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Discover the TOP 10 most popular best-selling espresso makers in Amazon’s Gourmet or Home & Kitchen coffee maker Best Sellers List.
Which espresso coffee maker is right for you? How should you even get started shopping for an espresso coffee maker?
A good cup of coffee from a home espresso coffee maker should have flavor, aroma, balance, and strength.
However, there are many other factors to consider other than the coffee maker itself such as…
- The quality of the raw coffee beans
- Roast quality
- Coffee bean grind quality
- Water quality
Will espresso coffee also give you the best extraction of your favorite coffee grounds?
Is the espresso brewing process best for you or do you just want to experience the taste?
Espresso coffee makers are very different from pour-over, drip, French Press, and other coffee makers. It may be for you or it may not be – it is for you to decide.
However, these Top 10 best-selling espresso coffee makers and our tips below should help you with your decision.
Amazon is one of the top online marketplaces in the world. If an espresso coffee maker is a best-selling item on Amazon then it must be doing something right!
What is Espresso Coffee?
You can discover more about Espresso coffee and how to make it by reading our post How to Make The Perfect Espresso On National Espresso Day. and our post 60+ Different Types of Coffee Drinks to Enjoy.
However, I’ll give a brief summary here…
Espresso is a coffee brewing method where hot water (90 °C or 190 °F) is forced under pressure through finely-ground coffee contained in a portafilter to extract all the good coffee compounds that are responsible for coffee’s taste, aroma, and flavor.
In Nespresso and Keurig espresso machines the pressured hot water is forced through prefilled pods. In ESE machines the hot water is forced through ESE pods. ESE machines are usually espresso machines with a portafilter adapter for ESE pods.
The word ‘espresso’ is Italian for ‘expressed’. This means the coffee is extracted quickly.
Home Consumer, Prosumer, or Commercial?
If you are a home consumer and just want a good quality espresso coffee maker to make your own espresso coffee at home then this post is for you. You are not particularly concerned about all the fiddly details and you just want a good cup of coffee. You may also want the convenience of a coffee pod machine rather than handle the mess of an espresso machine
A prosumer is a professional consumer. That is, you are likely to be a coffee connoisseur, a barista, or a very enthusiastic coffee lover. As a prosumer then may find one or two espresso coffee machines to your liking in this post. However, you are most likely concerned with experimenting and are certainly concerned with all of the ‘fiddly’ details of coffee making. Consequently, you may need more expensive and higher-end machines given in this post.
If you are a cafe owner then you will want a good quality commercial machine. Sorry, but we can’t help you with this post. However, we hope to review some great commercial coffee machines soon. However, you may still like to browse our recommendations for your own home or for friends?
Top 10 Best Home Espresso Coffee Makers
The TOP 10 best selling espresso coffee makers are as follows
As you can see the best-selling espresso coffee makers fall into a wide range of prices and the best coffee maker for you depends on how you plan to use it and how often. Please note that the best selling list can change over time. What is best selling now may not be best selling next week, next month, or next year.
The best selling espresso machines also include Nespresso pod machines and K-cup pod machines. These machines make pretty good espresso coffee. They are also quick and convenient and this is probably one of the main reasons they are best selling. People may want reasonably good coffee that is easy and quick to make. These machines do save a lot of time and mess with ground coffee and manual espresso machines.
There is a reason that these are best selling espresso coffee makers, so carefully read the description and the customer reviews.
The top best selling espresso coffee makers have from about 700 to over 16,000 reviews so there is a lot of information for you in these top best selling coffee makers.
Some of these espresso machines would also be suitable for the concerned coffee lover and coffee connoisseur.
Here is what one coffee lover had to say about the Breville Espresso Machine…
New York City chef Missy Robbins Barista Pro says the Breville has “the perfect balance of automation and manual abilities” for beginners like herself, but this less-expensive model has nearly all of the same bells and whistles and over 12,000 five-star reviews (nymag.com).
How to shop for the best Espresso coffee maker
Read a range of reviews not just the 4 or 5-star ratings for the product. The 1 and 2-star ratings can give you some idea of problems or issues with these coffee makers even if they are the best-selling coffee makers on Amazon. Nothing is perfect – right?
Quality isn’t always indicated by price and the reviews will help show you which coffee makers are good value for money and make a good cup of coffee!
