best espresso machine for beginners

As a former lead barista with 10 years of experience in high-volume coffee shops in New York and Boston, I know what is integral to making an ideal espresso and latte, and I understand the obstacles that can hinder even the most skilled barista from crafting the perfect cup. While I have moved on from the coffee world to become a freelance writer, I occasionally moonlight at my neighborhood shop in Brooklyn and have retained my palate and technique.

In the process of researching this guide, I read articles, blog posts, and reviews by coffee experts, watched product demo videos from sites such as Seattle Coffee Gear and Whole Latte Love and interviewed Alison Nowak, a Boston-area barista of nearly 20 years experience currently working for George Howell Coffee. I also spoke to Phil McKnight, Breville’s global business manager for the beverage category, for more information on Breville’s PID control and heater technology. This guide builds on work by Cale Guthrie Weissman.

Our picks are for people who have developed a taste for good espresso and want a reliable setup that strikes a balance between automated convenience and moderate skill-building. People who have learned about espresso by frequenting third-wave shops or checking out a few coffee blogs will be able to develop their craft on our picks, yet those who might be overwhelmed by coffee jargon should likewise find their way on these machines. If you understand the basics about the grind, dose, and tamp, you’ll be able to make tasty drinks. (For further instruction, see our starter guide on how to make espresso at home.)

Regardless of a model’s sophistication and power, it takes a bit of time to get accustomed to its process. Making perfect drinks at home requires patience and discipline, and even with all my experience, I was occasionally humbled during testing. But provided that you read the manual and take some time to assess how your shots are pulling, you’ll be comfortable on any of our picks. If you are obsessed with coffee, attend cuppings, and already experimenting with a variety of brewing methods, you may want to invest in a machine that is significantly more expensive than our upgrade pick.

Our goal was to find approachable and affordable espresso machines, ones that could satisfy novices and also intermediate users (or even an old hand like me). At a baseline level, an espresso machine works by forcing hot water through finely-ground beans with pressure. The water must be the right temperature, about 195 degrees Fahrenheit—much cooler, and your espresso will be under-extracted and weak; much hotter, and it can be over-extracted and bitter. And the pressure must be constant so that water flows evenly through the grounds.

There are three different styles of the machine (not counting capsule-based machines like the Nespresso, which merely mimic espresso) that give you more or less control over this process:

• Manual espresso machines require you to create the pressure with your own force by pulling on a lever (that’s why it’s called “pulling a shot”). Inadequate pressure will result in uneven extraction, which is why manual models are the hardest to control of all the styles. Since they’re tricky to master and uncommon, we decided not to test them.
• Semi-automatic machines use a pump to create the right amount of pressure. Most skilled baristas prefer semi-automatic models because the consistent pressure and boiler temperature allow them to settle into a grind, so they can make drink after drink on a busy morning without stopping to adjust. We stuck to testing semi-automatic machines in the interest of recommending models that enable you to learn without too much arduous trial and error.
• Super-automatic machines (also called fully automatic) do everything for you: measuring and grinding the beans, pulling the shot, and frothing the milk. They don’t offer much room for experimentation, so although convenient, super-automatic models are not the best choice if you’re actually interested in learning how to make good espresso rather than just drinking it, and we chose not to test them.

In deciding which semi-automatic machines to test, we focused on models that would meet a beginner’s needs and budget (around or under $1,000). We looked for machines with a quick setup, comfortable portafilters, smooth transitions between steps, potent steam wands, and a general sense of sturdiness and reliability. Ultimately, we settled on the following criteria:

A single boiler

We considered only single-boiler models, which use the same boiler to heat the water for the espresso shot and for the steam wand. This requires some transition time to reheat on lower-end models, but the technology has advanced enough so that on two of our picks there is almost no wait between steps. Though dual-boiler models allow you to pull the shot and steam milk simultaneously, they usually cost more than $1,000. We don’t think beginners need the option, since it entails careful multitasking only necessary in a café.

