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The best coffee machines are for coffee aficionados who accept nothing less than the best for their home or office. While generally expensive (if you want a good one, at least), these units have the potential to save you money in the long run. Indeed, those morning trips to the local barista can add up. However, the biggest reason you’re buying a coffee machine is to start a new hobby, isn’t it?! Whether looking at those Breville machines you find in the big department stores, specialist units for enthusiasts from La Marzocco, or just a great pod machine for casual use, we’ve found a style and format to suit your needs below.
Best Coffee Machines at a Glance
Highlights from our list include the following:
- Best overall: Breville The Barista Touch Impress
- For any budget: La Marzocco Linea Micra
- For value for money: KitchenAid Semi-Automatic Espresso Machine
- For an automatic coffee machine: De’Longhi Rivelia
Now that we’ve looked at our favourites, let’s check out the complete list.
1. Breville Barista Touch Impress – Best Overall
Price: from AUD$1,999
| Pros | Cons |
| Fundamentally, the Breville Barista Touch Impress hardware is top-class for an appliance-level machine. Pricing is competitive when you look at prosumer machines such as the Lelit Bianca V3 (AUD$4,399) and La Marzocco Linea Micra (AUD$5,999). It’s extremely easy to use with CPU-monitored extraction temps, grind settings, and automatic Auto MilQ settings for milk. | Better coffee can be made with a little more effort and practice. Integrated grinders will always limit the quality of your coffee. Breville Dual Boiler is better suited for those willing to learn the art of espresso. |
Our experts say: Put away the pods and make better coffee from the comfort of your home with the Breville Barista Touch Impress. This coffee machine tops our list of the best for its combination of quality hardware and clever software that manages your arduous tasks, e.g. grinding, temperatures, extraction, and milk foam.
Even with a steeper entry price of around AUD$2,149, the barista-quality coffee will save you money in the long run. Sure, you could save a few dollars and opt for a cheaper automatic coffee machine – many of which we’ve listed below – but do you want to watch milk temperatures, measure espresso draw weights, and master microfoam settings before work? The Breville Barista Touch Impress has all the features.
Those who live in a household with mixed milk drinkers will love the Auto MilQ setting, which finds the perfect milk settings for dairy, almond, oat, and soy milk. You can even customise these settings, save them, and create an extra-hot, frothy macchiato time and time again.
The machine helps you control your extraction temperatures and grind settings, which is perfect for someone who changes beans constantly. The entire process is impressive from both a hardware and software perspective. At its core, you’ll find a Baratza burr grinder, a 54mm stainless steel portafilter, and a 22-pound-of-pressure tamper with a 7-degree twist to make perfect pucks. The software takes over from there, with a CPU that handles extraction pressures, grind settings, and temperatures. Simple, easy.
Maintenance will be similar if you’re stepping up from a pod machine. We found ourselves descaling the machine once a week, and we did have to perform a group head clean at one point (through the touch menus, using a provided cleaning pellet), but it couldn’t have been easier.
Coffee snobs will turn their noses up at the integrated grinder, lack of dual boilers, and overall level of control. Still, it’s the difference between a coffee that takes 30 seconds to make and one that could take 10 minutes after warming the boilers. If you want to level up, check out the Breville Dual Boiler.
2. La Marzocco Linea Micra – Best Barista Grade Machine
Price: from AUD$5,999
| Pros | Cons |
| The Linea Marca is built to industrial-grade specifications, resulting in supreme consistency, speed, and quality. Its simple and streamlined interface, dual boiler, and lack of superfluous detail improve the user experience and arguably justify the cost for prosumers. When it comes to pulling espresso shots and steaming milk, this one is hard to beat and is the closest machine to what you’ll find in your local coffee shop. | This machine is only for coffee enthusiasts and people who are patient and willing to learn the art of becoming a barista. It is NOT an automatic machine; it’s cafe-grade and requires some skill to operate. Finally, the lack of space under the group head makes using taller cups for espresso drinks harder. Some cups simply won’t fit underneath. |
Our experts say: La Marzocco’s smallest coffee machine to date takes visual inspiration from beloved brethren such as the Classic S and Linea Mini. It’s comparatively compact (12″ x 12″ x 15″), but it renders an outsized impression by way of its enthusiast features that we look for, including dual boilers, integrated group head, rotary pump, and dual PID temperature controller that is accessed through a phone app.
