Other nice features include a removable water tank that pulls out from the front and enough cup clearance to fit a 20-ounce travel mug. It also has a cold extraction option, which works about as well as any we tested. But if you’re interested in any of these “cold” settings on espresso machines, know that across the board, they still can’t match the flavor quality of more time-consuming methods like immersion cold brew or flash chilling.
The main reason the Cuisinart didn’t make our list of top picks is its steam wand, which didn’t perform nearly as well as its brewing operation. The milk texture came out uneven and typically quite thin. We still think that, for anyone who finds the $500 price for the Breville Bambino Plus high, this makes a good entry into the world of espresso machines, but making cappuccinos will take a bit more patience.
Solis Barista Perfetta Plus
Solis Barista Perfetta Plus
The Solis Barista Perfetta Plus is a tremendous budget machine. It has an adaptive PID (though setting it requires pushing a combination of buttons a la a cheat code in an old Sega Genesis game), which is practically unheard of at this price point. The built-in pressure gauge provides useful feedback, and we have to give a hat tip to its powerful steam wand, which outperformed some machines that cost hundreds of dollars more. And finally, it has one of the smallest countertop footprints of any machine we’ve seen.
Why don’t we have it recommended up at the top? We’ve seen it out of stock for long stretches, and don’t want to leave you in a lurch.
De’Longhi La Specialista Touch
De’Longhi La Specialista Touch
Besides Breville, De’Longhi is the other big name you’ll see again and again in the $500–$1000 home espresso machine category. The La Specialista Touch is De’Longhi’s latest answer to the Breville Barista Touch, and in our opinion, is the best offering from the brand yet. It brews nine different coffee drinks, both espresso-based and not.
It helps you dial in the grind using its built-in burr grinder and measures extraction time to guide you. You can also save settings for different beans, making it easy to switch between blends and maintain consistency. The machine features automatic milk texturing, though you can switch the steam wand to manual if you prefer full control. If we had to choose, we’d say Breville’s auto-steaming works a bit better, but the Specialista Touch reliably produces five distinct milk drinks: cappuccino, flat white, latte, and latte macchiato.
Like all De’Longhi machines with built-in grinders, it includes a screw-on funnel that fits over the portafilter, keeping the grinding and tamping process cleaner than what you get with many other brands.
It also includes a cold extraction setting, which runs slower than most and produces a smoother-tasting coffee compared to its hot brew. It’s not a standout feature for us, but it could be useful for someone who wants to experiment with cold coffee at home.
One note: During extended testing, the steam wand failed to work twice, though the issue resolved itself after turning the machine off and back on.
The Infuser is a slightly older Breville model from a time before they were including grinders on most of their machines. It’s essentially the Barista Express without a grinder, and we think that makes it a pretty strong option for its price range. It brews flavorful espresso, has a pressure gauge, and an adequate steam wand. The dial that toggles between steam and hot water doesn’t feel quite as nice as the push-button operation of newer Breville machines, and because it’s older, it can sometimes be a little harder to find in stores. Overall, we think the Bambino Plus presents a better package of features, but if you find one of these on sale, we say snap it up.
The Victoria is a step down in Lelit’s lineup from the MaraX. It costs about 40% less, but we thought the tradeoffs for those savings were too much. It’s a single-boiler machine without a heat exchanger, so we had to wait almost a full minute to steam milk after pulling a shot. And when we did steam milk, it lacked the texture we got from the higher-end model. It does have a PID controller and shot timer, which are nice features, but ultimately, we think you can get similar quality for less money with a mid-priced Breville machine.
We added Lelit’s Anita into our testing mix as part of the process of reevaluating the idea of built-in grinders and found a lot to like. The grinder is stepless, meaning you can make teeny tiny adjustments in order to properly dial in the grind for your particular beans. It’s also one of the least expensive machines we’ve tried with a digital PID controller. Most importantly, the espresso came out nuanced and flavorful.
Source link
