Espresso machine or bean-to-cup: how to choose a coffee machine for home

Choose the type of machine before the brand. The type decides how much you do by hand each morning, how much you clean and whether you need a second appliance.

Three types of machine

Manual espresso machine. You grind the beans, fill and tamp the basket, and start and stop the shot. It takes practice, and it gives you the most control. Unless the machine has a grinder built in, you need to buy one separately.

Bean-to-cup machine. It grinds, doses and brews when you press a button. There is little to learn. In return there are more internal parts to rinse and clean.

Pod machine. The simplest to use, and the most expensive per cup because you pay for each capsule. We do not cover pod machines in this guide.

Why the grinder matters

Espresso needs coffee ground fine, and it needs you to adjust that grind in small steps until the shot runs at the right speed. A grinder with too few steps leaves you stuck between a shot that runs too fast and one that chokes.

That is why the number of grind settings is worth checking. The Baratza Encore ESP has 40 settings and gives 20 of them to the espresso range. The Sage Smart Grinder Pro has 60. The grinder built into the Sage Barista Express Impress has 25.

If you buy a manual machine without a grinder, such as the Bambino Plus, the Dedica or the Gaggia Classic, budget for a grinder as well. Pre-ground supermarket coffee will work in a pressurised basket, but you give up the adjustment.

Pump pressure tells you little

Nearly every machine on sale advertises a 15 bar pump. Espresso is brewed at about 9 bar, and Sage states both numbers for its machines: a 15 bar pump and 9 bar extraction. A higher pump figure on the box is no sign of better coffee.

Milk

There are three approaches, in order of effort:

• Manual steam wand (Gaggia Classic, Dedica, Magnifica Evo with wand). You texture the milk yourself in a jug. It takes practice and gives the best control.
• Automatic steam wand (Bambino Plus). You put the jug under the wand and the machine heats and textures the milk to a set level.
• Automatic frother (Magnifica Evo with milk system). The machine draws milk from a container and dispenses it into the cup.

The more the machine does for you, the more parts carry milk and need cleaning every day. Read the cleaning section of the manual before you buy.

Hard water and descaling

Limescale is the main thing that shortens a coffee machine’s life, and much of England has hard water. Look up your water hardness with your water company’s postcode checker, then set the machine’s hardness setting to match if it has one. Descale when the machine prompts you, using the programme in the manual. A water filter in the tank, where the machine supports one, stretches the time between descales.

How to decide

• You want coffee with no fuss: a bean-to-cup machine.
• You want milk drinks and are new to espresso: the Bambino Plus with a separate grinder, or the Barista Express Impress as a single unit.
• You want to learn and to keep the machine a long time: the Gaggia Classic with a grinder that has fine adjustment.
• You have little counter space or money: the Dedica Duo, and put what you save towards the grinder.