Rather than overcomplicate itself, the machine focuses on pulling high-quality espresso and creating silky milk drinks. Two things that we found it to do spectacularly during our 6 months of testing time.
Dual boilers are something we look for in all coffee machines, but few can heat as quickly as the Linea Micra (5 minutes on average), and you can even set on/off times in the phone app. By comparison, machines like the Lelit Bianca V3 take up to 15 minutes before you can even pull a shot of espresso or steam milk. The steam boiler also preheats the water in the brew boiler, leading to improved time and consistency when making back-to-back espresso shots. The water reservoir is 2 litres in size (filtered water only), which is around the industry standard.
A convertible 58mm portafilter means you can easily switch between a single-spout and double-spout, and our favourite, bottomless, lets you see your espresso’s quality as it’s being pulled.
The pressure from the 3-hole insulated steam wand is nice and high at 1.5 to 2 bar, which means steaming milk takes only a few minutes.
You can’t talk about La Marzocco without mentioning the price tag, which remains exorbitant at AUD$5,999. However, this is the hand-made Ferrari of coffee machines, so it’s hardly unexpected.
We spent 6 months with the La Marzocco Linea Micra (thanks to the brand for the loan for the purposes of this review), and we haven’t found a home coffee machine that offers all of these features, convenience, precision, and looks yet. Simply put, the Linea Micra delivers consistent performance and a decor-boosting aesthetic within a completely streamlined framework. It’s an outstanding machine that demands a high price.
Lastly, on the price, you’ll also need to factor in the cost of a grinder. We used the La Marzocco Pico Home Espresso Grinder, which is excellent, despite being priced in true La Marzocco fashion at $1,500.
3. De’Longhi Rivelia – Best Automatic Coffee Machine
Price: from AUD$1,399
| Pros | Cons |
| It takes all the effort out of preparing a good-quality coffee at home without sacrificing quality. We found the quality levels above even the best pod machines we’ve tested, and the swappable hoppers make coffee fun and easy. The milk-based coffees were the highlight, combined with the personalisation and easy cleaning. | While it does have good manual overrides, it’s still a little tough to dial in and doesn’t make the best espresso. It’s also bulky, so you won’t want it as the centrepiece on your countertop. |
Our experts say: For those who want a quick, quality coffee without the hassle of preparing and using a barista-style machine, we highly recommend getting your hands on an automatic coffee machine like the new De’Longhi Rivelia. We spent a month with this machine to test “De’Longhi’s most advanced innovation to date.” We found the coffee quality excellent, the software easy to navigate and use, and the cleaning simple and easy. It’s enough to keep even the biggest coffee snob happy and provides a logical next step for those who want to graduate from their pod machines.
The main advantage of this particular unit over the other options on the market is the brand’s Bean Switch Technology. This lets you choose between different coffee beans with two interchangeable hoppers. It’s very simple to use, and the machine suggests the optimal grind, dose, and temperature for each bean. It even lets you dump the beans in the grinder or make one more beverage when you change styles.
We found the best grind size for most coffees at the 3-3.5 grind setting, which can be adjusted by moving the plastic ring around the bean hopper. This works in conjunction with 16 customisable drink recipes and 4 personal profiles. You can set up a profile that remembers what time of day you like to drink each coffee, e.g. flat white in the morning, espresso in the afternoon, and macchiato in the evening. It brings your favourite selections to the front of the menu so you don’t have to scroll.
The De’Longhi Rivelia automatic coffee machine is probably better suited to a milk coffee drinker as we found it difficult to dial in the espresso to perfection and get top-tier crema, but it does get the job done and is significantly better than a pod machine.
All of the milk options were good quality, and they take advantage of the brand’s ‘LatteCrema Hot Technology’, which uses an adjustable dial on the top of the unit to dial in the creaminess. Again, it’s far better than any of the milk frothers we’ve used with automatic pod machines. Turn it all the way, and it puts the milk frother in ‘cleaning mode’, which is easy to use after each coffee.
