I'm an ex-barista — I've found the best Prime Day coffee deals starting from just $8

It's the last day of Prime Day, so the time for window-shopping is over. Now you need to finalize your purchases, lest you wait until Black Friday for the next super-sale. We're tracking the best Prime Day deals live to ensure you don't miss any essential buys.

I'm an ex-barista and now a professional coffee nerd, so I'm always in the mood for the best coffee deals. I've found my favorite beginner espresso machine, the Breville Bambino Plus, at its lowest-ever price, just $399 at Amazon, and loads more great deals.

I've rounded up everything from espresso machines to coffee scales to coffee itself, so you should be able to upgrade your home espresso setup for less.

About the author

Erin Bashford

Hi! I'm Erin. Now I'm a journalist, but in another life I was a barista. I actually spent three-and-a-half years of my life behind an espresso machine, working at both chain coffee shops (Starbucks), and an independent artisanal coffee shop. At home, I've got the Breville Bambino Plus, Comandante C40 MK4, and the Wacaco Exagram Pro.

Quick links

• Breville Bambino Plus: was $499 now $399 @ Amazon
• De'Longhi Stilosa: was $149 now $99 @ Amazon
• Breville Smart Grinder Pro: was $199 now $159 @ Amazon
• Maestri House Mini Coffee Scale: was $31 now $25 @ Amazon
• Normcore 54mm Bottomless Portafilter: was $69 now $55 @ Amazon
• Normcore 51mm Bottomless Portafilter: was $56 now $45 @ Amazon
• Subminimal FlowTip Milk Jug: was $39 now $29 @ Amazon
• Casabrews Milk Jug: was $9 now $8 @ Amazon
• Normcore 53.3mm Puck Screen: was $13 now $11 @ Amazon
• MHW-3BOMBER 51mm Puck Screen: was $11 now $9 @ Amazon
• Normcore Tamper 53mm: was $43 now $33 @ Amazon
• Subminimal Flick WDT Tool: was $29 now $25 @ Amazon
• Bones Coffee Company Wholebean Coffee x 5: was $38 now $29 @ Amazon

My favorite Prime Day espresso machines

Breville Bambino Plus: was $499 now $399 at Amazon

The Bambino Plus is perfect for beginners thanks to its compact size. At just 7 inches wide, you won't have to clear a whole countertop in your kitchen and will slot nicely between other appliances. It's got an auto milk frother, too, so ideal if you're not massively confident as a barista yet.

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I use my Breville Bambino Plus every single day. I gave it 4.5 stars in my review, and I love basically everything about it. Although it has the makings of a premium machine thanks to its PID controller (that controls the temperature of water), it's also beyond easy to use as your first ever espresso machine.

There's an auto milk frothing function, which I never use but my boyfriend solely uses, that can make microfoam completely hands-free. If you're more of a hands-on barista like me, you'll be able to steam milk 100% manually. I can get professional-level milk and latte art with this machine, so I know you can too.

Right now, it's just $399 (its lowest ever price) so I would grab this machine before the sale ends.

De'Longhi Stilosa: was $149 now $99 at Amazon

The De'Longhi Stilosa has no business being this cheap. I tested the U.K. version, which has a thinner steam wand and comes with different portafilters, but you can get third-party accessories that work the same. Although the Stilosa doesn't have any premium features like the Bambino Plus, it's a heck of a lot cheaper.

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I awarded the De'Longhi Stilosa a nice 4 stars in my review, and to this day it's the only super-cheap espresso machine I would happily use in my own house.

Most super-cheap espresso machines suffer from overheating boilers (coughCasabrewscough) or weak steam wands. Not the Stilosa. I was able to craft barista-quality microfoam with the Stilosa, which is something I struggle with on weaker, budget machines.

Although it looks pretty cheap, it performs like a $300 model. If you've got a tight budget but you want an espresso machine, I 100% recommend the Stilosa. You won't be disappointed.

My favorite Prime Day coffee grinder

Breville Smart Grinder Pro: was $199 now $159 at Amazon

Although I've not reviewed this exact model, I've reviewed the Breville Dose Control Pro, which has very similar specs. I love how easy to use Breville's grinders are. No, they won't impress espresso nerds, but for just $159, this is a fantastic grinder. It's the perfect first coffee grinder: it's got an interactive, intuitive screen, and doesn't require a PhD in coffeemaking to master.

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Grinders are a bit of a conundrum. Yes, you need a good grinder. But a good grinder can also set you back well over $500. If you're a beginner, $500 is a big chunk of money to spend on a one-note product.

A lot of the "coffee grinders" on Amazon are blade grinders. You do not want a blade grinder. These grinders cut the coffee beans with blades, which results in uneven coffee grounds. Uneven grounds won't make good espresso, and they might even damage your machine. If the coffee grounds are too small, it will clog the shower screen, your portafilter, and create a build-up of pressure. If you're going to spend all that money on a proper espresso machine, getting a blade grinder is like shooting yourself in the foot.

You want a burr grinder. Burrs work by crushing the beans rather than slicing, which means the coffee grounds will be more uniform. This will brew a pleasant-tasting coffee and won't create pressure buildup.

Thankfully, the Breville grinder I recommended above is a burr grinder, and it's perfect for beginners. This is my #1 recommendation for a first grinder.

