As coffee lovers, many of us desire to have an authentic coffee, whether its Americano, Latte or Cappuccino. Imagine a machine that can offer you a quality espresso coffee at home that others prefer to drink at the finest cafes in your town. With a little practice and patience, you too can soon be filling your cup with pure pleasure in your own kitchen. With a little insight and guidance, you can buy the best automatic espresso machine depending upon individual needs and budget. The beauty of owning or mastering your espresso machine is that you can brew the way you like it, and anytime you want it at a fraction of cost/cup versus going out to a cafe.
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Top 10 Best Automatic Espresso Machines
1. Breville the Barista Express Espresso Machine, BES870XL
Breville Espresso machine is among the best seller barista quality machine creating great tasting espresso in no time. A choice of automatic as well as manual operation results in authentic café style espresso. The dose-control grinding of coffee beans doses 19-22g of ground coffee to taste as good as café style beverages. Digital temperature control helps in delivering water at the correct temperature to optimize espresso extraction. The manual steam wand turns your milk into a silky micro-foam, which is essential for latte art.
Pros
- Dose control Grinding of Beans
- Precise Espresso Extraction
- Micro-foam Milk Texturing
Cons
- Poor Customer service
- Leakage of water
2. Mr. Coffee Espresso and Cappuccino Maker | Café Barista, Silver
With its delectable craft and robust construction, Mr Coffee Espresso and Cappuccino maker is among the most recommended machine by Amazon. It’s 15 bar electric pump creates powerful pressure to extract rich flavours while brewing. One-touch controls allow you to choose between single or double shots and froths milk automatically with an adjustable control knob.
Pros
- Easy to use
- One-touch control panel for drink selection
- Automatic Milk Frother
Cons
- Requires regular cleaning
- Poor service support
- Durability questionable
3. DELONGHI ESAM3300 Super Automatic Espresso/Coffee Machine
This Super-Automatic Espresso machine is best suited for brewing your favourite and delicious Espresso drinks. A burr grinder with 13 adjustable settings grinds fresh beans with maximum freshness. It has a manual frother that mixes steam with milk to create creamy froth for evenly textured drinks. This machine automatically brews beans to the perfect temperature and texture as you would like to have with customized settings. It is a compact and extractable unit, which is easy to clean and it self-adjusts for one or two perfect shots of espresso.
Pros
- Easy to use control panel
- Compact and high performance
- Removable water tank and bean container
- Integrated burr grinder
- Instant reheat
Cons
- Beans get stuck in the burr grinder
- Not reliable with finely ground beans
- Extremely loud machine
4. DeLonghi EC702 15-Bar-Pump Espresso Maker, Stainless, Metal
Delonghi Espresso maker made with stainless steel body makes it very durable and reliable. Its 15 bar pressure assures you quality espresso drink every time and adjustable controls allow for personal taste preferences. It consists of two thermostats to brew espresso or cappuccino at the perfect temperature allowing water and steam pressure to be controlled separately. Its removable water tank and drip tray make cleaning easier. The rapid cappuccino system allows maintaining the optimal temperature to brew your cup instantly.
Pros
- Two separate thermostats
- Easy to clean
- Three-in-one filter holder
- Instant brewing for multiple cups
Cons
- High repair cost
- Water Leakage a big issue
5. Mr. Coffee Automatic Dual Shot Espresso/Cappuccino System
Mr Coffee Espresso machine well known for creating authentic and bold espresso drinks offer you dual shot brewing. Its removable and washable drip tray makes it easier to use and keeps brew space neat and tidy. Its 15 bar pump system utilizes powerful pressure to extract rich and dark espresso brew. It consists of a thermal block heating system that allows the brewing and heating to take place instantly. This espresso maker has a frothing arm to steam the milk quickly forming a foamy layer.
Pros
- Easy to use
- 15 bar pump system to extract the rich and dark espresso
- Thermal block heating system for instant brewing
- Frothing arm to form a creamy and foam layer
Cons
- Loud noise
- Leakage issues
- Durability questionable
6. Breville BES840XL/A the Infuser Espresso Machine
Breville infuser Espresso machine can deliver optimal espresso flavour every time according to your preferences. It pre-infuses ground coffee at low and steady water pressure before extraction and gently grinds prior to stepping up to high pressure to create a balanced espresso flavour. Its manual steam wand for the infuser turns milk into silky micro-foam essential for latte art. Removable drip tray and water tank help in easy cleaning after use.