Speaking of cleaning, that’s another key advantage of automatic coffee machines. With dishwasher-safe components and automatic cleaning cycles, the De’Longhi Rivelia can take care of itself; just keep the water fresh and clean out the excess coffee pucks and drip tray when the machine prompts you.
Our verdict? It’s the best automatic coffee machine we’ve tested. While its AUD$1,399 price point is certainly getting up there, the coffee it delivers is as good, if not better, than manual machines that cost nearly twice the price and require more maintenance and preparation time. This is our recommendation if you want to splurge and step up from that best pod machine into a fully automatic machine.
4. KitchenAid Semi-Automatic Espresso Machine with Burr Grinder – Best Budget Machine
Price: from AUD$999
| Pros | Cons |
| It’s a great choice for beginners because most of the technical aspects of coffee making are taken care of by the machine, such as dosing. Still, you can enjoy adjusting the grind, foaming the milk, and extracting the coffee without worrying about water temperature, etc. It also has commercial-grade features like a 58mm portafilter, a large bean hopper, and space under the portafilter to fit a large mug. | It takes some dialling in, and if you haven’t used a semi-automatic machine before, it will take you a few attempts to set your grind size and foam the milk with the single-hole nozzle. The single boiler might be a deal-breaker for some that want coffee fast. |
Key features of the KitchenAid Semi-Automatic Espresso Machine (KES6551):
- Pump Pressure: 15-18 bars (for proper espresso extraction)
- Grind Settings: 15 (for control over grind size)
- Bean Hopper Capacity: 225g (for storing beans)
- Water Tank Capacity: 2.5L
- Portafilter: Commercial-grade 58mm (commercial-grade size)
- Multi-Angle Steam Wand: Single-hole, not commercial-grade pressure
- Smart Dosing Technology: For consistent coffee dosing for single or double shots
- Grinder: Burr for precise, even coffee grounds (better extraction than blade grinders)
Our experts say: It only took us a few tries to start making great coffee using the KitchenAid Semi-Automatic Espresso Machine. Those who are upgrading from an automatic coffee machine will appreciate how this all-in-one unit takes care of most of the technical manual actions of coffee making that most amateurs don’t care about (e.g. dosing) but leaves you just enough room to learn at your own pace and enjoy the process of making coffee.
Beginners will love the automatic Smart Dosing Technology that produces the ideal volume and consistency for one or two shots straight into the commercial-grade 58mm portafilter. This removes the headache of weighing your coffee, timing your extraction, weighing the output, and refining your grind size.
Other features we love include the 225g bean hopper, 2.5L water tank (approx. 33 espresso shots), pump pressure of 15-18 bars, and the metal construction, which is surprisingly solid for a machine at this price point.
Some coffee snobs might object to features like the portafilter’s design, the single-hole steaming nozzle, and the fact that the KitchenAid Semi-Automatic Espresso Machine only has a single boiler. However, considering the price point, it would be unfair to critique it for these reasons alone.
This machine makes great coffee, and it is as close to barista-grade as most at-home brewers could ask for.
That said, it only truly excels at milk-based coffees. If you want to make great espresso, long blacks, etc., other, more expensive options on the market will allow you to dial in the machine to create the perfect espresso. However, expect to pay two or three times this machine’s price for those features!
5. The Morning Machine – Best Pod Machine
Price: from AUD$599
| Pros | Cons |
| Between its advanced controls and bespoke capsules, The Morning Machine dials up the personalisation factor so that users can get the exact drink that they want. | The machine doesn’t include a frother while the advanced control features might feel overly complicated to certain users. |
Our experts say: Forget everything you know about pod coffee machines. The Morning Machine is our favourite pod machine on the market because it adds more control over your pod espresso than anything we’ve tested before. From water volume settings to temperature control (65ºC to 99ºC), in-built scales and customizable pressure programs combine with a useful and intuitive mobile app to adjust your brews according to your roaster’s recommendations. You can save up to ten of your favourites.
The brand has partnered with leading roasters to offer bespoke capsules to match your daily grind. Have a look for yourself at The Morning Marketplace and find some of our favourites, including the Blacklist Coffee Roaster ‘Big Buzz’ and Allpress Espresso ‘A.R.T’. We also recommend their drip bags.
