Many a coffee machine have passed through CNET's labs and my own personal lab -- my kitchen. But none has impressed me more than the one I'm currently brewing with: Terra Kaffe's impressive and fully automatic TK-02 with built-in frother. It grinds fresh beans and makes any coffee drink I'd ever want in seconds, and it's currently 38% off following the post-holiday sale blitz.
It's the single most impressive caffeine machine I've put my fingers on, and I do mean fingers, since this uber smart coffee makers makes espressos, lattes, drip coffee and more with the same effort it takes to turn on a light.
The fancy do-it-all brewer has been making my morning drip coffee and afternoon lattes for four months and I'm 100% hooked, ruined for all other, hopelessly analog forms of brewing. When I learned it was on sale for $1,095 (it normally costs $1,600) when you sign up for a bean delivery subscription or $1,195 for the machine without a subscription during Cyber Week, I couldn't keep the news to myself.
What the TK-02 does
All the options don't appear on one screen but you can scroll down for more.
David Watsky/CNETThe TK-02 is an all-in-one automatic coffee maker, espresso machine and live-in barista (basically) that grinds beans and brews fresh coffee in seconds using filtered water. The TK-02 taps its in-machine frother to bring frothy cow milk or nut milk into the mix for Italian coffee house drinks.
The TK-02 makes creamy shots of espresso with none of the manual labor.
David Watsky/CNETAnd it makes just about every coffee drink you can dream up. The sleek machine brews shots of espresso, iced coffee and smooth Americanos, along with foamier coffee drinks including lattes, flat whites, macchiatos and cappuccinos. If you prefer classic American drip coffee it brews piping hot cups of it in about two minutes. And if you or a guest drink tea, it'll fill you up with hot filtered water using a dedicated spout.
The built-in frother turns out a respectable foam with no effort required on your part.
David Watsky/CNETIt's easy to operate. Like, really easy
That phrase gets bandied around, but the TK-02 earns the moniker. I found the digital controls perfectly intuitive with no excessive settings or features and the navigation is clear and to the point -- exactly what you want in the morning. I never consulted the manual, which is certainly not the case for every coffee maker I've tested.
I found changing the brew strength and grind size notably simple and intuitive.
David Watsky/CNETIn addition to triggering your coffee drink, the built-in computer helps manage settings including grind size and the amount of coffee the machine makes when you ask for drip. If you want your lattes stronger, simply dial up the espresso to milk ratio and save the new settings.
There's an app (of course) for brewing coffee remotely from bed. I didn't find myself using the app for making coffee, but occasionally for managing the brew settings, grind size and perusing cleaning supplies and replacement filters.
It's cleaner than most coffee makers
The TK-02 lets you know when the water needs refilling or the waste bin or drip tray need emptying.
David Watsky/CNETThe day-to-day maintenance is far less than a manual espresso machine or even most drip coffee makers. The TK-02 performs an automatic hot rinse after you've made your morning coffees and alerts you when the machine is due for a more comprehensive cleaning or an even more serious descaling, both of which are also done automatically. You can check the cleaning schedule easily to see how near or far the next one is and order the needed materials from TK-02 or elsewhere.
The individual parts are dishwasher safe, save for the top portion of frother chamber that houses the milk tube. But the frother gets its own hot flush after every few uses and mine has stayed clean in the several months I've been using it.
I start most mornings with a flat white or two.
David Watsky/CNETAll coffee machines suffer splashes and stray piles of grinds, but I didn't find the TK-02 made a noticeably big mess. When there was visible schmutz, it was no trouble to take the parts out and reassemble them after rinsing in the sink or running through the dishwasher.
Most impressive of all? The size
Perhaps most impressive is how the folks at Terra Kaffe managed to stuff all of those coffee-making smarts into such a compact machine (17.5 by 10 by 14 inches). Similar products I've encountered, mostly at the aforementioned fancy restaurant breakfast bars, are double or triple the size. Even an average espresso machine is the same size or larger.
Is the TK-02 coffee maker worth it?
$1,100 is a hefty sum for any coffee maker, but if you're going to splurge on one, the TK-02 packs an awful lot for that money.
David Watsky/CNETMaking coffee in a drip machine is simple enough and most quality espresso makers are easy to operate, but having one machine that turns out drip coffee, creamy shots of espresso, lattes and hot water for tea with the press of a button is the dream.
The TK-02 made quick work of turning me into a devotee. Even so, it's tough to recommend it at the sticker price of $1,600. Not because of performance issues, but because there's no telling how long it will hold up. The machine comes with a two-year or 5,000-brew limited warranty, but if I'm spending north of $1,500 on a kitchen appliance, I'm expecting more than two years of service.
At $1,095, where it currently sits for Cyber Week, the TK-02 is easy to endorse and a splurge I'd make for myself or as a gift for a coffee-loving person who has been particularly good this year. And it is a splurge. Even on sale, this is by no means a value buy and doesn't purport to be. But the TK-02 delivers elite coffee making skills and undeniable convenience that you'll feel from the first day.
While I wouldn't put the machine's output against the best coffee I've had -- the foam, for instance, doesn't get quite as dense as the stuff frothed by hand -- most of what it made was darn close. Certainly better than what I could whip up, especially when in a hurry and uninterested in dosing espresso shots or taking the time to whip milk into a lather.
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