Espresso Machines

A friend recently called me from a Starbucks and asked for my advice choosing a new Espresso machine. He was looking at machines in the $200-$300 dollar range and thought a few of them there looked pretty good.

First of all, there are very few machines for less than $500 capable of making "real" Espresso and those that can have difficulty to do it repeatably. Now some may argue that their XYZ machine makes fine espresso for $100 or whatever. There is simply an inverse ratio of machine cost to preparation complexity. Even machines in the $500-$600 range require a pretty complex process to produce really good espresso. Not everyone has the patience to develop the process and repeat it accurately to produce good espresso.

So if you are looking for a machine that makes "Real" Espresso, here are your choices:

The least expensive are "Capsule" machines. Don't confuse these with "pod" machines. Capsules are hard plastic and air tight, pods are soft paper like tea-bags. One makes Espresso and the other doesn't.

Here is a easy tip for identifying "real" Espresso -- when you look at a recently made espresso, if the liquid inside is black -- it isn't espresso. Espresso is golden brown. Part of the magic of espresso is the exctaction of carbon dioxide from the beans -- that is what makes to golden cream or Crema in the cup. Without it, you have coffee.

I have a Nespresso capsule machine in my office, and it makes a pretty good cup of espresso. I generally don't make milk drinks (Latte, Cappuccino, Etc) so the lack of steaming capability isn't a problem. There are other Nespresso machines that can steam. Learn more about them here

A friend describes it's output as "Swiss" Espresso, which implies that it is not as strong and rich as "Italian" Espresso. He's right. But for less than $200 and 45 cents a shot it makes a pretty good cup without the considerable mess of a traditional machine. Nespresso frequently lists refurbished machines on E-Bay for a 15-20% discount.

Moving beyond the capsule machines you can choose between a semi-automatic machine and a super-automatic machine.

Semi-auto machines require the operator to grind coffee, dose, tamp, pull and froth milk manually. Super Auto's do all that automatically, only requiring the operator to keep the beans and milk topped-up. These are more expensive than semi-autos, but compared with a semi-auto and the required burr grinder, the difference gets pretty small.

If you are interested in producing the highest espresso quality possible and are willing to spend some time learning the technique required to achieve that; then semi-auto is the right choice. If you just want to produce good espresso with little or no practice, then get a super-automatic.

Good Espresso = Super Auto
Great Espresso = Semi Auto + Technique

I have used the $700 Gaggia Syncrony Logic super-auto extensively and am very impressed by it's performance. As noted above It makes good espresso (better then my Nespresso) at the push of a button.

Gaggia also makes very good semi-auto machines. Two friends have smaller Gaggia's (a Baby-D and a Compact). Both are very happy with them. These machines are ~$500 each and will require another ~$300-$400 for a good grinder. These are all good starter machines.

The next level in the quest for espresso perfection is a dual-boiler semi-auto. This is the biggest, baddest machine you can get without rewiring and plumbing your kitchen. My current machine is a dual-boiler Expobar Brewtus II. A dual-boiler has one boiler for brewing espresso and another for steaming milk. Single boiler machines (also called heat-exchangers) have one boiler for steaming and plumb the brew water through a heat-exchanger in the steam boiler to heat the brew water. This makes it difficult to achieve the kind of temperature control necessary to produce spectacular espresso. Dual-boiler designs offer the performance of a large commercial machine in a smaller footprint, and without wiring and plumbing. Prices for dual-boiler machines range from $2000 - $4000. With time and practice these machines make espresso better then almost any coffee shop and every Starbucks.

The pinnacle is the full Commercial machine. These require 240v power (like your clothes dryer) and a plumbed in water supply and drain (like your washer). Hmmm... Never thought of using the laundry room for Espresso...

I've had my Expobar B2 for over 18 months and am very happy. It took almost a year to really understand how to operate it properly. During that time half the shots were drinkable and the rest were bitter or sour and ended up in the sink. I don't remember my last sink shot. If you aren't ready to spend months learning to make great espresso, think about a super-auto.


There are many variables in the quest for perfect espresso and with time you can understand many of them and produce espresso that is better than anything you can buy at a almost any US coffee shop.

So, how committed are you?