Pros
- Volumetric control function
- Easy cleaning of drip tray and water tank
- Auto purge function for espresso extraction
Cons
- Loud noise
- Infuser not so reliable
- Limited to single shot espresso
7. Cuisinart EM-200 Programmable 15-Bar Espresso Maker, Stainless Steel
Cuisinart EM-200 espresso maker lets you prepare gourmet quality espresso at home with ease. Its programmable system allows you to choose the serving size and 15 bar pump system develops pressure to prepare authentic espresso with an excellent crema. Its stainless steel steam nozzle allows you to turn an espresso drink into a frothy cappuccino and latte. Cuisinart espresso maker comes with Portafilter holder with a locking mechanism that lets to dispose of the wet ground after use easily. Removable drip tray and cover make it easy for cleaning.
Pros
- Programmable espresso maker to brew single or double espresso.
- 15 bar pressure to form a creamy froth
- Stainless steel nozzle for Cappuccino and Latte
Cons
- Poor customer service
- Bad portafilter seal
8. De’Longhi BAR32 Retro 15 BAR Pump Espresso and Cappuccino Maker
The stylish and functional Delonghi retro pump espresso maker is best suited for brewing ground espresso with dual filter holder. It consists of two separate thermostats to maintain a perfect temperature for brewing your favourite espresso and cappuccino. Its easy-to-use swivel jet frother makes a perfect espresso drinks every time. It consists of a removable water tank and drip tray for easy cleaning. A durable and high-quality stainless steel boiler will ensure many years of delicious espresso. Its patented dual function filter holder makes espresso preparation simple and fast.
Pros
- Easy to clean
- Self-priming operation
- Patented dual function filter holder
- Swivel jet frother
Cons
- A leak during warm-ups
- Poor customer service
9. Delonghi EC680M DEDICA 15-Bar Pump Espresso Machine, Stainless Steel
This 15 bar pa ump espresso machine is highly recommended and is among the category of Amazon’s choice. With 15 bar pressure and adjustable controls, this machine allows you to prepare espresso as per your personal taste preferences. Its advance cappuccino system maintains the optimal temperature to brewing as many cups instantly. It has a sleek space saving design with an adjustable spout to fit taller cups. This machine comes with a removable water tank and drip tray for easy cleaning after use. The three-in-one filter holder has a holder for one espresso shot, a holder for two espresso shot, and one for easy serve espresso pod according to your preferences.
Pros
- Sleek space saving design
- Three-in-one filter holder
- Accommodates taller cups
Cons
- Leakage issues
- Expensive
- Poor Customer service
10. Gaggia Brera Super Automatic Espresso Machine in Black
This compact super automatic espresso machine is suitable for pre-ground or whole bean coffee. A Pannerello wand allows to steam and foams your milk to smooth and velvety for topping off lattes. It’s a simple interface with just a few dedicated buttons and LED screen can help brew your favourite drinks with ease. The sliding dregs drawer and removable water tank and drip tray make it easily accessible for cleaning.
Pros
- Easy access
- User-friendly display
- Rapid steam technology
Cons
- Very Expensive
- Poor service support
How to Choose the Best Automatic Espresso Machine
Before you start finding the right espresso machine for your home, you need to know what basically you want. If you aren’t sure and confused as to what will suit your requirement perfectly, here is the guide for you that will help you in choosing the right machine based upon your needs.
Style & Size
The two most important aspect to look for while choosing the best automatic espresso machine is the physical size of the machine as well as the capacity of its components like a water reservoir, bean hopper, the drip tray, and the drug box.
As far as the practical aspect of the style of machine is concerned, it grossly depends upon where the components are located and how easy they are to access. Whereas, the objective aspect of the style of a machine depends upon its design and the type of materials used for its construction. Therefore, you have to assess the plan to fit the machine in the right place of your kitchen to access its parts easily. A machine with a sleek space design is most preferable to allow the machine to occupy lesser space in the kitchen.
Programming
The automatic espresso machines come with the features from simple buttons and dials to full-colour touchscreen displays that helps in selecting the picture of the drink with a single tap. Most machines have dedicated drink buttons for a number of different sizes. With the help of these buttons, you can program a specific volume of milk and coffee to be mixed to make weaker or stronger coffee.
As you go on the higher price range machines, you will get machines with high programmability and finer control over variables like coffee dose and brew temperature. The other programmable features that come with the machine are programming multiple languages, automatic turn on and turn off, maintenance alerts, power saving modes, and more.
