The 23 best coffee machine deals 2024 to perfect your home brew
Whether you want filter, pod, bean-to-cup or pump machines, we've found the very best for every budget
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Regardless of whether you prefer a frothy cappuccino, a macchiato or a God shot of espresso to get you up and firing in the morning, there’s only one true way to enjoy the perfect brew away from the spenny coffee shops of your local town – and that’s with one of the best coffee machines placed on your kitchen countertop. Good quality coffee is an achievable dream for all who invest and equip their home with a decent brewing point, and the only problem is having figuring out which one is going to be best for your specific preferences.
Sure, we can all tip a kettle full of water into a mug of instant coffee, but not all of us have the dexterity and patience of a barista to rustle up delicious cups of coffee before work, so perhaps they need a fire-and-forget machine that requires a single press to deliver your morning Joe. Others prefer a more manual experience, carefully measuring out the grind, optimising the temperature and refraining from breathing through the whole process to avoid contamination. As you can see, there’s a broad range of specifications, so what you really need is someone to guide you around the confusing world of coffee machines to nudge you towards your dream robotic coffee maker.
Don’t worry though, as we’ve figured out all the best options and also got some helpful advice from Harrods’ in-house master barista, Bartosz Ciepaj, to make your decision a little easier.
What are the best coffee machines to buy 2024?
Honestly, a good coffee machine should look just as awesome as the coffee it produces, so we think this sleek stainless steel collab between Smeg and La Pavoni will fit rather nicely on your kitchen countertop. The hand-pumped brewer unlocks a whole new level of tinkering to your coffee, and it's definitely not something you'd ever want to pack away in a cupboard.
For the coffee lover who can't decide what they want, Breville's all-in-one machine steps in to help out. Delivering pretty much every type of warm drink right into your mug with just a few button presses, this one should be your first port of call for all your drinking needs.
Arguably one of the best feelings in the world is having a perfectly-brewed cup of coffee ready and waiting for you on the morning of a busy day, so why not invest in a machine that will get it all sorted through voice control? Lavazza's smart Voicy is a top-level automatic coffee machine that removes all the stress from your daily caffeine injection, and will even sing a song for you if you ask it nicely.
- GQ's favourite coffee machine: Illy X1 Anniversary, £521 at amazon.co.uk
- Best smart coffee machine: Lavazza A Modo Mio Voicy, £210 at amazon.co.uk
- Most simple coffee machine: Sage Bambino Plus, £398 at amazon.co.uk
- Best capsule coffee machine: Lavazza, A Modo Mio Jolie, £65 at amazon.co.uk
- Best app-controlled coffee machine: Melitta Barista TS Smart, £654 at amazon.co.uk
Skip to: How do we test coffee machines? | Which is the best coffee maker to buy? | Which coffee machine is best for beginners? | What coffee machines does Starbucks use?
How do we test coffee machines?
If you're going to drop a few tonnes on a brand-new coffee machine, you want to know that it's worth your time and money, so we have picked out a selection of tested machines as well as the best-rated and most popular coffee makers around. For models we tested, we put them through the usual testing of making morning and day-time brews, assessing individual mechanics or systems for ease of use and quality of the drink. We tested any smart or app-controlled features for responsiveness and drank plenty of different coffee types –it's a tough job but someone's got to do it– to find out if they can actually deliver the goods.
For everything else, we researched the most sought-after products around, including the highest-reviewed and best-loved coffee machines. If everyone else loves it, you can be sure you probably will too.
Amazon Prime Day 2024
Amazon Prime Day 2024 kicks off 16-17 July, and we're rounding up the top deals on our best Prime Day 2024 deals page. We only mention it because there's bound to be several coffee machines getting in on the bargain action, so if you're in the market for a new caffeine fix, keep an eye peeled out for some tasty deals below and/or on our main hub page.
Which is the best coffee maker to buy?