Technically speaking, the built-in temperature control is the basis for quality coffee. However, the pressure programs and water volume settings elevate The Morning Machine above your run-of-the-mill pod machine. By ramping up the pressure over the length of the extraction, your coffee grounds will infuse themselves with water before extracting the perfect amount of coffee with the right amount of weight. The scale lets you monitor the process to ensure the length of time grounds are exposed to water and the overall weight of coffee. Too complicated? Control it through the app.
If you want to add milk to your Morning Machine espresso, you’ll have to purchase a third-party frother because the brand doesn’t have its own. We recommend the Breville Milk Cafe.
6. Breville The Bambino Plus – Best Home Coffee Machine
Price: from AUD$619
| Pros | Cons |
| Brushed stainless steel construction lends The Bambino Plus a modern, industrial vibe, while an easy-to-use interface and advanced features make the price tag seem like a steal. The machine also delivers consistent performance across regular espresso drinks and milk-based ones alike. | The machine’s small size means you need to refill it more than you would with larger counterparts. The lack of a built-in grinder might deter certain users. |
Our experts say: Don’t be fooled by the compact size or the industrial vibe of this world-class coffee machine, as it comes loaded with advanced features. It also punches well above its affordable price tag and delivers the kind of performance you’d expect to find on more expensive counterparts. Speaking of things you don’t expect to find at this price range, the machine has a built-in PID controller to ensure consistent temperature and texture.
Being a smaller machine, the Bambino Plus isn’t necessarily good for large families or the type of people who like to make multiple drinks in a single day. That said, it’s still capable of producing a number of beverages before needing to be refilled. The lack of a built-in grinder might be a turn-off for certain drinkers, but some experts would consider this a positive attribute. And while the machine only possesses one boiler, it can easily and expediently switch between brewing and frothing.
The most distinguishing aspect of Breville’s mighty Bambino Plus is its 4-keys formula, inspired by professional-grade barista machines. Using a stainless steel precision puck, 9-bar extraction pressure, patented ThermoJet heating system, and automatic steam wand (with adjustable settings), the machine generates specialty coffee drinks of exceptional taste, temperature, and texture. It’s supremely easy to use and also quite unobtrusive due to its compact size. All this and more make it our pick for the best home coffee machine overall.
7. Lavazza A Modo Mio Deséa – Best Pod with Milk Machine
Price: from AUD$349
| Pros | Cons |
| Unlike most pod machines, this one froths the milk directly inside the mug. It also offers seamless usability by way of a one-touch barista interface. Convenience is the biggest takeaway here. | Pod machines usually offer less quality and consistency than manual machines and this one is no exception. Some users might also want to use their own mug as opposed to the one provided. |
Our experts say: Coffee machines don’t get easier to use than this one from Lavazza, which excels in convenience, consistency, and versatility. Unlike most products, this one uses a patented foaming method to froth the milk directly inside the cup when making various espresso drinks. It also offers seamless touch-button control and a wider beverage selection than standard counterparts.
Striving for simplicity, A Modo Mio Deséa employs a ‘One Touch Barista’ interface divided between coffee options (long espresso, free pour, etc.) and milk beverage options (macchiato, cappuccino, etc.). To make a hot or cold milk-based drink, add your desired amount of milk to the provided mug, close the lid on the mug, and select your beverage. The machine also allows you to adjust temperature and foam level, though your mileage may vary in that department.
Will a Modo Mio Deséa generate the same level of flavour and consistency as a manual machine? Definitely not. Users might also want to transfer their beverage from the provided mug into their own, affecting texture and temperature along the way. Nevertheless, this sleek and compact machine has modern usability down pat.
8. Breville The Barista Express – Best Manual Coffee Machine
Price: from AUD$599
| Pros | Cons |
| The Barista Express offers one of the best price-to-performance ratios on the market. Features such as a built-in grinder result in greater control over the consistency and flavour of your espresso. Often dubbed the perfect entry-level machine, it’s also a consistent crowd-pleaser among coffee lovers of every experience level. | A single boiler means you can’t brew your espresso and froth your milk simultaneously. Some users also complain that the built-in grinder and frother are inferior to certain counterparts. |
Our experts say: We know what you might be thinking: how can a AUD$599 espresso machine be the best when some manual alternatives cost upwards of AUD$5,000 (such as the aforementioned Linea Micra)? Yet this very combination of value and performance makes The Barista Express such a living classic. More than a perfect point of entry, it’s arguably the only machine that most coffee drinkers (of any experience level) ever need to buy.
