Choosing your first espresso machine can be intimidating. What features should you look for? How much should you spend? How can you avoid making an expensive mistake and buying something that will end up gathering dust in a cupboard for years?
That's where I come in. I test coffee makers for a living (I've had my hands on 14 in the last 12 months alone), and I've used that experience to pick out three espresso machines I believe are perfect for beginners. Two are fully automatic, meaning they handle the whole process of brewing espresso drinks for you, from bean to cup, and the other is a great introduction to brewing coffee manually. You'll need a separate grinder to use this one, but it's an excellent way to start developing your barista skills, and is the most affordable of the three.
It might be tempting to choose something cheap for your first espresso machine, but I believe it's worth spending a little more. Cheap machines usually mean corners have been cut, which makes it harder to brew consistently good espresso, even if you're experienced. All of these espresso machines are from well-known, reliable brands that will offer good after-sales service, and are made using quality components that won't let you down.
Philips LatteGo 5500 Series
The little Philips LatteGo 5500 Series is a great beginner-friendly espresso machine if you're only making drinks for one. It's a fully automatic (aka 'super automatic') machine, which means it does all the work for you, from grinding beans to frothing milk, but it never over-complicates matters.
Instead of a touchscreen that would typically present you with an overwhelming list of drinks and ways to customize them, the LatteGo 5500 Series has buttons on its face for all the most popular beverages (single and double espresso, cappuccino, caffe latte, americano etc), with more esoteric options accessible via a simple sub-menu.
For me, the drawback is the fact that the 'iced' drinks aren't brewed cold, so they don't have the mellow taste of coffee allowed to infuse slowly in the fridge. Instead, the LatteGo 5500 Series instructs you to add a handful of ice to your cup, then dispenses a shot of hot espresso over the top, which is kind of cheating.
For hot drinks, however, it's a real winner, and its cleverly designed milk system lets you add just the right amount for one or two drinks so there's no waste. It's a piece of cake to clean as well, with no awkward pipes or nozzles to harbor bacteria, which is excellent.
Read my full Philips LatteGo 5500 Series review
De'Longhi Dedica Duo
If you want to try developing your barista skills, this little espresso machine is ideal. It's a sad fact that most coffee machines below $300 / £300 aren't much good, but the De'Longhi Dedica Duo is an exception. This little gem is solidly made, with high-quality accessories (no flimsy portafilter handles), and has a pump that can generate and sustain the correct pressure for properly extracted espresso.
The Dedica Duo is a successor to the hugely popular De'Longhi Dedica Style, with the added ability to brew cold-extracted espresso. It does this by pumping cold water over your ground coffee at high pressure and takes significantly longer than brewing hot, but produces a similar flavor profile to traditionally-made cold brew.
As always, there are a few drawbacks. Its pump is rather loud and there's no sound shielding to deaden the noise, and the machine is so light that you need to hold it steady when inserting and removing the portafilter handle to avoid accidentally moving the whole thing around the counter.
Read my De'Longhi Dedica Duo hands-on
KitchenAid KF6
If you've got the cash to spare, the KitchenAid KF6 is a beautifully designed coffee machine that doesn't require any previous experience to brew delicious espresso. Like the Philips LatteGo 5500 Series, it's a fully automatic machine, meaning all you need to do is pour in your coffee beans, fill the water tank, and decide what you want to drink.
The KF6 doesn't have an overwhelming number of options (you get a few more with the more expensive KitchenAid KF8), and they're all accessible via a simple row of buttons on the machine's top. You can customize a few options (such as cup size and brew temperature) if you like, but most beginners will find the default options just fine.
Enjoy lattes and cappuccinos? The KF6 comes with a milk foaming system comprising a tube that attaches to the side of the dispenser. Just place the other end in a container of milk, select your drink, and you'll have beautifully thick, smooth foam in no time. If you'd rather have something that looks a bit smarter, the KF8 comes with a lidded milk carafe that you can use to store milk in the fridge between uses.
One of my favorite things about the KF6 is just how easy it is to maintain. Every interior surface is easy to wipe down, the cleaning programs are straightforward, and it rinses its milk system with hot water automatically between drinks to keep everything hygienic. It's Quiet Mark certified as well, with shielding to deaden noise from the grinder and pump, and comes in a choice of tasteful colors.
The downside here is the price. Fully automatic espresso machines are never cheap, and those from premium brands like KitchenAid even less so. The KF6 looks more chic and is generally more robust, but is almost twice the price of the Philips LatteGo 5500 Series above, so it's a question of priorities.
Read my full KitchenAid KF6 review
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