Looking for an alternative to your morning latte without completely giving up your cherished beverage? There are other options, but espresso is worth a shot…or two! Purchasing an espresso machine is a wise investment for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the opportunity to save money on coffee shop visits. Making the adjustment to a healthier diet is also good for your health: Dr. Michael Yassa, Professor of Neurobiology and Behavior Psychiatry and Human Behavior Neurology at the University of California, Irvine, showed that frequent espresso drinking improves long-term memory.
With the correct equipment, making espresso at home is a breeze, even if you don’t have any training in the art of barista work. With this guide, no matter your level of expertise, you’ll be able to pick an espresso machine that best suits your needs.
To get the most out of your coffee experience, follow these tips. For the best coffee grinders, have a look at our list of picks.
1. VertuoPlus Deluxe Coffee & Espresso Machine by De’Longhi
New virtuoso in town: the VertuoPlus Deluxe, with its 19-bar pressure system and a sleek, contemporary look, has replaced Chopin as the king of the virtuosos (which boasts a 54 percent recycled plastic construction and comes complete with a removable 60-ounce tank).
It’s easy to use, even if it is a little noisy, and you can make up to 14 ounces of strong, silky-smooth drinks like espresso, lungo, and even normal coffee, all with the push a button. Although she generally drinks her coffee with milk, one of the Good Housekeeping Institute’s testers found that “she didn’t even need to add any milk.”
Due to the limited compatibility of this model with Nespresso’s VertuoLine premium pods, you’re guaranteed to discover a flavor that suits your tastes. There is an option to return the unused pods to NeSpresso, which will recycle them.
2. Barista Pro Espresso Machine
The Breville Barista Pro has a 15-bar pressure system and the capacity to brew one or two shots of tasty espresso, so if you’re looking for an espresso dynamo, this is the machine for you. We’re willing to overlook the machine’s uneven and splattery stream in exchange for the other features it offers, such as a basic steam wand, integrated tamper, trimming tool, stainless steel milk container, and a hopper that can store up to half a pound of coffee beans.
Four 1- and 2-cup filter baskets for pre-ground coffee and two for whole beans are included with the Barista Pro. The Good Housekeeping Institute recommends “playing around, beginning with the default settings, to make your ideal espresso” despite the machine’s 30 grind adjustments and five temperature settings.
3. Dinamica Plus Fully Automatic Coffee Maker & Espresso Machine
Consider a superautomatic model like the De’Longhi Dinamica Plus if an espresso machine seems too hard to deal with. Setup may take some time but after that, everything is a piece of cake: When compared to other espresso makers, the Good Housekeeping Institute determined that this one made “a smoother, rounder, and beautifully heated” cup of coffee, and it handles it all, from grinding beans to tamping and brewing (though they noted the crema was a little thin).
Even with 16 drink selections and three frothing settings, you have plenty of time to make your choice before the frothing process starts. Moreover, it’s impossible to find a cleaner than this: You don’t have to lift a finger to fill and clean the milk hopper of the Dinamica Plus, and it even tells you when it’s time to do so (which you can do using a pre-programmed setting).
4. K-Café Coffee, Latte, and Cappuccino Maker
How do you get started with espresso, when you’ve never tried it before? Easy-to-use, “strong” brewing, and ability to create espresso and four various sizes of hot or iced beverages make the Keurig K-Café an ideal choice for novices.
Testing revealed that this machine was easy to use, with reliable results in terms of the time it took to make coffee, the temperature it maintained, the amount it produced, and even the presence of an integrated milk frother (but no crema). In one test, the espresso was “bland,” “poor,” and even “burnt,” as noticed by the Good Housekeeping Institute (albeit it “seemed to become hotter as more cycles were brewed”).
As a result, customers described the cappuccino as a “wonderful treat” and the lattes it produced as “quite creamy.” Although it splatters a little on the counter and doesn’t automatically drop old K-cups into a collecting container like some of our other recommendations—so you’ll have to dispose of them yourself—we believe the small clean-up difficulties are trivial given the K Cafe’s general simplicity of use.
5. All-in-One Occasions Specialty Pods Coffee and Espresso Maker
The Mr. Coffee All-in-One is the most flexible coffee maker on the market, with four different size choices and the ability to create numerous types of coffee. The Good Housekeeping Institute’s panel rated this machine’s 15-bar pressure system as “smoothish” and “a bit acidic” for producing a single or double shot of espresso, as well as a 10-cup thermal carafe for drip coffee and even a built-in milk frother to create a latte or cappuccino.