These are some of the questions you may like to ask yourself when buying your espresso coffee maker…
- How much do you want to spend?
- Do you want a consumer espresso machine, a ‘prosumer’ machine (a machine for a consumer who wants to be a bit more professional when making espresso coffee), or a commercial machine? Please note that in this review we only cover consumer espresso machines.
- What kinds of drinks do you prefer? Cappuccinos? Lattes? Straight espressos or americanos? The size of the drink will help you determine the size of your espresso machine.
- Do you want to replicate café espresso at home while balancing aesthetics and space? This question will help you decide whether you need an espresso machine or a pod machine.
- Do you want an espresso machine with a single boiler, a double boiler, or a thermoblock? A dual boiler or heat exchanger machine is better if you like to make large drinks or a large number of drinks. A single boiler machine is good for smaller drinks such as the usual one-shot espresso or a single Americano.
- Is brand important to you?
- Do you like the design of the coffee maker?
- Are the components of the coffee maker dishwasher safe?
- Is it relatively easy to use?
- Does it have a built-in coffee grinder?
- Does it have a built-in milk steamer/frother?
- Does the body of the coffee maker have heat protection?
- Can it make hot and flavorful coffee?
- Will it give you a great coffee experience?
- Do you need a separate coffee grinder?
- Do you need a balance to weigh the coffee?
- Is it portable? Can I use an espresso coffee maker for travel? Is it an all-in-one travel coffee maker?
- Is it the right size? It is big enough for your kitchen or for travel?
- What is its capacity?
- Can it produce single or double shots of espresso at the same time?
- Does it incorporate cup warmers?
- Does it incorporate a rack for mugs or portafilters
- Is it an automatic or manual coffee maker?
- Does it have convenient features or a nice feature that you like or prefer?
- Is it highly rated and well-priced?
- Is there a guarantee on its build?
- Is there a warranty?
- Is there a money-back option?
- Can I return the coffee maker if there is a fault? Are the returns free or do I have to pay for the return?
- Can it be delivered to my location without any hassle? Is fast shipping available?
There are probably many other factors you can also think about to select your ideal espresso coffee maker.
How do espresso machines work?
Espresso machines work by using pressure to force hot water through finely-ground, packed coffee to produce rich, but not bitter, intense coffee with a layer of very fine foam (called créma) on top.
Sounds pretty simple, but there are specific things to know for creating really good espresso. These include how much coffee (dose), coffee to water ratio, correct tamping, water temperature, time of extraction, and correct pressure.
The pressure of an espresso machine is measured in pounds per square inch (psi) or bars. The amount of pressure applied to the ground coffee determines how many of the flavor components can be extracted from the coffee.
1 bar = 14.5038 psi
1 atmosphere is approximately 1 bar
Thus 9 bars = 9 x the weight of air pressure at sea level.
The usual pressure for an espresso machine ranges from 8 to 10 bars with an average of 9 bars.
Pump Espresso, Steam Espresso, or Lever Espresso
Most electric espresso machines (manual, semi-automatic, or automatic) use an electric pump to increase the pressure of the water. The pump pressure can range from about 4 to 20 bars.
Why have a range of pressure when the recommended pressure is only 9 bar? Well, as we’ve said pressure determines the extraction so some professional coffee makers and baristas may want to experiment with pressure to see the effect on the quality of coffee.
A lever espresso machine uses manual pressure to force water through ground coffee. We don’t have any lever machines in the Top 10 but two of the most popular lever machines on Amazon are the Classic Flair Espresso Maker and the La Pavoni EPC-8 Europiccola Lever Style Espresso Machine.
A steam espresso machine uses steam pressure to force water through ground coffee. There is one steam espresso coffee maker in the Top 10 it is the Yabano coffee maker which is number 9 in the top 10.
Manual, Semi-Automatic, and Super-Automatic Espresso Machines
A manual espresso machine is one where you control most aspects of making espresso including the pressure. A manual machine is usually a lever machine. You pull a lever to force coffee through the coffee grounds. You determine the amount of pressure you apply through the lever.
A semi-automatic pump machine is usually a pump machine with one set pressure where you control most aspects of making espresso including grinding, tamping, and extraction (by varying the time of the pour).
