Ask ten people which coffee machine is best and you will get ten answers, because they are not all doing the same job. A filter machine makes a jug for the table. A capsule machine makes one fast cup with no mess. A semi-automatic espresso machine makes a small, strong shot and asks you to do the work. A bean-to-cup machine does that work for you. Pick the job first, and the machine mostly picks itself.
Tell the picker below what you drink, how much effort you want to spend and what you'd like to pay. It scores the four kinds of machine and shows why.
The order of questions is the order that matters. What you drink comes first: if you want a flat white, a filter machine is the wrong tool however good it is, because it cannot make espresso or steam milk. Effort comes second. A machine you dread using is a machine you stop using. Budget comes third, and it works as a floor: below a certain price a type of machine mostly does not exist.
Cups per day tips close calls. A filter machine shines when you pour for several people, since it brews up to about a litre or more in one go, and it is clumsy for one small mug. Capsules are at their best for one or two cups, and they cost more per cup than beans as the habit grows.
The usual rule of thumb for filter coffee is the Specialty Coffee Association's brewing standard: about 55 grams of coffee per litre of water, roughly 1:18, with water between about 90 and 96 °C where it meets the grounds. Break it when you like your coffee stronger or milder, since the ratio is a starting point, not a law.
| Type | You do | Good at | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Filter | Scoop, pour water, press start | Several cups, mild long coffee | No espresso, no milk foam |
| Capsule | Drop in a capsule, press | Speed, tidiness, consistency | Capsule cost, less choice of coffee |
| Semi-automatic | Grind, dose, tamp, brew, steam | Control, milk drinks, the ritual | A learning curve, and it needs a grinder |
| Bean-to-cup | Fill the beans and the tank | Hands-off espresso and milk drinks | Cost, cleaning, less control |
Many machines are sold on a big pressure number such as 15 or 19 bar. That figure is usually the pump's maximum rating. Espresso is brewed at about 9 bar, and most home machines have a valve that holds the pressure near that during the shot, so a bigger number does not mean better coffee. Fresh beans, a good grind and steady water temperature matter more.
More cups are not a goal. The European Food Safety Authority has said that up to 400 mg of caffeine a day, spread through the day, is not a safety concern for healthy adults, and about 200 mg a day for pregnant women. Strength varies a lot between a mug of filter, a capsule and a double espresso, so count drinks, not just cups. If you are sensitive, have your last cup well before bedtime.