Coffee machines | The best of 2022

How to choose the coffee machine?

Choosing the coffee machine is more complicated than you might think as there are several factors that allow you to obtain a good coffee, such as that of the bar, and many other aspects to be considered according to the type of use, how many daily coffees you need to make, how much maintenance you are willing to perform.

Over the years, coffee machines have become more and more intelligent. The high-end models in fact allow you to make cappuccinos, a hot macchiato, but also a frothed milk and tea in a completely automatic way. You simply have to press a button and wait a few seconds to be able to enjoy a cappuccino finished with a sweet splash of bitter cocoa just like the one prepared by your trusted barista.

What to watch out for?

So what are the parameters to evaluate before choosing a coffee machine? Here are the most important:

Budget: and the budget does not only mean that for the purchase of the coffee machine, but also that of the purchase of the coffee itself. In the long run, pods are, for example, significantly more expensive than coffee beans or ground for a lower cost to purchase the machine. It is therefore worth evaluating the real budget available, considering that the original pods can even exceed 40 cents per unit, while the average cost of a good quality coffee is about 13/14 euros per kg. Coffee machines also have very different costs. They range from a few tens of euros up to almost 1000 euros. Tell me what coffee you want and I'll tell you what to buy: it can't be summarized better than this. The type of coffee drunk greatly affects the choice. It is served hot, long, short, double, foamed, American, cappuccino, latte macchiato. In short, not all coffee machines are able to do everything, so once you have established which drinks you absolutely cannot give up, the choice will be easier. Maintenance: any household appliance purchased needs good maintenance, but this aspect is particularly important in coffee machines. Descaling must certainly be done, a simple operation that can also be done with a mixture of water and vinegar, or using the appropriate solutions proposed by the manufacturers, but it also leads to more complex operations. Automatic machines, for example, must be emptied and cleaned every 15-20 coffees, as they more simply accumulate coffee powder and washing water. They must then be cleaned once a week and once a month the extractor mechanism should be greased, or there is a risk of breakage and forfeiture of the guarantee. Dimensions: the dimensions of the coffee machines should not be underestimated. There are ultra-compact, design and very large ones, some even weigh several kg, so it is good to understand the positioning at home before purchasing, so that you can choose the best solution to our needs without too many compromises. After identifying these needs, you can evaluate if you want the passive cup warmer, if you want the vaporizer like at the bar or the automatic milk foamer, a more or less design machine, with more or less complicated customizations according to personal taste. . In this guide we have collected what we believe are the best coffee machines to buy right now, identifying the best models in each category.