Thinking of giving up your daily barista-made coffee in favour of a homemade cuppa to save money? With the current cost of living, we don’t blame you.
But making the switch from a cafe coffee to an at-home brew can make coffee lovers nervous.
Will it ever be as good? What if you buy an expensive machine but it makes terrible coffee? Will it end up gathering dust on the bench while you run back to the cafe?
We can help you to find the best home espresso machine so you can make the tastiest coffee possible
While we can’t tell you how your homemade coffee will stack up against one made by a barista, we can help you find a machine that’ll give you the best chance of making the best brew, so you’ll hopefully stick to your new at-home habit.
Plus, exclusively for CHOICE members, we’ll tell you which manual and pod machines rated best for taste in our tests.
If you’re a regular cafe caffeinator, two of the main reasons why you like to start your day with a barista brew are probably convenience or quality: you either want a cuppa without having to lift a finger, or you want the best-tasting brew you can get – or both!
The type of machine that’s best for you will depend to some extent on what needs it meets.
This Aldi Expressi pod machine costs $79.
Pod machines are the ultimate in convenience: pop in the capsule, press a button, and voila – your espresso is ready.
They’ll most likely appeal to you if you just want a coffee in your hand in the most straightforward way possible, with minimal cleanup required. They also tend to be cheaper.
Manual machines (including semi-automatic varieties) give you more control over your coffee, so you can make it just the way you like it.
This means they’re great for coffee geeks and people who don’t mind getting hands-on in pursuit of the perfect pour.
But there are downsides to each machine type, too. With pod machines, there’s generally no option to change the way the coffee is made, so if the espresso it produces isn’t your cup of tea, there’s not much you can do to improve it aside from trying different pods.
At $4990, this Sanremo Cube is the most expensive machine in our reviews.
Making coffee on a manual machine is a far more involved process and if you bungle just one of the steps you could end up with a terrible-tasting coffee, whereas a pod machine will deliver the same taste each time.
Manual machines also tend to be more expensive upfront.
So which is best for you? It depends on your priorities, your budget and how much effort you want to put into making coffee at home. Here’s how to decide: Which coffee machine is right for you?
Aside from money, time and effort, taste is a key factor in deciding which coffee machine to buy: there’s no point committing to a machine that’ll deliver disappointing brews. So which one is best to buy?
Manual vs pod machines: Which makes the best tasting coffee?
Coffee is highly subjective – one person’s nectar of the gods is another’s muddy water.
To assess coffee machines on an even playing field, we enlist the help of experts to blind taste test coffee from our test machines, judging the espresso for crema, aroma, flavour, mouthfeel and aftertaste.
We compared the taste scores from manual machines and pod machines to see which delivers on flavour. Here’s how the numbers stack up:
Pod machines
Highest taste score: 75%
Average taste score for recommended models: 71%.
Manual machines
Highest taste score: 90%
Average taste score for recommended models: 86%.
CHOICE verdict
Manual coffee machines win on taste, hands down.
Which machine delivers the best taste for the lowest price?
There’s no straightforward answer to which type of machine is most cost-effective, but it’s important not to look at just the price tag of the machine itself.
Manual and semi-automatic machines usually cost more upfront: the ones we’ve tested start at $79 and go all the way up to $4990. But once you’ve bought it, you’ll just be up for coffee beans and a grinder (if you want to buy whole beans and grind them yourself).
Generally, pod machines are cheaper to buy than manual machines. The ones we’ve tested range from $79 up to $1399. But with coffee pods costing up to $100 per kilo, the overall cost can quickly add up.
When you take into account the price of the coffee pods plus the machine, you could end up paying the same or more than if you bought a manual machine, for coffee that just doesn’t taste as good.
Our reviews have found plenty of affordable manual machines that score better on taste than some expensive ones
So if you’re serious about coffee, should you be prepared to spend many hundreds or even thousands of dollars on a manual machine? Not necessarily.
Our testers have found plenty of affordable manual machines that score better on taste than some expensive ones, so if you shop smart you can get great-tasting coffee at a great price.
There’s a lot to consider when buying a coffee machine, including your budget, skill level, the features you want, and more. But there are other factors to take into account, such as the brand’s reliability, track record for customer service and customer satisfaction.
To help you decide, we’ve identified the best coffee machine brand in Australia based on our test results and feedback from our members.
Best espresso machine brand for 2025: Delonghi
DeLonghi received the highest average CHOICE Expert Ratings overall and is considered a reliable brand with highly satisfied customers.
Breville and Sunbeam weren’t far behind, with both brands receiving good CHOICE Expert Ratings on average and very good scores for brand satisfaction and reliability.
Most reliable manual espresso machine brand: Delonghi
In 2025, our Consumer Insights team surveyed several thousand CHOICE members who own a manual espresso machine about whether they’ve had any problems with their espresso machine in the past 12 months.
Once again, DeLonghi came out in front, with Breville and Sunbeam just two percentage points behind.
Most reliable pod espresso machine brand: Aldi Expressi
Despite its cheap purchase price, Aldi was named as the most reliable brand for pod and capsule machines. With a reliability score of 96%, Aldi was rated far higher than more expensive brands such as DeLonghi Nespresso, Breville Nespresso and Nespresso, which all scored in the 80s.
Don’t assume that all products from a reputable brand will be great performers: sometimes even the best brands produce mediocre machines, and lesser-known brands can deliver dazzlers.
To make sure you’re buying the right machine for you, regardless of brand, check our reviews to find the best coffee machine for your needs.
The espresso machines that topped our test for taste
Our in-house experts put hundreds of kitchen appliances through their paces in our labs each year. They know exactly what to look for to help you find the best product for your situation.
Only CHOICE members can access our detailed testing data.
If you’re not yet a member, join CHOICE to get instant access to all our expert, independent reviews, from coffee machines and grinders, kettles and cots, toasters and TVs, and more.
Or if you’re already a CHOICE member, you can see the coffee machines that deliver the best taste and performance in one easy-to-read rundown below.
Alice Richard is a Content creator and marketer. Alice writes on a range of topics, from health insurance to heaters and BBQs to bargain-hunting, always with the aim to help consumers find the best products to buy, and which to avoid.
Alice can take vast amounts of data from CHOICE product tests and turn it into content that is easily digestible and fun for readers.
Alice has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Queensland. LinkedIn
Alice Richard is a Content creator and marketer. Alice writes on a range of topics, from health insurance to heaters and BBQs to bargain-hunting, always with the aim to help consumers find the best products to buy, and which to avoid.
Alice can take vast amounts of data from CHOICE product tests and turn it into content that is easily digestible and fun for readers.
Alice has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Queensland. LinkedIn
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