I test over a dozen of the best coffee makers every year here at TechRadar, but having a small kitchen means I have to be very picky about which I choose to buy myself. The problem is, I love both drip coffee and espresso equally. I'd happily pick up a compact espresso machine and a quality drip coffee maker such as the Breville Luxe Brewer Thermal, but that would mean sacrificing valuable food prep space and, potentially, not having enough work surface available for rolling pastry and kneading dough.

Of course, a kitchen with no space in which to make pies or bread would be tragic — but, thankfully, it doesn't have to come to that because the Ninja Prestige DualBrew System can handle all my espresso and drip coffee-making needs in one convenient package.

I first tested the DualBrew System (known as the Ninja Espresso and Coffee Maker Barista System in the US) about nine months ago, and it's still the most impressive two-in-one coffee system I've ever used. It isn't a particularly glamorous appliance to have sitting on your counter — it's designed for function rather than looks — but it's enormously practical and has clearly been designed by people who know and love their coffee.

On the left of its roughly cuboid-shaped body, you have a fully featured drip coffee maker, with a standard-sized brew basket and toughened glass carafe. It has all the features you'd expect from a good-quality standalone brewer, including different intensity settings (regular, rich, or over ice) and a timer to start brewing when you wake.

However, there are also some great additions, such as a drip-stop system that means you can safely remove the carafe partway through brewing without making a mess, as well as a fold-down drip tray so you can brew directly into a travel cup rather than the carafe if you want your coffee to-go in the morning.

Some drip coffee makers use of a double-walled insulated carafe to keep your drink at the ideal temperature after brewing, whereas others use a hotplate. The DualBrew System is in the latter camp, but unlike any other drip coffee maker I've tested, it has a smart hotplate that doesn't just heat your coffee consistently, but instead turns on and off to help maintain the right temperature without stewing your brew. It also turns off automatically when you take the carafe away.

Espresso is handled on the right-hand side of the machine. The DualBrew System uses Nespresso Original-style coffee capsules, which means there's a huge array of different beans, blends, and roasts to choose from. Nestlé no longer owns the patent to this type of capsule, so any company is free to package its own freshly ground coffee in these little pods.

Personally, I like to use capsules from my local roastery, and an espresso made using these pods in the DualBrew System tastes almost identical to the same beans prepared with a manual coffee maker.

There's a choice of three drink sizes, and the espresso machine has an adjustable-height drip tray so you can use any cup you want. When you're done, the spent pod drops into a bin, ready to be emptied later.

The only downside of the DualBrew System is the lack of a steam wand (which makes sense, since there's no pressurized boiler here). Instead, there's an electric whisk that folds out from the rear of the machine. This doesn't heat your milk, but the DualBrew System offers a handy guide that advises how long to heat your milk for in the microwave, and how to whisk it for different espresso drinks. It's not the same as steam, but it's fine in a pinch when you don't have much space.

If that's a deal-breaker, a standalone milk frother such as the Dreo BaristaMaker or Smeg Mini Milk Frother will deliver more authentic results, and is small enough to tuck into the corner of a cabinet when it's not in use.

If you love coffee in all its forms but don't have acres of countertop space to spare, the DualBrew System provides everything you need in a single, neat package — and it's affordable, too. At the time of writing, it's available for $249.99 / £179, down from a list price of $279.99 / £249.99. You'll find all today's best deals at the bottom of this article.

Can't decide what kind of coffee you'd like in the morning? De'Longhi has just launched a new coffee maker that can prepare both hot and cold espresso drinks — and even drip coffee if you're in the mood for something different. The De'Longhi Magnifica Duo offers a menu of 20 preset drinks, which you can choose with a quick finger-tap.

If you want to fine-tune your coffee, there are three user profiles, which let you save drinks with custom size, intensity, and temperature settings.

The Magnifica Duo is a successor to the Magnifica Evo Next, which our reviewer Josephine Watson awarded four stars out of five. The Duo has a similar look, and should be just as simple to use, but with the ability to prepare authentic cold-extracted espresso as well.

Unlike some other bean-to-cup coffee makers, which pour a shot of hot espresso over a cup of ice, the Magnifica Duo extracts espresso using cool water directly from the tank and passes it through the freshly-ground coffee beans more slowly to achieve a mellow, but still well-rounded flavor without bitterness.

Not only that, the Magnifica Duo also has a pair of swappable carafes for preparing hot and cold milk foam, so you can easily make iced lattes and cappuccinos. It's the same LatteCrema Hot and Cool system used by the De'Longhi Primadonna Aromatic, and is quite ingenious.

With the Hot and Cool system, milk never enters the machine itself, so you don't need to worry about any buildup inside, and each carafe can be disassembled into a few dishwasher-safe parts for quick and hygienic cleaning. It works with both and plant-based milks too, and in my experience testing the Primadonna Aromatic it delivered excellent results with both.

The De'Longhi Magnifica Duo is available now for $999.95 in the US, and £699.99 in the UK. That's about AU$1,350, though it hasn't launched in Australia just yet. I'm hoping to test it soon to see whether it can earn a place in our roundups of the best coffee makers and best espresso machines.

• The Jura E10 is a new premium espresso machine from the Swiss brand
• It offers hot and cold brewing, syrup-infused foam, and Light Brew mode
• It's available now for £1,425 (about $1,910 / AU$2,720)

Jura, known for its luxury espresso machines, has just launched a new coffee maker that packs a staggering array of advanced brewing features into a surprisingly compact package. The new Jura E10 offers hot and cold brewing, syrup-infusion for flavored drinks, and a new timer that means the machine can start brewing when you wake so your favorite coffee is ready and waiting the moment you wake up.

The feature set sounds very similar to that of the Jura J10 I tested last year, which is still one of the most advanced coffee makers I've ever used. It poured a perfectly-extracted espresso, and its cold-brewed espresso was mellow and flavorful.

Its milk system was excellent as well, whether using hot or cold milk, but what impressed me most was the Sweetfoam system that mixes the syrup of your choice into the milk as it's dispensed.

Flavored coffees are usually made by pumping syrup into the cup before adding coffee and milk, which means the flavor is concentrated at the bottom. With Sweetfoam, the syrup is evenly distributed throughout the whole drink, which means you get the full flavor with every sip, and only need to use a very small quantity. You can use regular or sugar-free syrup, and during my tests I found it had the added benefit of stabilizing the milk foam so it lasts and lasts.

Perfect for small kitchens

Like the J10, the new E10 offers a huge menu of hot and cold drinks, but now they're organized into a color-coded menu that makes it easier to find the one you want.

These options now include Light Brew — a new feature not available in the J10 — which uses a smaller dose of coffee and a lower brewing temperature to prepare a drink with a less intense flavor that's ready to enjoy straight away.

The coffee-timing feature means the machine will start brewing your coffee automatically exactly when you want it to — a feature you'd normally only see on drip coffee machines. However, it's worth noting that this is only available if you also pick up the Jura Wi-Fi Connect V2 module, which adds wireless connectivity to your coffee machine and costs an additional £49.95 (about $70 / AU$100).

All of these brewing functions are packed into a surprisingly slim package that will slot more easily into small kitchens:

The Jura E10 is available now direct from Jura and a handful of third-party stores for £1,425 (about $1,910 / AU$2,720). It's currently only sold in Europe, but the rest of the E range is available in the US, so I'm expecting it to launch there in the coming months.

I start my day in the office, as I normally do, with a large latte from the nearby coffee shop. It's become a ritual now for my in-office days — a little treat I can look forward to after the commute that sets me up for the day. But with the amount I spend on this each month, I'm starting to wonder if what I really need is a better coffee machine at home.

That's why the Breville Barista Express on Amazon for $549.95 (was $699.99) has caught my eye. It's one of the many times I've seen the 4.5-star-rated espresso machine on sale at the retailer, and I feel myself getting closer and closer to buying it all the time, especially as it's one of the best espresso machines we've tested.

With its ability to make all sorts of hot drinks with ease, a vast array of adjustable settings, a handy integrated grinder, and a powerful steam wand for milk texturing, it has everything I could need to encourage me to skip the coffee shop and make a brew at home to take to the office.

This may not be the same record-low price I saw during the recent Prime Day sale. However, at only $50 more than that offer, it's still a tempting buy. And while the upfront cost might be high, I think it'll pay for itself fairly quickly with the amount I spend at coffee shops.

Today's best espresso machine deal

What also makes me think that this could be the right coffee machine for me is our very positive Breville the Barista Express review. It was awarded an impressive 4.5 stars out of five for its ease of use, the variety of adjustable settings, and great results.

I'm a bit of a coffee machine newbie, having only had a pod machine and a drip filter coffee maker before, so I think I'd appreciate that the Barista Express isn't too complicated. I also quite like the idea of being able to experiment with different settings and options to get my drinks just how I want them.

Yeah, it's true, the price is a little tough to stomach, but the sensible person in me appreciates that it will be cost-effective in the long run. Plus, it should be a fun new thing to learn — although I'm sure it'll be some time before I rival our on-team trained barista, Cat Ellis.

• The Rivelia Start is De'Longhi's smallest automatic coffee maker
• It has a menu of 10 coffee drinks, including cold brew
• It's on sale now in the UK for £599.99 (about $800 / AU$1,160)

De'Longhi makes some of the best espresso machines I've tested here at TechRadar, and as the owner of a small kitchen, its latest model has particularly piqued my interest. The De'Longhi Rivelia Start is the company's smallest fully automatic coffee maker.

The Rivelia Start is a successor to the 2024 De'Longhi Rivelia, which our tester Josephine Watson gave a full five stars thanks to its consistently well-extracted espresso, clever Bean Adapt technology that optimizes brew settings to suit your preferred beans, and LatteCrema Hot system, which creates thick and creamy foam for milky drinks.

The Rivelia Start offers all that in an even smaller package, and adds the ability to prepare authentic-tasting cold brew. De'Longhi promises that your cold brew will be "ready in under five minutes", which tells me that it's not just pouring a shot of hot coffee over ice, like some other machines I've tested recently. Instead, the coffee is extracted using ambient temperature water, which results in fewer bitter compounds being dissolved for a more mellow flavor.

The Rivelia Start's standard menu contains 10 drinks, but if you like the idea of an iced latte or cappuccino to help you stay cool in the summer months, you can upgrade your Rivelia Start with the optional LatteCrema Cool set, which lets you create chilled milk foam for six further drinks.

Personally, the feature I'm most excited about is the pair of swappable bean hoppers. My job sometimes involves drinking a lot of lattes, and I always prefer to switch to decaf in the afternoon so I can still sleep after a day testing drip and espresso machines. With the Rivelia Start, there's no need to purge one type of coffee from the hopper before refilling with another; just unscrew the whole thing and swap it for one filled with a different type of bean.

It's simple to operate too, with an interface of clearly-labelled buttons rather than a touchscreen, making it extra accessible for new users.

Its small size isn't the only thing that sets it apart from other coffee makers, either — it also comes in a palette of earthy colors that fit with the current trend for natural shades and textures, which makes a refreshing change from the stark black, white, and chrome that once dominated kitchen appliances.

It's available to buy now direct from De'Longhi in the UK for £599.99 (about $800 / AU$1,160) in two colors: maple brown and jade green. More hues will be available from third-party stores from September, and we're currently waiting for details of its international launch.

Looking for a coffee machine that serves up a delicious espresso but won’t break the bank? Look no further than the Philips Baristina. This adorable, cost-friendly bean-to-cup machine currently holds the spot for the best budget coffee machine in Australia, and it’s now even cheaper in the Prime Day sales — just AU$418.99.

My colleague Cat Ellis couldn’t have been more positive in her Philips Baristina review, and she loved the fact it combines the best of bean-to-cup machines, with the convenience of capsule machines.

It handles all aspects of the coffee-making process — grinding, dosing, tamping and brewing, so you barely need to lift a finger. What’s more, it puts on a bit of a show, as it will automatically slide the portafilter into position once it's finished grinding and tamping. It’s unlike any other coffee machine I’ve come across.

• Follow our live coverage of the best Prime Day 2026 deals, many of which ship to New Zealand as well

When Philips announced the Baristina, it certainly piqued my interest. My colleague Cat was able to get her hands on a unit first though, inflaming my jealousy.

What drew me to the compact machine was its simplicity. Once you’ve loaded in some beans and filled the water tank, just push the portafilter handle into its slot and slide it to the right. Select which drink you want — it can only brew a 40ml espresso or a 110ml lungo — and the machine will get to work grinding the perfect quantity of coffee into the filter basket and tamping it down.

Ensuring the whole process is as hands-off as possible, the machine will then slide the handle to the left and dispense the coffee into your cup.

It even helps with cleaning, as once your coffee has finished pouring, the handle will release so you can pull it free and knock out the grounds.

I also love the look of the Baristina, in either its white or black guises it’s very modern. Do note that there’s no steam wand on this machine, but there is a matching Baristina Milk Frother. I do have this and use it daily to froth oat milk, perfect for lattes and cappuccinos. It’s also on sale right now during Prime Day.

The only negative Cat could find with the Philips Baristina is that it doesn’t let you adjust the grind size, so you'll have to choose beans that work with the machine's default settings. There’s no real guidance on this in the user manual, so it may require some trial and error. If your coffee tastes under- or over-extracted then you'll need to try a different bean.

Otherwise, there’s very little to find fault with the Baristina. It looks great, works a charm and brews a delicious espresso, all for an affordable price. What more could you ask for?

I test a lot of espresso machines here at TechRadar — over a dozen a year — and so far 2026 has delivered a particularly impressive crop. Whether you're looking for your first ever coffee maker or are a seasoned pro hunting for the perfect premium brewer, there's an option for you.

There are so many new espresso machines, in fact, that you might be spoilt for choice, which is where I come in. To help make your decision easier, I've rounded up this collection of the three best machines we've tested this year. Each one has been through our rigorous review process, and received a score of at least four and a half stars out of five.

If you can't see something that quite suits your needs, take a look at our complete roundup of the best espresso machines you can buy today, and the best Nespresso machines if you prefer your morning brew in pod form.

Philips Café Aromis

Release date: March 2026

Score: 5/5

This espresso machine (the Philips Café Aromis 8000 Series, to give it its full name) is a premium coffee maker that looks stunning, makes sublime coffee, and is fun to use as well. It has a menu of 50 drinks — hot and cold — and is astonishingly quiet in use too thanks to cleverly designed noise shielding.

Its milk system is particularly impressive, producing different textures to suit the type of drink you're making, and because the milk never enters the body of the machine itself, it's a piece of cake to keep clean. Just detach the carafe, disassemble it into its three hard plastic components, and wash them in the top drawer of your dishwasher. There are separate carafes for hot and cold milk, and they both work equally well with dairy or plant-based equivalents.

Espresso machines with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connectivity are quite common, but after connecting your phone, usually all you get is a simple instruction manual. Not here. The Philips Home app is styled like an AI chatbot, and asks you a series of questions about your beans and taste preferences to help tailor the brew setting to your liking. It's certainly not cheap, but it's a superb espresso machine that earned a full five stars.

Read our full Philips Café Aromis review

Philips Baristina

Release date: February 2026

Score: 5/5

Philips has been really nailing it when it comes to espresso machines this year. The Baristina is very different to the Café Aromis, but if you're new to the world of speciality coffee, or just want something reasonably affordable, it's the better choice.

This is the smallest and cheapest bean-to-cup coffee maker I've ever tested, and it's so easy to use, it's a great option for anyone thinking of making the switch from coffee capsules. Just load your beans in the top, fill the water tank, push in the empty portafilter handle, and slide it to the right. The Baristina will grind the perfect dose of coffee into the basket, tamp it down, then slide the whole handle to the left and pull the shot for you.

It's a piece of cake, and much easier to clean than a typical automatic espresso machine because there's no moisture or debris building up inside an enclosed case. The only drawback is that it can't steam milk (unless you pick up a bundle with the standalone milk frother), but Philips has just launched an updated version — the Baristina Latte — that solves that particular issue. I'm very much looking forward to testing it

Read our full Philips Baristina review

Meraki Espresso Machine Gen 2

Release date: March 2026

Score: 4.5/5

The Meraki Espresso Machine Gen 2 (available direct from Meraki in the US, and from Bella Barista in the UK) is the most stylish coffee maker we've tested so far this year, with its satin finish, chrome and wood accents, pivoting touchscreen display, and separate 'towers' for its twin boilers, water tank, and bean hopper. It's huge, but if you've got the space, it's worth every centimeter.

This is a manual espresso machine, but is packed with thoughtful features that make achieving a delicious brew that little bit easier. For example, there are built-in scales beneath the grinder and grouphead to help you grind exactly the right dose of beans, then weigh your extracted coffee and stop the pump at precisely the right time. There's a temperature sensor to help you avoid scalding your milk, and if you really want a helping hand, you can scan a code on a bag of Meraki's own coffee beans, and the machine will adjust its own settings accordingly.

The standout feature, though, is its dual boiler, which is something we rarely see in a home espresso machine. "Not only does it produce exceedingly well-extracted espresso over and over again, it easily froths a range of milks without losing pressure or cooling down," said our reviewer Josh Russell.

Read our full Meraki Espresso Machine Gen 2 review

The AeroPress Steel has sold out twice, but now it's back in stock in the UK, just in time for your summer camping trips. It's a super-tough, travel-friendly coffee maker that lets you make a tasty brew with fresh beans on the move, and it's available now direct from AeroPress for £159.99.

I've put the AeroPress Steel to the test myself, and was surprised by how little it weighs considering its all-metal construction. Although it probably won't be your go-to coffee maker for backpacking adventures where every gram counts (for that you'd be better with an AeroPress Go), it's not going to weigh you down unnecessarily.

Its accessories have received the stainless treatment as well; rather than the plastic stirrer and scoop provided with a standard AeroPress coffee maker, the AeroPress Steel comes with metal versions, which should give you many years of happy brewing.

If you're worried about the metal chamber conducting heat, you'll be pleased to know that it has double-walled insulation that keeps your coffee hot and hands safe. When using the steel brewer, I found that the outside was never more than pleasantly warm to the touch, and never uncomfortable to hold.

The only thing to watch out for is the metal filter cap at the bottom, which will heat up when you're extracting your coffee, so make sure you allow it to cool before unscrewing it and ejecting the used coffee grounds.

Find your grind

The AeroPress Steel is a great partner for the AeroPress Manual Coffee Grinder, which I also had the opportunity to try recently. Unlike most travel-friendly coffee grinders I've tested, which use blades that chop coffee beans into shark little chunks, the AeroPress grinder uses stainless steel burrs that deliver consistent, even results.

You can experiment with different extraction times by adjusting the grind size, with an impressive 60 settings available, and the hopper holds up to 25g of beans at a time, which is enough to prepare two espresso-style drinks on the move.

