How do I choose a coffee machine?

The most common expensive mistake is buying an espresso machine to make black coffee, or a cheap espresso machine expecting café results. The grinder is consistently the higher-value purchase and it is consistently the one people skip.

What you'll need

• A budget figure (optional)
• Counter space measurement (optional)

Step by step

1. Work out what you actually drink most days.Black filter coffee, milk drinks, or both? This decides the category and prevents the most expensive mistake.
2. For black coffee, spend on the grinder and keep the brewer simple.A burr grinder plus a cafetière, pour-over or Aeropress produces excellent coffee for a modest total.
3. For milk drinks, accept that you need espresso.Only pressure produces espresso. Pod machines are convenient; manual machines give control and much cheaper coffee per cup.
4. Buy a burr grinder, not a blade grinder.Blade grinders chop unevenly, producing both dust and boulders in the same batch. This makes consistent extraction impossible regardless of the machine.
5. Weigh convenience honestly against quality.A pod machine used daily beats a manual machine that feels like too much effort on a weekday morning. Be realistic about yourself.
6. Consider running costs, not just the purchase price.Pods cost several times more per cup than beans. Over a few years that difference outweighs almost any machine price.
7. Check the size and the water tank.Many machines are deeper than a standard worktop allows under wall units, and a small tank means refilling constantly.
8. Factor in cleaning and descaling.Machines with many parts and no cleaning cycle get neglected, and a neglected machine makes bad coffee. Simplicity has real value.

Tips

• If your budget is limited and you want espresso, spend roughly two-thirds on the grinder. It makes more difference than the machine.
• Bean-to-cup machines are convenient but their built-in grinders are usually modest and the drinks are milder than a manual setup.
• Buy from somewhere with good servicing and available spares. Coffee machines need descaling, seals and occasional repair.

Common mistakes

• Buying a cheap espresso machine — Below a certain price they cannot hold pressure or temperature, and the result is worse than a good cafetière at a fraction of the cost.
• Buying any machine before a decent grinder — Grind consistency limits everything downstream. A great machine with pre-ground coffee is a waste of the machine.
• Ignoring the cost per cup — Pod systems are cheap to buy and expensive to run. Over three years the running cost usually dominates.

Questions people ask