Fast and consistent

We placed an emphasis on consistency and speed, which gives a fun, easy rhythm to what promises to be a daily ritual. To that end, some machines (including all the Breville’s) have PID controllers, which help regulate the boiler temperature, allowing for more consistent shots back to back. Notably, the Breville Barista Touch and Bambino also have “ThermoJet heaters” that made the machines surprisingly quick to heat and transition between pulling a shot and steaming milk—some drink preparations took barely over a minute from start to finish.

Powerful

An espresso machine’s pump should be strong enough to properly extract espresso from a well-packed dose of finely ground coffee. And the steam wand should be powerful enough to produce a velvety milk foam without any big bubbles.

Versatile steam wand

Steaming milk properly can be a challenge on a home espresso machine, and having the option to either manually or automatically froth milk is ideal for beginners, provided the machine can mimic a professional barista’s standards. Automatic frothing that generates real distinctions in texture and temperature is a great advantage for those who might initially struggle doing so manually. However, the exact nuances distinguishing milk-based drinks are better achieved with an observant eye and your palm’s sensitivity to the steam pitcher’s angle and temperature, skills that are developed with manual use.

Manual and programmable settings

Many machines come with programmed settings for pulling a single or double shot, but you may find your favorite coffee takes shorter or longer to extract than the factory presets. It’s better to use your judgment and manually stop extraction, but once you’ve dialed in your favorite espresso, reprogramming the shot volume accordingly can help streamline your daily ritual, provided you continue to carefully monitor your grind, dose, and tamp routine. It’s also important to be able to override a preset or a saved setting, as factors like bean origin, roast date, and kitchen climate can alter how your shots pull.

Multiple filter baskets

All models we tested came with a dual-wall filter basket (also called a pressurized basket), which are more forgiving of inconsistencies than traditional single-wall baskets. The dual-wall filter forces espresso out through just a single hole in the center of the basket rather than many perforations, ensuring adequate saturation of the espresso grounds during the first seconds they are infused with hot water. This helps prevent unbalanced extraction, which can happen if the coffee is unevenly ground, dosed, or tamped, causing the water to travel fastest to the weakest point in the espresso puck.

Some models we tested also come with a traditional single-wall filter basket, which is trickier to master but yields more dynamic shots that more closely represent the adjustments you make with your grind setting. For beginners interested in learning, we prefer machines that work with both types of filter basket.

Based on these criteria, we decided to test seven models ranging from $300 to around $1,000 in 2019. In addition to revisiting the Breville Infuser, our previous top pick, we tested the Breville Barista Express, the Breville Barista Touch, the Breville Bambino Plus, the Gaggia Carezza Deluxe, the De’Longhi Dedica, and the Gaggia Classic Pro (a new version of the Gaggia Classic, our previous runner-up.)

Because this guide is for beginners, we placed a premium on approachability and speed. I was less interested in whether I could pull an amazing, distinctive shot and more concerned with consistent extraction and intuitive ease of use. I tested all of the espresso machines with an understanding that whatever hiccups I encountered could be real sources of frustration for someone less experienced.

To get a better sense of each machine’s abilities, I pulled dozens of shots using three different coffee blends: Blue Bottle’s Hayes Valley, Stumptown’s Hair Bender, and Grumpy’s Heartbreaker. This helped us assess each machine’s capacity to be versatile with different beans, be consistent with a particular roast and grind, and produce shots that hinted at the more distinctive flavor notes each roaster promises. For all testing, we used both the Baratza Encore and Baratza Vario to grind our coffee, except when testing the two Brevilles with built-in grinders. I anticipated no model would replicate the experience of working on a commercial Marzocco, the model you’ll encounter in most high-end cafés, but if the shots were frequently acrid or sour, or if they had a watery mouthfeel, that was a problem.

