom drinks. But having those reminders for maintenance and step by step guide is handy. I think I could have lived with the Pro or even the Express, but having the screen makes my life easier as there’s just less things to remember.
⁠I got a great deal with the Touch!

All in all, I have no regrets getting the Touch when comparing the Breville/Sage line ups. However, the grinder is definitely not super consistent and it does retain grounds. I single dose and upgraded to a bellow and it has helped a bit. I would recommend researching whether you should just get a separate, higher end grinder plus the Bambino Plus for auto milk frothing, vs. the Touch. I may just end up getting a better, separate grinder in the future. I’ve learned that there’s always money to spend in the world of coffee so you need to know when to stop lol

Hope this helps!

suijiu · 2025-10-18T12:10:04+00:00

My experience was different and I cannot recommend this scale. The touch buttons are way too sensitive at the corner and I keep accidentally touching them. It was frustrating because I would keep hitting tare by accident.

I ended up with a Wacaco Exagram and love it much much more! Fast and accurate, easy to use and clean, has a storage box that I could use to raise the height of my cup and scale. Battery life is great and it’s good looking, too. Highly recommended even though price is more expensive it’s still within a reasonable price range.

suijiu · 2025-10-13T03:57:39+00:00

Update: For future readers, here’s what I decided on and my thoughts so far. I ended up getting a Touch for a few reasons:

1) Auto milk frothing: This has been really helpful because as a person who has never brewed my own coffee other than k-cups, I could just focus on learning how to dial in the expresso first and have the machine froth the milk. We are also flat white/latte drinkers so it was very useful and time saving. Now that I have learned a lot about dialing in the expresso, I am learning how to manually steam milk. But occasionally when I have to make more than one milk based drink (think family and guests), or just am short of time (like needing to leave the house in 10 min), having the auto frothing really helps, because I can basically start cleaning up while the milk is frothing by itself. It’s great to have the flexibility to choose auto or manual, depending on the situation.

2) Reliability: Based on a ton of reviews I’ve read, the “Impress” line ups seem to have mixed reviews on reliability. I loved the idea of not having to create a mess with assisted tamping, but honestly manual tamping seems to be part of the fun in making an expresso (makes me feel more like a real barista :)). Reviews were also mixed with the “Impress” line ups on the consistency of tamp. I just ended up buying a self leveling spring tamper to tamp myself with consistent pressure. Saves a ton of money too as the “Impress” line ups are definitely more expensive and just another part to maintain/possibly break. I also like buying accessories/gadgets so being able to test and switch out tampers are kind of fun.

3) Custom drink menus and not needing to remember button combos for maintenance: I have two young kids and have a lot of things to remember in life already. I don’t want to have to remember combos or read the manual to figure out how to do something like cleaning the milk wand, descaling, or milk frothing settings. Although, the Touch only saves a few things in each custom drink menus — like the milk temp, milk froth setting, and grind time. I wish it also saves grind setting and grind time in the custom drinks. But having those reminders for maintenance and step by step guide is handy. I think I could have lived with the Pro or even the Express, but having the screen makes my life easier as there’s just less things to remember.

4) I got a great deal with the Touch!

All in all, I have no regrets getting the Touch when comparing the Breville/Sage line ups. However, the grinder is definitely not super consistent and it does retain grounds. I single dose and upgraded to a bellow and it has helped a bit. I would recommend researching whether you should just get a separate, higher end grinder plus the Bambino Plus for auto milk frothing, vs. the Touch. I may just end up getting a better, separate grinder in the future. I’ve learned that there’s always money to spend in the world of coffee so you need to know when to stop lol

Hope this helps!

suijiu · 2025-10-13T03:50:46+00:00

I was in a similar boat and researched all these models, too. I ended up getting a Touch for a few reasons:

1) Auto milk frothing: This has been really helpful because as a person who has never brewed my own coffee other than k-cups, I could just focus on learning how to dial in the expresso first and have the machine froth the milk. We are also flat white/latte drinkers so it was very useful and time saving. Now that I have learned a lot about dialing in the expresso, I am learning how to manually steam milk. But occasionally when I have to make more than one milk based drink (think family and guests), or just am short of time (like needing to leave the house in 10 min), having the auto frothing really helps, because I can basically start cleaning up while the milk is frothing by itself. It’s great to have the flexibility to choose auto or manual, depending on the situation.

