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Read our expert guide before you invest in your next model

Coffee is big business in Britain, with an estimated 95 million cups drunk each day. And, while a trip for a cuppa at a favourite cafe is an unrivalled pleasure for many, there are always going to be times when you crave some caffeine at home — particularly first thing in the morning! For these occasions, you can’t beat an at-home coffee machine for whipping up a quick drink with the skill of your go-to barista.

But, before you invest, there are some things you should know. The most important among them is that there are three main types of machine available; pod, espresso and bean-to-cup. Each one has its own strengths and weaknesses, so read on to learn more from our handy buying guide and find the perfect fit for your kitchen.

There are three main types of at-home coffee machine you should know about:

These tend to be the most expensive, but they’re a worthwhile investment for coffee connoisseurs seeking control and quality. The main advantage of a bean-to-cup machine is that it comes equipped with a grinder built into the machine. So, as the name suggests, they are able to extract coffee from beans in mere minutes, leading to unrivalled freshness.

They’re surprisingly simple to use and will carry out most tasks with just the touch of a button — making them the kings of convenience in your search for barista-quality coffee at home. The in-built grinders reduce coffee beans to grounds from which the machine can extract the flavour to make an espresso.

You’ll usually have more control over variables such as drink size, coffee strength and extraction time, too, so you can tinker with your espresso recipe to fit your personal preferences. Most will also come with an automatic milk frother.

This quick barista – our cappuccino was ready in 93 seconds – is a real star performer. Its steam wand was speedy too, and our espressos were consistent. It boasts ample pleasing design details, from a cleaning kit to an accessory compartment to a magnetic tamp holder. Its controls were easy to follow too. Taller mugs may not fit the machine and more fine grinder sizes would have been appreciated. But these niggles aside, it’s ideal for bringing café-style coffee to your kitchen.

Key specifications Water tank capacity: 2 litres Strength control: Yes Pressure (bar): 15 Milk frother: Yes – steam wand Automatic drinks: No

This was the fanciest coffee machine we tested. Its touch screen design makes using it effortless and on its set drinks, everything from the grinding, dosing, tamping and milk steaming is automated. Our drinks on test were notably consistent too. It’s not the tidiest of machines, but it’s sure to impress your guests, however, and if you’re making a few coffees in one go, it’ll be a speedy pick too.

Key specifications Water tank capacity: 2.5 litres Strength control: Yes Pressure (bar): 15 Milk frother: Yes – steam wand Automatic drinks: Yes – 5

This intuitive machine didn’t drop a single mark for its espresso making and comes with plenty of guidance to help you make the most of it. Its dosing and tamping tools should minimise coffee waste while its storage compartment will keep your kitchen tidy. The steam wand was speedy although a bit stiff to move. More information on how much coffee the grinder has dosed would be appreciated, but overall it’s a dependable pick.

Key specifications Water tank capacity: 1.7 litres Strength control: No Pressure (bar): 15 Milk frother: Yes – steam wand Automatic drinks: Yes – 3

Espresso machines tend to look like miniature versions of the ones you see in coffee shops. Much like pod machines, they draw flavour from coffee grounds, but this time around these are loose and will need both measuring and tamping before they’re ready for extraction. This may take a little longer than other machines, but transforms the coffee-making process into more of an experience, and the delicious results make the extra effort worthwhile.

If you want to create coffee from beans and get the greatest level of freshness, like with bean-to-cup machines, you’ll need to either invest in an electric coffee grinder. Otherwise, you can pick up pre-ground coffee from your favourite shop or nearest supermarket to use with your machine.

Espresso machines are also a good option if you favour a range of milk-based drinks or fancy learning latte art, thanks to their steam wand. And they come with plenty of other accessories too, including a milk frothing jug, portafilter, tamper and interchangeable filters.

This is Beko’s only espresso coffee machine. It has a simple design with just two settings: steam milk and express coffee. Note that there is no automatic espresso setting, meaning you’ll need to turn the "express coffee" setting off manually after pouring your desired dose. 

Happily, it makes technically perfect espressos, producing shot after shot at the correct temperature, each with a thick, robust crema. Our expert taster praised the “nuanced flavours of citrus and dark chocolate”. It steams milk well, with pleasingly fine and velvety bubbles, but there is no milk jug and the nozzle can't move much as it sits so close to the machine.  

Key specifications Cup capacity: 2 Water tank capacity: 1.4 litres Pressure: 15 bars Milk frother: Yes - steam wand Milk jug included: No 

This elegant espresso maker will add a touch of class to any kitchen, but it offers substance as well as style. It's fairly quick to preheat, taking just 49 seconds, and it offers an automatic 30ml serving. 

Our espressos came out at the perfect temperature, with our expert taster rating the deep caramel colour of their frothy, creamy cremas. The coffee tasted nutty and fruity - delicious! - but the body was fairly thin and the taste was on the cusp of being too acidic for their liking. 