We also noted how easily each machine transitioned from extraction to milk steaming. I steamed about three gallons of milk in all, using both manual and automatic settings and pouring a multitude of cappuccinos (both dry and wet), flat whites, lattes, standard proportion macchiatos, and cortados to see how easy it was to generate the intended level of milk froth. In general, we looked for machines that produced silky froth rather than large bubbles resembling a heap of soap suds on top of hot milk. What we heard mattered too: steam wands that maintained a smooth sound rather than unpleasant sputtering had more power, frothed faster, and created better microfoam.

The Breville Bambino Plus was the easiest to use of all the machines we tested, and its consistent shots and capacity to efficiently steam finely textured milk make it the most powerful, dependable, and fun machine we tested under $900. It comes with a steam pitcher large enough for a latte, a comfortable tamper, and two dual-wall baskets for the portafilter. Setup was straightforward, and despite its small size, the Bambino has a 1.9-liter water tank that can yield around a dozen shots before it is necessary to refill.

The beauty of the Bambino’s performance is the combination of simplicity and unexpected power, enhanced by a rather elegant aesthetic. Owing to its PID control, which helps regulate the water temperature, and Breville’s speedy “ThermoJet” heater, it maintains a consistent temperature for multiple shots and requires almost no wait time when switching over to the steam wand after pulling a shot. We were able to make a complete drink from grinding to frothing milk in barely over a minute, faster than most other models we tested.

The Bambino’s pump was strong enough to pull shots using coffee that was ground in the moderately fine to very fine range on both the Encore and Vario (not quite a powder but certainly finer than granular particles that can be individually separated). By contrast, the models that didn’t make the cut had fluctuations in pressure from one shot to the next that made it frustrating to fine-tune the grind of our coffee.

There are automatic presets on the Bambino for single and double shots, but you’ll want to go ahead and program them to your specifications. Figuring out the ideal grind size to use on the Bambino was relatively easy, requiring only a few minutes of tinkering. After pulling a couple of full-bodied shots at a grind I was comfortable with, I was able to reset the double shot program to pull just under 2 ounces in 30 seconds—perfect for a cortado or just about any properly proportioned espresso drink. The shot volume held after repeated use, even during subsequent test sessions, a strong sign of dependability. All three espresso blends pulled well on the Bambino, with the occasional shot offering a bit of nuance beyond a slightly earthy, dark chocolate profile. At its best the Bambino, like the Breville Barista Touch, yielded shots laced with notes of toffee, roasted almonds, and even a touch of dried fruit.

When it comes to making milk drinks, the Bambino’s steam wand created delicious, uniform froth with unexpected speed, thus ensuring the milk didn’t overheat. It’s a clear step up from most others we tested—only the Breville Barista Touch offers a little more power and control. Compared to the Breville Infuser, our previous pick, the Bambino is a remarkable improvement. While the Infuser remains a solid machine, its steam wand isn’t nearly as potent, and the shots just didn’t pull with the consistency demonstrated on the Bambino. The contrast with the Gaggia Classic Pro’s steam wand is even more pronounced; the Bambino comes much closer to replicating the control and precision that professional baristas master on commercial models.

Those who already have some experience should be able to manually steam milk nearly as well as a trained barista on a professional machine. But there’s also an exceptionally good automatic steaming option which allows you to adjust both milk temperature and froth to one of three levels. While I prefer manual steaming for greater control, the automatic settings are surprisingly accurate, and they’re useful for entertaining a group of friends or if you’re a beginner looking to develop your latte art skills.

The Bambino’s manual is easy to follow, well-illustrated, and features useful tips with a page devoted to troubleshooting. It’s a good, basic resource for absolute beginners and for anyone fearful of getting bogged down in mediocre espresso. In my case, I was making delicious drinks in under fifteen minutes.

The Bambino also comes with some thoughtful design features, like a removable water tank and an indicator that bumps up when the drip tray is full so you don’t flood your counter. Especially noteworthy is the steam wand’s auto-purge function, which flushes residual milk from the wand when you return it to its standby vertical position. The Bambino also comes with a two-year warranty, which is better than the one-year warranty of its predecessor, the Infuser.

