There's no doubt about it, espresso is your thing: whether it's a double, a lungo, or topped with milk, that's how you enjoy your caffeinated moment.
Before we can guide you, it's important that you know how much time and space you want to dedicate to it. Feel free to consult our complete guide to choosing your coffee machine.
You then need to ask yourself the following questions about your future coffee machine:
- How many people will use it?
- How many coffees will be served per day?
- Will you be making milk-based drinks?
- Will you really be making milk-based drinks?
Automatic machines with integrated grinder
We must admit that the simplicity-to-coffee quality ratio is extremely favorable. A bit like a bowl of Chocapic, you just put the coffee beans in the hopper, water in the tank, press a button, and you're good to go.
If the machine is well-maintained, well-adjusted, and the coffee is of good quality, you should have something interesting in your cup. Depending on the models, you have a number of choices available to you: ristretto, espresso, lungo, cappuccino, flat white, etc., sometimes with convincing results. The maintenance of these machines is essential and can truly transform your cup if not done according to your model's recommendations.
Price: Between €250 and €2,000
Brands: De'Longhi, Jura, Melitta, Philips, Krups, etc.
Where to buy: our store, our website, Darty, Boulanger, etc.
Average time for an espresso: 45 seconds including startup
Pros: Ease of use, speed of use, single appliance for grinding and extraction, milk beverage option
Cons: Not necessarily fine control for enthusiasts (temperature, pressure, coffee dose), rather high price
For whom? I like good espresso coffee, but I don't know much about it and I don't want to spend too much time on it.
Manual espresso machines with integrated grinder
- Quantity of coffee in the portafilter
- Coffee grind
- Tamping the coffee
- Textraction temperature
- Pressure
- Extraction time
This brings you closer to the result you get with a professional machine. Purists tend to separate the grinder from the coffee machine for even more flexibility.
Price: Between €400 and €2,000
Brands: Sage, De'Longhi, Ariete
Where to buy: our store, our website, Darty, Boulanger, etc.
Average time for an espresso: 2 minutes including startup
Pros: excellent compromise between ease of use and coffee quality, speed of use, quite compact, inexpensive for the service provided
Cons: not as simple as an automatic machine, no total control over the process
For whom? I love espresso coffee and I want to go further while keeping a simple-to-use machine.
Note: to take a step towards precision and consistently make better espressos, equip yourself with a scale accurate to 0.1g to measure the amount of ground coffee in your portafilter.
The manual espresso machine with separate grinder
To summarize the minimum you'll have to do with a grinder + manual coffee machine combination:
- Grind the beans while controlling the grind and quantity
- Tamp the puck evenly into the portafilter
- Screw the portafilter into the heating group
- Press the button to extract your coffee according to the options (ristretto, espresso, double-espresso, etc.)
- This doesn't include the cleaning and heating steps for the various components, but it's basic use for extracting coffee.
Price: Between €100 and €8,000
Brands: De'Longhi, Sage, Philips, Nuova Simonelli, Victoria Arduino, La Marzocco
Where to buy: our store (by order) or specialized websites.
Average time for an espresso: Between 2 and 15 minutes including startup
Pros: the best potential quality, great flexibility allowed
Cons: expensive setup, more space occupied, more cleaning and maintenance. You need to master the parameters to get a good espresso.
For whom? I am an espresso coffee purist and I want to get the best out of the specialty coffees I buy.
Note: for espresso, prefer an electric grinder. Few manual grinders are capable of producing a grind fine and uniform enough for a good espresso. Moreover, if you are a heavy coffee drinker, you risk tendonitis! (consult our article on coffee grinders for more information.) A precision scale is also highly recommended for this method.
The manual lever espresso machine
- An electric espresso grinder or a very high-quality manual grinder (Comandante type)
- A kettle precise to the Celsius degree (are you following?)
Once this equipment is assembled, all you have to do is grind your beans, preheat the machine (ideally twice), and proceed with the extraction using the lever.
Price: Between €100 and €2,000
Brands: Flair, Rok, La Pavoni, Elektra
Where to buy: Maxicoffee, from your roaster
Average time for an espresso: 10 minutes
Pros: compact, potentially without electricity or water, design, real-time pressure control, great flexibility, portability, and great taste potential
Cons: time spent on each espresso, need for a kettle and to preheat the machine, heavily penalized for bad settings.
For whom? I am an espresso coffee poet, and I am willing to spend hours finding the right settings.
Note: It will be necessary to "test" each coffee and then adjust the grind size or the amount of coffee in the basket to get a good extraction. As with an electric espresso machine, the flow rate will be a very good indicator of the quality of your extraction.
Nota Bene: for all methods involving a portafilter, the freshness of the beans is essential, otherwise your coffee will run out much too quickly, regardless of your settings.
Pod or capsule machine
We will not recommend capsule or pod machines here, as this solution does not satisfy us on three points: ecological, taste, and financial.