Which espresso machine, and why.

Most espresso advice is written by someone with a stake in the answer — the manufacturer whose guide concludes you need their machine, the retailer writing about the machines they carry, or a forum that answers “which one?” with a $2,500 recommendation and a $700 grinder to go with it.

This site answers the question most people are actually asking: which machine under about a thousand dollars suits how you drink coffee, and whether the cheaper one gives up anything you will notice.

We do not test machines in our kitchen and we never say we do. What we do instead — and what that can and cannot prove — is set out in our editorial policy.