It built steam pressure rapidly and achieved a stable foam when steaming both cow's and non-dairy milk, both of which took roughly a minute. Manoeuvring the jug under the nozzle was easy, but you can't foam milk and make an espresso at once, and the stand isn't adjustable for differently sized mugs. It's also quite noisy in use and a touch unstable. 

Key specifications Cup capacity: 1 Water tank capacity: 2 litres Pressure: 15 bars Milk frother: Yes - steam wand Milk jug included: Yes

Like our winner, this is Smeg’s only espresso machine. It has a striking design and is available in seven colours. It proved good at steaming milk but, again like our winning model, the nozzle is short and chunky, making the frothing process cumbersome and uncomfortable. Its lack of a milk jug is disappointing given the price, too. 

On the upside, its pre-set single and double espresso settings earned our seal of approval, and our expert taster enjoyed the notes brought out in their espresso: green apple, malt and brown sugar. The coffee was the right temperature and had a thick crema, but they found the body too thin.

Key specifications Cup capacity: 2 Water tank capacity: 1 litre Pressure: 15 bars Milk frother: Yes - steam wand Milk jug included: No

Pod machines are your best bet for a quick and easy coffee in the morning. They make single-serve drinks from ground beans that are sealed inside pods or capsules. A pod is placed in a designated slot, then the lid of the machine is shut causing the capsule to be pierced. Water is pushed through the grounds to extract the coffee, and a shot is poured.

Pod machines are easy to use and deliver consistent results, but they won’t give you the same level of control over your coffee as other models. So, if you’re looking for a no-fuss cuppa and favour an espresso, this is the option for you. Most models also include an automatic milk frother, if you’re after milk-based drinks.

When it came to flavour, the Opal One was unrivalled, with its impeccable performance earning it the pod coffee machine crown. It handled a range of speciality pods with ease, delivering a great-tasting shot every time, and we enjoyed being able to alter the brewing temperature. It was simple to use and the stylish, compact design will suit most kitchen sizes and aesthetics.

When extracting our third consecutive espresso, the speed slowed considerably and there was a slight break in the flow of the coffee. However, at an affordable £119, this model is a steal if you want delicious drinks with minimal effort.

Key specifications Water tank capacity: 0.8 litres Milk frother: No Pod type: Nespresso Programmes: Espresso, lungo

This machine might cost more than most, but it's certainly worthy of its higher price tag. The Sage’s premium look and feel hits you first, but it backs up these superficial features with plenty of substance. It boasts a wide variety of personalisation options, allowing you to tailor your brew to your liking, but we had to tweak the automatic recipe settings slightly to optimise performance.

Once these were sorted, it consistently produced some of the highest quality milk textures we tasted for drinks like lattes and cappuccinos. It’s ideal for coffee aficionados who want a fuss-free drink while maintaining control over their cuppa.

Key specifications Water tank capacity: 1.5 litre Milk frother: Yes - steam wand Pod type: Nespresso Programmes: Cappuccino, cafe latte, espresso, ristretto, lungo, flat white, latte macchiato, milk

Not every kitchen is blessed with enough space to fit a bulky pod coffee machine. If yours is on the bijou side, consider this smaller Lattissima One. It’s well designed and features a dishwasher-friendly milk frother – an impressive inclusion given its compact size. It also comes with a series of useful drink preparation tips, which helped us create one tasty pod-style espresso after another.

However, when preparing milk for cappuccinos, the consistency wasn’t quite right. The milk drink programme also only has one preset volume of coffee, so if you’re after something stronger to wake you up in the morning, you’ll need to make a separate espresso and add it in.

Key specifications Water tank capacity: 1 litre Milk frother: Yes - automatic frother Pod type: The Original Nespresso pods Programmes: Espresso, large espresso, cappuccino, macchiato

We’ve sipped our way through hundreds of coffees to find the best machines. This involved pulling espressos, whipping up lattes, frothing cappuccinos and pouring flat whites from more than 40 top models. The consistency and efficiency of each model was assessed as they made specific beverages, allowing us to ensure they are capable of creating the desired flavour profile time and time again.

Whether testing bean-to-cup, espresso or pod machines, we use coffee with the same tasting notes — caramel, biscuit and chocolate. Our feedback is based on the following criteria:

If the coffee machine has a steam wand or milk frother, we steam milk and dairy-free alternatives to see if it can create the correct textures and volumes for specific recipes. We also take a temperature reading to test whether it has reached the optimum heat for sweet, velvety milk.

Every test is conducted twice to check the consistency.

Ideal for those who love a cappuccino, the majority of machines will come with a milk frother or have the option to buy a frothing accessory separately. There are three main milk frothing methods:

Machines with automatic frothers will usually have programmes that allow you to froth milk or make a cappuccino at the touch of a button. They come with a sealed plastic or glass jug which is detachable, allowing it to be cleaned easily. Some jugs will also have an adjustable spout that can pour the heated milk straight into your mug.

