The 13 Best Bean-to-Cup, Espresso and Pod Coffee Machines

Short of smuggling your go-to barista back to your kitchen, you’ll be hard pressed to whip up a better at-home beverage than this machine from Sage can muster up. Every step of the brewing process (aside from tamping and dosage) is customisable, helping you get the most out of your chosen beans.

In fact, you can select and adjust your preferred coffee strength, milk texture and temperature, then save your favourites under up to eight personalised preset programmes.

The LCD screen guides you through your first steps using the machine, while the grinder impressed with its huge range of grind sizes. The automatic milk frother also performed well during testing, accurately creating the ideal texture for a range of drinks at the touch of a button.

Using it manually will require some practice, but its metallic finish gives it a premium look and feel, that cemented its place as our front runner.

With over 32 different beverages to choose from – yes, you read that right – it should take you a fair while to work your way through all the possibilities this powerful little machine can create. And what’s more, it's truly effortless to use thanks to its accompanying app that lets you control the machine from your phone.

Catering to cappuccino or macchiato lovers with its milk frother, you can also personalise the machine with the option to save up to 10 of your own favourite serve settings. The touchscreen controls were easy to use, and while we found it a little fiddly to clean, for the breadth of choice, it can’t be beaten.

In 1732 Bach wrote an entire opera about coffee addiction. Now that we’ve covered your moderately interesting coffee factoid, it’s time to introduce your enigmatic coffee mentor – the De’Longhi La Specialista Arte. Thanks to its step-by-step YouTube tutorials, you can scan a QR code and get educated in everything from first-time set-up to perfecting a cold brew. Yes, there are also slow-mo bean pouring shots, thank you for asking.

Another great benefit of this De’Longhi number is that it’s intuitive and has eight adjustable settings, but still benefits from that classical La Dolce Vita look. Plus, you can prepare two coffees at the same time, and it just so happened to score full marks when our experts tested its espresso abilities. See, absolute no-brainer for beginners.

Stylish as ever, this compact Smeg machine is a minimalist beauty, and great for those a little pressed for space. It’s simple to use too, with a one-touch button to select your preferred brew and the heating system takes just 50 seconds to heat up. It will serve iced coffee lovers well too; the dispenser is adjustable, so you can slip a wide range of cups and even tall glasses beneath it.

Cleaning it requires concentration as it's fiddly in places, and you won’t find much information on the volume of coffee and water needed, but it’s a stand-out in the design stakes and one we’d be proud to show off.

If you’re looking for a machine that just gets on with things, producing a range of coffee styles at the touch of a button, then this is the one for you. But if you like to tailor your coffee exactly to your tastes, then it probably isn’t.

The strength of this sizeable machine from Jura is its 10 pre-set offerings – everything from a flat white to an espresso. Note the milk dispenser is sold separately. Setup was seamless, thanks to clear online instructions and our drinks on test were fairly consistent. For ultimate ease, look no further; this Jura is a kitchen counter addition that will impress daily.

Gaggia is an iconic Italian brand, and this clever machine is a versatile addition that can brew both beans and coffee grounds (for those times when all you’ve got left in the house is that one packet of pre-ground coffee your aunt got you for Christmas).

The machine heats up rapidly, although the steam wand takes a little longer to get going. That said, it’s impressively powerful, replicating the professional style wands you’d find in your favourite independent café, so latte art mastery can be yours. The compact design should suit most kitchens and its sleek finish is pleasing to the eye. An all-rounder.

Beko’s sole espresso coffee machine is our prized pick, proving that simple really can be best. Its minimalist, no-frills design merely lets you express coffee, steam milk and keep your drink warm, but those three functions will likely suffice.

We’d have welcomed an auto-dose feature when pouring espressos, but our shots earned high praise from our taster, who noted their thick crema and citrussy, chocolatey flavour. The steam wand froths milk to a silky foam but manoeuvring the nozzle is difficult as it's positioned so close to the casing. Overall, it offers brilliant value for money.

Great coffee is subjective. But, if you know what you like, this is the machine for you. It features a wide range of modification options, allowing you to tinker with the drink recipes until they tick all your beverage boxes.

If you’re willing to spend time perfecting the settings, the Creatista Plus will pay you back with consistently delicious espressos, as well as staggeringly good milk foaming for an automatic frother. The steaming process takes a while, however, so expect a bit of a wait if you’re after an early morning cappuccino.

Breville's nifty machine preheats rapidly and auto-serves 30ml shots. These largely impressed our taster, who highly rated their caramel-coloured crema and nutty, fruity taste, but they would have preferred a fuller body.

The steam wand froths both cow’s and dairy-free milk to perfection in under a minute, but you can’t foam milk and pour coffee simultaneously. It’s a noisy fella, and a little unstable during use, but it delivers on both style and substance.

Should you want to shake up your kitchen aesthetic and forgo the ubiquitous black or silver, this statement Smeg espresso machine comes in seven colours including red, pink and blue. It wouldn’t look out of place in a Fifties roadside diner, if Fifties roadside diners cared about what their coffee tasted like.

It pours first-class single or double shots, which our expert said tasted of malt, green apple and brown sugar. The temperature and crema of each espresso were spot-on, but the body lacked oomph. Its steam wand is effective with all kinds of milk but the stout, chunky nozzle makes for an unwieldy frothing process. Given the high price, we were expecting a milk jug to be included, but alas.

De’Longhi makes seriously good-looking coffee machines, and this espresso model backs up its 10/10 reputation. Fairly new to the range, it’s slim enough to slot neatly into smaller kitchens. It pours well-bodied shots with robust crema, but our taster thought the aroma and flavour lacked depth and balance.

The filter basket has a tiresome habit of falling out of the portafilter when you empty it, but the steam wand helped make up for that drawback. It foams milk reliably and the nozzle is well-designed for manoeuvrability, making this appliance one of our top picks for milky coffee drinkers.

When it comes to quality coffee at home, pod machines are the kings of speed, and the Opal One truly is royalty. It boasts more variable options than most of its rivals, with adjustable brew temperature and cup volume, yet is still refreshingly simple to use. It also handled speciality pods well, which we welcomed.

It feels like it’s been designed to last and its sleek aesthetic will suit any kitchen aesthetic beautifully. It faltered slightly when pulling a third shot of espresso on the trot, with a minor break in the flow and much slower extraction, but that was the only criticism we could muster.

You may have figured it out already, given this machine’s svelte profile and the brand’s repeated appearances in this list, but Sage knows how to make a classy coffee machine.

As seems to be standard across its models, there is an excellent amount of control afforded over brewing variables and a guided set-up via a clear LCD screen. It will also walk you through cleaning, helping to keep your machine shipshape for longer.

Steaming milk took longer than we would have liked, and we had to adjust the preset volumes of most drinks recipes as they proved sub-optimal. But, if you don’t mind some initial graft, you’ll reap the benefits from this impressive bit of kit.