The grinder has an easy-turn handle with a large, circular handpiece that's comfortable in the hand, but also comes with an attachment for a power drill (yes, really) if you'd rather spare the elbow-grease. Small magnets hold the handle against the side of the grinder when not in use, and the whole package is compact enough to slide neatly into your AeroPress (whether it's the Steel or a traditional plastic) for easy storage.

The AeroPress Manual Grinder is available direct from AeroPress for £199.99.

Amazon Prime Day is now live in Australia, and I’m spending the majority of my time seeking out the very best Prime Day coffee machine deals. Fortunately, I’ve not been disappointed, with huge savings on many of our favourite machines here at TechRadar.

The highlight, however, has to be a mega saving on the superb Ninja Luxe Café Premier espresso machine, which drops to a new all-time low in Australia of AU$497.99 for the stainless steel model.

That smashes a previous low price of AU$629 that I spotted during Black Friday last year, and means that if you’ve been holding out on getting the viral-hit coffee maker, this Prime-exclusive deal presents the perfect opportunity.

If you have yet to come across this popular Ninja machine, it is essentially a versatile three-in-one bean-to-cup system designed to cater to a wide range of coffee preferences. It is capable of extracting a quality espresso, preparing cold brew, and delivering classic drip coffee.

An automatic steam wand is also included for those who favour milk-based drinks. Ninja describes it as “the ultimate guided experience,” with its Barista Assist Technology offering step-by-step support throughout the process.

In practical terms, whatever your coffee of choice, the Ninja Luxe Café Premier espresso machine is equipped to handle it. It also encourages experimentation with different recipes, without the need for proper barista training.

A selection of single-, double-, and quad-shot filter baskets is included, making it equally suited to preparing multiple coffees at once or a stronger, more concentrated serve when needed.

While it's sensibly priced in the world of premium coffee machines, AU$1,049.99 is still a hefty purchase. That said, our reviewer identified only a few reasons not to buy it: if you need to brew large batches of coffee, want a dedicated hot water line or are looking for a compact machine.

If this doesn’t sound like you, or you’re simply swayed by the AU$552 saving, then you’ll likely want to be quick to snap one up, as they tend to sell out fast.

Well there we have it, Prime Day Australia 2026 has come and gone, leaving a trail of sensational coffee machine deals in its dust.

Or has it?

I've had a look through all of the discounts that were live during the annual Amazon sale and have found many of them still available to shop. Granted, some prices have increased, but that's to be expected. The good news is that where there have been increases, they've been relatively small — around AU$20 to AU$100.

And in a few other cases, there has been no change at all to the Prime Day price, meaning if you happened to miss out, you still have plenty of opportunities to secure a top-rated espresso machine for an affordable price.

You'll likely need to hurry though, as experience tells me that the deals that are still live are unlikely to hang around forever.

Best Prime Day 2026 coffee machines deals in Australia still live

Automatic coffee machines

Manual & semi-automatic coffee machines

Capsule coffee machines

Portable

Coffee machine accessories

Prime Day 2026 in Australia: all you need to know

Before I tested and reviewed the Ninja AutoBarista Pro, I had tried every kind of coffee brewing method over the years. I ground my own beans with a high-end 20-setting electric burr grinder. I researched how to get the ideal grind for each type of bean and brewing method. Grind size is important, because it determines the speed that water flows through your coffee grounds and therefore the amount of extraction.

As a general rule, you'll want a coarser grind for a French press or for cold brew made in the refrigerator. Medium-coarse works well for pour-over. A typical automatic drip machine works best with a medium grind. A moka pot works well with medium-fine. The finest settings are best for espresso machines or Turkish coffee.

How your beans are roasted also plays a part in how coarsely you'll want to grind your beans. Darker roast beans work best with a slightly coarser grind, while lighter roasts work better when ground slightly finer.

When grinding your own beans, you'll have to account for both your roast and your brewing method. If your coffee comes out more bitter than you'd like, you'll want to grind your beans more coarsely. On the other hand, if your coffee comes out sour or weak and watery, you'll want your beans ground a bit more finely.

Figuring all this out and adjusting the grinder (known as 'dialing in') doesn't require a chemistry degree, but it does require some some trial and error on your part. Then along comes the Ninja AutoBarista Pro with Grind iQ, which removes the need for guesswork. Just pour in your whole beans, and Grind iQ takes it from there.

The first time you put new beans into the Ninja AutoBarista Pro's hopper, Grind iQ will determine the ideal grind size based on your particular beans. This process takes about five minutes or so, and it does expel a bit of coffee, but then it's good to go.

Whether you're making a regular cup of Drip Coffee, Espresso, Iced Coffee, or Cold Brew, the built-in stainless steel burr grinder grinds your beans just right for every cup. The machine automatically determines which of its 50 grind settings to use. No guessing or trial and error. It's just one less thing you need to think about before you've had that first cup of coffee in the morning.

I test over a dozen of the best coffee makers every year, but sometimes you just can't beat a good pour-over — and a large part of that comes down to the dripper you use. Lots of factors can change the way your coffee tastes (grind size, ratio of coffee to water, water quality, and temperature being just a few), but the design of your dripper has a big impact as well.

• See all coffee dripper deals at Amazon

For example, the size of the opening at the bottom affects the flow rate, the material (plastic, glass, metal, or ceramic) determines heat retention, and channels on the inside of the brewer can channel water over the whole bed of coffee.

Also bear in mind that different brewers take different filters, some of which are easier to find than others, or cost more. With all that in mind, here are 15 of the best coffee drippers to level up your brewing, with prices starting under $25.

The best brewers

• New blue, oat and green colors for the Ninja AutoBarista Pro
• It is an automatic espresso machine with separate user profiles
• Its list price is $949.99 / £899.99 (about AU$1,735)

The Ninja AutoBarista Pro Fully Automatic Espresso Machine is a new, multi-talented coffee maker that delivers excellent espresso, drip coffee and a kind of rapid cold brew for making cold drinks — and now it's available in three new colors.

The original black and stainless steel finish has been joined by versions in Midnight Blue, Oat Milk and Vista Green. They're all fairly sober colors, so for example the Vista Green is a dark, slightly metallic jade green, and that means they look subtle and classy rather than garish — which is fitting as these are premium products.

The big benefit of the new shades is that they don't have stainless steel's fingerprint magnetism: I've had many stainless steel appliances and they've all been a bit of a pain to keep shiny and pristine.

Other than the colors, the new models are identical to the original, and that's no bad thing. This is a clever coffee maker that solves a particular pain point for couples and shared kitchens.

A machine of many talents

As my caffeinated colleague Karen Freeman wrote when about the Ninja AutoBarista Pro, it's ideal for people who have completely different tastes in coffee. You can easily switch between beans and ground coffee, and you can create two different user profiles to store your brewing preferences. And setting up profiles is really simple.

We like this coffee machine a lot. In our Ninja AutoBarista Pro review we praised its "one-touch simplicity", good looks and of course, its coffee. "The espresso is the real deal," we wrote. "A true 9-bar espresso brew with crema."

The only real downside is its size: it's a pretty hefty appliance, coming in at just under 18 x 11 x 16 inches and weighing nearly 40lbs / 18kg. It's very solidly built, however, so it's likely to last a very long time.

I don't have this particular model but I do have a similarly multi-talented coffee maker from Philips, the LatteGo 5500. I think with machines like these there's an initial novelty period where you want to make all the coffees, but after that you tend to settle for a couple of favorites unless you're entertaining. And that's why we're so focused on the quality of the Ninja's espresso, because of course that's the core of all your coffee creations. In our tests the AutoBarista Pro delivered excellent espresso every time, and now it does it while matching your kitchen decor too.

The Ninja AutoBarista Pro currently retails at $949.99 / £899.99 / about AU$1,735.

I'm still yet to invest in one of the best espresso machines, but if there was ever a deal to tempt me to do so, then this might just be it. It's for the Breville Barista Express Espresso Machine, which is on sale at Amazon for $499.95 (was $692.99).

This is a machine that allows you to hone your coffee skills to make drinks exactly how you like them. Whether that be a flat white, cappuccino, or a simple espresso, the Barista Express can do it all. The whopping discount brings the highly-rated coffee machine down to the lowest price it's ever been.

Today's best coffee machine deal

If you've been looking for a TechRadar review of this coffee machine, then I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't find it. We actually reviewed it under its UK name, Sage the Barista Express. Whatever US or UK readers call it, it's the same machine, and we rated it an impressive 4.5 stars.

In particular, we loved how simple it was to use, the many adjustable settings to get your drink exactly right, and the "tasty espresso" that the machine is a pro at making. One of the downsides that our reviewer highlighted was the price, something that is made significantly more palatable with this deal.

If you're open to other machines, then take a browse of the best coffee makers for lattes and the best coffee makers. We've collated all our favorites based on features and budgets.

I live in a two coffee-drinker household, and my husband and I don't always agree on what makes a perfect cup of coffee. Luckily, with the Ninja AutoBarista Pro, we don't have to come to a compromise. This machine lets you easily swap out two different kinds of whole beans plus whatever pre-ground beans you like. In addition, you can set up two different user profiles for each kind of coffee beverage you make.

The Ninja AutoBarista Pro is a fully automatic coffee and espresso machine. You put whole beans in, and the machine brews your perfect cup of Espresso, Lungo, Drip Coffee, Americano, Cold-Pressed, Over Ice, Cortado, Flat White, Latte, Cappuccino, Iced Latte, or Cold Brew. In my Ninja AutoBarista Pro review, I mentioned that it comes with two interchangeable coffee bean hoppers and that you could set up two different user profiles for each type of coffee beverage.

He likes extra dark roast whereas I prefer more of a medium-dark roast. Thanks to Ninja's two-hopper system, we can each have our own beans and easily swap them out as needed by just switching hoppers. It's that simple.

The first time you put each hopper in place, Grind iQ will run a cycle to determine the perfect grind for each set of beans.

Additionally, there is a pre-ground coffee chute. You can choose to bypass the whole bean hopper if you prefer to use pre-ground beans at any time.

My own personal espresso

In addition to changing out the beans, you can also save two different user profiles for each type of coffee you can make with the Ninja AutoBarista Pro.

To set up the first user profile, you select a drink, choose the brew strength, temperature, and number of shots. Press the user profile button and the User One indicator will light up. Press and hold that button for a couple of seconds until you hear a confirmation beep. Now you're all set! Do the same thing for User Two, only you'll need to press the button twice so the second user profile is indicated before doing the long press.

Once you've set up user profiles, the Ninja AutoBarista Pro will always default to User One. If you're User Two, just press the user profile button twice, so the light above User Two is lit up. Then start your brew.

This makes a heck of a lot more sense than having two different coffee machines in one kitchen in order to accommodate two different coffee drinkers' preferences. It couldn't be easier to set up and use; frankly it probably took you longer to read this article than it will take to actually do it.

Ice cream for breakfast? Well, sure, why not, especially when it's a wholesome and nutritious high-protein ice cream you make in your Ninja Creami. It might even be healthier than the breakfast you had this morning.

There are several different models of the Ninja Creami, including the Swirl, which I used. You can read my Ninja Creami Swirl review here. Any model will do for making delicious and healthy breakfast 'ice cream', the Swirl can just make it into soft serve if you like. You must freeze your ingredients in the provided container for 24 hours, so be sure to plan a day ahead.

Protein shakes

I've made a number of different protein-forward Creami recipes, but it might take some experimentation to find the ones you like the best. The simplest option is just to freeze a protein shake (or your milk of choice plus protein powder.) If those taste too plain or icy, you can doctor them with extras like vanilla extract, cacao powder, xanthan gum, pudding mix, collagen powder, cottage cheese, or fruit. You can process them on the CreamiFit setting if your Creami has that; if not, the Light Ice Cream setting will work. Personally, I’m not a big fan of protein powders and shakes. But if you do like them, you’ll like them even better as ice cream.

Just yogurt

Another very simple high protein option is to simply freeze a tub or two of your favorite flavored yogurt. That won't need any doctoring to produce a perfectly textured frozen yogurt treat. I used the Frozen Yogurt setting and sometimes also put it through the Swirl mechanism for a true frozen yogurt shop experience. Of course you can skip that step if you have a regular or Deluxe Ninja Creami and not the Swirl model. Either way, you'll probably want to experiment with mix-ins and toppings. Granola, fruit, and/or a drizzle of nut butter make nice breakfast frozen yogurt toppings. I’ve frozen a number of yogurts; my favorites have been apple pie, tiramisu, and creme brulee.

High protein base

Honestly, I have not yet found the perfect 'healthy vanilla Creami base', but I tried this concoction of vanilla greek yogurt, skim milk, and cottage cheese. Sure, it was healthy, and the texture was great, but it didn’t taste like much. The mangoes on top helped! There are so many recipes online, I’ll have to keep searching.

Simple frozen fruit sorbets

I often eat chia pudding for breakfast, a simple concoction of chia seeds, almond milk, and Greek yogurt. I recently made my usual chia pudding, but instead of topping it with fruit, I topped it with seeds, granola, and a few scoops of simple Ninja Creami sorbet. The one-ingredient sorbet was simply a can of peaches in juice, dumped into a Ninja Creami container. I processed it on the Sorbet cycle. This is delicious and works with any kind of fruit. Pears, mangoes, and pineapple are particular favorites. Of course, you can just make simple fruit sorbet for a light, refreshing breakfast.

Açai bowls

I made my own açai bowl with store-bought frozen açai cubes. I blended them with some fruit, milk, and sweetener and used the Lite Ice Cream setting. I topped mine with fruit, granola, hemp seeds, and almond butter, but you could also add coconut flakes, honey, yogurt, other seeds, nuts, or anything you like. This was tasty.

Yogurt, milk, and fruit

A simple cherry vanilla Creami, basically just equal parts milk of choice, vanilla yogurt, and cherries came out quite nicely. You could do this with any kind of fruit you like.

Just the tip of the icecreamberg

I keep thinking of more recipe ideas I want to try, there are so many breakfast-appropriate Ninja Creami recipes out there. And if you want to make a real full-on whole-milk-cream-egg-sugar ice cream and eat that for breakfast? No judgement here. Life is short — eat dessert first!

If you want to up your coffee game at home, the Breville Bambino Plus is a fantastic addition, being compact enough to fit into any kitchen, while also being more than capable of brewing a delicious shot of espresso.

And right now it’s received a huge discount of AU$230 at Amazon, bringing it down to AU$499. That’s a great price, and normally I’d be singing its praises from the rooftops, but you can save even more by getting yourself an exclusive code from our dedicated Breville coupon page, then head directly to the maker and apply that unique one-time code at checkout.

Follow those steps and you can get the Bambino Plus for the even lower price of AU$449.10. Do note that the biggest saving only applies to the Stainless Steel, Black Truffle and Sea Salt colours. You can still get other colour options from Breville for AU$494.10 using the same discount code.

If you’ve ever thought going hands-on with an espresso machine would be too difficult to master, then the Bambino Plus is here to bust that myth. While it may look like a manual machine, it’s realistically a semi-automatic model.

You will need to adjust the grind size depending on whether you want a single or double shot, and then tamp the coffee grounds yourself, but Breville has preset the machine to grind the optimum amount each time.

To make things even easier, it benefits from the company’s Auto MilQ system to automatically foam milk, whether it be dairy or plant-based. To be honest, I was a little surprised to learn it had this feature, as I thought it would have been reserved for Breville’s more expensive models.

Our Breville Bambino Plus review gave it a strong 4.5 stars out of five when we originally put it through its paces. We called it a “fantastic machine that’s packed with smart features to help you make the smoothest and professional-looking coffee around”. We appreciated the fast heat-up time and the level of customisation on offer.

As with any coffee machine, you’ll need to keep on top of maintenance to keep it working at its best, and it won’t suit pod users, but that’s all there is to criticise. For many people, it’ll be one of the best espresso machines you can buy if you want a capable and more affordable choice compared to some premium options.

Ninja makes some of the best coffee makers we've tested here at TechRadar, and just a couple of months ago, it added another espresso machine to its collection. The Ninja AutoBarista Pro is the brand's first fully automatic espresso machine, meaning it takes care of the whole brewing process for you. Our reviewer awarded it a near-perfect four and a half stars out of five, but is it the right coffee maker for you?

• Shop all Prime Day deals in the US
• Shop all Prime Day deals in the UK

It's a tough choice, especially since one of the brand's other top coffee makers — the Ninja Luxe Café Pro — has received a big price cut for Amazon Prime Day. Here I'll weight up the differences between all three so you can make the best decision.

Personally, I'd opt for the Ninja Luxe Café Pro right now. Not only is it significantly cheaper for Prime Day, it also encourages you to experiment with brew settings to get your coffee tasting just the way you like it. Your priorities might differ though, so read on for the full low-down on these two premium coffee makers.

Price

• The Ninja Luxe Café Pro is the cheaper option
• It costs even less for Amazon Prime Day
• The Ninja AutoBarista Pro is still full price

The Ninja Luxe Café Pro has a list price of $749.99 / £699.99, but is currently discounted for Amazon Prime Day. In the US, you can pick it up for $599, while in the UK you can find it for £599. The Ninja AutoBarista Pro isn't included in any Prime Day deals. and is still retailing at its full list price of $949.99 / £899.99.

The Luxe Café Pro is therefore by far the cheaper of the two, costing around $300 / £300 less right now.

Features

• Both coffee makers are beginner-friendly
• Ninja AutoBarista Pro handles the whole brewing process
• Ninja Luxe Café Pro is more hands-on and encourages tinkering

Both these coffee makers are beginner-friendly, but the AutoBarista Pro takes care of the entire brewing process for you, while the Luxe Cafe Pro requires you to get a little bit hands-on, and makes it easier to tweak settings.

The Ninja Luxe Café Pro grinds your coffee into a portafilter basket, which you then tamp down using the lever on the side of the machine, and move under the brewing group (the part of the machine that dispenses hot, pressurized water) to begin pulling your shot of espresso. The machine will suggest appropriate brew settings, but if you're not satisfied with the taste, you can use the row of buttons on the front to change the temperature and strength, and use a dial inside the bean hopper to tweak the grind size.

With the AutoBarista Pro, the entire brewing process happens inside the machine, so you only have to tap the screen and wait for your drink to be dispensed. You can customize your drink if you like, but the AutoBarista doesn't encourage you to tinker as much as the Luxe Café Pro.

Both machines can brew espresso and drip coffee, as well as cold-brewed coffee. Both can also produce creamy foamed milk for lattes and cappuccinos, with different texture settings. Alternatively, you can raise the steam wand of either machine a few degrees and steam milk manually.

Neither coffee maker will dispense milk into your cup though. This is normal for a semi-automatic coffee maker, but not so common for a fully-automatic one. Whether you use the auto foaming function or use the steam wand manually, you'll need to pour it in yourself. Consider it an opportunity to practice your latte art!

