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Tom's Guide
20-06-2025
- General
- Tom's Guide
I'm an ex-barista and these easy upgrades will make your cheap espresso machine brew like a pro
I know that many of the best espresso machines cost an arm and a leg. Home espresso machines can literally cost upwards of $10k, which is obviously out of the realm of possibility for most of us normal folk. But not all hope is lost — some espresso machines are under $300, and they're actually really good. I recently tested the $149 De'Longhi Stilosa and I can't stop yapping on about it. Admittedly, I expected it to be trash, but it's the complete opposite. There are a few essential upgrades, though. You cannot use pre-ground coffee, not under any circumstances. You need to get your ratios right. And, finally, you need single-walled portafilters. The U.K. version of the Stilosa comes with single-walled portafilters, whereas the U.S. one doesn't. I'll recommend alternatives, tips, and tricks below — all from me, an ex-barista. If you know even a little bit about coffee, I'm sure you already know that having a good grinder is the most important thing you can do. Most of them are very low effort — the Baratza Encore ESP and Breville Dose Control Pro ($199 and $139) respectively are electric, so you just press 'grind' and go. Hand-grinders are more unique. You can adjust the grind size to the nth degree (we're talking literal microns here) and provide a more personalized experience. My personal recommendation depends on your budget and coffee style. Got money to burn? Then get the Comandante C40 MK4. Want a decent grinder that's relatively cheap? Then the Breville Dose Control Pro is for you. Just make sure your grinder has a burr and not a blade. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. The Dose Control Pro is one of the cheapest grinders on the market today. Not going to lie, it's not the best, but considering the price? Heck, it'll do. It has good uniformity and consistency and is one of the easiest grinders to use for beginners. Why is a good grinder so important? Many reasons, but most of it is because of a) freshness of coffee results in good flavor, and b) too coarsely or too finely ground coffee will result in nasty espresso. Shop-bought preground coffee will 99% of the time result in nasty espresso. It's not been ground fine enough for most home espresso machines and is usually stale after a few days. You'll never be able to achieve cafe-quality espresso with preground coffee. Enter the coffee grinder. Even grocery-store branded wholebeans will taste better than premium preground. If you make sure you're grinding on the finest (or almost the finest) setting, your espresso will be so much tastier. Look for a texture around the size of baker's sugar or even as fine as icing sugar or flour. With a good grinder, you'll be well on your way to brewing like a pro. While some more expensive espresso machines have built-in dose, preinfusion, and extraction times (or volumes), cheap espresso machines tend not to. As a result, if you have a more basic machine, you'll need to measure these amounts yourself. Also, I've found that you can't always trust machines. I would much rather figure this stuff out myself. So to upgrade your cheap machine, you'll need a coffee scale. Thankfully, I've tested loads of the best coffee scales, so without much ado, I'll tell you exactly which one you should get. The Wacaco Exagram Pro is one of the cheapest coffee scales on the market and it's the one I personally use every single time I make a coffee. The Wacaco Exagram Pro coffee scale is so good because it does what other scales seem to be incapable of — be affordable. Some of the premium scales can go for almost $300, so $50 for a scale of this quality is a steal. If you're brewing espresso on a budget, then there's nothing I recommend more than the Wacaco Exagram Pro scale. It has an auto-detection mode, so it will automatically start timing once your espresso pours. The dial surface is water-resistant but has no IP rating, so while it'll be fine if a little splash falls on it during coffee making, I wouldn't go dunking it in the bathtub. I use this scale every day and I have no complaints at all. It's reliable, accurate, and most of all, affordable. My last point depends on what machine you have. Some machines come with both dual- and single-walled portafilters. You want single-walled portafilters. Dual-walled portafilters (sometimes called pressurized) basically squeeze the espresso through a tiny hole, which creates air inside the espresso. While this means your espresso looks nice and the crema is thick, you'll lose a lot of coffee flavor. Single-walled portafilters (sometimes called non-pressurized) have loads of little holes so the espresso can extract without being pushed out. It's very easy to tell the difference. The left portafilter is a dual-walled, and the right is a single-walled. You want the right side. So if your portafilters look like the one on the left, you need to get yourself some single-walled ones. Some budget espresso machines only come with dual-walled to try to cover up that the espresso machine isn't that good. However, if you get a single-walled one, you can bring it back. It's salvageable, I promise. First, you'll need to figure out what size your coffee machine's portafilters are. The De'Longhi Stilosa I mentioned earlier uses 51mm, and the Bambino Plus uses 54mm (but comes with single-walled portafilters). Once you know the size, any third-party portafilter will do the trick. You may need to buy a new group head too, just to ensure you're getting the best you can. As I promised in my headline, these tips are very low-effort. All you need to do is buy something — quite low effort if you ask me. However, there are loads of high-effort upgrades available, too. The first is installing a PID controller, which controls the temperature of the water to prevent weak or burned coffee. You can also do things like installing a pipe into your drip tray and auto-draining into plumbing (obviously only do this if your machine's drip tray is big enough). On top of all of that, you can even replace steam wands with third-party steam wands. Remember — these are very technical and very high-effort upgrades. They're not for the inexperienced or beginners. I would recommend staying away from these unless you precisely know what you're doing. Also, if you've got a great grinder, a coffee scale, and some proper portafilters, there's no reason why that won't massively upgrade the flavor of your coffee anyway. For most people, following those 3 tricks will have you pulling shots and slinging lattes like there's no tomorrow. If you have any coffee questions, please leave a comment and I will reply to you!
