Barista coffee makers let you enjoy café-quality coffee in your kitchen. They give you the same great taste without lining up at your local coffee shop. It’s easy to see why many coffee lovers in Australia choose them.
In this guide, I will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of different barista coffee makers. I’ll also explain the confusing terminology and teach you how to make barista-style coffee at home.
Ready? Let’s get started.
Coffee Maker vs. Coffee Maker Barista
Before anything else, let's clarify the common terminologies. There is a “Coffee Maker” and a “Coffee Maker Barista.” Don't worry if it sounds confusing; I will simplify it now.
What is a Coffee Maker?
A coffee maker, also known as a coffee machine or brewer is a kitchen appliance for brewing coffee. It simplifies the process of making coffee by automating the many steps involved. There are various types of coffee makers available, each with its unique features and brewing methods.
The four main types are automatic, single-cup, programmable, and manual coffee machines. Other options include drip machines, which are popular due to their ease of use, and single-serve coffee makers, such as the Breville Precision Coffee Brewer, which are compact models.
You'll also find French presses and pour-over coffee makers, which are popular brewing options for manual coffee makers.
Who is a Coffee Maker Barista?
A barista is a skilled professional who prepares and serves coffee-based beverages. They work in coffee shops and establishments that offer espresso and speciality coffee drinks. The term "barista" originates from Italy and refers to a bartender or someone who works behind a bar.
In the context of coffee, baristas are responsible for creating a wide range of coffee drinks, including espresso shots, cappuccinos, lattes, americanos macchiatos, affogatos, cafe mochas, and cafe au lait. They often engage in latte art, a creative practice in which they manipulate the milk froth to create intricate designs on the surface of the coffee.
The Origin of the Term "Barista"
Barista originally meant “bartender” in Italy, referring to someone who served alcoholic drinks. However, when espresso machines became popular in the mid-20th century, bartenders needed special skills to prepare espresso and other coffee-based beverages, causing the term to shift toward a coffee-focused role.
Today, a barista is known worldwide as a professional who specialises in crafting espresso-based drinks, often adding artistic flair with latte art. Baristas are respected for their expertise in creating high-quality coffee beverages and delivering an enjoyable café experience.
What is a Barista Coffee Maker?
A barista coffee maker is a coffee machine designed to replicate the art and craft of espresso-making in cafes and coffee shops. It is aimed at enthusiasts and home baristas who want to create high-quality espresso-based beverages in the comfort of their own homes.
Barista coffee makers offer more control and precision over the coffee brewing process. The key features that help them stand out include:
- Espresso brewing: Creates a concentrated coffee base for lattes, cappuccinos, and other espresso-based drinks.
- Portafilter and group head: Secure coffee grounds and help maintain the ideal temperature for brewing.
- Built-in grinder: Built-in grinders let you grind beans fresh, enhancing flavour and aroma.
- PID temperature control: Ensures stable water temperature for a consistent and flavourful extraction.
- Steam wand: Froths and steams milk to produce smooth microfoam for latte and cappuccino.
- Manual control: Lets users adjust grind size, tamping pressure, and extraction time for personalised espresso.
- Design and build: Often made with durable stainless steel and stylish aesthetics, giving a professional look to your kitchen.
While barista coffee makers offer greater control and flexibility, they require more skill than regular coffee makers. As such, they are better suited for those passionate about their coffee and willing to invest time honing their barista skills.
Coffee Maker Barista Style
Barista-style coffee aims to replicate the high-quality, artisan approach. It starts with an espresso base brewed under high pressure to produce a concentrated shot. This espresso is the foundation for various beverages, including cappuccinos, lattes, and Americanos.
Another defining feature of barista-style coffee is its focus on presentation. Latte art, for example, involves skillfully pouring steamed milk to form attractive designs. Meanwhile, adequately frothed milk contributes to the unique textures and flavours of drinks like cappuccinos and flat whites.
To achieve barista-style coffee, you must pay attention to grind size, extraction time, and temperature control. With the right equipment, i.e., a reliable espresso machine and grinder, you can customise your drink by choosing different types of milk, sweetness levels, and other preferences, bringing the café experience to your kitchen.
How to Make Barista-Style Coffee at Home?
Creating barista-style coffee in the comfort of your home requires a blend of technique and attention. I'll go over the step-by-step procedure below to help you prepare those exquisite barista-style coffee drinks.
Step 1: Choose high-quality beans
Start with freshly roasted, high-quality coffee beans. Opt for beans that suit your preferred taste profile, whether light, medium, or dark roast. The bean quality will affect the outcome of your coffee brewing. You can buy plenty of top-grade Australian coffee beans online.
Step 2: Grind your coffee beans
Your coffee's best mate? A fresh grind. Grind those beans just before you’re ready to brew. Consistency is key, so using a burr grinder is ideal. Remember, the type of drink you want will dictate your grind size; think finer for espresso and a tad coarser for your regular drip coffee.