The Bambino was a clear winner drink for drink. During testing, I shared several results with my wife, who is also a former barista, and she was impressed by the balanced espresso shots and excellent milk texture. I was able to prepare corridors that tasted of pure milk chocolate, a rather elusive note captured through the synthesis of sweet microfoam and strong but not overbearing espresso crema. Have you ever noticed a layer of well-preserved latte art about two-quarters thick that lingers as you near the bottom of an exquisite cappuccino or cortado? That symbolizes the harmony of foam and crema I’m describing.

The pre-programmed double shot setting on the Bambino cut off the extraction too quickly during our initial attempts. But it was easy to reprogram the shot volume using the timer on my phone, and I strongly recommend doing this early on, as it will help expedite dialing-in the espresso. In subsequent test sessions, I only had to slightly tinker with my grind setting to achieve desirable shots from the coffees we sampled.

We also pulled fewer complex shots on the Bambino than on the Barista Touch or Gaggia Classic Pro. Though the difference was relatively minor, it would be nice if Bambino included the traditional, non-pressurized portafilter basket that accompanies the Barista Touch, as it allows you to better develop your palate, technique, and sensitivity to the dialing-in process. While dual-wall baskets do ensure that your grounds are evenly extracted, they typically yield duller (or at least “safer” tasting) espresso. That complex speckling you see in the crema of an espresso served at a high-end café usually indicates that your drink has real vibrancy and depth, and the speckling will be more elusive when using a dual-wall basket. It doesn’t mean your shots will be bereft of character or undrinkable, they’ll just be simpler, which is perhaps best if you’re most keen on sipping cocoa-y, mildly nutty lattes. But if you’re eager to hone your skills, you can purchase a compatible traditional basket separately on Breville’s website for around $10.

Finally, the Bambino lacks the hot water dispenser that’s included with other Breville models. While it’s a useful feature if you like making Americanos, we don’t think it’s essential, since you can always heat the water separately in a kettle. We think it’s worth sacrificing for the Bambino’s incredibly compact size.

The Gaggia Classic Pro, a somewhat improved version of the Gaggia Classic, is your best option if you’re on a strict budget. The improvements over the Classic, which has been a go-to model for beginners since 1991, are largely cosmetic, but we do prefer the manual steam wand of the Pro. Though the wand is tricky to use, it can yield better results than the lackluster auto-frothing panarello wand of older Gaggias. The milk foam won’t easily match what you can get from the Breville Bambino or Barista Touch, but overall the shots we pulled on the new Gaggia were consistent and full-bodied. Some even captured the dynamic flavor profiles of each roast. Budding coffee geeks who prefer straight espresso will be able to cultivate their palate on the Gaggia, but it lacks some of the features that make the Bambino so easy to use, like a PID temperature controller and automatic milk frothing.

The Gaggia was the only machine we tested that regularly yielded shots with dark, leopard-like speckling in the crema—a sign of depth and complexity. We sampled shots that had notes of orange citrus or raw almonds and were sometimes slightly vegetal, which is often a measure of “clean-tasting” espresso. Unlike the Bambino, the Gaggia comes with traditional, single-wall filter baskets, a bonus for people looking to advance their technique. But without a PID temperature controller, shot consistency can be harder to sustain if you’re pulling several back-to-back shots.

Most of the differences between the Gaggia Classic and the Gaggia Classic Pro are minor: the Pro has new button placement and a cutout in the side of the machine so you can see the water level in the tank. The only major change is that Gaggia has given the Pro a traditional manual steam wand rather than an automatic panarello wand, which in our tests of the Classic could produce only milk with big, frothy bubbles. The manual wand allows for more control, but the biggest problem with the Pro is still its underwhelming milk texturing. Getting proper milk foam highlights milk’s intrinsic sweetness, but you’re at risk of scalding it and eradicating that sweetness just to get some semblance of decent foam with the Pro. Even with careful monitoring, most milk froth from the Gaggia will fall into the “latte-cino” category, the in-between texture produced by inexperienced baristas. Far too often the froth lacked cohesion with the rest of the milk, leaving a clump of foam at the top of the cup as opposed to a rippled dispersal of milk-infused crema. That said, you’ll be able to make acceptable cappuccinos—and we’ve seen a Gaggia representative get better results—but the Pro’s steam wand is nowhere near as easy to master as the Breville’s, even for a barista with years of experience.