Coffee System
Coffee system of the automatic espresso machine is basically made up of bean hopper, grinder, brew group, and coffee spouts. These machines grind the coffee beans fresh for each brewing cycle. Most of the machines have an option of bypass doser to make use of pre-ground coffee as well.
One important thing to keep in mind is that the larger bean hopper of the machine will require less frequent loading of coffee and tight lid seals for hopper can keep the coffee beans fresh for a longer duration. The beans are fed to the grinder from the bean hopper which allows it to adjust the fineness of the grind. Paying attention to the number of grind settings is extremely important, as the more settings will allow for greater control while brewing the coffee. A finer grind for lighter roast or espresso and a coarser grind for darker roasts is typically recommended. The grinded coffee is then transferred to the brew group where it is compressed and hot water is forced through the coffee under pressure.
It is recommended to choose removable brew group for easy maintenance, but important to mention here is that the machines with non-removable brew group have a longer warranty than the removable one for as long as three years. Finally, the coffee is delivered to your cup through spouts and machines are available with single spouts or double spouts, and you can choose either of them depending upon your requirements.
Milk System
The most important aspect to be considered for the milk system is to find out how the milk is fed to the machine, how much control you have for texturizing your milk and finally, how is the milk delivered to your cup. There are machines that handle milk manually and others handle it automatically directly delivering it to your cup. The automatic machines with one touch can make milk-based drinks like latte and cappuccino with a press of a single button without moving your cup from one position.
The other functionality that is important to cater for while buying a machine is auto froth function, for texturing the milk. It depends upon how you basically want to work with milk, as the manual frothing is also available with these machines.
Boilers
While making a coffee with milk, it requires hot water and steam. Today’s automatic machines use thermal block boilers, which are smaller units of the machine that keeps the small amount of water hot and rapidly produces hot water or steam as required. Most machines have a single boiler and some have dual boilers, one for hot water and the other one for steam.
The dual boiler is advantageous as there is a shorter wait between the steaming and brewing. The machines with rapid steaming technology produce steam at a faster rate than the one with single or dual boilers. It is important to note that the boiler unit needs intensive care during operation as it’s more prone to failure over a period of time. Therefore, proper de-scaling needs to be carried out as per the manufacturers’ recommendation at regular interval to avoid any failure of the boilers. Periodicity of change of water filters or escaping, based on the brewing cycle as per the recommendation of the manufacturer can result in authentic espresso every time and long life for the machine.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between semi-automatic, fully automatic and super-automatic?
Semi-Automatic – These machines has a pump as its water delivery system. The brew pressure in the basket gets released with the help of a 3-way valve
Fully-Automatic – These machine along with the pump, fully automate the brewed volume making things even simpler for you. However, you will still need to grind and tamp your coffee manually.
Super-Automatic – These machines automatically grind and tamp your coffee and also extracts the espresso for you. The only problem with this kind of machine is that automatic grinding and tamping can detract from the fine quality of the espresso.
Can I learn to brew espresso perfectly using these machines?
The art of making the best espresso lies in grinding the coffee seeds as fine as possible. The finer the grind, the better is the taste of the coffee. You can definitely learn to make the best espresso using a top quality machine at home. Personalize the machine that allows you to programme settings as per your needs. Another critical factor is the quality of water and the temperature of milk which you’ll learn over a period of time and brew yourself a perfect coffee at home.
What are the top brands for the best automatic espresso machines available in the market?
The most recommended brands for automatic espresso machines are Breville, Mr Coffee Café, Delonghi, Gaggia Brera, and Bialetti. You can give priority to these brands while looking for the best automatic espresso machines for your home. All the brands offer unique features that can match your needs and fall within the bracket of your budget.
How much does a good automatic espresso machine cost and are they a great buy for the long run?
The best machines with higher ratings with a good brand name are available from $100-$500. These machines with a good brand also bring a quality product as well. They are easy to use and call for less effort and attention on your part. These machines can perform a diverse function that makes them a great purchase in the long run. Always remember that the best machine is the one that suits your purpose and your budget.
Conclusion
By now, you must be in the right position to buy the best espresso machine that can meet your needs at home. Once you have a clear mindset as to what you want, it will be easier for you to choose a perfect product for yourself. With proper guidance and practice you can master the art of brewing your own coffee, espresso, cappuccino or latte to match with the favorite drink available at the best of the cafés.
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