Maintenance

Normally I have reservations about fully automatic coffee makers because brewing coffee inside a confined space can make an ideal breeding ground for mold. Heat and moisture, combined with a scattering of organic matter in the form of stray coffee grounds, mean things can get pretty nasty unless you dedicate time to properly cleaning it at the end of the day with allowing it to thoroughly dry out.

Ninja's designers have come up with a clever solution for the AutoBarista Pro — installing a fan in the coffee maker's case that cools and ventilates the interior, just like a PC case fan. All its removable parts are dishwasher-safe as well.

The Ninja Luxe Café is also easy to keep clean; just wash the portafilter and basket, clean the drip tray, purge and wipe down the steam wand, and flush the group set with hot water to keep it fresh.

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: sign up for a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire TV, Ring & Blink from £24.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: AirPods Pro 3 for a record-low price
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja, Tefal & Sage
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from under £10
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Father's Day: up to 50% off gifts & drinks
• Headphones: up to 50% off
• Laptops: from £149.99
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £125
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Eufy & Roborock
• Wearables: Garmin & Huawei from £36.99

I test over a dozen coffee makers every year, and I've discovered that great espresso machines don't have to be expensive. In fact, there are some truly excellent options around that perform just as well as pricier models, without burning a hole in your wallet. Here I've put together a list of my three top-rated budget espresso machines — and if you're lucky, you might find that they're even cheaper right now for Amazon Prime Day.

- Check our the full Amazon Prime Day sale

All these espresso machines are from reputable brands (De'Longhi, Breville, and Philips), so you can be confident that you're getting a well-made appliance with proper after-sales service too. Whether you're looking for a simple manual machine, or something that will handle the entire brewing process from bean to cup, I've got you covered.

1. Philips Baristina

Everyone who knows me will know that I'm obsessed with this little espresso machine. You see, usually bean-to-cup machines are expensive and messy, but not this one. Its 'one swipe' brewing means you never have to weigh anything; just insert the empty portafilter handle and the machine will do the rest, grinding and tamping the beans, then whisking them over to be extracted.

During my tests, the coffee it produced was consistently well-extracted and flavorsome, and because the brewing process doesn't happen inside an enclosed case, as it does with most automatic coffee machines, you don't need to worry about things getting damp and dirty inside. The Baristina is as easy to clean as a manual coffee maker, but doesn't require any barista skills. Ideal if you're looking for your very first coffee maker, or want to upgrade from pods to fresh beans.

Read my full Philips Baristina review

2. De'Longhi Dedica Duo

Another of my favorite compact coffee makers, the De'Longhi Dedica Duo is the right machine if you're willing to try honing your own barista skills, and want a manual espresso machine rather than an automatic one.

The Dedica Duo is super affordable, and you're likely to find it even cheaper for Prime Day. Most espresso machines in this price bracket are quite poorly made and deliver inconsistent results, but De'Longhi has a reputation to maintain, and the little Dedica Duo is just as solid and reliable as any of the company's premium coffee makers.

Read our full De'Longhi Dedica Duo review

3. Breville Bambino Plus

The little Bambino Plus is often recommended as a good espresso machine for first-timers, and with its easy controls, small but solid build, and entry-level price, it lives up to that reputation. One of my favorite features here, which you won't find on either of the other coffee makers, is its auto milk wand, which lets you choose from three different milk temperatures and three milk texture settings. You can steam your milk manually if you prefer, but it's a great option that lowers the barrier to entry for beginners.

Like the De'Longhi machine above, the Bambino Plus is able to sustain the pressure and temperature necessary for consistently extracted coffee every time, despite its small size. You won't need to worry about your coffee suddenly tasting different for no apparent reason, as you do with some affordably-priced espresso machines. A solid and dependable little brewer.

Read our full Breville Bambino Plus review

More Prime Day deals

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

We're entering the final hours of Amazon Prime Day, but there's still time to grab a great deal. on a super versatile AeroPress coffee maker (or two). The deals include both the AeroPress Original and the compact AeroPress Go, both in a rainbow of colors. Even if you already own one, like I do, you might be tempted to grab another while they're going cheap.

There's also a great deal on the AeroPress Original XL, which is a great size for making a large carafe of coffee to share at home, at the office, or at camp. Pair it with the AeroPress Original XL Flow Filter Cap, which prevents coffee dripping before you start to press the plunger, and you've got total control over how your coffee is extracted - all for a bargain Prime Day price.

AeroPress Prime Day deals

The only thing missing is the new AeroPress Manual Coffee Grinder, which is still full price, but I'm keeping an eye on it, and will let you know as soon as it gets its first price cut. It's the best manual coffee grinder I've ever used, and it's not even close.

More Prime Day deals

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

I did something out of character this year on Amazon Prime Day. On day one of the sales, I checked out my basket full of goodies; mostly household essentials that needed a top-up like my favorite shampoo, but also an impulse buy on a Breville Iced Coffee Maker so I can curb my spending on Starbucks iced coffee.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

Usually, I wait a little longer, so the buyer's remorse hit fast, but it was all worth it in the end; I've used my new iced coffee maker twice now, saving me about £12 already on iced caramel lattes from Starbucks (give or take a little when you factor in home-ground coffee beans, milk and caramel syrup).

Considering it's at an almost record-low price of £21.99 (was £46.99), this single-serve gadget has almost paid for itself already, and it's going to be my top recommendation for those who have limited counter space but prefer caffeine of the cool variety. It comes with its own tumbler (of course, you can use any cup, but the giant one provided is great for slow sipping), a reusable coffee filter, and easy-to-follow instructions.

Today's best Breville Iced deals

More iced coffee maker deals

Really, the Breville Iced is basically a filter coffee machine that's optimised for iced coffees; the max water line and recommended coffee ground volume are set with a view to the brewed coffee being poured over ice in a tumbler below.

In theory, then, you can also use it as a cheap filter coffee machine; I've not tried it myself yet to see if the heat of the coffee or the distance between the tap and a standard mug or coffee pot would be prohibitive, but I imagine it'd do just fine. For £20, a small countertop footprint and a sizeable tumbler I can also use when I'm out and about, I'll take it.

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: sign up for a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire TV, Ring & Blink from £24.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: AirPods Pro 3 for a record-low price
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja, Tefal & Sage
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from under £10
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Father's Day: up to 50% off gifts & drinks
• Headphones: up to 50% off
• Laptops: from £149.99
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £125
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Eufy & Roborock
• Wearables: Garmin & Huawei from £36.99

Looking for a great coffee maker this Amazon Prime Day? Look no further — one of my all-time favorite espresso machines is half price, and you don't even need to be a Prime subscriber to get it. Right now, you can grab the superb Philips Baristina for just £225.99 (was £449.99) at Amazon — a price cut that's too good to miss.

• Shop all Amazon Prime Day coffee maker deals

So why the price crash? Well, I suspect it has something to do with the Philips Baristina Latte, which launched a few days ago. The new addition has all the same features as the original Baristina, plus an integrated automatic milk frother for preparing creamy lattes and airy cappuccinos. It's available now for $499.99 from Target, but if you're mostly interested in espresso, the original Baristina is the one for you.

What I love about the Baristina is the way it combines the best features of automatic and manual coffee makers. It handles all the work of weighing out the correct dose of coffee, grinding it, tamping it down, and then pulling a shot, but because this doesn't happen inside an enclosed case, cleanup is a piece of cake.

Fully automatic coffee makers can get gross inside, with moisture and stray coffee grounds making a nice home for bacterial and mold. Here, however, you only need to wash out the portafilter basket, keep the drip tray clean, and run a bit of hot water through the groupset after brewing.

I admit that I'm also charmed by the way the Baristina automatically slides the portafilter handle underneath the brewing group once the coffee has been ground and tamped. And, of course, the resulting coffee is delicious as well. Take a look at my full Philips Baristina review for more details.

More Prime Day coffee maker deals

If a half-price Philips Baristina doesn't tempt you, here's a hand-picked selection of other great deals on coffee makers this Amazon Prime Day.

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

Prime Day isn't just about Amazon anymore. The same great discounts can be found at other retailers, and crucially, you don't have to be an Amazon Prime member to unlock these savings.

I've taken a look at some of the best deals for vacuums and coffee machines at Amazon, and found a bunch of the same savings at Argos. In fact, two are actually better priced than Amazon's own discounts.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

You can get the Delonghi ECAM220.22.GB automatic coffee machine at Argos for £270 (was £320) and the Dyson V12 Detect Slim cordless vacuum for £429.99 (was £549.99). That's a larger 15% and 20% saving, respectively, compared to Amazon.

I've included both of these deals in the list below, alongside a few other great vacuum and coffee machine deals at Argos that match the same discounts at Amazon. Have you found better deals at Argos? Let me know in the comments below.

Today's best coffee machine deals at Argos

Today's best vacuum deals at Argos

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & Tefal
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from £5
• Fans: from £20
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Gaming: £90 off PlayStation 5
• Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
• Laptops: from £149
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
• Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura

Nespresso machines make brewing consistently tasty coffee easy, without any of the mess of using fresh coffee grounds — and they're going cheap for Amazon Prime Day. As TechRadar's resident coffee expert and trained barista, I've rounded up a collection of my five favorite Nespresso machines — all of which happen to be on sale for Prime Day in both the US and the UK.

• Prime Day coffee deals in the US
• Prime Day coffee deals in the UK

There's something here for every coffee-lover, whether you want a super-simple machine that makes consistently tasty coffee and will fit into the tiniest kitchen, or a premium coffee maker that can whip up a latte at the press of a button. All of these Nespresso machines have been tested and recommended by our team of reviewers, so you can be confident they'll all deliver great results.

1. Ninja Prestige DualBrew System

Can't decide between espresso and drip coffee in the morning? The Ninja Prestige DualBrew System (also known as the Espresso & Coffee Maker Barista System) does both. This all-in-one caffeine station makes delicious espresso using Nespresso Original-style capsules (I tested it with some I bought from a local coffee roaster), which you can brew in three different sizes, with a height-adjustable drip tray so you can use your favorite cups with no splashing. Want to turn your shot into a cappuccino or latte? Use the milk frother on the back of the machine.

On the left-hand side of the DualBrew System you have a feature-packed drip coffee maker, with features including a timer (so you can prepare everything before bed and wake to freshly-brewed coffee in the morning), a drip-stop valve, and a smart hotplate that keeps your coffee hot without scalding it. It's one of the best drip coffee makers I've tested — and it even makes cold-brew.

Read our full Ninja Prestige DualBrew System review

2. Nespresso Lattissima One

Most Nespresso machines just make espresso, but the Lattissima One (made by De'Longhi) also includes an automatic milk frother for lattes, cappuccinos and macchiatos at the tap of a button. It's ideal if you're the only coffee-lover in your household and want a personal machine for preparing single servings.

Like the Ninja Prestige DualBrew System above, it takes Nespresso Original capsules, which means you have a huge choice of drinks from big brands and indie roasters alike. After testing your tap water with the litmus strip provided and setting the hardness on the machine, just drop in a pod and use the three buttons to choose your preferred size and type of drink.

Our reviewer Emily Peck was surprised by how quietly the Lattissima One went about its work, and found the resulting coffee delicious. She had to consult the manual to check what each button does (they perform multiple functions) but once she had that down, she was making great coffees with ease.

Read our full Nespresso Lattissima One review

3. Wacaco Nanopresso

The Nanopresso is an ingenious little coffee maker that relies on elbow grease rather than an electric pump to extract your espresso. The standard version works with ground coffee only, but it's even more convenient if you opt for the version with an adapter for Nespresso Original capsules. After all, who wants to carry loose coffee grounds around when they're exploring the great outdoors?

Our tester noted that it feels durable and rugged (ideal for throwing in a backpack), and although you'll need to familiarize yourself with the various unusual-looking components before taking it out for the first time, you'll soon be able to assemble it and start brewing in moments.

"All you need is access to hot water and some kind of stable surface to set everything up," said our tester, who was seriously impressed by the resulting espresso. "The Nanopresso actually had us asking why coffee had become so complicated, when all you really need for a wake-up call is a small and mighty piece of kit like this," she concluded. Why indeed?

Read our full Wacaco Nanopresso review

4. Nespresso Vertuo Pop

The Nespresso Vertuo Pop is made by Breville (Sage in the UK), so you can be confident that it's well-made and durable, despite its budget price tag. This mini Nespresso machine is always an affordable option, and it's even cheaper in this week's Amazon Prime Day sale. It takes dome-shaped Nespresso Vertuo capsules, which include a wide variety of regular and flavored coffees, including special editions like Coconut and Vanilla (designed to be made over ice) and Pistachio Vanilla.

Our tester Jennifer Oksien called it "a fabulous entry-level coffee maker", and owning one myself, I'm inclined to agree. It heats up in about a minute (just power it on and wait until the light on top stops blinking), after which you can simply slide in the pod, press down the lid, and hit the brew button. There are no options to choose between different drink sizes because Vertuo pods do that for you — the machine detects which one you're using and uses the appropriate amount of water without you doing a thing.

Read our full Nespresso Vertuo Pop review

5. Nespresso Vertuo Next

The Nespresso Vertuo Next is a step up from the Pop, and is noticeably taller, with a larger water tank, more space for your cup, and a bigger bin for used capsules. It's a piece of cake to use as well, and our tester Sophie Bird deemed it the simplest coffee maker she'd ever used — and considering how many coffee machines we test here at TechRadar, that's saying something. She timed the whole brewing process from start to sip, and found it took just 100 seconds, making this an excellent option if you're pressed for time in the morning.

She found the Vertuo Next virtually mess-free as well, noting that there was no splashing when the machine was dispensing coffee — largely thanks to the height-adjustable drip tray. The Vertuo Next is taller than the Pop above, so you can comfortably use larger cups (such as your favorite takeaway cup), and has a bigger water tank for larger brews.

Read our full Nespresso Vertuo Next review

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: sign up for a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire TV, Ring & Blink from £24.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: AirPods Pro 3 for a record-low price
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja, Tefal & Sage
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from under £10
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Father's Day: up to 50% off gifts & drinks
• Headphones: up to 50% off
• Laptops: from £149.99
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £125
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Eufy & Roborock
• Wearables: Garmin & Huawei from £36.99

Spending $5 on a good take-out coffee adds up over time, which is why single-serve coffee machines are a quick and easy way to give you your morning pick-me-up for a lot less.

Now that it's Amazon Prime Day, the idea of me returning to the best coffee machines is rather tempting, especially after seeing this offer on the Keurig K-Mini Mate machine for $89.99 down from $109.99.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

One of the best parts about the Keurig K-Mini Mate is that you can pretend to be the barista you've always wanted to be by just the push of a button, and impress your friends with your 'skills' in the process. However, just as it is with every coffee pod machine, restocking pods is an additional cost.

But Prime Day isn't just about scoring a cheap coffee machine, it's one of the best times for you existing coffee machine owners to stock up on your favorite brands and flavors.

Today's best Keurig K-Mini Mate deal

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

The Ninja Luxe Café Pro is one of the most popular semi-automatic espresso machines around, and it's received a generous price cut for Prime Day, knocking it down from $749.99 to $599. That's a respectable offer, but if you're looking for a real bargain on a coffee maker, I suggest checking out De'Longhi's offerings instead — specifically the excellent De'Longhi La Specialista Arte Evo, which is now just $399.95 (was $699.95) and was rated five stars in our review.

• Check out all the Prime Day deals at Amazon

Like the Luxe Café Pro, the La Specialista Arte Evo can handle the trickiest parts of the espresso-making process for you, but lets you take as much control as you want as you develop your barista skills. Both machines grind coffee for you directly into the portafilter basket and help you tamp it down perfectly, then make it easy to get exactly the right extraction for consistently delicious and well-balanced results.

We awarded the De'Longhi La Specialista Arte Evo a full five stars in our review thanks to its ease of use, smart looks, and solid build, and it's a great alternative to the Ninja machine if your budget won't stretch quite that far. Sure, it lacks a few of the Ninja's features. such as a tamping lever and automatic milk frother, but it has all the essentials covered and looks great too.

More great coffee maker deals

If neither of the coffee makers above is right for you, there are lots more savings on espresso machines from big brands this Prime Day. As TechRadar's resident coffee expert, and a trained barista, I've picked out a handful of today's best offers.

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

I test over a dozen coffee makers every year here at TechRadar, and Breville's espresso and drip coffee machines are consistently some of the best around. That quality doesn't come cheap, but during Amazon Prime Day I'm hoping to find one of my favorites at a deep discount.

All of these machines are totally beginner-friendly, and will help you achieve consistently delicious results even if you've never tried making coffee at home before.

First, a word on names: these coffee makers are sold under the name 'Breville' in the US and Australia, but 'Sage' in the UK. They are the exact same coffee makers, but the name 'Breville' was already taken by a different company in the UK. Now, on with my wish list.

1. Breville Barista Touch Impress with Cold Extraction

If you're looking for an espresso machine this Prime Day, the Barista Touch Impress with Cold Extraction is a great pick. It's normally pretty pricey, but with the right discount it'll be easy to recommend, helping you achieve perfectly balanced espresso every time even if you've never touched a portafilter before.

The Impress Puck System is my favorite feature, letting you pull down a lever to tamp your freshly ground coffee without having to remove the portafilter handle from beneath the grinder. You never have to move a filter basket full of loose coffee and risk spilling it, and the tactile feeling of the lever is very satisfying.

Cold brewing involves allowing the bed of ground coffee to infuse in cold water (a process known as blooming) before it’s extracted at high pressure. The result is a smooth-tasting drink that’s a good alternative to traditionally-made cold brew, in a fraction of the time. Delicious.

Read our full Breville Barista Touch Impress with Cold Extraction review

2. Breville Luxe Brewer Thermal

The Luxe Brewer Thermal is the best drip coffee maker I've tested to date, and I've got my eyes peeled for a good Prime Day discount so I can take the plunge and pick one up for myself.

Brewing a batch of drip coffee is, fundamentally, a very straightforward process – you just pour hot water onto ground coffee and let it drip into a carafe – and the Luxe Brewer Thermal keeps things simple while providing a handful of genuinely useful customization options. In my tests, the default settings worked well, but if you don't get just the right flavor from your beans you can tweak the bloom time (how long the coffee is pre-infused with hot water), bloom temperature, brew time, and brew temperature to fine-tune the extraction.

It can also prepare a batch of cold-brewed coffee. Add ground beans and water, and your coffee will be steeped cold for 24 hours. The machine will beep to alert you when it's ready, so all you need to do is add ice and enjoy. Perfect for hot summer days.

Read our full Breville Luxe Brewer Thermal review

3. Breville Barista Express

The Barista Express is a mid-range semi-automatic espresso machine that's a nice step up if you're currently using a capsule coffee maker and want to start getting more hands-on with your morning brew. The Express can dose and grind the beans for you, but you'll tamp the coffee yourself, use the razor tool to get it to the perfect level, and steam your own milk. It's a lot of fun once you get the hang of it.