By putting all the essential features in one stylish and relatively affordable package, The Barista Express delivers genuine bang for your buck. Chief among these features is a built-in grinder, which enables greater control over things like the texture and dosage of your grind. Bring in pre-allocated volume control, a magnetic-mounted tamper, and up to 15 bars of pressure, and you get excellent crema and consistency in your espresso from one pull to the next. A dependable milk frother seals the deal.
As its very name would suggest, The Barista Express simplifies the coffee-making process but still requires you to hone your inner barista. Hence, beginners might undergo a little trial-and-error as they learn the basics of espresso. But once you’ve mastered your grind, you’ll discover the true difference in quality that a manual machine like this can make.
9. AeroPress Go – Best Portable Coffee Maker
Price: from AUD$54.99
| Pros | Cons |
| Aeropress Go uses simple but advanced design elements to offer high-quality coffee or espresso brewing at an unbeatable price. It’s effortlessly portable and almost endlessly reusable, provided you treat it with care. | If you own an Aeropress, you might not see the point in purchasing this slightly smaller version, which offers less overall volume. The provided mug is made of plastic, and that’s not to everyone’s tastes. Users who want coffee drinks with steamed milk might find themselves with additional challenges on their hands. |
Our experts say: The original Aeropress remains wildly popular due to its travel-friendly size, ingenious design, and affordable price tag. This recent iteration shaves off a few inches and dials up the portability factor, all while delivering the same tier of effectiveness, value, and usability. Like its beloved predecessor, Aeropress Go proves that you don’t need fancy equipment or deep pockets to make a quality brew at home or on the road.
More functional than it first appears, Aeropress Go essentially rolls a French press, drip coffee maker, and espresso maker into one. Using it is basically as simple as pouring your grind into the chamber, adding hot water, stirring the slurry, and applying the plunger. Hot coffee or espresso comes through a filter into a provided mug in minutes. Enjoy your piping hot brew and don’t forget to discard the grounds or clean the plunger before stowing away.
Whereas many coffee makers on the list are “manual,” Aeropress Go takes the concept to a rather fundamental extreme. That means users will probably need to master the basics, such as measuring and grinding the beans independently, adding the right amount of hot water, and learning how to use the plunger. But these minor educational hurdles can be surmounted on first use, as drinkers discover an expedient and effortlessly portable brewing system.
10. Lelit Bianca V3 – Best Enthusiast Grade Machine
Price: from AUD$4,399
| Pros | Cons |
| Steam is very powerful with four holes in the tip to allow quick milk frothing. It’s an E61-based machine but it manages to heat up and become useable in under 20-mins which is almost twice as quick as other grouphead machines. It’s also a very quiet machine to use. | Maybe our only complaint with the machine is the fact it ships with maximum pressure set to 10 bar. This can, however, be adjusted with tools and set to a preferable pressure of 9 bar but it’s difficult to control during the shot. Oddly, the water tank has no maximum fill level indicator. |
Our experts say: This is the best prosumer coffee machine available in Australia and likely the only machine you’ll ever need to buy in your lifetime. You’ll first notice the gorgeous design with shiny stainless steel, crafted metals, and walnut touches on the handle of the E61-style grouphead. This type of unit can become the centrepiece of your kitchen, and you’ll want it to, with a price around AUD$4,399. Still, it’s remarkably cheaper than the La Marzocco Linea Micra (AUD$5,999).
We love how the temperature controls for the dual boilers are displayed on a PID display on the front of the machine. However, the most impressive feature is the flow profiling that adjusts extraction speed. This is controlled by turning the paddle left or right, and you can monitor it through the pressure puck.