A super-automatic espresso machine does almost everything for you including preheating, grinding, tamping, extracting your coffee, and steaming the milk for your espresso shot. These machines are easy to use and will usually produce a consistent espresso shot every time, with no mess.
Parts of an Espresso Coffee Machine
The following diagram is from the Ninja Barista Online Training online course. It is one of the best online coffee training courses which you can get at a 30% discount. The machine pictured is a commercial espresso machine but home espresso coffee makers will have similar parts.
The online Ninja Barista Course is good training for the newbie and may even be a refresher or the barista.
How To Make Good Espresso Coffee
The important steps of making ‘perfect’ espresso are as follows…
- Good quality coffee beans
- Good water quality
- Coffee grind
- Dose
- Brew ratio
- Tamping
- Temperature
- Extraction (brew) time
You can read all about these five steps in our post How to Make The Perfect Espresso On National Espresso Day
The basic process for making an espresso coffee is as follows:
- Carefully choose your coffee beans
- Grind your coffee beans to a fine grind with a quality burr grinder
- Measure 7 to 9 grams of coffee grinds for a normal espresso to extract up to 30 ml within about 20 to 30 seconds.
- Tamp your ground coffee into the portafilter of your espresso coffee machine
- Securely fix your portafilter to the group head of your espresso machine
- Extract your coffee by forcing hot water at a temperature of about 90 °C or 190 °F and a pressure of about 9 bars (900 kPa, or 130 psi) through finely-ground coffee beans contained in a portafilter fixed in your espresso machine.
- A normal espresso shot of 30 ml should only take about 20 to 30 seconds to pour.
Steps 2 to 4 are obviously not necessary if decide to go for the convenience of an espresso pod machine.
Do you want to make something like a Certified Italian Espresso? Then the following details from Instituto Nazionale Espresso Italiano should help…
| Factor | Detail |
|---|---|
| Portion of ground coffee | 7 g +/- 0.5 g |
| Exit Temperature of Water from Machine | 88°C ± 2°C |
| Temperature of Water in the Drink | 67°C ± 3°C |
| Entry Water Pressure | 9 bar ± 1 |
| Percolation Time | 25 seconds ± 5 seconds |
| Viscosity at 45°C | > 1.5 mPa s |
| Total Fat | > 2 mg/ml |
| Caffeine | < 100 mg per cup |
| Milliliters in the cup (including froth) | 25 ml ± 2.5 |
What Equipment Do You Need to make Espresso Coffee?
To make a good espresso coffee then you can use any of the machines we reviewed above.
If you want to use a manual or semi-automatic espresso machine then you will also need a good coffee grinder and a balance.
You need a good quality coffee bean grinder to give you a consistently fine grind for espresso coffee. You may like to read our reviews on the best burr hand coffee bean grinders and the best burr coffee bean grinder.
You will need a balance to weigh your ground coffee and your extracted coffee. The weight ratio of your ground coffee to extracted liquid coffee is your brew ratio. Usually, this is a 1:2 or 1:3 brew ratio for an espresso coffee.
Different sized portafilters to accommodate different sized espresso pours. The portafilters are usually included with the espresso machine when you buy your espresso machine.
Best Coffee Beans for Espresso Coffee
Coffee beans, like any food product, have a range of quality and they directly impact the taste, aroma, and flavor of your coffee.
A good espresso coffee maker, or an excellent barista, can’t fix bad or poor quality coffee beans.
Consequently, you need to carefully choose your coffee beans. You can read our post on the 10 Best Espresso Coffee Beans for more information.
We recommend using freshly ground coffee for your espresso coffee maker.
There are many good coffee bean suppliers and roasters and you no doubt have your favorite.
Of course, you choose your beans and level of roast to suit your taste.
Darker roasts tend to have smooth smoky flavors. Light roasts allow you to appreciate the unique flavors of the bean. A lighter roast can usually open up a variety of flavors including fruit, nutty, and chocolate.
Similar Posts
Best DeLonghi Espresso Machine
Best Super Automatic Espresso Machine
5 Best Krups Espresso Machines
Does a Nespresso Machine Make Regular Coffee?
Sources
Online Ninja Barista Training Course
Acknowledgment
Keurig and K-cups are trademarks of Keurig Inc
Nespresso and Vertuo are trademarks of Societe des Produits Nestle S.A. Corporation
Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc, or its affiliates.