There are some nice touches too, like the cool-touch handle on the steam wand, aforementioned levelling tool, and a temperature gauge on the milk pitcher to make sure you don't scald your foam (nobody wants that).

This is one of Breville's older semi-automatics, so if we're lucky we could see some very generous deals this Prime Day, potentially knocking several hundred off the regular price.

Read our full Breville Barista Express review

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: sign up for a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire TV, Ring & Blink from £24.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: AirPods Pro 3 for a record-low price
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja, Tefal & Sage
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from under £10
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Father's Day: up to 50% off gifts & drinks
• Headphones: up to 50% off
• Laptops: from £149.99
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £125
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Eufy & Roborock
• Wearables: Garmin & Huawei from £36.99

Amazon Prime Day is imminent, but Argos has beaten Amazon to the punch with its catchily named 'Seize the sale' event, which includes offers on home tech, toys, garden essentials for the summer weather, and more. You can view the full Argos sale here.

• See all early Prime Day deals at Amazon UK

I have to say that Argos' sale is pretty light on tech deals, and sadly isn't even heavy on cooling options. However, there are a few nice deals in there, including the LG C5 55-inch OLED TV for a record-low £989 (down from £1,099) with free delivery, and the five-star Philips Baristina bean-to-cup coffee machine for a bargain £255 (down from £299), plus a Dyson AM09 Hot + Cool Fan for £289 (down from £399).

Argos 'Seize the sale' Quick Links

• See all Appliance deals
• See all Garden & DIY deals
• See all Health & Beauty deals
• See all Tech deals
• See all Toys & Games deals

My top 12 Argos 'Seize the sale' deals

More of the best Amazon Prime Day deals

• Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £21.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & Tefal
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from £5
• Fans: from £27.59
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Headphones: up to 50% off
• Laptops: from £149.99
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £125
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Eufy & Roborock
• Wearables: Garmin & Huawei from £36.99

Coffee machines are always a solid shout when Amazon Prime Day comes around, and more often than not you can score a fairly reasonable deal, especially for entry-level models like the Nespresso Vertuo Pop.

I've been out of the Nespresso game for a few years — my machine totally gave up on me and now it's resting in peace — but if I were to reboot my relationship with the best Nespresso machines, the Vertuo Pop would be the first place I'd start.

• Browse all the early Prime Day deals

In Amazon's early Prime Day sale, one of the most affordable coffee makers just got cheaper in both the US and UK. The Vertuo Pop+ has dropped to $98.98 from $159 in the US, while UK shoppers can pick up the standard Vertuo Pop for £59.99 (was £86.16). But be warned, the UK deal is only available for a few more hours, so take Amazon's big scary red countdown very seriously.

Best Nespresso Vertuo Pop deals

Though there are deals on both sides of the pond, there are slight differences between the Vertuo Pop and Vertuo Pop+. The main one is the latter model has a larger water tank, meaning less trips back and forth to the sink for refills.

The Pop+ also has automatic lid closure and can accommodate larger mugs. But aside from their minor differences, both are solid options for beginners, or for those who were once in the Nespresso game, and now want to make a comeback.

We gave the Vertuo Pop a respectable 4 stars in our review for a number of reasons, but it was convenience and speed that impressed us the most. It's built on a one-touch system, which produces a tasty cup of coffee in four ways (Mug/Coffee, Gran Lungo, Double Espresso, and Espresso) in less than 30 seconds, a quick and easy way to get your morning caffeine fix.

The only downside to owning any Nespresso machine is the pods, meaning you have to keep restocking. Fortunately, the Vertuo Pop comes with a 12-capsule variety pack to get you started.

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: sign up for a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire TV, Ring & Blink from £24.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: AirPods Pro 3 for a record-low price
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja, Tefal & Sage
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from under £10
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Headphones: up to 50% off
• Laptops: from £149.99
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £125
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Eufy & Roborock
• Wearables: Garmin & Huawei from £36.99

Amazon Prime Day is a great time to snap up a new coffee maker, with huge discounts on top-rated machines from big brands. Personally I'm a big fan of De'Longhi's espresso machines, and they usually receive deep discounts for Amazon Prime Day that make them even easier to recommend.

Here I've rounded up three De'Longhi coffee makers that I think are likely to get big price cuts this Prime Day. All of these machines have received a full five stars from our expert reviewers, and would be an excellent pick for your kitchen.

There are two semi-automatic coffee makers here, with different levels of guidance to help you brew the ideal espresso, and a fully automatic machine that handles the entire process for you; so whether you're looking for your first coffee maker or just want to upgrade, there's something for you here.

De'Longhi La Specialista Touch

The La Specialista Touch is one of the best semi-automatic coffee makers I've used, and its surprisingly compact size makes it a great option for small kitchens.

Whether you're looking for your first espresso machine, or planning to shift from a capsule coffee maker to fresh beans, it will guide you through the process of preparing a perfectly extracted shot of espresso and help you understand how different factors (such as dosage, grind size, and tamping) affect the flavor of your drink.

It comes with a smart dosing tool and a calibrated tamper that help you with the more technical parts of the process, and its Bean Adapt system suggests specific brew settings for the beans you're using, but you're also encouraged to tinker until you're satisfied with the way the coffee tastes. Once you are, you can save your custom settings for future use.

The La Specialista Touch maintains steady temperature and pressure so your results are consistent each time, and it has an excellent steam wand as well, with automatic and manual foaming options. A great all-rounder.

Read our full De'Longhi La Specialista Touch review

De'Longhi La Specialista Arte Evo

Another great semi-automatic espresso machine from De'Longhi, the La Specialista Arte Evo is similar to the Touch, but doesn't give you quite as much of a helping hand along the way. It's still easy to use, with an excellent burr grinder and highly customizable settings, but it offers a set of physical control dials rather than a touchscreen, and lets you take the reins earlier on in the process.

New home baristas shouldn't be deterred though; the Arte Evo is a joy to use, and makes mastering essential skills fun. Our reviewer Cesci Angell soon got grips with it (partly thanks to De'Longhi's handy YouTube videos) and reported that "thanks to the helpful tips in the quick guide it was easy to determine the perfect grind coarseness, dosage, and techniques to create tasty cups of coffee."

This coffee maker is great value at full price, and often gets a very generous discount that makes it even easier to recommend.

Read our full De'Longhi La Specialista Arte Evo review

De'Longhi Rivelia

The De'Longhi Rivelia is a fully automatic espresso machine,. meaning it handles the entire coffee-making process for you. Just add your beans, water and milk, press a button, and you'll have a perfect espresso, macchiato, or cappuccino ready to enjoy in a couple of minutes. Our reviewer Josephine Watson called it "easily one of the best bean-to-cup machines available right now" and awarded it a full five stars.

The Rivelia also has one of my favorite features: a swappable bean hopper, so you can switch between two different types of coffee on the fly. I drink regular coffee in the morning and decaf during the afternoon, so this makes my life a whole lot easier. The Bean Adapt technology adapts the brew settings to suit whichever coffee you're using, so you don't have to worry about tweaking factors like dosage, temperature, and pre-infusion time yourself.

There's a huge menu of drinks (all of which are customizable to suit your tastes) and the color display makes it simple to find the one you want to prepare. The Rivelia is surprisingly compact as well, and won't dominate your kitchen like some automatic coffee makers. If you want to enjoy delicious coffee with the minimum of fuss, it's one to watch on Prime Day.

Read our full De'Longhi Rivelia review

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: sign up for a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire TV, Ring & Blink from £24.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: AirPods Pro 3 for a record-low price
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja, Tefal & Sage
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from under £10
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Father's Day: up to 50% off gifts & drinks
• Headphones: up to 50% off
• Laptops: from £149.99
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £125
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Eufy & Roborock
• Wearables: Garmin & Huawei from £36.99

Ninja AutoBarista Pro: two-minute review

The Ninja AutoBarista Pro makes crafting coffee and espresso drinks easy. The espresso is the real deal, a true 9-bar espresso brew with crema. It also brews regular drip coffee and a kind of rapid cold brew for iced drinks. From there you can froth your milk of choice, dairy or non-dairy, hot or cold, to create the beverage you get out of bed for.

A dozen pre-sets give you one-touch simplicity. Grind iQ chooses the grind size and dose based your beans. But if you prefer to tweak your settings to your personal taste (strength, grind, temperature, size, froth type,) you can save up to two separate user profiles. The Ninja AutoBarista Pro comes with two bean hoppers so you can easily swap out two different kinds of beans in seconds. Plus there is a chute just for pre-ground coffee, so you always have that option.

I tested out all 12 of the espresso and coffee drinks on the pre-set menu: Espresso, Lungo, Americano, Latte, Cortado, Cappuccino, Flat White, Drip Coffee, Over Ice (coffee), Iced Latte, Cold-Brew (coffee) and Cold-Pressed (espresso). They all came out great, though I noticed that the hot coffee drinks aren't super hot. I'd say they are immediate drinking temperature, not blow-on-it-and-sip temperature.

There is some simple cleaning and maintenance involved, but the machine does perform automatic rinses and has an interior fan to keep things as clean as possible before you have to do anything.

Wake up and have an incredible barista-style coffee drink with just the touch of a button or two. I don't know about you, but this is all I can manage before having coffee in the morning!

Ninja AutoBarista Pro: price and availability

• Available at Ninja's website and Best Buy
• Retails for $949.99 (£718 / AU$1,354)
• Will come in several color options

As of this writing, you can buy the Ninja AutoBarista Pro on Ninja's own website and third-party stores for $949.99/ £899.99. That works out at about AU$1,350, but at the time of writing it's not yet available in Australia. The color shown in my photos, stainless steel, is the only color currently available, but three other colors are coming: Midnight Blue, Oat Milk, and Bronze.

Ninja AutoBarista Pro: specs

Ninja AutoBarista Pro: design

• Professional barista look
• All-inclusive machine
• Touch screen

The Ninja AutoBarista Pro looks like what its name would suggest: an automatic professional barista. Which is pretty much exactly what it is. It's designed to be simple to use and the most efficient way to get the coffee or espresso drink you crave.

The coffee hopper clicks into place on top of the machine. The Ninja AutoBarista Pro comes with two hoppers, so you can keep two different kinds of coffee on hand and easily swap out the hoppers as needed. Each time you put new beans in the hopper, you can run a "Grind iQ" cycle, which allows the machine to automatically dial in the perfect grind size for your beans. There is also a pre-ground coffee chute.

From the top, you can access the water reservoir if you prefer to add water that way as opposed to removing the whole tank and bringing it to your water source.

A large 80-ounce water reservoir sits on the right side of the machine. Inside the reservoir is a water filtration tablet, which should be changed out every two months. The tablet holder has a dial you can set, visible from the outside of the tank, as a reminder of when to change out the filtration tablet.

The left side of the machine has a removable door; inside the door is the brew unit. About once a month, you'll need to pull out the brew unit and give that a thorough rinse and the machine interior a wipe-down.

On the front of the machine is a large touch screen where you make your selections. Underneath that are the dual dispensing spouts, adjustable coffee cup platform, milk wand, and milk jug. The machine does rinse itself regularly, and the milk wand purges itself after use, but you'll need to empty out the drip tray once every few brews. Of course you need to clean the milk jug, steam wand, puck bin, and bean hoppers as needed. Periodically, you'll also need to run a cleaning cycle and descale cycle.

Before using the machine for the first time, you'll need to test your water's hardness with the included test strip. You'll have the opportunity to enter your water's hardness level during setup.

• Design score: 4.5/5

Ninja AutoBarista Pro: performance

• Create just about any hot or cold coffee or espresso drink
• Froth your hot or cold dairy or non-dairy milk
• Very easy to create custom beverages

When I wake up in the morning, what gets me out of bed is the thought of that first cup of coffee. The last thing I want to do is have to go through a multi-step process to get that caffeine kick. The Ninja AutoBarista Pro makes it so easy to get an excellent cup of joe quickly. There are 12 preset coffee and espresso drinks, but each one can be customized to your preferred bean strength, brewing temperature, and drink size. I tried all 12 of the drinks at least once and they were all very good. I used a dark roast coffee for my testing and started with the default settings on everything.

The temperature on the hot drinks was not what I'd call super hot. I found it immediately drinkable, but if you like your coffee to come out hotter than that, you might be disappointed.

I started with just a standard espresso using the default settings, which is a 2.5:1 water to grounds ratio. This was very strong, as expected. The Ninja AutoBarista Pro does produce a crema on its espresso drinks. I made a cold-pressed espresso, which you brew over ice. It brews at a lower temperature and does take longer than brewing a standard espresso, which makes it taste a bit smoother and less bitter. It's still a very strong espresso drink. I tried a lungo, which is a longer pull than the standard espresso, but still a very strong drink with the default settings. I made an americano, which is an espresso with extra water added. This was still strong but good.

When you make milky drinks, you pour your milk of choice into the jug, choose dairy or non-dairy, and the Ninja AutoBarista Pro properly steams and/or froths your milk for your selected beverage. Then it's up to you to actually pour the milk into your espresso.

I made a cortado, which is espresso plus enough steamed milk to cut the bitterness. It does indeed do that, it's very good even with the almond milk I used. I made a flat white, which is an espresso plus steamed milk, more milk than a cortado but less than a latte. I also made this with almond milk and it was good. Then I made a latte, which has a bit more steamed milk plus a bit of froth. I used skim dairy milk this time with great results.

The cappuccino, which is espresso plus equal parts steamed milk and froth, was foamy and amazing. I used the default settings and skim dairy milk. This might have been my favorite hot beverage. I also made an iced latte, which is cold-pressed espresso plus lightly frothed milk. This turned out slightly foamier than I expected for an iced drink, but it was delicious.

In addition to the espresso-based drinks above, the Ninja AutoBarista Pro also makes drip coffee. The standard size cup is eight ounces, but you can make it larger or smaller as you like.

The default drip coffee setting was a little weak to my tastes, but that was easily adjusted and I made a stronger brew the next time.

The Ninja's AutoBarista Pro's cold-brew setting isn't a true cold brew. That would take hours. It does, however, brew at a lower temperature for a smoother, sweeter taste and a still-warm-but-cooler brew. The first time I tried this, I thought I selected 4 ounces but it seems to have been 40 ounces. I just stopped it before my mug overflowed. The taste was very nice and smooth. I did it again and brewed six ounces, which came out great.

I made an Over Ice coffee and it wasn't bad, but kind of weak compared to the Cold-Brew.

• Performance score: 5/5

Should you buy the Ninja AutoBarista Pro?

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

Ninja AutoBarista Pro: also consider

How I tested the Ninja AutoBarista Pro

I spent a couple of weeks in a very caffeinated state. I brewed and drank every beverage on the touch-screen menu at least once: espresso, lungo, americano, latte, cortado, cappuccino, flat white, drip coffee, cver ice (coffee), iced latte, cold-brew (coffee) and cold-pressed (espresso). I performed standard maintenance on the machine, such as emptying the drip tray every few brews, cleaning the milk wand and frothing jug after every use, and removing and rinsing the brew unit.

First reviewed June 2026

• The Philips Baristina Latte is a bean-to-cup coffee maker with steam wand
• The auto wand has three texture settings, and works with plant or dairy milk
• It's available now direct from Philips for $499.99 (about £380 / AU$710)

Philips has just launched a new version of one of my all-time favorite coffee makers. The Philips Baristina Latte solves the biggest issue with the original Baristina by adding an automatic steam wand to make foaming milk a breeze.

The classic Philips Baristina is available bundled with a separate milk frother (which my colleague Max Langridge awarded four stars out of five in his review), but the designers at Philips took note of feedback from customers who wanted an easier way to achieve just the right milk texture for drinks such as lattes and cappuccinos.

The new Smart Wand milk system steams milk automatically, and has a simple dial that lets you choose between hot milk, fine foam, and airy froth. It's designed to work with both dairy milk and plant-based alternatives such as oat and almond, and has no hidden internal parts that are difficult to clean.

Silky milk

The Baristina Latte is available to buy now direct from Philips for $499.99 (about £380 / AU$710). Like the original Baristina, it's available in black and white, and has a sleek design with a matte finish, clean lines, and simple controls.

I don't yet know when the Baristina Latte will launch in the UK, but I'll put it through its paces and bring you a full review as soon as it does

If lattes aren't really your thing, the original Philips Baristina is now just $225.99 at Amazon (was $449.99). That's half price, and the best deal I've seen ahead of Amazon Prime Day next week.

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

The Philips Baristina is easily one of the best coffee makers I've used this year. It makes brewing coffee with fresh beans as easy as using pods, is a piece of cake to maintain, and right now it's down to $225.99 at Amazon (was $449.99). It was already one of the cheapest bean-to-cup coffee makers at full price, and at half price it's ridiculously good value. Why wait for Amazon Prime Day?

• Browse all early Amazon Prime Day deals

The Baristina combines the best features of automatic and manual coffee machines. It handles all the grinding, dosing, tamping and brewing for you, so you don't need any barista skills to make perfect coffee, and because it doesn't all happen inside an enclosed case, you don't need to worry about tricky cleaning. It's so effortless, I gave it a full five stars in my full Philips Baristina review.

If you're not in the US, scroll down to the bottom of this article for today's best deals on the Philips Baristina where you are.

Using the Baristina couldn't be easier; just load your beans into the hopper on top, fill the water tank, then push the portafilter handle into its slot and slide it to the right. Hit the brew button and the Baristina will grind the perfect quantity of coffee into the filter basket, tamp it down, and then slide the handle to the right and dispense the coffee right into your cup.

When it's done, the handle will release so you can pull it free and knock out the coffee grounds. Then just sit back and enjoy your espresso.

The Baristina looks fantastic too, with a sleek, minimalist design that doesn't try to copy the look of a traditional coffee maker, but will look perfectly at home in a modern kitchen. Note that this deal applies to the black colorway; the white version is on offer as well, but the discount isn't quite so generous.

The only downside is that you can't adjust the grind size, so you'll have to choose beans that work with the machine's default settings. I got lucky first time, but if your coffee tastes under- or over-extracted then you'll need to try a different bean.

Otherwise, this little espresso machine is hard to fault, and I've been raving about it ever since I tested it back in February. I just can't get enough of the way the filter basket moves itself ready to begin brewing.

If you're not in the US, here are today's best deals on the Philips Baristina coffee maker where you are.

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

If you love coffee, it's a good idea to keep a stock of certain essentials to make sure you're always ready to brew. Depending on how you prefer to prepare your drinks, having a stock of filter papers, descaling liquid, and cleaning tablets will ensure you're never left in a lurch, and your best coffee maker stays clean as a whistle.

