Please don’t think you have to buy the most expensive espresso machine on the market to make decent coffee at home. That is wildly incorrect. Save your money — get one of the best affordable espresso machines for beginners.
I’ve tested pretty much every mainstream espresso machine on the market. Breville? Check. De’Longhi? Check. Casabrews? Check. Gevi? Check. Cuisinart? Check. Jura? Check. If you can buy it, I’ve probably had my caffeine-addicted mitts on it.
I have but four recommendations for beginners: the $149 De’Longhi Stilosa, $299 Breville Bambino, $499 Breville Bambino Plus, and the $699 De’Longhi La Specialista Arte Evo. The best part is yet to come — all of these machines are discounted right now, from $99-$499. So, you’ll be brewing like a pro in no time — all for less than $500.
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How can I get barista-quality espresso at home?
The first thing I want all beginner baristas to remember is that coffee is supposed to be fun. Please don’t stress yourself out following overly complex advice you might’ve seen online — forget about WDT tools, forget about tamping pressure for a moment, forget about backpressure and pumps and yadda yadda.
If you’re a complete beginner, I want you to remember just two things: weight and time. These are the two key principles for good coffee.
I recommend getting one of the best coffee scales — I have the Wacaco Exagram Pro, which is $50 and super reliable — to measure these things.
The key to professional espresso is simple: it’s a recipe. Just like baking, or cooking, or, heck, even walking, you only need to follow a recipe. The recipe for walking is foot + surface + movement = walk. Easy, right?
The recipe for good coffee is weight + time = espresso. I want you to measure how much coffee you’re putting in your portafilter, then weigh how much you’re getting out. If the finished espresso is roughly double the weight of your dry coffee, you’re onto a winner.
You should be getting this espresso out within around 20-30 seconds. Sure, anything less than 23 seconds is “too fast” and anything longer than 28 seconds is “too slow”, but if you’re a beginner, just aim for that window.
But the most important test of all is the taste test. Drink your espresso. How does it taste? Yummy? Then you’re onto a winner! You’ve done it!
Which espresso machine is right for me?
Three of the espresso machines I mentioned earlier — De’Longhi Stilosa ($99 right now), Breville Bambino ($249 right now), and the Breville Bambino Plus ($399 right now) are compact espresso machines.
These are ideal for small spaces or beginner setups, but they have no grinder. You might want to experiment with grocery store pre-ground coffee if you’re a total beginner, or you might want to get a cheap grinder like the 1ZPresso Q-Air ($60) or the Timemore Chestnut C2s ($79) to get started.
If you’re a total beginner, I’d recommend the Stilosa as it saves you the most money. If you already know you want to get into coffee, I’d go for the Bambino, as you get some premium features like automated temperature control and low-pressure infusion customization.
If you’re happy to spend a bit more and you want the “best” small espresso machine (in my humble opinion), I’d recommend the Breville Bambino Plus. This is the espresso machine I have at home — the steam wand is crazy powerful, and you can get seriously barista-level latte art with it.
However, if you want a fantastic machine (that is seriously underpriced — honestly, does De’Longhi know how cheap this machine is right now?) that can do it all, then you won’t be disappointed with the De’Longhi La Specialista Arte Evo (just $499 right now).
This is a bean-to-cup, which means that it has a built-in grinder, and is the best-value all-in-one espresso machine I’ve ever tested. It’s my go-to recommendation for newbies who want a grinder and espresso machine. The steam wand is ultra-powerful and it can even make cold brew, perfect for summer.
Which machine looks the best? Which one do you think you’ll get? Do you have any other recommendations I may have missed? Let me know!