My favorite Prime Day coffee scale

Maestri House Mini Coffee Scale: was $31 now $25 at Amazon

I've got this coffee scale at home and it's the best budget coffee scale for espresso. It doesn't have as many functions as more premium models, but that's okay. If you're just using this for espresso, then it just needs to time and weigh, and that's what the Maestri House Mini Coffee Scale does.

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I reviewed the Maestri House Mini Coffee Scale last year and awarded it a nice 4 stars. This scale is simple and not afraid of that. With the manual timer and weighing function, I was able to brew delicious espresso stress-free.

I'll give you a little bit of info about why you might want a coffee scale. While it's not essential, it's quite tricky to get technically perfect espresso without a coffee scale. Why, I hear you ask?

Coffee is as much an art as it is a science. You need to get the perfect ratio for 'perfect' espresso., and you can't do that without weighing ingredients. It's kind of like baking in that way — you wouldn't just throw together flour, eggs, sugar, and butter, and hope for the best, would you? You'd follow a recipe.

Coffee is the same. You want a ratio of 1:2 for an espresso. A double shot of espresso should be about 18g, so you'd want your espresso to weigh 36g overall. Ideally, you'd want this espresso to extract in 23-28 seconds, which is where the timer comes in handy.

Some coffee scales have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi and espresso-tracking apps, but you don't need to worry about that nonsense if you're a beginner. Just get the budget-friendly Maestri House model!

My favorite Prime Day coffee accessories

You don't need any of these, but it can be fun. You start to feel like a mad scientist or a Medieval torturer. I'll explain what each product is for as we go.

Normcore 54mm Breville Bottomless Portafilter: was $69 now $55 at Amazon

I've got a Casabrews bottomless portafilter, and it's so fun. If you're not sure what this is, it's basically a portafilter without the spouts you might be more accustomed to. This "bottomless" basket means you can watch the espresso come out like honey. It's super Instagrammable.

Aesthetics aside, it also makes coffee taste better. The lack of pressure in the basket means you can taste the more nuanced, sweet, and floral notes in your espresso.

This model is specifically for 54mm Breville machines (like the Bambino Plus, Barista Express, etc) — check your machine before you purchase. I've recommended a De'Longhi Stilosa-compatible model below too.

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Normcore 51mm De'Longhi Bottomless Portafilter: was $56 now $45 at Amazon

This is a bottomless portafilter compatible with the De'Longhi Stilosa I mentioned above. As always, check that your espresso machine is compatible before purchasing. All of Normcore's bottomless portafilter make it very clear which models they are compatible with.

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Subminimal Flow Tip Jug: was $39 now $29 at Amazon

If you want barista-quality latte art, you need a milk jug with a rounded spout like this one. Take a look at the tip — can you see the spout that looks like it's been pinched? This enables you to control the pour, so you get better latte art. There's no point trying to make beautiful latte art if you haven't got a milk jug like this.

I've not used this exact milk jug, but I have other Subminimal stuff at home (Nanofoamer Pro 2 and the dosing cup) and it's really high-quality.

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Casabrews Milk Jug: was $9 now $8 at Amazon

A more budget option is the Casabrews milk jug. As you can see from the image, this milk jug is also angled perfectly for professional-quality latte art. This milk jug has measurements on the inside — say goodbye to eyeballing your drinks. The best part is that it's only $8.

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Normcore 53.3mm Puck Screen : was $13 now $11 at Amazon

So you don't need a puck screen, but they're actually really useful. They basically prevent coffee grounds from expanding too much and going back inside your machine during extraction. If you care about the cleanliness and longevity of your espresso machine, I recommend you get one. They don't need to be fancy at all — it's just a piece of metal, after all. This is for 54mm machines — Breville Bambino Plus, Barista Express, etc. Normcore makes other size of puck screen too.

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MHW-3BOMBER 51mm Puck Screen: was $11 now $9 at Amazon

This is a puck screen for 51mm machines — think De'Longhi Stilosa, most cheap Casabrews machines. As always, check your machine (a quick Google will suffice) and grab a compatible puck screen.

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Normcore Tamper 53mm: was $43 now $33 at Amazon

Espresso machines come with tampers, but some of them are pretty flimsy and useless. I'd recommend investing in a high-quality one, like this Normcore model. This is a 54mm tamper, so make sure you're buying the right tamper for your machine size. Again, a quick Google will tell you the answer. Normcore makes various tampers in 51mm, 58mm, and 54mm (pictured here).

This tamper applies the optimal pressure to your coffee so your espresso will be barista-quality and scrumptious.

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Subminimal Flick WDT Tool: was $29 now $25 at Amazon

This is a WDT tool. This is used after you've put the espresso in your portafilter. You distribute the coffee grounds with the needle-like tip to ensure the water can flow across all the grounds evenly.

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Bones Coffee Company Single Origin Coffee Beans: was $38 now $29 at Amazon

You get five bags of coffee for $29 with this deal, which works out to just under $6 per bag. That's really, really cheap for small-batch artisan wholebean coffee. This particular box is single-origin and Arabica, which means the beans are grown at higher elevations and tend to have a more delicate flavor than other beans. As this pack is single origin, you should be able to taste the nuance of the specialty bean with every cup.

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For more great discounts be sure to check out our Amazon Prime Day deals live blog right now.

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