Normally I'd recommend waiting until Prime Day (running from June 23 to June 26) to bulk-buy these products, but Amazon is already offering huge price cuts — and unlike the official Prime Day deals, you don't need to be a Prime member to grab them.

Here I've put together a collection of key coffee-making essentials for your kitchen. Personally I'm planning to pick up a new set of coffee spoons (which always mysteriously vanish), plus a tea tray or two for the TechRadar office. No more juggling multiple mugs on the way back from the coffee machine. As a Brit, I also recommend grabbing some shortbread cookies as an addition to your coffee break. Whether you share them with your friends or not is up to you.

Bargains for coffee-lovers

AeroPress has well and truly captured the hearts of caffeine fiends — myself included — with its simple but oh-so effective Coffee Press. The brand has branched out with a selection of products to cater to different needs and preferences, and I've just spotted that a few of them (including our very favorite accessory) have had 20% knocked off their prices at Amazon. It's especially good news for those of us who haven't yet purchased a Father's Day gift — even without next-day delivery, these should just about arrive in time.

Back to that particularly special accessory. It's the new AeroPress Manual Coffee Grinder, and when our in-house coffee specialist tested it, she declared it "the best [she'd] ever used", calling out the "beautifully engineered" design and premium build quality.

Other winners in the 20% sale are the XL version of the original Coffee Press (perfect for anyone who wants to brew multiple cups at once) and the clear version, which comes in a range of cool colors. I've also rounded up some useful AeroPress accessories to round out your gift — as someone who won't go anywhere without their AeroPress, the travel filter holder looks especially good to me.

These deals are live now, and I don't expect prices to get any cheaper when the Amazon Prime Day event kicks off on 23 June.

Amazing AeroPress

Awesome accessories to bundle in...

I think it's finally about time I get a good coffee maker for my home. Years of getting by with a drip filter machine and disappointment after buying a cheap milk frother mean my eye has been drawn to a proper espresso machine. And now, with Prime Day almost here, I've spotted this deal on the Breville/Sage Barista Express that has me tempted to upgrade.

• Browse all early Prime Day deals at Amazon

Why has this one caught my eye in particular? Well, it's a record-low price for the top-rated Breville/Sage Barista Express. Plus, it's one that our experts have picked as one of the best espresso machines we've tested.

With its ability to make all sorts of drinks with ease, a bevy of adjustable settings, a handy integrated grinder, and a powerful steam wand for milk texturing, it has everything I need to help me skip the coffee shop and whip up a brew at home. It'll be an investment now, but with the amount of on-the-go coffee I've been buying lately, it'll pay for itself in no time, I'm sure.

Today's best espresso machine deals

What's helping convince me even more that this could be the right coffee machine for me is our very positive Breville/Sage the Barista Express review, in which we awarded the appliance an impressive 4.5 stars out of five.

We highlighted how simple it was to use, the many adjustable settings to get your drink exactly right, and the "tasty espresso" our reviewer enjoyed. Given that I'm a bit of a coffee newbie too, I appreciate that it isn't too complex, but I'm willing to experiment with all the different options to get drinks how I want them. That should be a fun learning experience.

The full price is definitely a pain point, but the sting is taken out a little with this cut to the cheapest it's ever been in both the US and the UK. Can't ask for more than that right now, so I will be pondering on it a bit more before considering hitting the buy button.

More early Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

More early Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: sign up for a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire TV, Ring & Blink from £24.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: AirPods Pro 3 for a record-low price
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja, Tefal & Sage
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from under £10
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Father's Day: up to 50% off gifts & drinks
• Headphones: up to 50% off
• Laptops: from £149.99
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £125
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Eufy & Roborock
• Wearables: Garmin & Huawei from £36.99

• Lavazza Tabli capsules are made entirely from compressed ground coffee
• A Tabli coffee maker is now available in the US for the first time
• Packaging is minimal, though there is a thin layer of plastic film on the box

Capsule coffee makers from brands like Nespresso and Keurig are a great time-saver, letting you brew fresh espresso in one minute flat without the hassle of weighing and grinding anything yourself.

When you're done, everything is neatly contained within a pod and there are no messy grounds to worry about. The disadvantage is the pods, which can be a hassle to recycle, requiring dedicated facilities to separate the materials and process them properly. Now Italian brand Lavazza has a solution: capsules made entirely from compressed ground coffee, which work just like conventional pods but without individual packaging.

Lavazza Tabli capsules launched in Europe last year, but now they're available in the US for the first time, along with a new Tabli coffee maker. Each compressed tablet of coffee has a concave shape, and expands on contact with hot water inside the machine. Used tabs are deposited in a bin after brewing.

The Tabli format is protected by 15 patents, so you won't be able to buy your coffee tabs from any other brands, though this is the case with most coffee pods. Lavazza is offering five blends at launch, which gives you a reasonable amount of choice (Super Crema, Espresso, Double Espresso, Lungo, and Decaf). Hopefully more options will be available before long.

Tidier brewing

Less packaging has other benefits too; it means each Tabli tab should weigh less than its foil or plastic-wrapped counterpart, and therefore less energy is required to transport them. Without the need to manufacture a package for each one, the tabs should also be more energy-efficient to produce.

However, it's worth bearing in mind that the Tabli system isn't quite plastic-free. Although each coffee tab is unwrapped, they are sold in a box made from card with a layer of plastic film. The same is true of all coffee capsules I've used, and it's particularly necessary for otherwise unwrapped pods (ground coffee oxidizes quickly, which breaks down the flavor compounds). but it's something to be aware of nonetheless.

If you want coffee without any plastic, your best option is a refill shop that sells locally-roasted coffee beans that you can purchase in your own container. That won't be an option for many people though, and if you can't buy totally unpackaged beans, Tabli could be the next best thing.

The Tabli bundle (which includes the coffee maker, a milk frother, a selection of 60 tabs, and a pair of tweezers for handling the pods so you don't handle them directly if you're brewing for a guest) will soon be available to pre-order for $99.99 direct from Lavazza, and will begin shipping in August.

• The process makes espresso-strength coffee in under three minutes
• It brews at room temperature via ultrasonic waves
• The process reduces energy use by up to 75%

Scientists have come up with a way of making coffee at room temperature, and it's much faster than any cold brew: where that takes 12 to 24 hours, this new method makes espresso in less than three minutes. The secret? Ultrasound.

As Francisco Trujillo, senior lecturer at the School of Chemical Engineering in Sydney, explains, "As someone from Colombia, I like to think coffee is in my blood — and I'm proud to come from a country known for producing some of the best coffee beans in the world. So perhaps that's why I have spent a lot of time in my laboratory with my team asking a simple question: does espresso really need hot water?"

The answer, it seems, might be no. According to Trujillo, the ultrasonic espresso has "the same richness, the same boldness," and a quarter of the energy usage. In taste tests 100 coffee drinkers couldn't tell the difference between traditional and ultrasonic espresso, and in some cases they preferred the latter.

How does an ultrasonic coffee machine work?

Instead of heat, Trujillo's coffee machine uses ultrasound: sound waves at a frequency much higher than our ears can hear. By placing a transducer against the side of a traditional espresso basket and vibrating it at high frequency, the vibrations create a phenomenon called acoustic cavitation where little bubbles form and collapse in the water.

As Trujillo explains, "When these bubbles collapse near coffee particles, they produce microscopic jets and forces that act a little like scrubbing brushes. They pit and fracture the surface of the coffee grounds, helping flavor compounds, oils and caffeine move into the water much faster than they normally would at room temperature."

It's not quite a simple as giving your coffee a good shake. The team found that the brewing ratio was crucial, with too much water making too weak an espresso and too little making espresso extraction difficult. The size of the coffee grind also made a difference.

For now this is just an experiment, but Trujillo can see multiple applications for the technology: in coffee machines at home and in small coffee shops to save energy, but also in ready to drink coffee priducts. "A concentrated room-temperature coffee could be used directly in bottled drinks, milk-based beverages or cold coffee products. It can also be shipped as a concentrate and diluted later."

I don't think the best bean-to-cup coffee makers have anything to worry about just yet, and in all honesty I'd rather stick with my thermoblock coffee machine because three minutes to make a coffee is about two minutes too long for me first thing in the morning. But it's fascinating and could mean a whole new generation of to-go drinks in the not too distant future.

KitchenAid KF4: two-minute review

The KitchenAid Fully Automatic Espresso Machine KF4 is a new addition to the company’s lineup, and though it looks very similar to earlier models like the KF8 and KF6, it’s considerably smaller and a great choice for compact kitchens. It also offers particularly good noise shielding, and during my tests it proved quieter than its siblings when grinding and brewing.

It has the same Intelligrind system as KitchenAid’s larger machines, making it easy to achieve the correct dosage for your chosen coffee. With just a few manual tweaks of the grinder (which can be adjusted via a dial), you’ll soon be enjoying consistently delicious, well-extracted espresso.

The KF4’s automatic milk system lets you use that espresso in delicious lattes and cappuccinos, and while it’s optimized for dairy, it worked perfectly well with barista-style oat milk as well, producing foam that was almost as thick and creamy, and just the right temperature.

It’s a shame, then, that the KF4’s ‘iced’ espresso and coffee options didn’t deliver the results I’d hoped. Many espresso machines offer cold extraction, which takes longer to brew but delivers a drink with a mellow flavor that’s easily turned into an iced latte or enjoyed on its own. The KF4 brews its ‘iced’ drinks at a lower temperature than usual, but the resulting coffee is still hot enough to melt ice within a minute or two, leaving you with a drink that’s diluted and lukewarm.

Otherwise, this is an excellent mid-range automatic espresso machine that’s solidly made, easy to use, and simple to keep clean. Its components aren’t dishwasher-safe, but its excellent set of maintenance programs means keeping everything hygienic (including the milk system) is a piece of cake.

KitchenAid KF4: specifications

KitchenAid KF4: price and availability

• Launched April 2026
• Available in US, UK and Australia
• List price $1,299.99 / £899 / AU$1,599

The KitchenAid Fully Automatic Espresso Machine KF4 launched in April 2026 with a list price of $1,299.99 / £899, putting it in the middle of KitchenAid’s range of automatic coffee makers. It made its way to Australia in July 2026, where it costs AU$1,599.

If you like the look of the KF4 but your budget won’t quite stretch that far, take a look at the KitchenAid KF3. It's very similar to the KF4 but has a slightly smaller range of drinks and no milk carafe. Instead, you place the end of the milk tube in a glass or cup, which is a less elegant solution, but one that cuts the price to $999.99 / £749 / AU$1,349.

For comparison, KitchenAid’s top-end fully automatic espresso machine, the KF8, is priced at $1,999.99 / £1,899 / AU$2,599, while the lower-specced KF2 (which uses a steam wand and offers fewer drink recipes) is $799.99 / £699 / AU$1,099.

• Value score: 4/5

KitchenAid KF4: design

• Smaller than previous KitchenAid automatic espresso machines
• Milk system is easy to use and clean
• No components are dishwasher-safe

The KF4 looks very much like KitchenAid’s previous automatic coffee makers, but with one significant difference: it’s much more compact. The KF6 measures 10.2 x 14.3 x 18.6 inches / 260 x 363 x 473mm, while the new KF4 is 7.68 x 6.3 x 18.7 inches / 195 x 160 x 475mm (H x W x D). This allows it to slide into a much narrower space, making it a great option for bijou kitchens.

Otherwise, the KF4 follows the same design language as other KitchenAid machines with its boxy shape and rounded corners, and a choice of porcelain white or matt black finishes. However, the company has made a few thoughtful tweaks here. The brushed stainless steel at the top of earlier models has been replaced with plastic, for example, and the metal around the edge of the drip tray has a satin finish. The overall look is sleeker and more modern, and the area surrounding the display is no longer susceptible to gathering unsightly fingerprints.

The 3.5 inch / 8.8cm color touchscreen is supplemented by six buttons: four that provide quick access to the menu, profiles, rinsing cycles, and machine settings; one that initiates brewing; and one that cancels the current drink. The screen has a noticeably lower resolution than other espresso machines I’ve tested recently, such as the Philips Café Aromis, but it’s clear and responsive.

The bean hopper is generously sized, and unlike many other brands, KitchenAid’s designers have opted for an opaque lid with a silicone seal. This means you can’t check how many beans are left at a glance, but ensures that your coffee isn’t exposed to unnecessary light and air, thereby keeping it fresh longer. The lid is fully removable rather than hinged, which makes the hopper easier to access if you keep your coffee maker underneath a wall cabinet, and it has a chute for a scoop of pre-ground coffee if you want to mix things up. A suitably-sized scoop is provided with the machine.

The drip tray is deep, helping prevent spills, and has a large spout at the back for easy emptying. Used coffee grounds drop into a removable bin in the center, and during testing I was pleased to see that this was a very tidy process. Some espresso machines manage to spread wet grounds all over the drip tray and the interior of the case, but not the KF4.

The water tank is large too, and feels very sturdy. It has a hinged lid and a recessed handle, making it easy to remove, carry, and slide back into place without spilling. The KF4 is also supplied with a water-testing strip and water filter. The tank is quite narrow, so reaching inside to fit the filter can be tricky, but this doesn’t need to be done too often.

The KF4’s milk system is the same as that of the KF8, with a lidded carafe that connects to the machine via a silicone tube. Lift a small cover on the side of the KF4’s coffee dispenser to reveal a socket, push one end of the hose into place, then attach the other to the carafe. It’s not as neat as the Philips LatteGo system, where the milk carafes are made from three simple pieces of hard plastic, but the KF4’s rinsing and cleaning programs help keep everything hygienic. The milk carafe can be stored in the fridge between uses, but none of the removable parts — including the milk system, drip tray, and grounds container — are dishwasher-safe.

The height of the dispenser can be adjusted to accommodate different-sized cups, with a good range of movement that suits everything from an espresso cup to a 350ml coffee mug. The movement isn’t as smooth as with the latest machines from Philips and De’Longhi, which is a shame, but that's a minor quibble.

• Design score: 4.5/5

KitchenAid KF4: performance

• Consistently well-extracted espresso
• Good milk foaming, despite lack of dedicated plant milk mode
• Four user profiles, which can store four custom drinks each
• ‘Iced’ drinks are brewed at a lower temperature, but are still hot

Most importantly, the KitchenAid KF4 brews an excellent espresso. Its Intelligrind system selects the best dose for your coffee beans, and it’s easy to tweak the grind size for the optimum extraction. It produced very consistent results during my tests, and once I’d dialled in the best grind size for each type of coffee, I could be confident that it would always taste great.

Milk-foaming is great as well. Although there’s no option specifically for foaming plant milk, as there is with the KF8, I found it performed perfectly well using barista-style oat milk. I got the thickest, silkiest foam when using full-fat dairy milk, but plant and semi-skimmed milk were both fine as alternatives. However, it’s worth knowing that, unlike some other coffee makers I’ve tested recently (including the De’Longhi Primadonna Aromatic and Philips Café Aromis), the KitchenAid KF4 can only produce hot milk foam, so iced lattes and cappuccinos are off the menu.

There are four user profiles, which will be plenty for most households. The downside is that each profile can only store four custom drinks. I found that the default volumes of espresso and milk were quite small, so I would have preferred to be able to create a lot more bespoke presets for quick access.

I was disappointed with the KF4’s two iced drink options (iced coffee and iced espresso). Many modern coffee makers — from the budget-friendly De’Longhi Dedica Duo through to the prosumer Jura J10 — offer cold-extracted espresso. This uses ambient temperature water direct from the tank and produces a drink with a more mellow flavor than hot espresso, which is ideal for iced drinks with or without milk.

The KF4, on the other hand, takes the same approach as the Philips LatteGo 5500 Series by asking you to add a handful of ice to your cup and then pouring a shot of hot espresso over the top. KitchenAid says that the ‘iced’ espresso and coffee are brewed at a lower temperature than usual, but during my tests they were still hot enough to quickly melt the ice in my cup, leaving me with a diluted, lukewarm drink. I’ve come to expect better results from KitchenAid’s machines, and it was disappointing.

These two ‘iced’ options occupy two spots in the KF4’s menu that could be used for other drinks. The KF4 doesn’t have a preset for brewing a cortado, for example, which is a shame since it’s a favorite of mine.

There’s better news when it comes to noise shielding. KitchenAid’s fully automatic coffee makers are some of the quietest on the market, and the KF4 is no exception. In fact, it’s one of the quietest machines I’ve ever used, averaging 72dB while grinding and 60dB while brewing.

Maintenance is refreshingly simple and thorough as well, with a choice of quick and deep cleaning options. The machine rinses itself upon startup and shutdown, prompts you to empty the drip tray and grounds container regularly, and asks you to rinse the milk system after each use. When it’s time for a more intensive clean, open the settings menu, and you’ll find options for washing the milk system and brewing unit with special cleaners. The KF4 is supplied with cleaning tablets for the brew unit, though you’ll need to buy descaler and milk system cleaner separately. There’s also an option for evaporating all the water in the machine, which is a brilliant feature I wish all automatic coffee machines had. It makes it easy to keep everything hygienically dry, and is particularly helpful if you’re going to be storing or shipping it.

• Performance score: 4/5

Should you buy the KitchenAid KF4?

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

KitchenAid KF4: also consider

If you're not sure whether the KitchenAid KF8 is the right espresso machine for you, here are two other options to keep in mind.

KitchenAid KF4: how I tested

I used the KitchenAid KF4 for two weeks, in place of my usual espresso machine. I used it to prepare a wide range of drinks with and without milk, using two different types of coffee to see how the machine would adapt, and how easy it was to dial in the grinder. I tested the milk system with barista-style oat milk, and both semi-skimmed and whole dairy milk. I ran the machine's cleaning programs as directed after each use, and used the brew unit cleaning and evaporation cycles at the end of testing.

First reviewed June 2026

Last month, AeroPress launched a new premium manual coffee grinder with an all-metal construction, titanium-coated burrs, and 60 grind sizes so you can get the perfect extraction whether you make your coffee with an AeroPress or not.

The AeroPress Manual Coffee Grinder (which is available from AeroPress in the UK and the US) looks stunning, and after using it for a week to prepare my usual drinks (including espresso and drip coffee), I can say with confidence that its performance matches its style.

Once you remove the grinder from its cushioned box, you'll be struck by just how solid it feels. This is clearly a device that's built to last, and it's beautifully engineered inside and out. The package also includes a soft case to protect it in transit (though it won't scuff easily), and a dual-ended cleaning brush for everyday maintenance.

You'll also find a small metal attachment that you can use to turn the grinder with an electric drill. I've not tried this yet, and it sounds a little extreme, but I can definitely imagine it being useful if you have limited strength or mobility in your hands.

Remove the catch container from the bottom of the grinder, and you'll find a gold-toned dial for adjusting the grind size. Not sure which to use? The manual includes a chart showing the ideal size for different brewing methods (though it comes preset to a medium/fine grade ideal for an AeroPress).

