Best Coffee Machines 2023

What sets the Eletta Explore (ECAM450.86.T) apart from competitors is its cold brew technology. You can use it to make a variety of hot and cold espresso based drinks, all year round.

Choose your drink from the 3.5” TFT display with full colour icons. On either side, there are quick option buttons for “to go” drinks, hot drinks, cold drinks, and favourites. You can also set up profiles, to get your favourite coffees at the touch of a button.

There are some nice design features as well, like the water tank that pulls out from the front, so you don’t have to scrabble around at the back of the appliance. You’ll also get alerts when it’s time to refill the tank and empty the integral grounds container.

The Eletta Explore also has smart features, which allow you to check the machine’s status, adjust settings, save personalised drinks settings and – importantly – make yourself a latte, cappuccino or espresso remotely, with a single tap.

The milk delivery system is cleverly designed and a cinch to use. Keep your carafe of milk in the fridge, and just plug it into the machine – the machine does everything else, from dispensing to cleaning the mechanism afterwards.

If this is a little too pricey for your taste and you can do without the cold brew options, the De’Longhi Dinamica Plus is one to look at.

The Barista Max is an espresso machine with an inbuilt conical burr grinder. This alone makes it quite unusual. But at this price point, for its quality, it’s extremely rare.

Beans go into the hopper on top and can be ground straight into the portafilter. It’s not quite as simple or convenient as an automatic bean-to-cup machine such as the Eletta explore Plus, but if you enjoy the coffee making process – even a little bit – it’s very satisfying to use. 

As it comes with an inbuilt milk wand, plus milk jug and tamper, you won’t have to shell out for any other coffee-making accessories. That’s a good thing as this is a large machine that will require a dedicated spot on your kitchen counter. But it’s solid and well-made and should give you very good coffee for a long time to come.

The Smeg espresso coffee machine is a manual espresso machine, which means it takes a bit more time and effort to use than a pod machine or an automatic bean-to-cup machine. In our opinion, it’s well worth it.

It takes ground coffee or ESE pods and has a number of adjustable settings, including water hardness and temperature, so you can get your coffee exactly the way you want it. The inbuilt milk frother doubles as a hot water dispenser, which means you can make anything from a cappuccino to an americano. 

This is a beautiful machine that’s a pleasure to use and we’d recommend it to anyone who wants to explore the art of coffee making at home. But don’t forget: it won’t grind beans, so you’ll need pre-ground or to invest in a separate coffee grinder.

There are few smart coffee machines on the market – and with good reason. As yet, there’s no way to go completely hands-free. You’ll still need to pop in a coffee capsule and ensure the water tank is full.

But this Lavazza collaboration machine has an ingenious solution to make the most of its smarts. Instead of relying on limited app control, it has an inbuilt Amazon Echo device, including a speaker, so you’ll get full home assistant functionality alongside your coffee.

You can, of course, ask Alexa to make you an espresso and if the machine’s set up, it will. But really, it’s a clever way to incorporate an Alexa device into your kitchen counter set-up, and in this respect, it works. 

The machine is compact and easy to use but as there’s no frother or milk tank, it makes black coffee only. However, you can at least request some upbeat tunes while you enjoy your morning espresso.

There’s no getting around the fact that this is an expensive coffee machine – it’s especially pricey for a filter coffee maker. But it is robustly made and designed to be repairable, so it’s a great buy-it-for-life option. This also makes it a sustainable choice. It’s a very aesthetically pleasing option as well, with 21 different colour options.

It’s simple to use, with just two switches for controls. You can brew half a jug, or a jug of coffee and it’ll stay warm on the hot plate for 40 minutes.

If you’re not fussed about lattes or espressos and want to have coffee to drink all day, this is a stylish way to get it. If you’re in the UK and want a cheaper filter coffee maker, have a look at our reviews of the Russell Hobbs Buckingham and the Chester Grind and Brew, which has an inbuilt bean grinder.

This neat little espresso machine is not only budget friendly but compact (30 x 21 x 27cm). It can make two coffees at a time and has its own integral steam wand.

For its price, it makes very good coffee – but there’s a catch. There’s no automatic dispensing volume, so you’ll need to experiment to get a good shot of espresso. This makes it a great option for coffee enthusiasts who don’t mind learning to use the machine but less appealing to people looking for a quick brew.

There’s also a significant cool-down period between steaming milk and brewing coffee, so if you plan to make more than two coffees in one go, it’ll take a bit of time.

Smeg’s bean-to-cup machine is easily the most attractive coffee maker of its kind that we’ve seen. With a brushed aluminium front panel and a minimalist control panel, it’s elegant and more importantly – it produces great coffee. You can choose between ristretto, espresso, and a long coffee. There are plenty of customisation options as well – light ristretto and espresso are only a button press away.

There are several other very nice features: an easy to use milk wand, a dispenser that can be raised and lowered for the perfect cup height fit, and a light that comes on when your coffee dispenses.

But there are also a few compromises to be made. There’s no display and the multifunction buttons are hard to remember, meaning you’ll probably need to resort to the manual a few times until you get it right. The placement of the water tank right at the back makes it a pain to refill as well.

The K-Café Smart has a triple-tower profile, consisting of a pitcher-shaped water reservoir, a milk frother, and the coffee brewer itself. It’s easy to use and ergonomic to handle.

There’s a selection of brew volumes: 6oz, 8oz, 10oz, and 12oz. You can also adjust the temperature and brew strength with dedicated buttons for each. Via the mobile app, you can save settings for custom brew strengths and temps to avoid having to set them manually each time, but as the machine is so easy to use, we didn’t tend to opt for the app when we were testing it.

Our one reservation is that, while you can get a wide selection of K-Cups, meaning that this machine can brew a wide variety of good coffees, its espresso is distinctly lacking, so espresso fiends should steer clear.

The Lavazza Deséa is one of the very best pod/capsule-based coffee machines we’ve tested, even though it’s not the most expensive.

It’s stylish and well-made but more importantly, it makes a wide range of coffees from espresso to macchiato. The complexity means it takes a little while to get used to, but it’s pretty much a one-touch operation once you get the hang of it.

The Deséa produces consistent coffee and with the option to boost temperature and foam if needed. It also operates more quietly than any other coffee machine we’ve used.

If you’re looking for a Dolce Gusto machine, this is the best one available. Not only is it as compact and straightforward as the other machines in the range, but it has more brewing options, so you can tailor your coffee to your preference.

It’s fully automated and easy to use. You can choose from three drink temperatures, precisely calibrate the amount of water in your beverage, plus there’s the option of an espresso boost.