…But of course, nothing is that simple. There is no one ‘best’ espresso machine; only the best machine for your needs — and your budget. Every specialty coffee shop is different, and a machine that works well in one cafe might not be the right choice for the next. So instead of a single ‘top five’ list, here are the best espresso machines for five very different cafes.
What’s the best espresso machine…for starting out
If this is your first venture into specialty coffee, then the priority is choosing an espresso machine that is reliable and easy to use.
You and your team will naturally become expert baristas in due course — but in the meantime, you need a machine that makes it as easy as possible to make creamy lattes and rich espressos.
Key features to look for:
- Clear shot timer displays
- Pre-infusion — for more consistent espresso
- Automation — to help with cleaning the machine or even steaming the milk
With its deceptively simple buttons, large displays, programmable pre-infusion, and one of the most forgiving steam wands on the market, the Cafe Racer from Sanremo is a great choice. However, this stunning machine comes at a price, and only more experienced baristas will get the most out of the advanced features that the machine offers.
The best espresso machine for new cafe owners is Victoria Arduino’s Eagle One This beautiful machine has very user-friendly controls and clear, simple shot timer displays above each group, making it easy to keep track of your extractions.
Key parts like diffusion blocks and portafilters are made of stainless steel, which is much easier to clean than traditional brass. It features soft pre-infusion, which helps baristas make consistently tasty espresso. Best of all, it automatically flushes to clean the group between each shot, and is available with the optional Easycream system, which automates one of the hardest tasks for new baristas to master — steaming perfectly textured milk.
What’s the best espresso machine…for tight budgets
Starting a new cafe can be expensive, but if funds are limited there are still some great machines to choose from.
Simple heat exchanger machines with a single boiler, like the Sanremo Zoe or Nuova Simonelli Appia Life are solid choices at the budget end of the market. However, by relying on a heat exchanger to heat the brewing water, these machines sacrifice some temperature stability, especially during busy times — which is when your best customers come to your cafe.
The Victoria Arduino 358 White Eagle also features a single boiler with a heat exchanger, but it benefits from heavy-duty group heads compared to smaller machines. The bigger weight of brass in the group heads of this model means that they hold a lot of heat energy, so the machine can deliver more stable brewing temperatures under heavy use, without blowing the bank.
Our pick for the best espresso machine on a budget is the Barista T Plus from Ascaso, an up-and-coming Spanish brand.
This machine has independent, PID-controlled boilers for each group, giving you total control over the brewing temperature — a feature normally only found in much more expensive machines.
What’s the best espresso machine…for busy cafes
If you’re planning on making a lot of coffees, then you need a machine that can stand up to everything you can throw at it, and still produce top-quality espresso.
A three group machine with a separate steam boiler is a must, and the layout of the working space on the machine becomes an important consideration.
The open working area and raised group heads of the Victoria Arduino 358 White Eagle T3 make it ideal for busy cafes focused on takeaway coffee.
Note that the ‘T3’ in the name denotes the multi-boiler version of this model, which is essential for high volume cafes — the original version of the White Eagle is a single boiler heat exchanger machine, suitable only for less busy locations.
The T3 model has separate brew boilers and even controls the temperature in the group head itself, which means that the brewing temperature is rock-solid, no matter how busy it gets.
Another excellent choice for fast service is the Cafe Racer, which — as its motorbike-inspired design suggests — is built for speed. For baristas, the extra-wide drip tray and open grouphead design make for one of the most ergonomic working areas on any espresso machine. The drip tray height can also be adjusted to perfectly fit your cups — a small touch that makes a big difference to a barista. It also has the most accurate volumetrics on the market, which means this machine can deliver outstanding quality at high speed.
What’s The Best Espresso Machine…for coffee geeks
For baristas that love experimenting with their espresso to coax the best flavor out of every rarefied, single origin bean, it’s important to have total control of all the brewing variables.
A machine with gravimetric, rather than volumetric, control of the espresso gives maximum precision with minimum fuss. The two machines to beat in this category are the La Marzocco PB X, and the Black Eagle Gravitech, both of which can be found in many of the best cafes all over the world.
However, for the kind of perfectionist who wants to spend all day tinkering with the espresso flavor profile, then it’s hard to beat the La Marzocco Strada EP The pressure profiling on this model makes it possible to brew completely different styles of espresso, which would be unattainable on normal machines.
Pressure profiling means that the brewing pressure can be varied throughout the shot. This capability makes the Strada EP the best machine for coffee geeks.
On the Strada EP, the barista can change the pressure manually in real time, or the machine can be set to follow a pressure profile automatically. At its simplest, pressure profiling can be used to gradually reduce the brewing pressure towards the end of the shot, which reduces channeling and bitterness.
More complex profiles, however, can produce radically different flavors and textures of espresso. For example, the pre-infusion can be extended into a long ‘bloom’, like that used to make filter coffee, which allows for very high extractions not possible with other methods. Some baristas even experiment with pressure pulsing, setting the pressure to spike several times while the espresso is brewing.
The complexity of this machine is daunting, and it’s certainly not the right machine for everyone, but for the true coffee geek the Strada is yet to be surpassed.
What’s The Best Espresso Machine…for design lovers
Aesthetic decisions are highly personal, and the design of an espresso machine needs to not just be beautiful, but also to suit the space that it’s being installed in
The clean lines of the Eagle One or the classic industrial design of the Linea PB fit in almost anywhere, while the undercounter design of the Modbar system is ideal for minimalist spaces.
For cafes that really want to make a statement, the Aremde Stylus One is a clear winner — it looks like no other espresso machine out there.
The Aremde machines have a unique open-backed design that allows the customer to look right through the machine and watch the espresso being poured. The bodywork can also be customized to your specifications — so if you always wanted a neon-pink espresso machine, now is your chance.
So there you have it: our list of, not the five best espresso machines in the world, but the five best espresso machines for you.