The hopper can hold up to 25g of beans, so you can easily make drip coffee for one or espresso for two, and its wide opening makes loading easy. AeroPress advises against using frozen beans, as these are harder to grind.

The easy-turn handle is magnetically held against the body of the grinder, keeping it secure in transit. When it's time to grind, just lift it off, slot the arm onto the top of the grinder, add your beans, and you're ready to begin.

The large, circular hand-piece makes grinding near-effortless, providing a large surface to spread the pressure as you turn it, and rotating smoothly so you don't need to reposition your grip.

Each time I open the catch after grinding, I'm amazed by the evenness of the grind — easily on a par with much more expensive electric burr grinders. I've used my share of hand-cranked grinders before, and I've never seen results this good before, particularly from a grinder this compact.

When you've finished, use the brush to sweep stray grounds out of the catch and off the burrs. The grinder unscrews so you can access them easily and keep them rolling smoothly for years to come.

Everything packs neatly into the storage bag, but if you're an AeroPress fan, it also fits snugly inside the body of your favorite coffee maker (with the exception of the AeroPress Premium). The resulting package might not be light enough for backpacking, but it's certainly easy enough to carry when car camping, picnicking, or on vacation.

The AeroPress Manual Coffee Grinder has a list price of $199 / £199 (about AU$372), though I'm hoping that we might see a discount for Amazon Prime Day in just a few days' time. You'll find all of today's best deals below.

De’Longhi Eletta Ultra: two-minute review

The De’Longhi Eletta Ultra is a fully automatic bean-to-cup coffee machine. Not only does it offer a range of more than 50 drink presets, it's capable of cold extraction, enabling it to produce cold brew in just a few minutes. And with up to four user profiles, you can save your drink preferences for the morning, lunch or afternoon, ensuring your coffee is tailored to your taste at different times of day.

Not only is its 3.82 x 2.20 inch / 97 x 56mm touchscreen bright and crisp, it’s incredibly easy to navigate, making selecting your coffee a cinch. Thanks to its 1.9 quart / 1.8 liter water tank and 8.82oz / 250g bean hopper you can brew a fair few drinks before needing to top it up. Its design is a little boxy for my tastes but its clean lines and brushed metal finish means it will look relatively unobtrusive in most kitchens.

One of the first things that struck me about the Eletta Ultra is that it has an impressive array of features. First off, it has 52 different drinks presets, which is truly wild: that includes everything from a ristretto through a babyccino to cold extracted coffees like cold brew. It even offers regional specialities I’ve not seen from some of the best bean-to-cup coffee makers like the Portuguese galão or the heart-hammering black eye.

The vast majority of these presets are also customizable, allowing you to tweak things like their length, intensity or even add an extra shot, then save it to one of four personal profiles. Not only that but should you prefer a stronger coffee in the morning or a little bit less intensity in the afternoon the Eletta Ultra lets you save custom preferences to each profile for Morning, Lunchtime and Later in the Day. That’s an impressive level of personalization available.

But how does the De’Longhi Eletta Ultra perform? Well, it’s certainly got a decent engine under that hood. I found its boiler usually warms up in the morning within around 30 seconds, which is faster than a lot of bean-to-cup machines and a fraction of the time many prosumer devices take. And unlike some coffee makers, it doesn’t make an absolute din when in use; using a sound level meter, I clocked it at about 58dB, which is honestly very quiet compared to most of the competition.

Despite how easy the Eletta is to use on paper, it honestly took me quite a while to dial in the right settings — the machine felt a little mercurial at first, flipping straight from underextracting to overextracting as I refined the grind. Eventually though, I hit on the right grind size, intensity and length to start pulling consistent shots and the resulting espresso was certainly satisfying enough, albeit lacking a bit in some of the richness and full body I’d expect from a machine at this price.

I’m not an expert milk frother, I’ll readily admit, so I definitely appreciate how simple the Eletta Ultra makes steaming the white stuff. To whip up milky coffees, all I had to do was hook up the hot or cold carafe to match the drink I was making, set it to Light, Creamy or Thick and the machine did the rest. But while this made whipping up cappuccinos and lattes for my colleagues a snap, the resultant foam wasn’t quite as velvety smooth as from some machines, leaving some larger air bubbles intact.

One of the big draws of the Eletta Ultra for me is that cold extraction functionality. As someone who regularly has to spend an interminable 18 hours waiting for my home-made cold brew to steep, discovering I can make cold brew on demand is like a cat learning how a can opener works. But while the cold brew this machine extracts looks delightful, it’s far too watery for my tastes, lacking the complex fruitiness and natural sweetness I’ve come to expect from a great cold brew.

Fundamentally, if you’re looking for convenience or a cornucopia of different kinds of coffees, the De’Longhi Eletta Ultra is an appealing package. You can dial up your preferred take on a whole host of drinks in seconds and trust that you’ll get a pleasurable beverage out of it. But if you have exacting standards for your coffee, you might find it falls just a few inches short of the wonderfully extracted espresso a machine like the Breville Barista Touch Impress with Cold Extraction (known under the brand name Sage in the UK) can offer.

De’Longhi Eletta Ultra review: price & availability

• Launched on February 26, 2026
• Available in the UK but not yet in US or Australia
• List price of £1,149.99 (around $1,550 / AU$2,260)

The De’Longhi Eletta Ultra in the UK on February 26, 2026 — it’s not yet available in either the US or Australia but given other Eletta models are available in those regions, it’s probably safe to assume it will make it there eventually.

Currently you can pick it up for a list price of £1,149.99 (around $1,550 / AU$2,260). As far as bean-to-cup machines go, that’s definitely up the pricier end of the market but it’s not excessive given its feature set. The similarly full-featured Breville Barista Touch Impress with Cold Extraction retails from $1,499.95 / £1,199.95 / AU$1,999, while the fully automatic Siemens EQ900 Plus has a list price of £2,199 (about $2,800 / AU$4,300). So the Eletta Ultra is roughly what I’d expect to pay for a machine of this spec.

De’Longhi Eletta Ultra review: specs

De’Longhi Eletta Ultra review: design

• 52 drink presets that can be customised across four profiles
• Bright, easy-to-navigate touchscreen display
• Fairly unremarkable looks

The De’Longhi Eletta Ultra is a big machine without necessarily being hulking — at a size of 9.25 x 17.91 x 14.96 inches / 235 x 455 x 380mm, I’d say it appears slap bang in the middle of the best bean-to-cup coffee makers. And it’s similarly average in terms of its capacity: you can fit up to 1.9 quarts / 1.8 liters into the Eletta Ultra’s water tank, meaning you should get a fair few brews out of it before you have to refill it.

Meanwhile, loading its hopper could not be easier — you can squeeze up to 8.82oz / 250g of beans into it just by pouring them into the top of the machine. My only slight reservation here is I generally like to mix and match my beans from day to day and these kinds of integrated hoppers are almost impossible to empty, which stands in sharp contrast to machines with a screw-in hopper like the Breville Oracle Touch. You can at least add a dose of grounds in the chute at the front of the hopper should you fancy a one-off taste of something different.

When it comes to aesthetics, I find the Eletta Ultra clean and sharp, if a bit bland. On the one hand, its 3.82 x 2.20 inch / 97 x 56mm touchscreen display is impressively bright and detailed, making swiping through settings and drinks profiles a breeze, while its metallic finish certainly would fit in well with most kitchens. However, its looks are a little boxy for my taste and I prefer the more traditional barista-style look offered by something like the Breville Oracle Touch or Ninja Luxe Café.

As this is a fully automatic bean-to-cup machine, there’s not really a huge number of additional accessories you need — the huge toolkit of portafilters, tamps and brushes that manual machines ship with doesn’t really apply. However, the Eletta Ultra does come with warm and cold milk-steaming carafes, ensuring your hot drinks stay piping hot and your cold drinks don’t come out lukewarm.

One thing the De’Longhi Eletta Ultra does have in spades, however, is features. It offers an almost overwhelming selection of drinks, with 52 available in total — whether you fancy classics like an espresso or a flat white, regional specialties like milchkaffee or cafe con leche or even cold drinks like cold brew or iced cappuccino, you should find your ideal tipple here. And, as is increasingly common with automatic machines, each of these is fully customizable, allowing you to set your ideal length and intensity and save them to one of four personalized profiles.

But the smart features don’t stop there. De’Longhi’s Bean Sense feature is designed to help you get the best out of your beans; dial in whether you’re using Arabica or a blend, your bean roast level, current grinder level and the Eletta Ultra will pour a test espresso, before tweaking its boiler temperature and suggesting the ideal grind to tailor extraction to your coffee. Additionally, each personalized profile allows you to tweak your settings for three different times of day — you can save different preferences for individual drinks for Morning, Lunchtime and Later in the Day.

I definitely appreciated being able to tailor my coffee this way. My tastes tend bolder for most drinks, so I liked being able to set the intensity and boiler temperature a little higher for my personalised versions, while there’s no version of me throughout the multiverse that would drink a cold brew in any size that isn’t large. While my biggest shift from AM to PM — the fact I switch from caffeine to decaf — isn’t something a machine without dual or interchangeable hoppers can cater to, I can see for a lot of people it would be useful to add extra shots earlier or dial down the intensity later. So all-in-all, I’ve got a lot of praise for the De’Longhi’s feature set.

• Design score: 4.5 / 5

De’Longhi Eletta Ultra review: performance

• Heats up fast and runs quiet
• Produces competent but not exceptional coffee
• Super easy to use and clean

Producing your favorite coffees using the De’Longhi Eletta Ultra is an absolute breeze. Punching in your preferences and selecting your brew really only requires a few taps and swipes, which is fantastically convenient when you’re in a hurry. And the range of drinks available is impressive. But I do think some of this breadth comes at the expense of producing core coffees with substantial depth of flavor.

Heating up the Eletta Ultra’s boiler for the first time took around 30 seconds. That’s pretty fast, all told, with many machines of its ilk taking closer to a minute, although some would argue it’s worth allowing these machines a little longer to fully warm their components. De’Longhi has also made a lot of noise (ironically) about how much quieter the Eletta Ultra is than other machines — and it is not wrong. Using a sound level meter, I clocked it at roughly 58dB, which is a fair margin quieter than a lot of machines I’ve tested.

Quick though the machine is to run, it can take a little longer to optimize its output. I’m used to a bit of dialling in when first getting used to the quirks of a coffee machine but I did find the Eletta Ultra more idiosyncratic than even the most eccentric barista.

The first shot I poured was massively underextracted: it had a beige crema and I could see the bottom of the mug, which does not scream ‘rich espresso’ to me. After refining the grind in stages, I managed to get it from Miller Lite flavorlessness to the level of gas station coffee, where it was running a little too fast and still not quite hitting enough pressure to eke out more robust flavors. But when I upped the intensity and dropped the length of the shot to 30ml, it started dribbling out… then stalled entirely. The only way I could get it to extract properly again was slowly increasing the coarseness of the grind until I ended up back where I started.

Weirdly, at this point, the Eletta Ultra began extracting pretty decent coffee. Even with a relatively cheap supermarket brand of beans, it started pouring rich, consistent espresso with that nice buff-color crema I’m used to. Trying it out with some mid-range beans, Pact’s Decaf Casa Loma, the resultant espresso was a pleasant caramel flavor with a velvety mouthfeel. Don’t get me wrong — it’s not quite the powerful punch I’ve come to expect from some manual machines but it’s not bad either.

Milk-based drinks were a similar story. I whipped up a range of drinks for some of my colleagues down at TechRadar’s testing labs, including a cappuccino, a macchiato and a flat white. The process could not be more straightforward: once you’ve selected your drink profile, all you need to do is set the hot or cold milk carafe to either Light, Creamy or Thick and it will pump out frothy milk to order. But the general reception to these drinks was good rather than great — for example, the cappuccino foam landed slightly on the frothy side, with slightly too large bubbles to create a beautifully smooth foam.

As a big cold brew drinker, I was most excited about trying out the Eletta Ultra’s cold extraction presets. And it does produce some absolutely gorgeous-looking cold brew — pumping out a little at a time, it produces a subtle gradient from light to dense toward the bottom of the glass. But when I made my first batch, the ice was fully melted by the time the machine had finished pouring, suggesting it’s more lukewarm brew than truly cold. And I honestly wasn’t wowed by the finished product — I’ll admit that my standards for cold brew are Gordon-Ramsey-esque so it is a high bar to clear but, even on intense mode, it lacked the smooth, fruity potency I’ve come to expect from my cold coffee.

As someone who spends half his time tweaking variables to get the best out of his beans, I could definitely see the allure of the Eletta Ultra’s Bean Sense tech. However, I sometimes found in practice that, far from improving the coffee, the settings it selected marred its flavor. For example, because I was using a relatively dark roast, the Bean Sense process automatically set the boiler temperature to medium and recommended I used a coarser grind — but this just led the coffee to taste weak and underextracted. I’m sure it sometimes offers useful insights but if you have a specific flavor profile in mind, you may find yourself overruling it as much as you do following its guidance.

Keeping the Eletta Ultra clean is a breeze, although a full, internal clean is a slightly more involved process. In regular use, you really only need to remember to empty its purged coffee grounds box each day and it automatically purges its steam wand after every use. For a more thorough clean, its drip tray and milk carafes can be disassembled and washed by hand or in a dishwasher, while the water tank requires cleaning by hand. Deep cleaning requires cleaning tabs but the machine will provide a QR code for ordering them and guide you through the steps on screen.

All told, I think the Eletta Ultra’s approach to coffee is workmanlike, rather than artisanal. It’s able to produce a fantastic array of drinks with very little fuss and it’ll knock you up a well-constructed coffee without an enormous investment on your part. But you’re getting a townhouse, not the Guggenheim, and so you need to set your expectations accordingly.

• Performance score: 3.5 / 5

Should I buy the De’Longhi Eletta Ultra?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

De’Longhi Eletta Ultra review: also consider

How I tested the De’Longhi Eletta Ultra review

• Tested it over several weeks
• Created and customized a range of drinks
• Tried it out with a range of different beans

I tested the De’Longhi Eletta Ultra over a period of several weeks. After calibrating the machine’s boiler temperature and grind size by extracting multiple shots of espresso, I tested out its capabilities by brewing a wide range of drinks, including espressos, Americanos, lattes, cappuccinos and cold brew. I also tried it with a range of beans, from mass-market supermarket beans to higher-quality microlot coffee.

On top of this, I tested many of its smart features. Not only did I experiment with creating personalized settings for each drink, changing its length, intensity and number of shots, but I also tried out the De’Longhi’s Bean Sense feature to see how it impacted multiple different drinks. Finally, I measured the Eletta Ultra’s noise output when extracting coffee with a sound level meter.

In terms of my own experience, I’ve been a daily coffee drinker for more than 20 years. I’ve experimented with countless different brewing methods during that time, whether that’s manual espresso, a stove-top moka pot, an Aeropress or cold brewed in mason jars. When it comes to testing experience, I’ve been reviewing and writing about tech for over a decade.

• First reviewed: June 2026
• For more details, see how we test, review, and rate products at TechRadar.

Automatic coffee makers are a brilliant time-saver, preparing your favorite latte or lungo at the press of a button, and handling all the grinding, brewing, and steaming while you get on with making your breakfast, styling your hair, or just chilling on the sofa for a couple of minutes. Unfortunately, you can easily lose that time later on when the machine needs cleaning.

Handling the whole coffee-making process inside a plastic box seems like a great idea (out of sight, out of mind), but the heat, moisture, and organic matter (i.e., coffee grounds) make the dark, steamy interior of your espresso machine an ideal breeding ground for bacteria and mold.

Got a strong stomach? Here's what an unloved, unwashed brew unit will eventually look like, courtesy of the aptly-named subreddit r/MoldlyInteresting. "Heirloom culture fermented brew," observed one Redditor. "Aged in the dark. Price per cup: $35.00 USD."

It doesn't have to be that way, though. Emptying the drip tray and grounds bin daily and cleaning the machine according to the instructions in the manual are the first and most obvious steps.

However, manufacturers are now starting to add features that will help even further. Ninja just launched a coffee maker with a built-in fan, as you'd find in a PC case, which provides ventilation, and the KitchenAid KF4 has an excellent maintenance option that evaporates all water from the system in a satisfying cloud of steam.

It's a feature I wish all coffee makers had, and it's fantastic if you're planning to put your automatic espresso machine in storage, are moving house, or just want to be sure it's not full of stagnating water for two weeks while you're away on vacation.

After choosing the 'evaporate' option from the KF4's menu, you'll be prompted to remove the water tank (which you can wash and leave to air dry), then attach the hose for the milk system to the side of the coffee dispenser, push the other end into a hole in the drip tray, and place a large container under the dispenser spout. Then, stand back and watch as a surprising amount of water boils away, leaving everything perfectly dry and inhospitable to microorganisms.

I'm currently testing the KF4, and will publish a full review very soon. Stay tuned to see whether it can earn a place in our roundup of the best espresso machines.

• The Ninja Luxe Café Mini Plus is a new semi-automatic espresso machine
• It brews espresso and filter coffee, and can foam milk automatically
• It's smaller and more affordable than other Ninja Luxe Café models

Ninja has just launched a new compact version of its hugely popular espresso machine. The Ninja Luxe Café Mini Plus packs almost all the brewing features of the full-size Luxe Café into a much smaller case, making it a great choice for small kitchens where counter space is at a premium.

We gave the full-size version four and a half stars out of five in our Ninja Luxe Café review, thanks to its ability to brew consistently delicious coffee with minimal effort. It's a semi-automatic machine with built-in grinder and dosage scale, which guides you through the process of making the perfect drink, even if you're a complete beginner.

It can also foam milk automatically or manually (just raise the steam wand a few degrees to take control yourself), and can make filter coffee as well, making it a one-stop-shop for all your brewing needs.

The new Luxe Café Mini Plus does all of that, using the same Barista Assist technology to calibrate the grind settings and shot size, and offering a choice to single- and double-shot espresso baskets.

It packs all of those coffee-making features into a much more compact package than its predecessors (all dimensions are H x W x L):

• Ninja Luxe Café Mini Pro: 13.4 x 10.1 x 12.2 inches / 34.1 x 25.6cm x 30.9
• Ninja Luxe Café Premier: 14.6 x 13.2 x 13.5 inches / 37.2 x 33.6 x 34.4cm
• Ninja Luxe Café Pro: 14.8 x 13.3 x 14 inches / 37.7 x 33.7 x 35.5cm

The only option missing is the ability to prepare cold-extracted coffee, but if that's not a dealbreaker, this is an extremely capable little coffee maker that'll let you make cafe-quality drinks without any barista experience.

