Gadgets

We Tear Apart a Barista!

We just finished a teardown of the Barista, Starbucks’ most iconic and longest-selling consumer espresso machine.

The Barista has a sturdy, elegant design that has stood the test of time quite well. Its popularity is reflected by the fact that it’s still available at a reasonable price.

It’s easy enough to buy the machine and start using it — but what about all the people who were part of creating it? The guy who slaved for hours in creating the perfect spring for the reciprocating pump? The person in charge of making sure the Barista doesn’t burn a hole in your kitchen counter? This one’s for you, friends.

We are expanding our teardowns to include all sorts of other gear. We want to show people that appliances such as the Starbucks Barista have a lot of sweat, thought, and engineering put into them — even though they may not make the cover of the latest electronics magazines.

Removing the boiler:

Removing the boiler in the Starbucks Barista teardown

Using our makeshift flathead screwdriver:

Opening the boiler in the Starbucks Barista with pliers