Tom's Guide
16-06-2025
- General
- Tom's Guide
I fell for the bean-to-cup hype — here's the espresso machine I wish I'd bought, and why
The best espresso machines come in all shapes and sizes. Remarkably, my espresso machine — the De'Longhi La Specialista Opera — is Tom's Guide's number one espresso machine. It's the best overall — an almighty title, worthy of a fantastic, impeccable coffee machine. The La Specialista Opera is all of those things — fantastic, impeccable, the best — but even though these accolades are true and correct, I just don't think it's the machine for me anymore. Yes, it makes delicious coffee, and yes, it looks like an absolute treat. However, I think I jumped the gun and got the machine I was most excited about, rather than the one that suited me the best. I'll discuss why and what I wish I'd gotten instead: a hint, it includes a Breville espresso machine, because, of course, it does. I know, how typical of me. I do love my De'Longhi, but my heart absolutely yearns for a Breville Bambino Plus. Why, you ask? Because, for starters, it's just 7 inches wide compared to my La Specialista Opera's 14, and 11 pounds to the Opera's 28 pounds. I have a small kitchen, and I had to buy a freestanding kitchen unit, which cost me approximately $130. If I'd just gotten the Bambino Plus, I would've saved that extra dough. The Bambino Plus is the espresso machine I wish I'd bought. It's $400 cheaper than the Opera, too, but there's a catch — it doesn't have a grinder. However, it's a space-saving monster, at just 7 inches wide. The size isn't the only reason I wish I'd bought the Bambino Plus, though. Although the La Specialista Opera's built-in grinder is fine, it's not as good as a standalone grinder, and it never will be. There's a reason the best coffee grinders are just grinders, and not grinders inside other things, because something trying to do one thing is better than something else trying to do two things at once. This is the grinder I would recommend over my built-in one. Yes, the Comandante C40 MK4 is expensive. However, it comes with a "lifetime" warranty, so it might just be the last grinder I ever buy. It also has excellent uniformity and low retention, features baristas look for. Recently, I've been craving having to work for my coffee. When I grind beans by hand, I feel like I've earned my beverage. No? Just me. There are so many reasons why the Comandante C40 MK4 is a perfect coffee grinder. It's stylish, features martensitic stainless steel conical burrs (the same material used in surgical instruments), and grinds beans like nothing else. With the $400 savings on the smaller, cheaper Bambino Plus, I'd get this grinder. As the Breville Bambino Plus is $499 and the Comandante C40 MK4 is $282, that means I still have $118 left to play with. I would either buy lots of specialty coffee beans (or get a bean subscription) or I'd get some accessories. Realistically, I'd probably get the $49 Wacaco Exagram Pro scale to make sure I'm extracting espresso at the perfect 1:2 ratio and in the golden window of extraction, 25-28 seconds. It's the best coffee scale, in terms of value. Because the De'Longhi La Specialista Opera has a smart tamping system that tamps internally, it's great for a mess-free coffee routine. However, I'd happily clean up extra mess for better-tasting coffee. As a result, I'd probably get the Normcore tamper, $49 at Amazon, which has a spring that automatically applies pressure. After all that, I've still got $20 left — just enough to get a bag of nice specialty coffee to hand-grind in my Comandante C40 MK4, and pull perfect espresso in my Breville Bambino Plus. Don't get me wrong. The De'Longhi La Specialista Opera is a fantastic espresso machine, and it deserves its title as the best overall machine. However, it's probably not the right one for me. I have a really small kitchen, so I should've gotten a smaller setup. On top of that, I am definitely a DIY-style barista, so I want to be innately involved with every part of the espresso brewing routine. If you want a quick, reliable and high-quality machine, then the La Specialista Opera is for you. However, if you need to save space and you want to grind beans by hand, then the Bambino Plus + C40 MK4 setup is more your style. (And mine!)
