Whether you’re trying to kick an expensive coffee-shop habit or just fancy bringing a little barista-style magic into your home, there’s a coffee machine out there that’ll dependably make the coffee you love most. Choose poorly, however, and you may end up dashing back to your local coffee shop carrying a travel cup filled with buyer’s remorse.
Not all coffee machines are cut out to make every type of coffee, and some require a great deal more effort than others. There are two crucial things to consider before splashing out: the type of coffee you prefer to drink, and how much effort you want to put into making it.
It’s all well and good craving the finest flat whites or cappuccinos that money can buy, but if you balk at the prospect of manually measuring, grinding, tamping, brewing, pouring, steaming and texturing for every single cup, then a fully manual espresso machine may not be for you. But there’s a coffee machine out there to suit every taste, skill level and attention span. Read our full guide to the best coffee machines for all the detail on each model.
Coffee machine types explained
Filter coffee machines
If you want quality and quantity with a minimum of effort, this is the type of machine for you. For households with two or more coffee drinkers or for entertaining friends, a good filter coffee machine is a godsend: fill it up with water, add a paper filter and some good-quality coffee and press the button. A few minutes later, you’ll have four or five mugs of great-tasting black coffee.
Feed it any old supermarket ground coffee, and it’ll still be a big step up from instant granules. Get a local roastery to grind fresh coffee for you or buy a basic burr grinder to do it yourself, though, and your efforts will be rewarded.
With the right ingredients, filter coffee can be every bit as refined and flavourful as that from fancy manual espresso and bean-to-cup machines – sometimes even more so. It might not scratch a frothy cappuccino itch, but add a dash of hot milk and even milky coffee fiends may not care too much.
Top tip: if you like to drink coffee over a few hours, consider a machine with a thermal jug rather than a glass carafe and hotplate. These will keep coffee hot and the flavour intact for hours on end.
Manual (or assisted) espresso machines
If you want the best-tasting espresso and espresso-based drinks, such as cappuccinos and flat whites, this is the machine type for you – as long as you’re willing to put in some effort. Mastering fully manual coffee machines is a challenge, requiring you to carefully balance every aspect of the process, from dosage and grind size through to brewing time. If you’re a flat white or cappuccino addict, you’ll also need to learn to froth and texture the milk properly. It’s a lot of work, but done right, the reward is life-changingly good coffee.
But you have to be aware that manual espresso machines require an investment of both time and money. You’ll need to budget at least £50 for a half-decent burr grinder, and you’ll need to buy fresh beans wherever possible. Pre-ground supermarket coffee won’t be finely ground or fresh enough to get the rich, flavourful espresso that made you buy a manual espresso machine in the first place.
Top tip: beginners should consider an assisted machine that makes the process as easy as possible, such as the Sage models I’ve recommended. Cheaper machines, such as the Sage Bambino Plus, steam and froth the milk to a silken microfoam at the press of a button – tricky to do manually without a fair bit of practice – while pricier models, such as the Barista Touch Impress, are effectively robot baristas, automatically optimising the grind size, dosage, tamping, brewing time and milk frothing.
Bean-to-cup machines
Confusingly, some manufacturers insist on referring to manual espresso machines with built-in grinders as bean-to-cup machines, but it usually refers to fully automated machines. At the touch of a button, these will grind the beans, brew the coffee and, if they have a built-in milk carafe, heat and froth milk. The coffee can be easily bested by far cheaper fully manual machines, but they’ll give high-street chains a run for their money and, with the right beans, knock them for six.
The cheapest bean-to-cup machines tend to make only black coffee, so if you prefer milk-based coffees, look for an integrated steam wand at the very least. These require you to place the steam wand in a jug, press the button and wait as the steam heats and froths the milk. While some are basic, others use wands similar to those on manual espresso machines, allowing you to produce silky, coffee-shop-quality milk with a little practice.
Once you get to £500 and above, you’ll often see integrated milk carafes that will produce a rich, creamy latte or cappuccino at the press of a button. Up your budget again and you’ll see machines that allow you to use any milk container – simply place a rubber tube in the container, and they’ll do the rest.
Top tip: although these machines generally cause less mess and require less cleaning between uses, any part that touches milk needs to be cleaned thoroughly daily, if not more often. If you can afford it, I’d always recommend a machine that allows you to use a milk jug or bottle straight from the fridge, as there’s less likelihood of spoilage.
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Capsule coffee machines
When it comes to simple, consistently decent coffee, there’s a lot to like about capsule machines. Pop in a capsule, click a button, and hot black coffee ranging from ristretto shorts to long sipping lungos pours into the cup.
They’re usually quick – all the models I’ve tested brew a single coffee in about a minute – and mostly compact, so they fit into even space-starved kitchens. And there’s precious little mess to clean up.
Some machines come with built-in milk frothers, but I’d advise buying a separate one to give you more flexibility – and less to go wrong. You may not need one at all: Nespresso’s Vertuo series generates a rich, frothy crema – add a dash of milk and this may be enough to wean most people off an addiction to high-street coffee.
Several manufacturers offer compostable pods, so if the waste is too much to bear, consider whether this is an option and whether the range of pods appeals. Compostable pods generally have much shorter expiry dates as the compostable materials don’t retain freshness as well as foil. If the compostable capsules don’t appeal, aluminium foil capsules can often be recycled. Nespresso runs a recycling service, for instance.
Top tip: you can save a huge amount by buying capsules in bulk or using third-party compatible pods. Sometimes, you can save on a machine upfront by committing to regular capsule deliveries, but work out your rough annual usage to make sure it’s worthwhile.
Manual brewers
Here I’m referring to anything that isn’t a machine, including percolation and immersion brewers, including cafetières and coffee drippers, and products such as the AeroPress. For the very best coffee with the least outlay, it’s hard to beat a manual brewer.
Invest in a decent hand grinder and good-quality beans and you can enjoy world-class brews. Depending on which brewer you pick, you’ll even be able to brew a decent coffee in the middle of nowhere. Put a brewer straight on top of your cup for a single serving, or place over a jug to brew several cups at a time.
These brewers can be great camping (or travel) companions. My setup is a Hario 03 thermal jug (£58), a Hario V60 dripper (£9) and a Kingrinder K6 hand grinder (£84.15). With a little Alpkit BruKit gas stove in tow, this brews up great coffee that stays hot for hours.
Top tip: opt for an immersion brewer – these are vastly more forgiving of grind size than pour-over – for fuss-free, consistently good results. An old-school cafetière is perfect for the home, and for brewing for several people at once, but there are some great alternatives such as the Clever Dripper (£19.99) and AeroPress (from £35), which both brew impressively refined single-serving coffees.