Step 3: Brew your espresso
Espresso is the base for many coffee drinks, including lattes, cappuccinos, and Americanos. Here's how to nail it using an espresso machine:
- Ensure your machine is preheated and properly calibrated.
- Portion and tamp the freshly ground coffee into the portafilter.
- Lock the portafilter into the group head and start the extraction. Aim for about 25-30 seconds for a double shot.
Step 4: Steam and froth milk
Use the steam wand on your espresso machine to froth milk for milk-based beverages. Follow these steps for frothy perfection:
- Start with cold milk; it froths up best.
- Position the steam wand just below the surface of the milk.
- Start the steam wand to create microfoam (small, velvety bubbles). Then, submerge the wand deeper for heating and less froth.
Step 5: Pour and create latte art
Pour the freshly brewed espresso into your cup, then pour the frothed milk in a controlled manner to create latte art. Now, tilt the cup and use wrist movement to guide the milk stream. It's a dance between milk and coffee, and while it may seem straightforward, mastery takes time.
Tips for Brewing Barista-Style Coffee
It takes time and patience to brew consistently good barista-style coffee. To help you accelerate your process, here are tips from my journey:
- Temperature control: The heart of a perfect coffee lies in getting the temperature right. For espresso, aim for 90-96°C (195-205°F). When frothing milk, your sweet spot is around 65°C (150°F).
- Be consistent: Keep your brewing process consistent, including grind size, tamping pressure, and extraction time.
- Practice latte art: Like any art form, mastering the swirls and patterns of latte art requires practice. Start simple and gradually challenge yourself with more detailed designs.
- Experiment more: Play with different coffee-to-water ratios, frothing methods, and extraction times to learn what tickles your tastebuds.
Top 5 Barista Coffee Makers for Aussies
Based on expert reviews, testing, and ranking, I have curated a list of Australia's top five best barista coffee makers. These coffee makers are necessary to try coffee-making like a barista.
1. Breville Barista Express
Best Overall Barista Coffee Maker
The Breville Barista Express combines an integrated grinder with manual controls and advanced features to provide a well-rounded coffee-making experience. It is built with durable materials, including stainless steel, which enhances its longevity and appearance.
Best Bits of the Breville Barista Express
The Espresso Machine has a high-quality, built-in conical burr grinder. It ensures that you can grind your coffee beans just before brewing, preserving the freshness and flavour of the coffee.
Combined with precise espresso extraction and preinfusion, the machine offers manual control over grind size, grind amount, and tamp pressure. You also get a pressure gauge that provides real-time feedback on extraction pressure.
Breville's coffee maker includes a preinfusion function to develop more decadent coffee aromas. Its steam wand rotates 360 degrees to create rich, creamy microfoam for lattes and cappuccinos. The machine also has a digital temperature control (PID) that maintains a stable water temperature throughout brewing to achieve consistent espresso shots.
While it offers manual controls, the Barista Express features a user-friendly interface with dedicated buttons for single and double shots and an easy-to-read display. The machine includes a magnetic tamper and a built-in dosing tool for consistent and even coffee grounds distribution.
Drawbacks of the Breville Barista Espresso Machine
The Barista Express is also relatively large and might require a fair amount of counter space. Like many espresso machines with integrated grinders, it can be noisy, especially during grinding. Consider this if you prefer a quieter environment, especially early in the morning.
Likewise, while the built-in grinder is convenient, it might not provide the level of grind adjustments that standalone, higher-end grinders offer. This could impact the precision of your grind size.
2. Gaggia Classic Pro
Best Barista Coffee Maker Without Grinder
The Gaggia Classic Pro is a semiautomatic espresso machine first released in 1991. Its classic design, durability, and ability to produce high-quality espresso shots are trademarks of the barista coffee maker.
Gaggia's Classic Pro has sturdy, durable stainless steel housing and a 2.1-litre water tank, which provides enough brewing capacity.
Best Bits of the Gaggia Classic Pro
The machine features a commercial-style, 58 mm heavy-duty portafilter and group head and offers better heat retention and stability during the extraction process, resulting in consistent espresso shots. The Solubles Retention System (SRS) in the portafilter allows for a cleaner and drier puck after brewing, simplifying the cleaning process and ensuring better flavour extraction.
Gaggia also offers a steam wand on the Classic Pro, which effectively froths milk for lattes and cappuccinos. It provides enough steam pressure to create microfoam, a key element in crafting velvety milk-based drinks.
Unlike the Breville Barista Express, you won't have much movement around the wand, but it does froth excellently. There is also a rotating dial on the side that allows you to control the steam pressure.
Even better, the machine's rapid heat-up time means you won't have to wait long between brewing and steaming, making the coffee-making process more efficient. Its single aluminium boiler also heats up pretty fast, so you won't have to wait more than five minutes for your hot coffee to be ready.