Tom's Guide
07-06-2025
- Tom's Guide
I thought $149 was too cheap for a good espresso machine, but De'Longhi proved me wrong
Getting into coffee feels like learning a new language — and that's coming from someone who literally has a professional background in it. Don't even get me started on the specialist equipment that looks like medieval torture devices. While it's definitely worth getting one of the best coffee grinders and best coffee scales, all this equipment can be really daunting at the start. So I'll help you out by recommending the De'Longhi Stilosa. The best espresso machines are often around the $1,000 mark, especially big names like Breville. The De'Longhi Stilosa is one of the best beginner-friendly budget-friendly espresso machines. Although it needs some practice and finesse to get café-quality shots, I'll teach you exactly how to achieve that right now. I discuss everything in 2,000-word detail in my 4-star De'Longhi Stilosa review, but here's the TLDR: the Stilosa is a remarkable machine considering its price. It makes technically wonderful espresso, heats up quickly, and has a very powerful steam wand capable of aerating velvety milk. More often than not, when you try and snag a cheap espresso machine, you're left with watery, weak espresso that takes nothing like the cafe down the road, or even the Starbucks across town. Not the De'Longhi Stilosa, though. As promised, I'll teach you exactly how to turn this $149 gadget into an almost-Breville coffeemaking machine. Don't get me wrong, right out of the box, the Stilosa is great. It's capable of reaching 15-bar pressure and comes with single-walled portafilter baskets for 'proper' espresso. But for just $149, some sacrifices will have been made, and that comes in the form of accessories. First, I'd recommend repurposing the tamper that comes with the Stilosa and getting a cheap metal tamper. As the Stilosa has a 51mm portafilter basket (where the coffee goes, as you can see in the picture below), you'll need one of the same size. You can get a budget one for $6-9 on Amazon or a spring-loaded one for $42 on Amazon. Next, you'll need either an accurate kitchen scale, or one of the best coffee scales. This is to ensure you've got your ratios right. You should be aiming for around a 1:2 coffee to espresso ratio. For a double shot, I always dose 18g of finely-ground coffee for 36g of espresso. With my Wacaco Exagram Pro scale, this is very easy to achieve. Last, but very much not least, you'll need to check out the best coffee grinders. For my testing, I used the Eureka Mignon Specialita and the Comandante C40 MK4, but the Baratza Encore ESP is much more affordable and will be more than enough. With just the $199 Baratza grinder and the $49 Wacaco scale, you're well on your way to cafe-quality coffee with this $149 De'Longhi machine. You should also know that if you don't have a proper grinder, you will never achieve perfect espresso. Even if you have a $2,000 Breville Dual Boiler machine, your espresso will not be right. A good grinder is more important than the espresso machine itself — and the De'Longhi Stilosa is case in point. With a good grinder and professional technique, you can achieve technically perfect espresso with just a $149 machine. For more thorough info, I've already written about tips for making perfect coffee at home. Although I have a background in professional coffeemaking (barista-ing doesn't really have the same ring to it), it's very possible to get these results without fancy, professional equipment. The Baratza grinder and Wacaco scale I recommended above are both very reasonably priced for what they are, and can help you achieve results like this. The steam wand on the De'Longhi Stilosa is very powerful — at first, I thought perhaps even too powerful. However, with a little practice, I was able to get deliciously velvety microfoam. To do this, I just had to control my steaming angle. I held the milk jug at about a 45° angle and put the tip of the steam wand halfway in the milk. After tweaking a little to create a vortex, I aerated the milk and was able to pour the gorgeous latte art you can see above. The Stilosa's steam wand performs like a $500 espresso machine's, and I was incredibly impressed by it. This is truly a latte-art lover's dream. Don't get me wrong — I know the Stilosa doesn't look great. With a plasticky finish and an almost flimsy weight of just 2 pounds, it looks like it costs $149. Even so, I didn't find that this design impacted performance. Actually, the compact size of just 8 x 11 x 12 inches could actually be a plus for people with small kitchens. Although the Stilosa is very plasticky, you can't really ask for everything for something so affordable. It's just $149 (the U.K. version is £104), and some sacrifices will have been made to get achieve this super-low price. Function is, of course, more important than appearance, so I think it's reasonable to look past this plasticky aesthetic. However, it could raise some questions about longevity. As I'm often reviewing espresso machines simultaneously and in quick succession, I haven't had a chance to put the Stilosa to the long-term test yet. Sometimes plastic drip trays can erode and get a little flaky after long-term use, and sometimes plastic attachments can break off. However, De'Longhi offers a minimum warranty of one year, and my parents' De'Longhi Icona Vintage (£126, not available in the U.S. anymore) is still clinging onto life at nine years old. So, I'd have some faith in the cheap and cheerful Stilosa. In terms of cheap espresso machines, there's really no competition. No other budget machines I've used can rival the Stilosa. Let me know what you think in the comments. Do you think that the Stilosa worth $149/£104? Do you think it could go head-to-head with a pricier espresso machine?
