tldr; The Breville Infuser is a decent starter machine with PID and pre-infusion, but it's often seen as a stepping stone to higher-end machines with better build quality and temperature stability.
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Best praise vs top criticism for Breville the Infuser
“The things others here are saying (puck prep, grinder, etc.) are certainly applicable, but a lesser known factor is pressure. A lot of Breville machines (aside from the Dual Boiler) have an issue where the pressure hitting the puck is far, far higher than the claimed 9 bar figure. The over-pressure valve (OPV) is supposed to prevent more than 9 bar from being applied, but many Breville machines do not come properly calibrated. My Infuser was hitting the puck at 12-13 bar, and at those pressures, it was very difficult to get good extractions. Add to this the issue that Breville’s pressure gauges on their lower-end (read: not Dual Boiler) models aren’t very accurate or useful. And unless I’m mistaken, the Barista Pro doesn’t even show you that info anyhow. The only way to really know for sure is to get a scace device and test the puck pressure, but that’s a rabbit hole you may not feel like going down. Anyway, this is a lot of info, but FWIW on a Breville machines you could be doing everything right and still have extraction issues. This is why I moved on from my Infuser, unfortunately.”
“I'd agree with others here and scrap the accessories and focus on a machine and grinder, save for maybe getting a \~$30 tamper on Amazon or something. Even then the Infuser one isn't terrible to get started. Imho a Breville infuser and Sette 270 (maybe WI if budget permits, as it has a really nice scale built in) would work nicely and be around the budget, but allow you to do pre-infusion. You can always get accessories later as you need them, especially the bottomless portafilter. They're sexy, but not worth $100 if it means a better machine. Also if you ever want to upgrade from the Breville to a 58mm machine, you'd need to scrap a good number of accessories.”
402 Reddit opinions analyzed • Last updated 2/24/2026