I'm an ex-barista and now I review espresso machines for a living. Hard life, I know. I've tested everything from $3,000 dual-boiler coffee machines from Breville (Sage in the U.K.) to $99 super-budget espresso machines you can only really buy at Amazon.
All this testing and tinkering, though, means I've got a thorough understanding of what makes an espresso machine good. And, most importantly, which espresso machines are actually worth your hard-earned money.
I've had a long, hard think about it, and I've finally decided on the three best espresso machines for each budget. There's an affordable option, a mid-range option, and a premium option in this list.
1. Best budget espresso machine
This is the best budget espresso machine: the Casabrews 3700 Essential. While my review isn't yet live, I have completed my testing and written the full piece. Here's a sneak peek: I awarded the 3700 4 stars.
There's a lot to like about this machine: its compact 5-inch size, its powerful(ish) steam wand, and its low-profile design. It's also not as ugly as you might expect from a $129 (but often $99) espresso machine.
The price, though, is by far the best part. The Casabrews 3700 Essential is just $129, but regularly discounted to just $99. At this price point, there's very little competition. It's 3700 Essential or bust.
A word of warning: the Casabrews 3700 Essential only ships with dual-walled portafilters (which pressurize the coffee during extraction and make it taste bad, in short), but Casabrews sells a bottomless portafilter (which doesn't pressurize the coffee and therefore makes it taste good) for $38 on Amazon. Unfortunately, it also doesn't come with a milk jug, but you can get a Casabrews milk jug for just $15 on Amazon.
If you get the 3700 Essential with the $38 portafilter, that's still only $137, which is a huge saving versus alternative machines. If you add on the milk jug, that's still only $153.
The 3700 is the best cheap espresso machine on the market, but it's not perfect. Unfortunately, you'll have to spend a little more to get technical perfection, which brings me to my next model.
2. Best mid-range espresso machine
There's very little competition. At this point, I'm not really sure why other manufacturers bother. The Breville Bambino Plus (Sage Bambino Plus in the U.K.) is, hands down, the best mid-range espresso machine money can buy.
This is my personal favorite espresso machine, and I use it every single day. Of all the machines I've tested, this is my top pick.
The Bambino Plus has a PID controller, which is basically a temperature regulator inside the machine. The PID controller ensures all the water is at the optimal temperature to prevent coffee from tasting burnt or weak.
This is a premium feature, and it's always nice to see affordable(ish) machines with this technology.
While you can't customize your extraction temperature to the degree like you can on my premium pick below, the Bambino Plus doesn't really need that feature. Every shot of espresso I pull on this machine is delicious, delectable, decadent, divine. It's just so good.
It's not just good at making espresso, though. The steam wand is one of the most powerful I've seen on a home espresso machine. It has 4 holes to create the perfect 'vortex' in milk. Other cheaper espresso machines (like some Casabrews and Gevi models) suffer from weak steam wands, but the Bambino Plus is capable of steaming fluffy, textured milk worthy of a specialty cafe.
I will never give up my Bambino Plus, and I can't recommend it enough.
3. Best premium espresso machine
Alright, I know for most people this espresso machine is a pipe dream. But if I had a) space and b) money, this would be the machine I'd get. I love my Bambino Plus, but the Smeg EMC02 (also known as the Smeg Semi-Professional espresso machine and Mini Pro in the U.K.) is on another level. The Smeg EMC02 was made with La Pavoni, which is the brand that (apparently) invented espresso as we know it. How cool is that?
When I was testing this espresso machine back in April, one of my colleagues said the latte I gave him was the "best coffee I've ever had." I'm not gonna brag, but come on. That is a pretty great soundbite.
In my 4.5-star review of the Smeg EMC02, I praised almost everything about it. Firstly, you can select the extraction temperature to a degree. Secondly, it has a built-in timer, and you can adjust pre-infusion and infusion to your heart's desire. Thirdly, the steam wand is the closest I've ever gotten to a commercial steam wand (well, since I was a barista).
As the Smeg EMC02 has three boilers, it can switch from espresso to steam and back to espresso again with no heating-up time. You could even extract espresso and steam milk simultaneously.
The group head is designed to look like an iconic E61, although it's not actually an E61; it's electric. This means while it heats up in minutes rather than hours, it does get very hot to the touch. That's perhaps my only negative feeling towards the EMC02, and it's not even that negative. Just don't be silly like me and touch the massive hot piece of metal.
The EMC02 is everything I want in an espresso machine: beautiful, (relatively) easy to use, and makes cafe-quality drinks without breaking a sweat. This would be my #1 choice if money were no object and I had a bigger house. As a result of its 14-inch width, I'd only recommend it for people with larger kitchens.
What do you think? Which espresso machine would you go for? Let me know in the comments!
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