The transition time from extraction to milk frothing is another issue. The Gaggia took over 45 seconds after extraction to steam at full power in our testing, a letdown given that the manual says the transition warm-up should be 15 to 20 seconds. The transition can be faster: a Gaggia representative showed us a demonstration where it took 25 seconds. But that required some know-how beyond a beginner’s level. You have to start steaming before the steam-ready light comes on, a matter of timing that we found tricky to master. The steam wand control knob is also misleading and doesn’t actually provide much incremental change in power. Getting accustomed to this will take some patience, although the milk gets hot fairly quickly once aerating begins.

The Gaggia lacks some of the nice accessories that come with the Bambino and the Touch. It lacks a steam pitcher, and the accompanying tamper for the portafilter is a flimsy piece of plastic. If you’re committed to buying beans from top roasters, you’ll want a decent tamper to help ensure you’re optimizing your shot performance. We recommend Rattleware’s 58-millimeter round handled tamper. Rattleware also makes a sturdy 20-ounce stainless steel pitcher that we like.

Unlike with other models we tested, the Gaggia’s water tank fits underneath the boiler, not behind it. The tank gets filled through a chamber at the top of the machine but is prone to come loose when you empty the drip tray. Putting the tank back in place after cleaning it can be a touch hazardous, as you have to properly place the plastic tubes that channel the water to the boiler back inside in the tank. Watch your hands when doing so, as you don’t want to inadvertently brush them against the extremely hot group head! Finally, the manual is a bit hard on the eyes. Compared with Breville’s cleanly segmented instructions, the explanation for setting up the Classic feels like an afterthought.

Nevertheless, the Gaggia Classic is a straightforward machine, and its accessibility and price make it a good starter machine. For people who aren’t ready to ponder the intricacies of each traditional milk-based drink but are keen to make good espresso at home, the Classic does the job.

We recommend the Breville Barista Touch as an upgrade for those who want a balance between technology-assisted consistency and the ability to hone their technique using manual settings. The well-organized touchscreen menus, along with built-in tutorials, a quality built-in grinder, and uniquely nuanced automatic milk frothing, offer the ability to finesse café-quality drinks with a beginner’s knowledge. Those who don’t need the help will still appreciate the powerful steam wand and the consistent shots, and they will be able to refine their results with the help of on-screen timers and custom settings.

One of the nice surprises about the Barista Touch is that the touchscreen is no gimmick. It’s sophisticated, visually appealing, and easy to use. The digital menu walks you through all you need to know about making good espresso drinks and provides step-by-step troubleshooting from grind to extraction to milk frothing. For those who want a lot of automation, there are factory presets for the major classic espresso drinks (latte, cappuccino, etc.), but you can also program and save your own drink specifications. Or you can use the machine manually, with the aid of an on-screen timer to keep track of your grinding and shot duration.

The shots I pulled on the Barista Touch had the same degree of balance and depth as those from the Bambino. The Barista Touch comes with both dual-wall and traditional single-wall baskets (the Bambino only includes the former), and we spent the bulk of testing using the traditional one to be sure the Barista Touch captured some of the nuances that can be lost with dual-wall filters. As with the Bambino, the majority of shots emphasized a cocoa-y mid-tone, sometimes with a slight, pleasant tartness. Depending on the blend, some shots sang with a bit more citrus or even blackberry; alternatively, when milk was added, toffee shone through. To cap off testing, the final drink I made on the Barista Touch was a cortado that expressed pure chocolate, cementing my appreciation.