So what should you be looking for? “The best cup coffee machine is the one that serves your needs, so you have to ask yourself a few questions,” advises Ciepaj. “What do I personally want from the machine – a quick cup of coffee, or a God Shot of perfect espresso? If you’re looking for a quick and easy cup of coffee every time, get a bean to cup. For a perfect espresso-based coffee at home, go for a home lever machine that lets you control all the variables in home-brewing.”
There are four different types you need to be aware of:
For a more luxurious experience that caters to any and all styles of coffee, the best bean-to-cup machine is the one to go for. Removing a lot of the hands-on experience out of coffee-making, these machines simply require you to pop in the coffee beans, press a single button and then pick up a steaming mug ready to be consumed. Be prepared to make an investment (they can cost upwards of £1,000) but it is absolutely worth every penny if you’re keen on the ease-of-use factor.
Similarly convenient, the best coffee pod machines are for anyone who needs a quick shot in the morning without having to think too hard about water pressure, boiling times, and milk frothing. They are typically smaller and more affordable espresso makers than other brewers, but the process involves deciding which type of coffee you want to drink and throwing the pod of pre-ground coffee –which is available in a wide range of tasty flavours– into the machine to get it going. However, it’s hard to overlook how wasteful and damaging to the environment these pods can be. According to research by Halo, out of the 39,000 coffee pods that are produced every minute, 29,000 will be dumped at landfill sites.
It's a shocking statistic, but one that brands such as Nespresso have been working to improve. Most pod coffee machines are now recyclable and drop-off services may be available to help ensure as few as possible end up in the wrong place. When choosing which brand to purchase, keep this in mind and ensure you're on board with the amount of recycling you'll have to keep up with.
Want to get involved in coffee brewing? Pump machines are best for experimentation and will be the closest you can get to being a barista. They use pressure and boiled water, adjusted by a handle, to transform coffee grounds into blended drinks. Ciepaj advises you’ll need to write down your proportions and brew time to make the perfect coffee, just like you would when making a cake, so it definitely requires a bit more thought. You’ll also want to make sure you get (or at least find one that has one attached) a coffee grinder so you can get fresh coffee every time.
Filter coffee machines are a standard choice for anyone looking for a more affordable machine that just produces hot water for your mug. You might get one or two extra features like a milk frother or the option to brew different drinks, but it won’t quite be as good as your local coffee shop. The best espresso machines usually fall into this category, with great-tasting coffee delivered to you at the touch of a button, and they pretty much only make American-style coffee, but if that's your cup of tea (sorry, coffee), this is all you need.
Which coffee machine is best for beginners?
Any machine that helps you brew with a button will be your best bet, so look out for the one-touch Nespresso machines, Breville One-Touch or the Lavazza Voicy to help you get your caffeine fix instantly with minimal effort. These will have programmable options to get you your favourite drink of choice with one or two button presses, affording you the freedom to attempt to wake up while you wait. Espresso coffee machines are usually all that’s available at a lower price point, but that does mean you can be clever with your brewing and make cold brews or single-shot drinks in the machine before adding in more ingredients separately.
A step up in difficulty will be bean-to-cup machines which require a fair amount more thought in terms of keeping on top of the amount of beans left and allow you to customise your drinks with a bit more finesse. Adjust your dosing amount per drink will also be a potential headache before you settle on the right amount that suits you, but you might enjoy the process of being more involved in your drink-making.
Pump machines are more advanced if you’re still figuring out what you like from your drinks and how to get the right strength, though they can help you tinker with the pour to help you figure out what you like. Finding your own footing in this dizzy world of caffeine drinking will be a part of the fun, but if you’re just starting out and what a machine that will accompany your journey of discovery, we’d recommend a pump.
What coffee machines does Starbucks use?
The best way to learn a specific art is to watch the pros, but let’s face it, they will almost certainly have better equipment than anything you can get commercially. Starbucks, for instance, use hyper-specialised Mastrene machines with built-in grinders, steamers, frothers and multi-pour stations to get as many coffees out as quickly as possible. If you want to totally revolutionise your kitchen counter space into a cafe, then perhaps you could look into it, but for the vast majority of us, the machines you’ll find below will be enough for your caffeine fix.
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