Tom's Guide Verdict
Superautomatic coffee machines rarely achieve top marks from me, but the KF3 came so close to our coveted 4-star rating. While the cappuccino and latte macchiato recipes resulted in an overly bitter coffee flavor, the standard cafe latte and Americano recipes were delightful. And, while there’s no provided milk carafe, the milk texture was perfect every time.
Reasons to buy
- +
Cafe latte recipe tastes delicious
- +
Easy to use
- +
Cleaning reminders
- +
Low water warning!
- +
Slim for a superautomatic
Reasons to avoid
- -
No milk carafe… for $1k?
- -
Cappuccino and latte macchiato recipes taste nasty
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Space-challenged-kitchen folk, rise up! The KitchenAid KF3 is just eight inches wide, making this one of the smallest superautomatic coffee machines I’ve ever seen, let alone reviewed. While it’s still a pretty massive eighteen inches deep and fourteen inches tall, if you want an automatic machine but you’ve only got an eight-inch gap, boy have I got the machine for you.
Yes, the KitchenAid KF3 is pretty slender for an automatic, but how does it actually taste? As you might be able to guess from the “Pros + Cons” above, that entirely depends on the drink you make. Latte macchiato and cappuccino? Weirdly bitter and acrid. Cafe latte? One of the yummiest drinks I’ve ever tasted from a superautomatic machine.
Is this enough to make the KitchenAid KF3 one of the best espresso machines? Well, you’ll have to keep reading to find out. I’ll go over everything in this KitchenAid KF3 review.
KitchenAid KF3 review: Specs
KitchenAid KF3 review: Price & availability
The KitchenAid KF3 is $999 from Amazon U.S. and £749 from Amazon U.K. While objectively a huge amount of money, for a superautomatic machine, this is pretty well-trodden ground. The KF3 is neither under- nor over-priced.
KitchenAid recently launched the KF2, KF3, and KF4 — $799, $999, and $1,299, respectively. Don’t think they stop here, though… KitchenAid’s helping you count all the way to KF8 ($1,999). I reviewed the KF8 a couple of years ago, and l was surprised by how much I loved it, but of course it comes with that premium price tag.
De’Longhi’s no stranger to superautomatic coffee machines, either. I’ve tested the De’Longhi Magnifica Duo ($799), Rivelia ($1,499), and PrimaDonna Aromatic ($2,499). See? The $999 KitchenAid KF3 doesn’t seem so expensive now, does it?
If you’re trying to save as much money as possible, I’d also recommend the Smeg BCC13 ($799) — I tested its predecessor and loved it.
KitchenAid KF3 review: Design
As with every other superautomatic espresso machine I’ve reviewed, the KF3 is, essentially, a big box. It’s nowhere near as bulky as the rest, though. At just under eight inches wide, it could fit in a relatively compact kitchen. However, at fourteen inches tall and almost nineteen inches deep, you’ll need enough clearance space under counters. The water tank is removed upwards, so bear that in mind, too.
In terms of aesthetics, I like the KF3 a lot. It’s not as eye-catching as the De’Longhi Rivelia or Smeg BCC13 — the prettiest superautomatic espresso machines, in my humble opinion — but it’s not as bulky as the PrimaDonna Aromatic.
The KF3 also has a lovely little screen, which is full-color and incredibly bright. It announces when you need to clean (more on that later) and lets you customize your drink. Of course, each drink has its own set recipe, but you can pretty much adapt this to your preferences. Want a weak cappuccino with 200ml milk? You got it. A 110ml latte with intense coffee flavor? You also got it.
Now onto the bad: unfortunately, the KF3 doesn’t come with a milk carafe. You need to buy the $1,299 for milk carafe privileges. Your plebeian $1K won’t do. This is outrageous and my biggest con with this machine. Sorry, $1,000 doesn’t get me a milk carafe — do you want me to shine your shoes and massage your feet, too, KitchenAid?
During my week-long testing period, I just poured milk into espresso machine milk jugs. You could also use a mug, or even the milk bottle if that suits. Come on, KitchenAid. People are spending a grand on this machine. Not providing a milk carafe is insulting at this point.
