Surely one espresso maker is much like another, and it doesn’t make a difference how much you spend on one right? Well that depends very much on what you expect from your espresso maker. There are an ever growing number of machines on the market and it may be hard to decide between them. In the coffee industry, buyers rely on word of mouth, trade press and the experiences of their colleagues to determine the best espresso machines to invest in, but if you are simply buying one for your own personal use, there are a few things you might want to consider.

Your main concern will be the coarseness of grind that the espresso maker requires. Some machines have built in grinders which are ideal but a little pricier. These are set to grind the beans to exactly the right consistency for your machine. If you already have a separate grinder, you will need to calibrate this to produce grinds that are the appropriate texture for your espresso maker. It may take you several; attempts to achieve the perfect grind, by which time your head will be spinning from espresso tasting.

If you are buying ready ground coffee, check which is the most suitable for your machine and buy a small amount of a couple of types to be sure to find a good one. Of course if you already have a favourite ready ground coffee, you can buy your espresso maker to match this.

Although espresso makers have an optimum thickness of grinds, a really good machine should be able to work with grains that are a little too coarse or fine. That is one of the benefits of investing in a really high quality machine. Poor quality espresso makers will become jammed with the wrong texture on grinds.

However, you should note that using the wrong grinds for your machine can cause a less than perfect taste to your coffee; it might be a little bitter. This is because the water has to be more highly pressurized to get through the coffee and this will result in an inferior end result.

One further consideration when you are buying an espresso machine is the noise it makes. A really high quality machine should not make very much noise, and you should still be able to chat to your friends whilst making that perfect brew, and tell them what an excellent investment your espresso maker was.