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1. Sage SES878BTR Barista Pro
The king of home coffee machines, the Sage is simple to use, with an inbuilt burr grinder and bean hopper, and an easy-to-use LCD display. It heats up in three seconds, creating consistently good espresso or cappuccino in five minutes.
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2. Smeg ECF01
This sturdy, retro-inspired espresso machine has a thermoblock system for fast heating (30 seconds), and dispenses coffee quickly and relatively quietly. It has an adjustable milk frother wand (but no jug) and is compatible with ESE (easy serve espresso) pods.
3. Nespresso Vertuo Next
Mess-free and easy to use, this takes the larger of the Nespresso pods, so you can make longer coffees as well as espressos. It heats up in seconds and has a barcode scanner that reads each pod to deliver the right volume of coffee.
4. Grind One
Quick and simple to use with just two buttons (for a single or double espresso) and an on/off toggle, this stylish machine is also surprisingly quiet. It produces rich coffee, and a separate milk frother is available for an extra £50. Grind makes its own compostable coffee pods, but the machine is also compatible with Nespresso pods.
5. De’Longhi Dedica
A good entry-level machine, this one can take either ground coffee or ESE pods. It has an adjustable steam wand and is controlled by three simple customisable buttons. On the downside, it is a bit slow to heat and fairly loud.
6. Melitta Avanza
The Avanza is a seriously stylish machine that does all the work for you at the press of a button – or rather, buttons. These make everything from selecting intensity and changing to double-cup mode to servicing the machine a doddle.
7. Gaggia Classic
This Italian designed and made machine looks sleek and stylish. It is also robust, easy to set up and intuitive to operate, plus – crucially – the coffee it produces is exquisite.
8. Salter Caffé Barista Pro Espresso Machine
This espresso machine is a bargain, and involves no compromise on performance or the quality of the coffee it makes. It is straightforward and no fuss, with buttons for selecting the steam or espresso functions and a dial for controlling the steam wand.
9. Cuisinart Veloce
This is the Ferrari of at-home espresso machines, and it offers an abundance of options. The LCD touch-screen display allows you to adjust the strength, size, temperature and even the ratio of coffee to frothed or steamed milk.
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