KitchenAid KF3 review: Espresso
As the KF3 is a superautomatic espresso machine, you can’t really customize the espresso. But that’s okay! That’s exactly what a superautomatic machine is supposed to do. Yes, you can customize it insofar as you can increase the intensity (using cute little bean graphics on the screen), volume, and flavor profile. You can also save these to user profiles.
Espresso on this machine was a little weak; less of the ideal opaque dark amber, more like a really strong black tea — but not bitter at all.
Honestly, it just tasted like every other superautomatic machine coffee. They all taste the same. Get a $700 or a $3,000 machine — it’ll make the same kind of espresso at the end of the day.
While the KF3 says it makes “iced coffee”, it does not. The iced coffee is just… hot coffee, over ice. Oh, and you have to put the ice in the glass — obviously. I wish coffee machines actually made iced coffee when they promise they make iced coffee.
I’ll give you a pro tip: don’t make the “cappuccino” or “latte macchiato” drinks on the KF3. Both are overly bitter and almost acrid. But the “cafe latte” recipe? Absolutely delicious. I even tried to increase the milk volume and decrease espresso intensity on the latte macchiato recipe, but it was still incredibly bitter. If you stick to the standard latte, you won’t be disappointed. It’s a mystery.
KitchenAid KF3 review: Milk
You already know how I feel about the lack of a milk carafe, so I won’t flog a dead horse, and we won’t mention it here. I’ll only talk about taste and texture here.
Despite no dedicated plant-based milk mode, I used oat and dairy milk, and the KF3 texturized both wonderfully. Although the pictures don’t make the coffee look as good as my latte art on a manual machine, this is one of the trade-offs with a superautomatic machine. These drinks are made to the “cafe latte” preset — as mentioned earlier, cappuccino and latte macchiato were nasty.
While the dairy texture was smoother and velvetier, the plant-based texture was still great. The foam was satisfying and dense without watering down the coffee flavor.
The milk pipe itself isn’t wide enough to froth inclusions like hot chocolate, matcha, or chai powder, so bear that in mind if you were hoping to use the machine for non-coffee drinks.
KitchenAid KF3 review: Storage & maintenance
As touched upon briefly, the KF3 is relatively slender for a superautomatic machine — just eight inches. Even so, it’s a whopping fourteen inches tall and eighteen inches deep, so you still need a decent amount of counter space. On top of that, the water tank is removable from above rather than the side, so you need even more clearance (unless you pour water into the tank, of course).
While the machine doesn’t have a milk carafe (...), it does have a milk pipe. This needs to be rinsed after every use — you can click “ignore” if you’re trying to make drinks in quick succession, but I wouldn’t recommend doing that often. You really want gross old milk trapped in a silicone pipe? I know I don’t.
It’s also worth noting that the KF3 uses an entire water tank (1.28L) for five milk drinks and five rinses, which is a lot. While every superautomatic machine I’ve tested is seemingly thirstier than an AI data center, so the KF3 isn’t an outlier here, it’s still a lot of water.
KitchenAid provides you with a water filter to prevent limescale buildup, but I’d still recommend descaling every time the machine alerts you. After using the initial provided pack, you can buy KitchenAid cleaning tablets for $29 from Amazon, but KitchenAid doesn’t sell a branded descaler. In this case, I’d recommend De’Longhi’s, $19 from Amazon, or Durgol, also $19 from Amazon.
Finally: warranty. KitchenAid offers a 2-year warranty as standard, an additional 3 years for the grinder parts, then a 10-year repairability and parts commitment, which is pretty nice. I’d like to see the standard warranty increase to 5 years, but this is better than De’Longhi and Ninja’s 2-year blanket warranty.
KitchenAid KF3 review: Verdict
I find it very hard to give a superautomatic coffee machine anything over a 3.5-star rating. There’s always one major thing wrong with it: no milk carafe (sigh), burnt or weak espresso flavor, too big, overpriced…
In the KF3’s case, the combination of the nonexistent milk carafe and the cappuccino and latte macchiato’s bitter coffee flavor held it back. The café latte tastes amazing, so this is extremely perplexing, but I suppose stranger things have happened.
In general, though, if you can overlook the absent carafe and you stick to the cafe latte recipe (or Americano), you won’t be disappointed. I enjoyed every single latte made by this machine, and so did everyone else in the Tom’s Guide offices. It won’t revolutionize your morning cup, but that’s okay.