This brings us to the steam wand, which is without equal among machines we tested. As with the Bambino, you can place the steam pitcher on a temperature sensor under the wand for automatic frothing, or you can choose to manually froth your milk. (The steam wand also has that handy auto-purge feature that helps keep it clean.) While the speed is about the same, the Barista Touch has a moderate edge on the Bambino thanks to the greater range of textures and temperatures the automatic setting offers. Even if you personally abhor a super dry cappuccino, it’s impressive that the Barista Touch can effortlessly yield extra-thick foam with no unsightly bubbles. And should you want the opposite, you can get the wettest latte with foam no thicker than a postcard. Similarly, the temperature scale gives you the possibility to steam cooler corridors and toddler-friendly hot chocolates, or extra-hot lattes. Of course, the onus of learning how to pour latte art remains on you.

While we approached the Barista Touch’s built-in grinder with some skepticism, it’s a handy feature that allowed us to dial in as well as the Baratza grinders. A wheel on the side of the machine adjusts the grind, and I was able to settle on a very fine grind that was consistent on the whole. But if you’re already attached to a particular grinder, the Barista Touch’s built-in one may not dazzle. In our testing, we noticed it had a tendency to generate clumpy grounds on the finer settings. This did not impede our ability to dial in the espresso and make good drinks, but it could bother the more critical user.

We’re also always a little wary of two-in-one machines since they have twice as many points of possible failure (Breville does sell replacement burrs for the grinder, but the Barista Touch only comes with a one-year warranty). And there’s the issue of what you do if the touchscreen malfunctions. Like a smartphone, if the machine develops a glitchy response to finger swiping, it’s effectively toasted.

To get the most out of your coffee and espresso machine you’ll need a decent burr grinder. It should grind evenly for even extraction at a steady pace and adjust in precise increments from ultra-fine to coarse grounds. The more control you have, the better off you’ll be because an inadequate grinder could cause you to waste a good deal of coffee in the pursuit of a merely passable shot.

That said, you don’t need a fancy grinder to get palatable, even great-tasting espresso at home. It’ll help, particularly if you’re in pursuit of some refined flavor notes, but as a beginner, there is plenty of fine-tuning and experimentation that you can do with a grinder under $500. And even an excellent grinder would not have saved the machines that didn’t make our cut.

We’ve spent time testing coffee grinders, including some espresso-specific ones, and there are a few we recommend depending on your budget and skill level:

• The Baratza Encore is the top pick in our guide to coffee grinders, and if you’re a beginner on a budget, it will do the job until you are ready to become more acquainted with the subtler characteristics of great espresso (so will the Baratza Virtuoso+, which includes extra features such as a digital timer). The Encore is cheaper than an espresso grinder, and we were able to dial it in without much fuss. It’s just not meant specifically for espresso, so it has fewer fine gradients. But ultra-fine grounds proved to be a little problematic on most of the espresso machines we tested anyway, producing slow extractions that resulted in muddy, incomplete shots.
• If you want a dedicated espresso grinder, we recommend starting with the Rancilio Rocky. In testing it against the Baratza Vario and the Breville Dose Control Pro when we first wrote this guide in 2016, we found it was the best at balancing precision with usability. Making small adjustments on it was easy, and it can grind directly into a portafilter. Though considerably more expensive than the Encore, it offers more precision for fine-tuning your shots. Plus, the range of grinds is wide enough that you can still use the Rocky for every brewing method, from French press to drip.
• The Baratza Vario is the most precise espresso grinder we’ve tested, but it’s tailored to more advanced users. It is considered a “stepless” machine, which means that you are able to make micro-adjustments between the larger grind settings. The Vario isn’t as intuitive to use as the Rocky, and it costs about $100 more. In our 2019 testing, we were able to get better results with the finer settings on the Vario than with the Encore, but only on occasion. The added precision was helpful, but not critical to our success. However, some coffees are extremely sensitive to small grind adjustments, particularly single-origin roasts, and if you’re committed to discovering their true essence, the Vario will better serve you in this endeavor.