The Luxe Café Mini Plus is more affordable than Ninja's full-size machines too, with a list price of $499.99 / £499.99 (about AU$710) compared to $549.99 / £549.99 (about AU$850) for the Ninja Luxe Café Premier, or $699.99 / £699.99 (about AU$1,100) for the Ninja Luxe Café Pro. It's available to buy now direct from Ninja in the UK, and the US store is awaiting more stock. At the time of writing, it's not yet available in Australia.

I'll be testing the Ninja Luxe Café Mini Plus very soon to see whether it can earn a place in our roundup of the best espresso machines. Stick with TechRadar for the full lowdown.

Last week, Ninja launched its first automatic espresso machine — the Ninja AutoBarista Pro. It offers a menu of 13 customizable drinks, with hot and cold brewing and automatic milk frothing. However, it's also much more expensive than the company's previous flagship coffee maker, the Ninja Luxe Café. Not sure which one is right for you? I'm here to sketch out the key differences between the two, so you can make the best choice. I'd also recommend taking a look at TechRadar's complete guide to the best coffee makers, so you can weigh up your options from other brands, such as De'Longhi, Breville, KitchenAid and Philips.

Price and availability

• Ninja Luxe Café Premier: $599.99 / £549.99 / AU$799.99
• Ninja Luxe Café Pro: $749.99 / £699.99 (about AU$1,040)
• Ninja AutoBarista Pro: $949.99 / £899.99 (about AU$1,320)

There are two Ninja Luxe Café models, one of which costs considerably more than the other. The original Ninja Luxe Café launched in June 2024, and was followed a few months later by the Luxe Café Pro, which has a lever on the side for tamping down your coffee grounds, plus extra coffee- and milk-frothing options.

To differentiate between this new machine and the original, the company renamed the original coffee maker the Ninja Luxe Café Premier.

The Ninja Luxe Café Premier has a list price of $599.99 / £549.99 / AU$799.99, while the Ninja Luxe Café Pro is $749.99 / £699.99. That works out at approximately AU$1,040, but at the time of writing the Ninja Luxe Café Pro isn't available in Australia.

Now that they're a couple of years old, you'll often find both models at a discount, particularly during sales events like Amazon Prime Day — Amazon just confirmed its next Prime Day event for June 23-26 — and Black Friday.

The Ninja AutoBarista Pro was released in May 2026, priced at $949.99 / £899.99. That's about AU$1,320, but again, this machine isn't yet sold in Australia. At the time of writing (June 2026) the AutoBarista Pro is brand new, so it hasn't received any price cuts yet. You'll find today's best deals on all three coffee makers below.

Features

• Ninja AutoBarista Pro brews coffee at the press of a button
• Ninja Luxe Café requires you to get a bit more hands-on
• Both steam milk automatically, but you need to pour it yourself

The Ninja Luxe Café is a semi-automatic coffee maker, while the Ninja AutoBarista Pro is fully automatic. Both take whole beans and let you make coffee with no prior experience, but the Luxe Café is a little more hands-on.

The Ninja Luxe Café grinds your coffee into a portafilter, which you then move under the brewing group (the part of the machine that dispenses hot, pressurized water). With the AutoBarista Pro, the entire brewing process happens inside the machine, so you only have to press a button and wait for your drink to be dispensed.

The Ninja AutoBarista Pro has two bean hoppers, so you can switch between coffee types on the fly (particularly handy if, like me, you prefer to drink decaf in the afternoon), whereas the Ninja Luxe Café only has one.

Both machines have steel burr grinders. The Ninja Luxe Café has 25 grind settings, while the AutoBarista Pro has 50 settings, giving you more control over the rate at which your coffee is extracted — and therefore the final flavor. Both machines guide you to help achieve the optimal grind size for your chosen coffee, but the AutoBarista Pro takes into account extra factors such as the age of the beans, tweaking the settings accordingly.

Both machines are capable of brewing espresso and drip coffee (which is quite unusual), as well as cold-brewed coffee. Both can also produce creamy foamed milk for lattes and cappuccinos, with different texture settings. Alternatively, you can raise the steam wand of either machine a few degrees and steam milk manually.

Neither coffee maker will dispense milk into your cup; whether you use the auto foaming function or use the steam wand manually, you'll need to pour it in yourself. This is particularly unusual for a fully automatic coffee maker, but has the advantage that you can experiment with pouring latte art.

Maintenance

• Both machines are designed for easy cleaning
• AutoBarista Pro has a fan to keep components cool and dry
• Both have user-friendly descaling programs

Fully automatic coffee makers usually take more effort to maintain than semi-automatic models because of the heat, moisture, and coffee grounds inside the case, but all of the AutoBarista Pro's removable components are dishwasher-safe, and there's a fan inside to keep everything cool and dry (something I've never seen before on a coffee machine).

The Ninja Luxe Café is also easy to keep clean; just wash the portafilter and basket, clean the drip tray, purge and wipe down the steam wand, and flush the group set with hot water to keep it fresh.

Conclusion

• Ninja Luxe Café for price
• Ninja AutoBarista Pro for convenience

If price is the most important factor, then you can't go wrong with the Ninja Luxe Café. It's an excellent coffee maker that gives you far more features than many other models in the same price range. Personally I'd choose the Premier model rather than the Pro. Although the tamping lever is a nice addition that's satisfying to use, and means you're never in contact with loose coffee grounds, tamping coffee by hand isn't hard and I don't think it's worth an extra $150 / £150.

If time is more valuable to you, and you want a machine that can brew your coffee while you tackle other tasks, the Ninja AutoBarista Pro is a better choice, handling the whole process for you. It's also easier to keep clean and hygienic than most automatic coffee makers, so you won't have to sacrifice time later in the day washing components by hand and drying the interior.

I test a lot of coffee machines here at TechRadar - over a dozen every year - and there's one thing that always frustrates me. Although automatic coffee makers save you time and effort when you want to brew your drink (just press a button, wait a minute, and enjoy), the time and effort required to clean them means you lose that time later on.

With automatic coffee makers, the entire brewing process happens inside the case: grinding beans, tamping grounds, heating water, and pulling the shot. On the outside, everything looks neat and tidy, but take the maintenance panel off the side after preparing a drink, and you'll find a warm, steamy environment with at least some condensation and stray coffee grounds clinging to the surfaces. If you don't dedicate time to cleaning it all carefully and allow it to dry properly overnight, it's a recipe for mold.

It's as disgusting as it sounds — see this Reddit post if you have a strong stomach). To quote one Redditor, "If the apocalypse happens tomorrow and we’ve forgotten how to make penicillin, you’ve got that in a ready-to-drink form now!"

The new Ninja AutoBarista Pro will still need regular cleaning, but the company's engineers have specifically targeted this gross and time-consuming problem.

Wash and blow-dry

Firstly, Ninja says that the brew unit, drip and cup trays, milk jug, bean hopper, and puck bin are all removable and, even more importantly, dishwasher-safe. It's normal to be able to remove all of these components except for the bean hopper, but I've never seen a coffee maker where they're all dishwasher-safe as well. The pitcher may be, but certainly not the drip trays, let alone the brew unit. This won't just be faster and easier than hand-washing, it will be more hygienic as well.

Even better, the AutoBarista Pro has a fan fitted inside the case (just like the one in your desktop PC) that helps keep things cool and dry between brews. It's such a great idea, I'm surprised it's never been done before. Usually, I recommend leaving the side panel off your machine as long as possible to let moisture evaporate and avoid turning your expensive coffee maker into a cozy petri dish, but this will help keep things hygienic without the hassle.

The AutoBarista Pro also automatically rinses itself after each brew to keep the dispenser clear of residue and ensure your coffee tastes as good as possible.

We'll be testing the AutoBarista Pro very soon here at TechRadar, and will bring you a full review once we've put it through its paces and determined whether it can earn a place in our roundup of the best espresso machines.

Philips Café Aromis 8000 Series: two-minute review

The Philips Café Aromis 8000 Series is a premium automatic coffee maker that works brilliantly by itself, and even better when paired with the Philips HomeID mobile app.

The Café Aromis offers a huge menu of over 50 different hot and cold drinks, and encourages you to tinker with brew settings to achieve the flavor you prefer with your chosen beans. You can do this via the large, bright touchscreen, or better yet, through the mobile app, which guides you through your options with an interface styled like an AI chatbot, and saves your preferences to your profile for quick access later. You can even start brewing remotely through the app.

Once you’ve got the brew settings nailed down (including tweaking the grind size using a dial inside the bean hopper), you’ll enjoy consistently delicious hot and cold drinks, with thick and creamy hot or cold milk. The machine has two milk carafes (one for each temperature) and each one disassembles into three pieces of hard plastic that are extremely easy to keep clean without any special tools or solutions.

The Café Aromis is quiet too, and during my tests it was very similar to the Quiet Mark certified KitchenAid KF6 when heating, grinding, and brewing.

It’s hard to find fault with the Café Aromis, and I only noticed a few small quirks during testing. The chute for adding pre-ground coffee and bypassing the grinder has a tendency to steam up during brewing, and must be dried carefully to avoid coffee grounds sticking to the lid. You also have to take care to allow everything to cool down thoroughly before preparing an iced drink, otherwise the milk will be dispensed with a jet of steam and the drink will turn out warm — which isn’t a problem I experienced with the Jura J10 coffee maker.

Overall, the Café Aromis doesn’t just brew excellent coffee — it makes the process fun as well, even if you have no barista experience and don’t know which brew settings you need to change to alter the taste of your coffee. As long as you can describe the flavor you like, the machine will do the rest for you and make it effortless.

Philips Café Aromis 8000 Series: specifications

Philips Café Aromis 8000 Series: price and availability

• Available in the US and UK, but not yet in Australia
• List price of $1,699.99 / £849.99 (about AU$2,380)
• Cheaper than many similarly-specced automatic coffee makers

Philips unveiled the Café Aromis 8000 Series in March 2026, priced at $1,699.99 / £849.99. That converts to about AU$2,380, but at the time of writing (May 2026) it's not yet available in Australia.

That's certainly not cheap, but nor is it excessively expensive considering how much the Aromis has to offer. It costs around the same as the De'Longhi La Specialista Touch, which currently sits at the top of our roundup of the best coffee makers, and is a semi-automatic model without the automation and customization as the Aromis, or the connectivity.

In terms of features, the Aromis is closer to the Siemens EQ900 Plus, which has a list price of £2,199 (about $2,800 / AU$4,300) and isn't widely available outside Europe. In that contect, the Aromis represents very good value for money.

• Value score: 5/5

Philips Café Aromis 8000 Series: design

• Premium look and feel
• Large, bright touchscreen
• Thoughtful design touches

The Cafe Aromis is one of the best-looking coffee machines I’ve ever tested, with a smart brushed metal case, a huge color touchscreen, and even a little real wood on top of the coffee dispenser — a small touch that adds to the premium feel.

There are two carafes — one for foaming hot milk and one for cold — which can be disassembled into three pieces of hard plastic for easy cleaning. There are no awkward tubes to wash, and milk never enters the body of the machine, avoiding buildup of bacteria.

Every part of the machine feels solid and well-engineered. For example, the coffee dispenser moves smoothly up and down to accommodate different sized cups, and can slide extra high if you want to brew directly into a travel mug (one of the options you’ll find in the machine’s extensive menus). The drip tray is deep enough to prevent spills, and has a pouring spout at the back for easy emptying. The case doesn’t attract fingerprints like many I’ve tested.

Even the maintenance hatch is nicely designed, with a hinge so you don’t have to remove it entirely, plus a brewing unit that’s easy to lift out for cleaning. Sometimes I’ve spent a long time wondering how to replace the brew unit in automatic coffee makers, but with the Aromis it only fits one way and slides right into place.

The water tank is easy to remove and replace too, and comes with a water hardness testing strip and a water filter. The machine walks you through the process of testing your tap water and installing the filter during setup, to ensure it’s configured correctly.

The hopper sits on top of the machine, so make sure you have plenty of clearance overhead to access it. It has a tinted plastic lid with a rubber seal, which keeps out air and allows you to check how much coffee is remaining without admitting too much light, helping to keep everything fresh.

You’ll also find a chute at the front of the hopper, where you can add pre-ground coffee if you want a break from your usual beans. Just use the measuring scoop provided to ensure you get the correct dosage, and remember that you can’t adjust the strength of your drink if you do so — just the volume and temperature.

• Design score: 5/5

Philips Café Aromis 8000 Series: performance

• Hot and cold espresso and milk foam
• Consistent results
• Excellent mobile app
• Quiet heating, grinding, and brewing

As I’ve come to expect from Philips, the Café Aromis 8000 Series produces consistently excellent coffee, and although you’re spoilt for choice with a menu of over 50 hot and cold drinks, they are all broken down into sub-menus so it’s easy to find exactly what you want. Start by picking hot or cold coffee with or without milk, then peruse the various options.

You’ll be prompted to select the type of beans you’re using (arabica or robusta, and the roast level), but you can always tinker with the strength and brew temperature later, tweak the grind size, and adjust the proportions of espresso, water, and milk in longer drinks.

One of the biggest selling points of the Café Aromis is its noise shielding, and during my tests it reached a maximum of 74dB while heating, 68dB when grinding, and 73dB when pumping. It’s certainly not silent, but ranks among the quietest bean-to-cup coffee makers I’ve tested; very similar to the Quiet Mark certified KitchenAid KF6.

Using pre-ground coffee worked well too, though I found that the lid of the chute tended to steam up during brewing, with water condensing on the lid, so I ended up leaving it open between brews so it could dry. It’s not a serious problem, but ground coffee will stick to any residual water, so it’s a little annoying. It’s also worth noting that, unlike some other coffee makers, the Café Aromis can’t detect when you’ve added grounds, so you’ll need to select the option manually before you begin brewing.

The hot and cold milk carafes both produce thick, creamy foam, and during my tests they worked equally well with dairy, oat, and soy milks, which is always good to see. The carafes are very similar to the one used by the Philips LatteGo 5500, but it seems that the designers have solved the problem of milk occasionally missing the cup, as I never experienced this problem with the Café Aromis. Milk arced neatly into the cup even when I didn’t place it perfectly.

The machine’s touchscreen is large, bright, and easy to operate, but for me, the Cafe Aromis really comes into its own when connected to the Philips HomeID app. In my experience, mobile apps don’t usually add much to the experience of using a coffee machine — at most, they typically give usage and maintenance instructions that you could just as easily find in the paper instruction manual. HomeID is different though, and although you can create profiles and customize your favorite drinks using the machine’s interface directly, using the app makes it much easier.

Connecting the Philips Café Aromis to HomeID is straightforward: register yourself with HomeID (or allow it to use your Google account), then give it permission to search for nearby appliances, and add the coffee maker when it’s detected. Enter your Wi-Fi password to complete the pairing, and you’re ready to go. I was prompted to give the coffee maker access to call history, which was a little strange, so I declined and there didn’t seem to be any impact on the app’s functionality.

That done, it’s time to create a profile. After entering your name and choosing a color for easy identification, pick at least four of your favorite drinks, then customize them to suit your tastes and the size of your cups. Next time you want to brew, these will all be available via quick access shortcuts, so you don’t need to spend time poking at the machine’s screen.

Unlike many mobile apps for coffee machines, HomeID also lets you start brewing remotely, which is great if you’re feeling lazy and don’t want to get off the sofa until absolutely necessary. You’ll need to verify that the Café Aromis is positioned in such a way that this will be safe, but once that’s done (and provided you have a cup in place), you can prepare a drink with a couple of taps.

It’s all very well designed, but my favorite app feature is the Barista Assistant, which helps you tinker with the taste of your drinks, even if you don’t have any coffee-making experience. The Assistant looks like an AI chatbot, and asks questions about how you’d like your coffee to taste, then changes the machine’s internal settings for you. I confess that I found my first espresso a little too strong, but I was easily able to tweak it using the Barista Assistant, which then saved my preference for future use.

The only thing that the Barista Assistant can’t control remotely is the grind size, which you can adjust yourself using a dial inside the bean hopper. This has a significant effect on flavor, so it’s worth taking some time to tinker with it if your drink tastes too sour and ‘thin’ (under-extracted) or bitter (over-extracted).

It’s important to take care when brewing cold drinks, however, and ensure the machine has had a chance to cool down if you’ve recently prepared something hot. The first time I tried to make an iced latte macchiato, the drink turned out warm because I started making it too soon after a hot espresso, and the brew group was still hot.

That, and the condensation in the coffee grounds chute, were my only two quibbles with the Café Aromis, and in my opinion they weren't significant enough to stop it earning a full five stars.

• Performance score: 5/5

Should you buy the Philips Café Aromis 8000 Series

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

Philips Café Aromis 8000 Series: also consider

If you're not sure whether the Philips Café Aromis is the right coffee maker for you, here are two other options to add to your shortlist.

How I tested the Philips Café Aromis 8000 Series

I used the Philips Café Aromis 8000 Series for two weeks with my usual regular and decaffeinated coffee beans, freshly bought from a local coffee roaster. I also used Lavazza ground coffee to test the hopper-bypass function. I used the hot and cold milk carafes with full-fat dairy, and barista-style oat and soy milks.

I tested my tap water using the hardness testing strip included with the coffee maker and adjusted the hardness setting accordingly. I also installed the water filter following the manufacturer's instructions.

I made a wide range of hot and cold coffee drinks, with and without milk, and experimented with customizing them using the settings on board the machine itself, and the Barista Assistant in the mobile app.

For more details, see how we test, review, and rate products at TechRadar.

First reviewed May 2026

Meraki Espresso Machine Gen 2: two-minute review

The Meraki Espresso Machine Gen 2 is a manual coffee machine that sits more at the prosumer end of the market. Its whole raison d'être is around helping you make barista-quality coffee by hand and, it achieves this thanks to the assistance of some smart features that help streamline the process, while leaving control fully in your hands.

As a complete package, the Meraki Espresso Machine Gen 2 is an undeniably polished product. It has a silhouette just sleek enough to fulfil its prosumer aspirations and its tiltable touchscreen is super easy to use. It also comes with almost every accessory you could want and each is engineered to such a high standard that they’re a real pleasure to use, especially the hefty tamper and coffee distributor.

Beneath the hood, it has hardware as impressive as any of the best coffee makers we’ve tested. Its rotary pump maintains pressure better than the vibration pump many mass market machines rock, while its dual boilers ensure the steam wand won’t start to sputter out part way through foaming your milk.

It’s the Meraki’s smart features that really set it apart from other machines though — rather than automating every part of your coffee making routine, it augments them. For example, its built-in scale allows you to grind coffee to a specific weight every time, while a second scale lets you brew your coffee by weight, making it far easier to dial in a very specific grind to extraction ratio. Meanwhile, an integrated temperature sensor in the steam wand means you can set it to cut out when your milk hits your target heat, which is easier than relying on temperature alone.