While it’s a quick machine that gets up to temperature in half the amount of time compared to other E61 rotary pump machines, it’s still not the unit we’d recommend for a beginner coffee lover. You’ll find a steeper learning curve than the Breville Dual Boiler, but an overall better coffee if you dedicate a little time to learning the ins and outs of the machine. Finally, we’d recommend swapping the standard Lelit 58mm portafilter basket for a VST branded unit, as we’ve found them to be the difference between a great and exceptional coffee over the year.
11. Smeg Collezione Minipro Espresso Coffee Machine – Best Value Manual Machine
Price: AUD$2,399
| Pros | Cons |
| Compact size, Italian-made, high-end features, expensive overall, but good value-for-money in the manual segment. | No flow control or pressure profiling, the steam wand has only a single hole. You have to know what you’re doing, e.g. if you haven’t used a manual machine before, then it’s probably not for you. |
Our experts say: I wanted to test out the Smeg Collezione Minipro espresso coffee machine from the moment I saw the images in the press release. Made in Italy, from a reputable appliance brand, and with a stylish finish that looks uber premium, I wanted to know if this machine could deliver what a La Marzocco Micra offers at less than half the price.
On paper, it looks promising, with all the standard features you would expect to find in a high-end machine and a compact 360 x 220 x 433mm size. There’s a 58mm stainless steel portafilter, two pressurised filter options, a triple thermoblock system that heats the machine in 4 minutes, a 1.7 litre water tank capacity, and optimum bar pressure at 15 bar. It was disappointing that the steam wand has only a single hole, but it provides good pressure, so it wasn’t an issue.
What was also slightly disappointing is that, despite having a gauge on the machine, there is no flow control or pressure profiling, which is common in high-end manual machines at this price point.
I mentioned that the machine is compact, but until you’ve had to wrangle large all-in-one or automatic coffee machines onto a smaller bench space, you don’t truly appreciate how much better a smaller machine is to work with. It’s lightweight and doesn’t feel as premium in the hand as in pictures, but the overall build quality is quite good. Note that this machine doesn’t come with a grinder, so you’ll have to consider that additional space, but this is one of the best machines I’ve used for apartments and townhouses.
Once you’ve ground the coffee, filled the portafilter, tamped, etc., the portafilter fits comfortably into the grouphead. You can then control the machine and pull a shot using the lever or the configurable single- and double-shot controls near the digital screen. This digital screen reads out the draw time and not much else. Of course, these times are configurable.
The machine pulls a consistent shot at 15 bar of pressure, resulting in excellent espresso. If you’re a milk coffee fan, the steam wand is a single-hole option to steam up milk immediately after pulling the shot. Select it by pressing the button, and then the steam starts. However, it is only medium-low in terms of power and speed. It is good for amateurs and intermediate users, but not great for semi- or professional use. Overall, very impressed! Is it a half-price La Marzocco? Not quite, but still the best value manual machine I’ve used.
Alternatives to These Coffee Machines
Check out these alternatives if the coffee machines above don’t work for you.
De’Longhi Nespresso Citiz
Price: from AUD$329
DeLonghi offers a host of top Nespresso machines, including this one. Naturally, the award-winning, affordable, and supremely long-lasting addition is one of the best coffee pod machines on the market. If you don’t want to overthink the whole process, your journey might very well end here. This machine produces single servings of either coffee or espresso, 19 bar pump system, quick heat-up times, adjustable cup sizes, compact design, integrated milk frother, energy-saving features
De’Longhi Primadonna Soul
Price: from AUD$1,999
DeLonghi’s ultimate home coffee machine, the PrimaDonna Soul does pretty much everything for you. With a AUD$2,799 price tag, the DeLonghi PrimaDonna Soul isn’t cheap, but it does promise high-quality coffee across a range of customisable beverages. As we noted in our full review of this machine the big dog performer does deliver the goods. In fact, you can even program your order from the comfort of your bed thanks to Wi-Fi connectivity and the automatic PrimaDonna Soul’s Bean Adapt Technology. Using the large 4.3” TFT touch display, you can cycle through the pre-programmed 21 one-touch recipes, including staples like a cappuccino, flat white, or a latte. Plus, you can also program in five user profiles, offering everyone in the household a unique coffee experience.
