VERDICT: Gimmick

What I like about it:

• Ready quick, fast heat up
• Manual shot option
• Self clean function
• Drip tray indictor

What I don’t like about it:

• Built in grinder (I’ll explain below)
• Only 1 boiler
• Included tamp
• Slow steam speed
• No temp control
• Included portafilter
• Overall build quality

The sunbeam barista max I think could make a decent entry level machine for someone starting out, or as their first machine, however, I would strongly suggest other options first. Let me explain.

Let’s start with the positives. Honestly, the machine pulls a half decent shot – not great, but not terrible by any means. I use the manual shot button to reach my desired grams of liquid.

When you first switch the machine on it heats up quickly and is ready in probably around 30 seconds.

I also like the drip tray feature which pops up when it’s full of water, letting you know when it’s time to empty.

This is my partners machine, so I’ve been using it when at her house. I’ve been able to pull decent shots by single dosing into the in built grinder, grinding fairly fine, then using a scale and pushing the manual shot button until I reach my numbers. I think that’s the best and easiest way to use this machine.

But now let’s talk about the negatives and frustrations with this machine.

First of all, the grinder sucks. It is not consistent, and doesn’t really pull out all your bean has to offer. I’m hard against built in grinders also because if they break, and can’t be fixed, basically your whole machine is no good. The grinder is also messy, unless you’re adding water to your beans, grinds will spray everywhere as shown below.

The grinder is also annoying that it’s not auto, and you need to hold it there. It’s also SLOW – it took 31 seconds to grind 20g of beans at a medium-fine setting shown below

Obviously any single boiler machine is going to be a lot slower as you can’t pull a shot and steam milk at the same time – but this machine is also very slow to steam. Took 1 minute and 13 seconds to steam enough milk for a standard mug, PLUS the 20 seconds you need to wait for heat up/steam ready.

The tamp you get with the machine is also not good – cheap plastic and doesn’t fit snugly so you’ll always have untamped grounds.

The included portafilter is also weird, I’m not a fan of the baskets and spouts, it’s weird design makes it hard to clean and you always need to take the basket out to properly rinse and clean underneath.

If all the above is not enough to steer you away, overall my biggest concern is build quality – you get what you pay for, and personally I would never recommend a sunbeam or Breville to anyone – they are filled with cheap plastic components and are just not built to last. I know this from first hand experience – I had a sunbeam machine and it broke in less than 12 months, with an unfixable issue that many others reported.

If you’re happy to ignore me, the link is below. If you’re set on this machine, I’d definitely fork out the extra, and get the dual boiler version so you can pull a shot and steam milk at the same time. Saves a lot of time.

Sunbeam Barista Max

Otherwise, my overall recommendation is to maybe spend a bit more and find a quality machine built to last. Good luck!

If you found this review helpful, it’d mean the world to me if you made a purchase through one of the links here to show your support, as I may earn a commission. I will only ever recommend good quality products I’ve tested myself and believe in, and not junk. For example, if you’re new to coffee, I can’t reccommend the Pullman precision basket enough. A good basket is the cheapest, best upgrade you can make. I’ve compared it to more expensive baskets like the VST, Weber Unibasket, Pesado HE% & IMS in blind taste tests, and to my surprise I chose the Pullman more times than not. So not only is it the cheapest and best value (proof I’m not just trying to earn more commission), I really do believe it to probably be the best of the lot. Add to your cart now, think about it, then thank me later 😉