So what’s it like in use? Honestly, pretty slick. Dialing in your perfect grind and dose feels far more granular than usual, thanks to the integrated scales. Those solidly built accessories make transferring, evening out and tamping your coffee far easier, then you can easily set to extract a ristretto or long black depending on your preference. Frothing milk is rarely my favorite part of making a coffee, yet that temperature sensor allowed me to concentrate more on honing my technique.

As a result, the whole manual process felt as rewarding as ever, while producing delicious and exceedingly consistent coffee. I was able to extract just the right flavor profile out of even cheaper beans over and over, while the one brew I produced with a more premium batch really let its exquisite mango tasting notes shine through. Despite the fact I’m not a major fan of milk in coffee, even the macchiato I whipped up using its steaming wand tasted great, with just the right amount of foam to add texture without overpowering the flavor of the coffee.

Really my only substantial criticism of the Meraki Espresso Machine Gen 2 is its cost. Coming in at $1,799 / £1,599 / AU$2,799, it resides firmly at the premium end of the market and I imagine there will be quite a few people who balk at the idea of dropping that much on a manual coffee maker. However, cost is not the same as value: the experience of using this machine and the quality results you’ll get out of it totally warrant that price for those that can stretch to it.

Meraki Espresso Machine Gen 2 review: price & availability

• Available now
• List price of $1,799 / £1,599 / AU$2,799
• Available in white and black colorways

Having first been available for pre-order in March 2026, the Meraki Espresso Machine Gen 2 is available now. It comes in two colorways: black or white. And barring a knock box, it comes with pretty much every accessory you could need, whether that’s a tamper, coffee distributor, cleaning brush, or blind portafilter basket for backflushing.

You’ll pay a premium for this premium device though. At a list price of $1,799 / £1,599 / AU$2,799, this is an undeniably prosumer device that comes in at the top price range of the best bean-to-cup makers we’ve featured. While it’s not quite as spendy as something like the $2,799.95 / £1,915 (around AU$3,865) Breville Oracle Touch (known under the brand name Sage in the UK) or the £2,199 (around $2,970 / AU$4,100) Siemens EQ900 Plus, it’s an expensive machine and doesn’t come with as many automated features as some machines. I’d argue it’s well worth the price you’ll pay but such a premium manual machine won’t be for everyone.

Meraki Espresso Machine Gen 2 review: specs

Meraki Espresso Machine Gen 2 review: design

• Attractive, suitably professional-looking design
• Well-made accessories
• CoffeeSense only useful for Meraki beans

I’ll be upfront here: I flat out love the way the Meraki Espresso Machine Gen 2 looks. At 14.57 x 14.57 x 16.34 inches / 370 x 370 x 415mm, it’s hardly the sveltest machine I’ve ever tested. But the fact its water tank, bean hopper and boilers are all separate towers prevents it from looking too hulking on my countertop, while the combo of its chrome fixtures and pivotable touch screen give it just enough flair to stand out from your average coffee machine.

But it’s not just the Meraki’s aesthetics that are finished to a high standard. All the accessories packaged with it feel seriously premium, and there weren’t any glaring omissions. Everything has a reassuring solidity to it: the portafilter has a wonderfully tactile wooden handle, while the solid metal of both the coffee distributor and tamp has sufficient heft to give you real confidence when producing the perfect puck of grounds. Extra little touches like the wooden box for storing the accessories on just add that final polish to the experience.

Don’t be fooled by this focus on looks though. Underneath the Meraki’s sleek exterior beats the ferocious industrial heart of a prosumer espresso machine. Discrete boilers for the brew system and steam wand should mean that you don’t have to worry about the wand’s pressure giving out part way through steaming, while its rotary pump maintains nine bars of pressure more consistently than the vibration pump used by many home machines.

The Meraki also has a decent amount of capacity. The water tank itself has a volume of 2.1qt / 2,000ml, which I’d say is pretty average for a coffee maker — you’ll get plenty of brews out of that, even if it’s not as colossal as something like the huge 2.6qt / 2.5L Breville Oracle Touch. Meanwhile, the Meraki’s bean hopper measures 2.36 inches high by 4.06 inches diameter / 60 x 103mm. Generally I found that was sufficient to fuel around four double espressos but, naturally, your mileage will vary depending on how you like to dose your grounds.

One of the things I love about the Meraki is that it sits firmly in the camp of a manual espresso machine — there’s no bean-to-cup function here — but it comes crammed with features to make you better at pulling shots and foaming milks.

Perhaps the most explicitly ‘smart’ function is its CoffeeSense feature. This allows you to scan a tag on compatible Meraki coffee bags and it will suggest the recommended grind size, dosing weight and extraction temperature for those beans to help you get the best result out of those beans. I can definitely see how that would be a neat feature for someone who’s happy to stick with one brand of beans but part of the joy of coffee for me is trying different varieties and growers, so I’m not sure I’d get as much use out of this as some.

But it also offers other ways to make dialing in your perfect brew easier. Built-in scales beneath both the grinder and grouphead allow you to grind your beans and express your coffee by weight, giving you really precise control over each. Meanwhile, Auto mode calculates the right brew weight based on how much coffee you’ve ground, making it easy to manually fix yourself a coffee without needing too much trial and error balancing brew time and grind. These are fantastic as a guide, allowing you to really build confidence before you start improvising like a true manual maestro.

Another impressive element of the Meraki Espresso Machine Gen 2’s design is its steam wand. It has a cool-touch design — although the head still gets hot so careful not to brush against it — and it’s super flexible, making it easy to get it at a perfect angle for frothing your milk. More innovatively, it has a built-in temperature sensor that allows you to stop steaming milk at the perfect temperature, rather than having to rely on touch alone.

None of these features are forced on you and they’re suitably light touch that it’s really easy to start trusting your own instincts once you’re ready. But I’ve never used an espresso machine that’s helped guide me so well between amateur and prosumer coffee making before — it’s just the right amount of support without making you dependent on its help.

• Design score: 4.5 / 5

Meraki Espresso Machine Gen 2 review: performance

• Great automated features that don’t take away your control
• Steams milk with constant pressure and to your chosen temperature
• Produces wonderfully well-extracted, consistent coffee

So how easy is it to make coffee using the Meraki Espresso Machine Gen 2? Well, honestly, at first I found it a little unpredictable. Tiny variations in tamping pressure seemed to produce wildly different results — the first brew ran through the puck incontinently despite the fine grind I’d used, while the second over-extracted to such an extreme it made my mouth pucker like I’d licked an ibuprofen. Then I realized my mistake.

Turns out I’d slightly underestimated the Meraki’s grinder — as it’s calibrated for espresso, my default instinct to whack the grinder on one of the lowest settings was producing a silt that easily channeled or clogged the portafilter basket depending on how firmly it was tamped. After a bit of experimentation, I was able to dial in on my perfect results though, settling on a grind of 10.

Fortunately, the Meraki’s grinder perfectly suits this kind of tinkering. Not only do you have very granular control over the fineness of your grind, but the fact that you can dose using the built-in scale beneath the grinder makes tweaking the exact quantity of coffee you want super-repeatable. In automatic mode, I could simply dial in 18g for a double shot and it would stop grinding once it hit my desired dose, or I could go off-piste and simply grind it up manually using my best judgement.

Preparing the puck always felt like a breeze — all I had to do was place the portafilter on top of the dosing cup, flip it and then give it a few taps to transfer my grounds. A few twists of the coffee distributor and the grounds would be nicely distributed, meaning all I had to do was tamp it down with that wonderfully sturdy tamper. Each tool is so well put together that it’s a really satisfying process and it feels easy to get professional results.

And with that, I was ready to go — or at least once the water was heated up. While the two minutes and 10 seconds it took the dual boiler to heat up the first time is slower than some consumer coffee machines, it’s actually pretty fast compared to many prosumer units, which can sometimes take upwards of 15 minutes. Additionally, another neat feature of the Meraki is your ability to set the boiler to come on at a specific time of day, meaning it can be all warmed up and ready to go for your first coffee of the day.

Once I’d actually properly calibrated my grind and dosing, extracting properly was a breeze. In Automatic mode, I simply had to set the weight of my drink — for example, 36g for an espresso — and set it to run, whereas in Manual mode I could simply run it until I was happy with the quantity. Thanks to that rotary pump, it produced a steady stream of espresso, neither hemorrhaging coffee too fast nor letting it dribble out in fits and starts. It’s also pretty quiet, hitting just 65dB and making more of a whir than the juddering noise I’m used to from vibration-pumped machines.

Steaming milk has never really been my forte. As a black coffee drinker, I’ve never had much need to develop the knack. But the Meraki also makes this a lot easier. Not only does its dual boiler mean that it maintained constant pressure throughout steaming but, thanks to its built-in thermostat, the steam wand clicked off when my milk had reached my target temperature, meaning I could just focus on creating the right level of foam and getting it swirling. Not only did this help me whip up a passable macchiato but, when I’d gained a bit more confidence, I was able to make a decent manual latte using touch alone.

So what were the results like? Pretty sensational. Even trying with some relatively affordable decaf beans, the coffee the Meraki produced had a stable, beautifully caramel crema, just the right velvety texture and not straying too far into bitterness or acidity. Each shot I poured remained consistent, showing how easy it is to keep getting these great results. And when I tested it out with a premium bag of Dahwe beans from Ritual Coffee Roasters, the results genuinely blew me away: the flavor was flat out gorgeous, maintaining a pitch perfect balance of not being aggressively floral but confidently communicating its mango overtones.

I’ll admit that I much prefer making coffee than scrubbing up the mess I’ve made but cleaning up here is pretty straightforward. Everyday use really only requires you to purge the steam wand, then give it, the portafilter and the grouphead a wipedown with a damp cloth. Even doing the deep clean at the end of my review wasn’t particularly arduous. Cleaning the steam wand involves running it for bursts of 10 seconds multiple times while submerged in cold water. Making sure the machine’s innards stay squeaky clean is even easier — just pop in the blind portafilter basket, pop it in the machine and then select the cleaning option and a tutorial will walk you through the rest.

There’s always something deeply satisfying about making coffee yourself and that’s why I’ve always been a big fan of manual machines. But what I like most about the Meraki Espresso Machine is that it makes it much easier to take your hand-crafted coffee to the next level. Automated features don’t remove your agency — they instead support it, allowing you to freestyle more and more as your skills grow. And the end result is wonderfully extracted and thoroughly consistent coffee. So ultimately, if you like getting hands on with your coffee and money’s not an object, you’re going to get great results out of the Meraki.

• Performance score: 5 / 5

Should I buy the Meraki Espresso Machine Gen 2?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Meraki Espresso Machine Gen 2 review: also consider

How I tested the Meraki Espresso Machine Gen 2

• Tested it over two weeks
• Tried a variety of drinks, beans and milks
• Measured how long it took to warm up and how loud the pump is

When testing the Meraki Espresso Machine Gen 2, I used it over the course of several weeks. I experimented with different grind levels, used different varieties of beans and tamped at a range of pressures to see how consistent its results were. I also tried to make a variety of drinks and steamed several different varieties of milk to see how the steam wand performed.

To understand how well the Meraki worked as a manual machine, I made sure to extract several coffees without using the automatic dosing and steamed milk using touch alone, rather than relying purely on the steam wand’s temperature sensor. When assessing the performance of the boiler and pump, I not only timed how long it took to heat up in the morning but I also used a sound level meter to record how much noise it made during extraction.

When it comes to my own experience, I’ve been making and drinking coffee on a daily basis for well over two decades. I’ve also gotten hands on with a wide range of machines, whether they’re De’longhi, Breville or Gaggia. My preferred tipple to make with a machine is a double espresso or long black, although any time the weather is not positively arctic, cold brew is my go-to.

• For more details, see how we test, review, and rate products at TechRadar.
• First reviewed: May 2026

Capsule coffee makers get a bad rap, but if you choose the right machine and the right pods, you can enjoy genuinely delicious espresso drinks at home in two minutes flat. I'm TechRadar's resident coffee expert, and I've put together a list of the top four capsule machines I recommend if you need your coffee in a hurry.

When picking a capsule coffee maker, it's important to consider not only the price of the machine itself, but also the ongoing cost of the pods, as some brands are much more expensive than others, and unless you pick one that takes Nespresso Original style capsules (the ones shaped like a top hat), you'll be tied into a specific brand. More on that shortly.

Also take a look at the types of pods available for each machine. Some will include lots of fancy flavors, while others will just give you different espresso beans and roasts.

Finally, consider how easily you'll be able to recycle the pods. Capsules made of aluminum are much easier to process and will be more widely accepted than ones made from plastic, or a combination of materials.

Nespresso

Ninja Prestige DualBrew System

I test over a dozen coffee makers every year here at TechRadar, and the Ninja Prestige DualBrew System (known as the Ninja Espresso and Coffee Maker Barista System in the US) is one of the most versatile I've ever used. If you're an omnivorous coffee fan who loves both filter and espresso, it's a great option (albeit a little large).

On one side you have a fully-featured drip coffee maker, complete with timer (ideal for busy mornings), a large glass carafe, a drip-stop valve, and a smart hotplate that keeps your brew warm without stewing it. There's even a flip-down drip tray behind the carafe so you can brew directly into your travel mug in the morning.

On the right, you have a capsule espresso machine, which uses Nespresso Original capsules and can brew in various different sizes. Nestlé no longer owns the patent on this style of pod, so you can get them anywhere; I used the DualBrew System with pods of fresh decaf from one of my local coffee roasters, and it was almost as good as brewing with beans.

The milk whisk around the back of the machine isn't as good as using a proper steam wand (it whips in air, but doesn't heat the milk) but the rest of this capsule coffee maker is so good, I wouldn't dock it points for that. You could always pick up a standalone milk frother like the Philips Baristina Milk Frother or Smeg Mini Milk Frother if you're a latte-lover.

Read our full Ninja Prestige DualBrew System review

Keurig

Keurig K-Mini Mate

Keurig is one of the biggest names in capsule coffee makers in the US, and the K-Mini Mate (a US-exclusive model) is its smallest machine to date. It's slim enough to fit into even the tiniest kitchen (and tuck into a cupboard when not in use), but still generates enough pressure to extract full-bodied, tasty coffee from K-Cup pods.

When we tested the K-Mini Mate, we were pleasantly surprised by how rich its coffee tasted, even though it took less than two minutes to prepare from start to sip. It's very reasonably priced as well, and although it has a list price of around $90, it's often on sale for as little as $60.

This is really a coffee maker for one person, and you'll need to refill the water tank between drinks if you're brewing for a group, which can be a hassle. We also noticed some splashing as the coffee poured into our cup, but not enough to be a serious issue. If you like the sound of the various coffees and roasts available in K-Cup form, this could be the machine for you.

Read our full Keurig K-Mini Mate review

Lavazza

Lavazza A Modo Mio Smeg

Lavazza is known for its great quality coffee, and Smeg for its iconic retro-style designs. Put them both together and you get a cute little capsule coffee maker that looks fabulous and brews a superb espresso in two minutes flat.

This is one of the more expensive coffee makers in this roundup, but the Lavazza A Modo Mio pods are much cheaper than some other brands. Lavazza doesn't offer fancy flavors like cinnamon bun or gingerbread — just a good selection of different beans and roasts for you to experiment with.

For me, the biggest downside of this cute little coffee maker is the fact that the pods are harder to recycle than K-Cups or Nespresso pods. Although they are compostable, they can only be processed at specialized facilities, which are relatively rare.

Read our full Lavazza A Modo Mio Smeg review

Tassimo

Bosch Tassimo Finesse Friendly

Capsule coffee makers are always easy to use, but the Bosch Tassimo Finesse Friendly is even simpler than most thanks to its orange 'maintenance disc', which makes backwashing the machine effortless, keeping it clean and hygienic.

That's particularly important because unlike most coffee pod machines, the Finesse Friendly can create rich foam using pods of long-life milk. You can get plain milk for regular cappuccinos and lattes, or capsules of flavored milk designed to pair with a particular coffee capsule (like cinnamon roll latte, for example). I'm not usually a great fan of flavored coffee capsules, but Tassimo pods are genuinely tasty, and not overwhelmingly sweet.

The Finesse Friendly is cheap too, and is often discounted to £49.99 (about $70 / AU$100). The downside is that the capsules can be quite expensive, particularly for drinks that require two pods (one for coffee and one for milk). It still works out cheaper than an elaborate takeout habit, but bear in mind that this machine isn't currently available outside Europe.

Read our full Bosch Tassimo Finesse Friendly review

• The new AeroPress Manual Coffee Grinder has 60 grind settings and titanium-coated burrs
• It's so compact, it fits in the chamber of a standard AeroPress
• It costs $199 / £199 (about AU$372)

AeroPress has launched a new manual coffee grinder to match its iconic ground coffee maker – and if you're the impatient kind of coffee drinker or need a bit of help with the grinding you can attach a power drill for super-speedy, freshly ground coffee.

The new AeroPress Manual Coffee Grinder is a smart-looking thing, with an all-metal construction and titanium-coated mechanical burrs, and like the AeroPress it's a very compact and portable cylinder – so much so that you can store it inside your standard AeroPress coffee maker.

AeroPress Manual Coffee Grinder: key features and pricing

The Manual Coffee Grinder features an aluminium hopper with 25g ground capacity for single-dose bean-to-cup brewing. The burrs come with a lifetime guarantee and Easy-Grind technology, which AeroPress says delivers "exceptional precision" without tons of effort thanks to the extra-long handle, which folds away into a slim groove on the side when you're done grinding.

There are 60 adjustable grind settings and the default is factory set to medium-fine for "optimal AeroPress compatibility".

Although this is a manual grinder, there's an optional power drill adapter that does exactly what you'd expect. I can't think of a single reason why I'd want to grind with a power drill but if I had one of these I'm pretty sure I'd do the drill thing every single morning just to start the day with a smile.

More sensibly, this looks like a really good option for travel, camping and other adventures where you can't exactly take a bean-to-cup machine with you.

The AeroPress Manual Coffee Grinder is available now with a list price of $199 / £199 (about AU$372).

Here at the TechRadar Australia office, the coffee machine is the crown jewel of the kitchen, where there’s always a queue of staff wanting to make a cuppa every morning. We currently use the Breville Dual Boiler, but honestly, it’s probably overkill for the home — it’s better suited where several coffees need to be made back to back.

If you love coffee just as much as my colleagues and I do, you could also have a brand-new espresso machine as the star of your kitchen, thanks to these deals on some of the bestselling options on Amazon and TechRadar’s best coffee machines, all of which have decent discounts ahead of the official EOFY sales.

Investing in a coffee machine may be a big ask for some households, but if you’re consistently paying for takeaway coffee or you’re not too keen on settling for instant coffee when you need your caffeine fix in a pinch, I think it’s worth it — especially if you get them discounted. Otherwise, there are more affordable options like Nespresso machines that won’t break the bank.

These deals below from Amazon and The Good Guys are worth your consideration if you’re looking to take the plunge.