The best espresso machine to buy
admin July 30th, 2009
The Weekend Australian recently had some experts review the 5 best selling, entry level machines under $500 and gave their biggest ticks to 2 of them:
1. Sunbeam Artista EM5900 @ $499
The winner by a whisker. The Artista pre-infuses (allowing the “cake” to moisten and expand before extraction) and purges post-espression. “The thing that impressed us most is that it wouldn’t allow us to extract coffee if the machine was too hot — and that self-purging function,” says Mark Dundon (bean importer, roaster and international coffee judge). It made good shots consistently and produced good steam quickly, using a simple wand that assumed you didn’t need the help of an auto-frother … and, unlike the others in this test, the Arista allows manual adjustment of both water and steam temperature, should the pre-set levels be found wanting.
2. Breville 800ED @ $450
The all-metal shell suggests quality and for the price this machine performs extremely well. Like the Arista, the 800ES pre-infuses and purges — both valuable aids to the uninitiated. However we found it slightly less consistent over the course of four shots; we didn’t like the auto-frother (which is easily removed) and there is no manual override for water/steam temperature. “Still, I’d call this the quiet achiever,” says Dundon. “I’d be happy to have this in my home.”
Marilyn, I have a Bezzera machine – its the smallest one that bars and tiny cafes buy, it is commercial. It has no bells and whistles, is not computerised and has lasted for over 12 years with 2 services. If people want to know how to make real coffee I suggest they cannot go wrong with one of these. You can opt to plumb it in but we have not so it can travel if necessary. Roz
Hi Roz — I don’t doubt the performance of your older machine, but I wonder whether the new model bears any resemblance. I have found that when old favourites go to heaven, buying the same brand now is a highly unreliable guide to performance.
As per my previous post on buy espresso machines, I recommend seeing the people at Merlos (Valley and Bowen Hills) for their advice.