Our recommendations for making fantastic flat whites and excellent espresso Coffee machines typically come in three different flavours. The simplest and most affordable machines are filter coffee makers, which you load with ground coffee and wait for the hot water to pass through it and into the jug below. Then there are capsule coffee machines, into which you insert single-cup capsules that can make anything from speciality coffees to hot chocolate. And finally, at the more expensive end of the market there are bean-to-cup machines, which you fill with beans that they grind before passing hot water over them. Bean-to-cup machines make brilliant coffee (depending of course on the beans you use), but while it’s possible to get a miniature beanto-cup machine for about £40 the good ones start at around £250 and continue well past the £1,000 mark, with machines at the high end featuring extremely high water pressure, artificial intelligence, tablet-style displays and more coffee options than you could possibly drink in a lifetime. Some also include milk frothers for creamy cappuccinos and flat whites. If you’re serious about coffee but don’t want to spend serious money, both Dolce Gusto and Nespresso coffee machines are very affordable – around £35 to £90 at the time of
Aeropress Unlike the other coffee machines here, the Aeropress has no electric or electronic parts: it does its magic by air pressure. Simply fill it with coffee and hot water, wait a bit and then plunge for perfect coffee. £29.99, aeropress.co.uk
Delonghi Magnifica ESAM4200 We’ll admit bias here: we’re on our second Magnifica and they’re magnificent bean-to-cup machines. They’re quite noisy but the results are worth a few seconds of grinding and wheezing, and they’re particularly great with famous Italian coffee brands. £349, delonghi.com
writing – and the pods come in at around 50p each for Nespresso and 20p each for Dolce Gusto. Although the machines themselves are very simple, the available pods cover every conceivable kind of coffee, enabling you to make whatever you like without any fuss whatsoever. Last but not least there are the familiar filter coffee makers, with prices starting below £25 and rising to about £200 for prestigious brands such as Smeg. Although most such coffee makers have a keep-warm function, we’d recommend turning them off when they’re not in use: we’ve burnt through many filter coffee makers whose heating elements failed after just a few months of fairly intensive use. In addition to all of these machines there’s another option: the Aeropress. This £30 coffee maker is similar to but faster and easier to clean than a French press: simply combine water and ground coffee, let it sit for a bit and then press the plunger down to deliver a smooth and mellow drink.
Jura E6 Platinum Jura’s coffee machines are incredibly impressive. The E6 is packed with cutting-edge coffee technology that makes it really easy to use. It has eleven different specialities and there’s an intelligent water filter for perfect taste. £599, hartsofstur.com
Nescafe Dolce Gusto Mini Me If even a Nespresso machine is too big, this tiny machine packs a seriously caffeinated punch thanks to its Dolce Gusto pods, which are even more affordable than Nespresso ones. £56, Amazon UK
Nespresso Vertuo Plus If you want high-end coffee without the high-end price tag, Nespresso machines are much more affordable and make it easy to get excellent coffee every time. £199, nespresso.com
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