You are paying for convenience and the technology required to deliver that convenience. If you’re a coffee lover of simple needs and modest means, the Cafe Roma could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Introduced in 2019, the Barista Pro is a relatively new addition to the Breville line-up. It is very similar to everybody’s longtime favorite, the Breville Barista Express, but with a few extra bells and whistles that we think make it worthy of the top spot on our list this year. When you buy via the links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you.
At $1,350, it’s only $100 more than the Dream PID, and it offers more opportunities to experiment with the density, mouthfeel, and flavor of your espresso via volumetric shot programming. We may test the Uno in the future and explore how much worthwhile variation this feature in particular allows. If you’d like to check out something different, DeLonghi is an Italian manufacturer of top-notch machines. The machine’s computer always monitors the temperature, including the steam temperature, and adjusts it as needed. This means, no matter if you use chilled milk straight from the fridge or room temperature milk, Oracle Touch will adjust the steam temperature and pressure and froth the milk, so you get optimal temperature.
A good super automatic machine will get you most of the way to excellent espresso. We say most of the way because with all that ease of use comes some compromise in flavor. Tasting notes are often muted compared to other types of machines and you can’t zero in the specific flavors you might like. But for lots of people that trade off is not hamilton coffee maker so large as to be disqualifying. If you like what you get at Starbucks, for example, this will still be an improvement on that and it will require very little effort on your part. These are also great for people who hate cleaning up because everything happens inside the machine—very few stray coffee grounds or coffee drips happen here.
Even Eureka’s most affordable flat burr grinder would take the espresso flavors to a new level compared to the built-in grinder here. There’s an automatic tamping station and a nifty display giving you feedback on your dose. Plus, the Barista mr coffee machine Express Impress has a whopping 25 grind settings on board. I’d recommend changing the water filter more frequently than absolutely necessary. I enjoy a challenge, which is why I had a great time during my Breville Barista Express review!
In those years, I also learned to identify subtle variations in coffee flavors and milk texture, skills that have come in handy throughout multiple iterations of this guide. Another handy feature is the auto-on timer, which ensures your espresso machine is ready to go in the morning. If you can’t function in the morning without a caffeine kick, you’ll love this option. One drawback is the Bambino Plus does not have an obvious hot water outlet, like the Bambino. To get hot water with Bambino Plus, you’ll have to simultaneously push the one cup and milk texture button.
Adjust the milk temperature and foam level, put in the pitcher, and let the machine do the work. But, is the milk quality as good as what the best barista on a professional device produces? No, it’s not quite as silky and malleable if you’re making latte art. But I think it will be better than what you’ll make with most entry-level espresso machines. The built-in steam wand means you can make cappuccinos, lattes, and other milk-based espresso drinks with ease. Some users report that the wand spits a bit of hot water before developing a good head of steam; the best way around this is to begin steaming into an empty cup, then switch to the milk jug once the steam is consistent.
On the semi-automatic machines we liked, we tried steaming oat milk in addition to full-fat cow’s milk. On the super automatic machines, we tried each of their brewing functions with whole milk and oat milk. If you want to hone your craft on a great-looking, hands-on machine—but also the confidence that you’ll be able to pull great espresso with relative ease—we recommend the Ascaso Dream PID. Many of the shots we pulled on the Ascaso Dream surpassed those we pulled on our other picks. Handling it required more attention and care compared with the wands on the other machines we recommend, but I was able to get exquisitely textured microfoam equal to that of the Breville models. I also noticed that I could better stretch the milk to get a fluffier cappuccino, so with some practice you can master the range between ultrathin microfoam and dry (but still silky) foam.
So let’s look at nine top Breville espresso machines this year and see what makes each one stand out from the crowd. We also noticed some temperature instability in the water when we were pulling shots back-to-back. The ideal espresso pulling temperature is 200ºF, and when pulling back-to-back shots, we could hear water boiling at the grouphead, indicating that it had climbed to 212ºF.