How and when you upgrade your grinder should reflect your skill level, the frequency with which you brew espresso at home, and your willingness to become a veritable coffee geek. If you’re completely new to making espresso and want a decent grinder that works for other brewing methods, the Encore is the way to go. Upgrading to something fancier will help you cultivate your palate as you explore different bean origins. Note that if you’re interested in the Breville Barista Touch, our upgrade pick, the built-in grinder is more than sufficient for beginners and intermediate users and will yield complex, expressive shots the more you practice on it.

In spring 2019, Breville released its newest espresso machine, the Barista Pro. An updated version of the Barista Express, it features a sleeker design, a helpful LCD screen, and the same ThermoJet heater that gives Breville’s Bambino Plus and Barista Touch their impressive speed. In price and capabilities, the Barista Pro falls somewhere between the Bambino Plus and the Barista Touch. Designed with a built-in grinder, a hot water spout, and both dual-wall and single-wall filters, it’s potentially a good all-in-one machine for anyone who isn’t ready to invest in the Touch. But the Barista Pro lacks the automated frothing capabilities of the Bambino and the Touch, so making milk drinks will require more practice. We plan to test it against our picks soon.

The Gaggia Classic used to be our runner-up pick, and we still think it’s a great beginner machine. The only reason we’re not recommending the Classic is that the current version has been phased out in favor of the Gaggia Classic Pro, our budget pick, but if you want something relatively affordable and are mainly interested in drinking straight espresso, we’d still recommend the Classic. It’s less consistent than the Breville machines we tested because it lacks PID temperature control, but it’s also capable of pulling brighter, more nuanced shots. The biggest issue is the automatic Panarello steam wand, which produces foam with big, unwieldy bubbles rather than a delicate, silky froth.

The Breville Infuser, our previous pick, doesn’t froth milk as quickly as the Breville Bambino Plus, and it’s harder to achieve a really creamy texture. It was also more difficult to dial in the espresso, and its best shots were less robust. Although the Infuser features the pressure gauge that illustrates whether you’re under-extracting or over-extracting your espresso (an indication that your grind, dose, and tamp process needs adjustment), we didn’t find it difficult to make adjustments without one on the Bambino.

The Breville Barista Express is basically the Infuser plus the built-in grinder. The grinder is more than adequate, but you’re missing key selling points of the Barista Touch while opting for less power and precision than the Bambino affords. Ultimately, we think beginners would be happier with the Bambino and a decent, inexpensive grinder. It’s better taking an incremental approach to the home setup if you’re uncertain about whether this will be a casual hobby or a passion.

The De’Longhi Dedica tended to yield muddy, under-extracted shots from doses that would pull better on more technically advanced models. While we managed to finesse a few above-average cappuccinos, lack of consistency and a tendency to cut off extraction with a full portafilter basket made it difficult to settle into any kind of groove. The steam wand also features an awkward “hot milk/cappuccino” switch that was easily bumped into the wrong froth mode.

The Gaggia Carezza Deluxe costs less than the Gaggia Classic, perhaps owing to its plastic-oriented design, but it’s simply not a great investment. As with the Dedica, it wasn’t feasible to texture milk with precision, and the results were always too bubbly. Although the shots extracted with more consistency than the Dedica, they were generally unremarkable and tended to be a little sour. During extraction, there was also occasional water leakage from the portafilter.

The Breville Duo-Temp Pro, which we tested in 2016, lacks programmable buttons, so you have to start and stop pulling a shot manually. We also found that the pump wasn’t as strong as the one on the Infuser. As a result, we had to use coffee ground a bit more coarsely than for other machines, resulting in a duller-tasting shot.

The Rancilio Silvia made the best shot we were able to get from any machine we tested in 2016. But it’s much harder for a beginner to master. At around $700, it also costs much more than either the Gaggia Classic or the Bambino. It’s a good machine for someone with more experience, but we wouldn’t recommend it for someone just starting out.