There is also a K-Cup option for this machine, however the testers found that it takes “just under two minutes” for this option to brew since it doesn’t generate a constant stream of coffee. Despite this, the Mr. Coffee’s detachable 55-ounce water reservoir is simple to refill. It is also easy to clean. As a bonus, there are thoughtful features like a brewing indication sound and a storage tray for all of the accessories.
6. Nespresso Essenza Mini by Breville
A 20-ounce water tank and a detachable drip base let you to use a bigger cup with the Nespresso Essenza Mini, despite its little size. The Good Housekeeping Institute described this espresso machine’s “frothy crema” and “smooth, more full” brew as “neither bitter or acidic” despite the fact that it is a touch noisy and drips for a little longer than is desired.
This machine uses Nespresso Original capsules and can only be used with Nespresso’s recycling service, but it also has an eco-mode that halves power usage after three minutes and an auto-shutoff after nine minutes to let you enjoy your espresso while minimizing your influence on the environment.
7. Bambino Plus Espresso Machine
Check out this espresso machine and you’ll be singing “O Sole Mio” in no time. Breville’s Bambino Plus is guaranteed to satisfy. A 15-bar pressure pump, tamper, trimming tool, and milk jug linked to the steam wand made this machine rather quiet and constant in temperature and volume when it was tested.
Bambino Plus produced “a bit acidic” espresso and coffee, according to a panel from the Good Housekeeping Institute, although the crema “wasn’t overwhelming.” Also available are single and double espresso selections, as well as steamed, foamy, or extremely frothy milk options on the user-friendly control panel.
8. La Specialista Espresso Machine
Brooklyn Cocktail has a secret ingredient, it is the De’Longhi La Specialista! Making espresso “the proper way” is “ridiculously simple” with this machine’s 19 bars of pressure (six grind sizes and five brew choices), according to Lena, and it’s not hard to see why.
The Excellent Housekeeping Institute praises this espresso machine for producing “good, smooth, tasty” coffee in addition to being quiet and easy to use. There are several smart features included in the La Specialista, including an in-built tamper for correctly packing coffee grinds, an adjustable steam wand for making “beautiful, not broken crème,” an advanced latte system, and an adjustable pressure gauge.
9. Gran Lattissima Coffee and Espresso Machine by De’Longhi
When it comes to a good cup of espresso, who says you have to go to Italy? De’Longhi’s Nespresso Gran Lattissima Coffee and Espresso Machine is the closest you’ll have to go to a cafe. Featuring a 19-bar pressure system, a built-in milk frother, and a detachable pitcher that is as simple to clean as it is to keep in your fridge, this machine is elegant and straightforward.
Although the Gran Lattissima was criticized by the Good Housekeeping Institute for its “little, but very useful, underappreciated feature” of making espresso, cappuccino, and flat white all with the touch of a button, it does provide a lot of variety.
When shopping for an espresso machine, what features should I look for?
It’s possible that your mental image of a fully-loaded computer includes an exorbitant number of whistles and bells. Depending on how you want to use your laptop, you may want to keep an eye out for a few key characteristics.
Is a frothy cup of coffee better than a flat cup of coffee? For espresso-based beverages like lattes and cappuccinos, a built-in milk frother or steam wand might be helpful. To get the most bang for your buck, consider investing in a model with two heating systems, rather of relying on a single heating system to perform both the coffee and the milk frothing for you.
Using a coffee grinder ensures that your coffee beans are ground to the appropriate coarseness for brewing the ideal cup of espresso. It’s possible to purchase a machine that already has a built-in coffee grinder, but they tend to be more expensive, bigger, and require you to manually drop your grounds into the basket.
An understanding of the idea of the pressure pump system is necessary for those who choose semi-automatic or automated models. Here’s a quick rundown: An electric pump is used instead of a lever in a pressure system, which is more efficient. The greater the pressure, the quicker the coffee will be extracted from the grounds, so aim for at least nine bars.
Having said that, some espresso machines provide two times the pressure, allowing you to enjoy your espresso even quicker… Good things, however, come to those who wait, as is true of most things in life. A quicker brew time is achieved at the expense of a somewhat inferior quality of espresso when using a greater amount of pressure. Because the pressure between the pump and the group head is reduced in less priced equipment, while you believe you’re brewing at 15 or 20 bars, it’s really closer to nine.