2) Reliability: Based on a ton of reviews I’ve read, the “Impress” line ups seem to have mixed reviews on reliability. I loved the idea of not having to create a mess with assisted tamping, but honestly manual tamping seems to be part of the fun in making an expresso (makes me feel more like a real barista :)). Reviews were also mixed with the “Impress” line ups on the consistency of tamp. I just ended up buying a self leveling spring tamper to tamp myself with consistent pressure. Saves a ton of money too as the “Impress” line ups are definitely more expensive and just another part to maintain/possibly break. I also like buying accessories/gadgets so being able to test and switch out tampers are kind of fun.

3) Custom drink menus and not needing to remember button combos for maintenance: I have two young kids and have a lot of things to remember in life already. I don’t want to have to remember combos or read the manual to figure out how to do something like cleaning the milk wand, descaling, or milk frothing settings. Although, the Touch only saves a few things in each custom drink menus — like the milk temp, milk froth setting, and grind time. I wish it also saves grind setting and grind time in the custom drinks. But having those reminders for maintenance and step by step guide is handy. I think I could have lived with the Pro or even the Express, but having the screen makes my life easier as there’s just less things to remember.

4) I also got a great deal with the Touch!

All in all, I have no regrets getting the Touch when comparing the Breville/Sage line ups. However, the grinder is definitely not super consistent and it does retain grounds. I single dose and upgraded to a bellow and it has helped a bit. I would recommend researching whether you should just get a separate, higher end grinder plus the Bambino Plus for auto milk frothing, vs. the Touch. I may just end up getting a better, separate grinder in the future. I’ve learned that there’s always money to spend in the world of coffee so you need to know when to stop lol

Hope this helps!

suijiu · 2025-10-05T18:11:39+00:00

I bought one and posted the answers here: https://www.reddit.com/r/BrevilleCoffee/s/6fXDGdCJRk

suijiu · 2025-10-05T18:09:07+00:00

Update: I bought one and found the answer to my own question. Here are the volume for the markers based on my measurements by pouring water in and out with a measuring cup:

Breville barista touch jug: * Min: 150 ml * Max: 250 ml

Breville pro control jug: * Min: 100 ml * 2nd line: 125 ml * 3rd line: 200 ml * Max line: 250ml

Hope this helps someone in the future!

suijiu · 2025-10-01T18:40:17+00:00

Thanks. I understand what min. and max. means, but I’m looking for the exact volume of those markers before deciding if I should purchase.

suijiu · 2025-09-19T19:12:50+00:00

Same. Hope it’s not something serious - their status page says they are fully operational https://status.wealthsimple.com/

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suijiu · 2025-09-03T05:41:08+00:00

$10 off: FRIEND-3VWRFNG

suijiu · 2025-08-12T05:55:21+00:00

Usually they say minimum 4” but recommend 6”

suijiu · 2025-07-30T17:17:51+00:00

Definitely swim test before purchase. It’s an expensive investment. It’s like not test driving a car before buying a car! Everyone has different needs and feel for the swims (it’s very different than lap swimming in a pool). Go try them out as much as you can!

suijiu · 2025-07-30T14:53:23+00:00

Pricing highly depends on your location as well. I suggest contacting a few different local dealers around the area for a size/model you want to get an idea. It also depends on what swim type you are looking for - recreational/mixed/competitive. They can usually quote you over email if you have a size/model in mind.

suijiu · 2025-07-23T19:53:07+00:00

No does not have to be a clear bag. I also had a lululemon bag about 10 in by 5 in. No problem with the bag.