These are similar to automatic milk frothers, but tend to be separate from the coffee machine. Another key difference is that, rather than selecting a preset programme, you’ll need to pour your coffee and froth the milk manually if you want to make a milky drink. Some frothing accessories are able to froth cold milk, too — perfect for iced coffees.

Used on commercial machines in coffee shops, these wands use steam pressure to froth milk. It’s arguably the trickiest milk-steaming method, but rewards users with total control over the texture of their milk. This allows you to produce a fine and glossy microfoam — ideal for latte art. These are most commonly found on espresso coffee machines, and will often be accompanied by a stainless steel milk jug. If this isn’t included, you can easily pick one up from the likes of John Lewis or Amazon.

Most bean-to-cup coffee machines allow you to adjust the strength and size of your coffee. These settings can be saved too, allowing you to choose your favourite coffee setting over and over again.

Some more expensive coffee machines connect to an app, so you can make a coffee without having to get out of bed — provided you have enough beans and water in the tank, and a mug ready under the spout.

Cleaning a coffee machine can be a bit of a faff as there are so many parts, including internal ones that are tricky to deep clean. That’s why an automatic cleaning programme can be handy, automatically flushing the entire system. The length of a cleaning programme varies with each machine, with some taking just six minutes while others will need more than 20. Some models feature specialised cleaning programmes for the milk frother, too.

A bar is a measurement of pressure. When it comes to coffee machines, it’s the amount of pressure needed to push hot water through the compacted grounds to extract coffee — we found we needed at least 15 bars for optimum performance. You’ll see some coffee machines that offer more than 15 bars, but this doesn’t necessarily indicate that it’s a better machine.

Crema is the rich, caramel-coloured layer that sits on top of an espresso, a bit like the head on a pint of Guinness. The presence of a thick crema proves the coffee beans used to make the drink were fresh, while it will be notably absent if stale beans are used. Beans that are used within six weeks of being roasted tend to produce the best crema.

Grinders, such as those on bean-to-cup machines, will have a grind gradient that goes from fine to coarse. The finer the grind, the slower and more bitter the extraction, while a coarser grind will lead to a quicker and more acidic extraction. The ideal grind size will extract a balance of acidity, sweetness and bitterness from the bean, but know that you can adjust the level to suit your personal preferences.

You’ll find these on espresso coffee machines and some bean-to-cup models. A portafilter is simply a handle that contains a filter basket, which is where the coffee grounds are held. This is then fitted into the coffee machine and hot water is forced through the coffee grounds to extract the flavour.

A tamper goes with a portafilter, and is essentially a small tool used to compress the ground coffee that’s in the basket. Coffee grounds shouldn’t be packed too loosely or too tightly, so a little trial and error is needed to work out what’s right.

Too loose and the water will pass through the portafilter too easily during extraction, too tight and the water will struggle to push its way passed the grounds. Experts agree that coffee should be tamped at about 40-45 lbs of pressure. If you’re committed to creating the perfect coffee, know that practice makes perfect. So, you can work out what this amount of pressure feels like by pressing your tamper onto your kitchen or bathroom scales.

A thermoblock is a heating element in the coffee machine that makes sure water is extracted at the correct temperature: 90-96C.

You’ve probably heard connoisseurs refer to coffee as being under- or over-extracted, but recognising and remedying this can be a bit of a challenge. A well-extracted coffee is balanced in flavour, whereas under-extracted brews will taste too acidic and over-extracted drinks have an overriding ashy, bitter flavour.

This can occur for a couple of reasons; either the coffee has been ground too coarsely or the hot water hasn’t been able to extract enough flavour. The shot will pour very quickly if this is the case. An under-extracted coffee will taste sour, salty and lack sweetness, and the flavour will instantly disappear.

This happens when the coffee has been ground too finely, the water in the machine is too hot, the coffee has been tamped too lightly or the portafilter has been overfilled. These factors all increase the amount of time the coffee is exposed to brewing, causing a dry, burnt flavour that lingers in the mouth for a long time after drinking.

Looking after your coffee machine will not only increase its lifespan but also make your coffee taste better. Following these simple steps will ensure you get a quality cuppa every time:

Once coffee has been extracted from bean-to-cup and espresso machines, you’re left with a small puck of compacted coffee. You can fertilise your garden with the grounds or pop them in the compost bin.

The single-use nature of coffee pods may be off-putting for some but, thankfully, most brands are easily recyclable. Both Lavazza and Nespresso have dedicated recycling points nationwide (the locations can be found online). Nespresso pods can also be recycled in store or posted back to Nespresso. Alternatively, take a look at our roundup of the best eco-friendly coffee pods.