Home espresso
Buying guides for people who have not bought yet
Five guides to the machines, grinders and accessories worth owning. Every recommendation says what the thing is bad at as well as what it is good at, no product is given a rating we did not measure, and no price is quoted here because Amazon changes them faster than anyone can keep a page honest.
Under $500
Three espresso machines worth buying under $500
Three espresso machines worth buying under $500, what each one is genuinely bad at, and the one accessory that matters more than which machine you pick.
Read the guideFor beginners
What to buy if you have never pulled a shot
The espresso machine to start on, why an automatic milk wand matters more than the spec sheet, and the three mistakes that make a first machine feel broken.
Read the guideBambino vs Gaggia
The same money, two completely different machines
The two machines everyone shortlists at this price, compared on the four things that actually differ: heat-up time, milk, repairability and the learning curve.
Read the guideGrinders
The grinder matters more than the machine
Two home espresso grinders worth the money, why burr geometry beats motor power, and the reason a grinder upgrade beats a machine upgrade almost every time.
Read the guideAccessories
The cheap things that fix a bad shot
The three cheap espresso accessories that measurably improve a shot, ranked by how much they help per pound, and the expensive ones that change nothing.
Read the guide