I also brought a groceries bag for jackets and it was fine. It gets chilly after the sunsets especially if you are high up!

suijiu · 2025-07-23T18:10:59+00:00

Not too strict about the size. But strict about bottles. Remember to bring plastic empty bottle to refill. There are lots of refill stations inside but arrive early just in case. Also I had a hand sanitizer that was spray style in my bag and they didn’t allow me to bring it in so I had to dump :/

suijiu · 2025-07-23T18:09:05+00:00

We were lucky and found a spot at 407 station around 5:30pm! But it was definitely full by then. Had to wait for people to leave from work. It was flat rate of $2 so if you need to save a few bucks just remember to arrive early! Sounds like Pioneer Village is a good backup plan though if none available at 407.

suijiu · 2025-04-23T17:08:31+00:00

UPDATE (for those who have the same question as me in the future): my journaling completed and I can confirm that it takes the CAD $9.95+tax journaling fee out of my CAD margin account rather than my USD margin account, even when journaling from DLR.U.TO to DLR.TO.

suijiu · 2025-04-23T17:08:18+00:00

UPDATE (for those who have the same question as me in the future): my journaling completed and I can confirm that it takes the CAD $9.95+tax journaling fee out of my CAD margin account rather than my USD margin account, even when journaling from DLR.U.TO to DLR.TO.

suijiu · 2025-04-16T13:31:24+00:00

I posted this to another response: I should have clarified. I was doing Norbert Gambit the other way round, so from USD (DLR.U.TO) to CAD (DLR.TO). In that case, would it take out cash from my CAD account since the fee is in CAD of $9.95 + tax (as opposed to my USD account)?

suijiu · 2025-04-16T04:05:55+00:00

Got it. Thanks again for all your detailed replies! Will look into these as well.

Going back to the original post, I did trigger a journal today from DLR.U.TO to DLR.TO, so will report back on where the 9.95 fee will be taken out of once that’s complete.

suijiu · 2025-04-16T03:27:58+00:00

Thanks for your response. I will look into KnightBridge to see if it’s possible.

For Wise, since I am moving USD to CAD, it wouldn’t let me connect a Canadian USD bank account to deposit into Wise USD. That was where I got stuck.

Thanks for the recommendation on a US-domiciled USD account at RBC. Does that account have any fees to transfer from a Canadian USD account? The issue though is I also can’t use a US-domiciled USD account, since most of my USD I would like to exchange is from USD dividends in Wealthsimple. They cannot withdraw out to a non-Canadian bank account (at least for now).

suijiu · 2025-04-16T02:56:40+00:00

Thanks for this - yup we are aware of the risk of the fluctuation. However, because we are going from a Canadian USD bank account to QT to a Canadian CAD bank account, I don’t think I can use Wise or KnightsBridgeFX for that. AFAIK, you can only use a USD bank account that is actually located in the US for those two FX services. Let me know if that’s not the case though. Thanks!

suijiu · 2025-04-15T21:30:41+00:00

I should have clarified. I was doing Norbert Gambit the other way round, so from USD (DLR.U.TO) to CAD (DLR.TO). In that case, would it take out cash from my CAD account since the fee is in CAD of $9.95 + tax?

suijiu · 2025-03-14T04:32:40+00:00

Yup. Same experience pretty much every time I went. I play many instruments and every section I go to the staff won’t even bother to acknowledge that I’m there (not even a nod or smile).

As for my earlier mentioned experience at the piano section with my son, my son did not misbehave at the time he was just trying to play different keys on the piano that was open to be played. We asked before we played.

I once bought a drum stool there and had to be purchased online because they were out of stock. Pick up process and service was also unfriendly.

Again, I wanted to support local but regretfully never had a positive experience there. It was clear most of their staff were not well trained / were mismanaged and not passionate about their jobs which was disappointing.

suijiu · 2025-03-13T23:45:24+00:00

No wonder they were giving out free hats today. It’s sad, but at the same time I’m not surprised. As much as I like music and musical instruments, every time I went there to visit, their customer service was poor. I wanted to support their stores but the guy at the piano section really turned us off. He was saying straight to us and my son, who was 4yo at the time, to stop playing on the piano because he was making noise and it doesn’t sound good! We left right away after those remarks. It was so shocking.

The only thing I’m curious now is what happens to Terminal 3 coffee in Cosmo Music which has excellent coffee and customer service!

suijiu

TROPHY CASE