Flair Pro 2 Manual Espresso Maker
Price: from AUD$540
Between its portable design, artisanal flourish, and affordable price tag, this is easily the best manual espresso maker for its price range. Use it at home or on camping trips or anywhere between. Also, being a manual coffee machine, it is easy to use and doesn’t take a ton of time. Look ma, no electricity!
Gaggia Carezza Deluxe
Price: from AUD$739
Gaggia ranks amongst the best names in the game and here we have one of their basic entries, which makes both coffee and espresso. Landing somewhere in the middle in terms of price, this home espresso machine has the ability to make pressurized porta filter brews from both ground Coffee and ESE pods. Better still, the pre-infusion function pre-wets the grounds before brewing for rich, even extraction.
ECM Synchronika Dual Boiler
Price: from AUD$4,899
Between its retro aesthetic and modern functionality, this top home espresso maker brings the best of all worlds. If you plan on making your home espresso machine a permanent fixture, you can switch from the water tank to a fixed water connection. The silver-coloured PID display also shows off the individual adjustment of the temperatures, indicates the coffee brewing time and has an optional display of the brew group cleaning reminder.
Kees van der Westen Speedster
Price: from AUD$16,499
When only the most expensive espresso machine will suffice, make way for The Speedster. A fixture in hip coffee shops, it’s also available in this home-friendly version. Under the hood, the heat exchanger in the steam boiler pre-heats water flowing to the coffee boiler, decreasing possible temperature fluctuations in the coffee boiler. For serious customisation, there are individual electronic temperature controllers for each boiler, showing the displays in full easy view.
Why You Should Trust Our List
What first looks like a lofty investment delivers a return over time and—ideally—an elevated tier of quality in your coffee. They usually say it’s all in the beans, but as you know, it’s also in the delivery system. Culling from coffee machine reviews, personal experience, and first-hand testimony, we compiled this list of the world’s top espresso machines. We only looked at the top-rated and reviewed products across the internet, while also taking into account user reviews on official websites. From there, we were able to put our own coffee expertise on the line and curate the top espresso machines on earth. Here’s how we test products.
What to Look for in a Good Coffee Machine
Types of Coffee Machines
- Automatic Coffee Machine: The most expensive option, this type of espresso machine does everything on your behalf, meaning it grinds the beans, packs the filter, pumps the espresso, froths the milk, and even discards the waste.
- Manual Coffee Machine: You pump out the espresso by hand (i.e. manually) without electricity.
- Espresso Machine: You grind the beans and pack them into the filter (with help from a tamper). Push a button and the machine pumps out espresso, stopping either on its own or when you push the button again.
- Pod Machine: You probably know the drill: apply a pre-packed pod to the filter, press a button, and let this semi or fully-automatic machine take care of the rest. Just know that there’s a member of the Italian Espresso National Institute shaking his head somewhere.
Key Features
1. Dual Boilers
Separating the boilers for steam and brewing is the only way to achieve a quality coffee. You don’t extract at the same temperature as you steam milk so you need dual boilers to achieve this.
2. Temperature Control, Preferably PID
The ultimate set-and-forget control in coffee making is achieved with a digital temperature control. It makes your coffee consistent by removing any pre-required skills from the mix. Set the temperature and let the machine adjust all the parameters to create a great morning brew.
3. Unpressurised Baskets
You’ll never achieve a barista-quality coffee without an unpressurised basket. Some brands include pressure baskets to remove poor grinding and tamping from the equation, but we highly recommend spending AUD$25 on an unpressurised basket and practising these steps until you nail them.
4. Size of the Portafilter
A larger portafilter measuring 58mm offers a richer flavoured coffee when compared to the 54mm options shipped with many entry-level machines.
5. Overpressure Valve
You should only extract coffee at 9 bars of pressure. Some machines, Italian machines such as the Lelit Bianca V3, ship at a higher 10 bar pressure, but you need to control this to achieve a great coffee. Here’s where an overpressure valve comes into play, it bleeds off excessive pressure as soon as it’s detected to achieve this magic number.
6. Steamer Holes
The magic number of steamer holes is four, however, some machines only offer a single hole which isn’t enough to bring the milk up to temp quickly and stretch it out for fluffy cappuccinos.
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