Drawbacks of the Gaggia Classic Pro
The Gaggia Classic Pro is a semi-automatic machine, meaning you must understand coffee brewing techniques to get the best results. This could be a con if you prefer fully automated machines.
And unlike the Breville Barista Express, the Gaggia Classic Pro has no built-in grinder, so you must purchase a separate grinder for fresh coffee beans. This adds to the initial cost and counter space required.
It also has limited programmability compared to other machines; there are no preset drink options or digital interfaces.
3. De'Longhi La Specialista Arte
Best With Thermoblock Heating
The De'Longhi La Specialista Arte is a semiautomatic coffee machine designed for coffee lovers who want great precision, control, and the ability to craft a variety of coffee beverages with professional-level results.
On purchase, you will receive a free stainless steel milk pitcher, a tamping mat, a tamper, a water hardness test kit, a descaler solution, a dosing funnel, single- and double-shot filters, and a cleaning brush and needle.
De’Longhi La Specialista Arte Pros
The La Specialista Arte features a thermoblock heating system that ensures optimal temperature control for brewing and steaming. This allows you to brew espresso shots and froth milk simultaneously, reducing waiting times and enhancing efficiency. The steam wand is efficient, allowing you to get the best steam pressure for perfect frothing.
It has a stainless steel conical burr grinder that allows users to adjust the grind size. The precision grinding ensures consistent results and optimal extraction, contributing to the quality of each cup of coffee. There are eight grind levels for you to experiment with and a three-level control over the temperature on the De’Longhi La Specialista Arte.
Wondering if we’re still discussing a semi-automatic coffee machine? Well, that’s a master touch from De’Longhi. You can easily select between Espresso, Americano, or Hot water with a smooth dial on the De’Longhi La Specialista Arte. Technically, the hot water does not qualify as a coffee drink, but it is still a worthy improvement for a semi-automatic machine.
De’Longhi La Specialista Arte Cons
The numerous advanced features and customisation options of the La Specialista Arte might be overwhelming for users new to espresso machines. The learning curve might be steep for beginners.
While not overly large, the La Specialista Arte requires a fair amount of counter space, making it less suitable for smaller kitchens with limited room to spare. It's also heavier, weighing 9.8 kg.
4. Breville Barista Pro
Best With LCD Display
The Breville Barista Pro Coffee Espresso Machine is a semiautomatic coffee machine with a dedicated grinder. It is renowned for its precision and user-friendly features, offering a comprehensive experience.
The Breville Barista Pro has an LCD screen and easy-to-use buttons. The digital display and controls make customising espresso settings easy. You can control the grind size, brewing temperature, and filter size, which is more than adequate for a semi-automatic espresso machine.
Best Bits of the Breville Barista Pro
First, the built-in, conical burr grinder, with size adjustments, ensures that you have freshly ground coffee for every shot, preserving the aroma and flavour of the beans. It combines this with a PID temperature control system that ensures stable water temperature during extraction.
Breville's steam wand can create microfoam that enhances the quality of milk-based beverages, allowing for latte art and creamy textures. The steam wand is quite similar to that of the Barista Express but slightly sturdier. Likewise, you get the preinfusion function, like most Breville coffee machines.
Preinfusion is a short moment of magic that intensifies coffee taste and aroma. It involves dampening the ground coffee for a short while under low pressure before brewing. The Barista Pro allows you to adjust the preinfusion time.
Breville Barista Pro Cons
The Barista Pro's price tag is steep: close to $900. It is about $100 more than the Barista Express, which is concerning considering that the two machines offer no serious functional gap.
Its integrated grinder is also relatively noisy. You cannot have a quick coffee cup early in the morning without waking up a family member.
5. Sunbeam Barista Max
Best Value Barista Coffee Maker
The Sunbeam Barista Max is a compact coffee maker with an integrated grinder below the $500 mark. It's an excellent place to start your home barista journey. The best part? You can get the Barista Mini for way less and a sacrifice on the grinder. Here are the pros and cons.
Sunbeam Barista Max Pros
Sunbeam Barista's conical burr grinder has 30 adjustable grind settings to grind coffee beans just before brewing. It also features a preinfusion function that wets the coffee grounds before extraction and thermoblock heating technology for fast and consistent heating.
The machine uses a PID temperature control system to maintain a consistent brewing temperature. Its Temperature IQ function combines the Preinfusion, Thermoblock, and PID control for excellent coffee brewing.
The Barista Max also has auto volume control and shot timers to customise the shot extraction time for single and double shots. Its steam wand produces decent milk froth for lattes and cappuccinos. While not as advanced as other higher-end coffee machines, it's suitable for basic milk-based drinks. The coffee maker also comes with a 460-ml stainless steel milk pitcher.
Drawbacks of the Sunbeam Barista Max
The Barista Max has plastic components, which affects its overall durability and longevity compared to machines with metal builds.
Likewise, as with any espresso machine, there's a learning curve associated with achieving consistent results. The Barista Max is no exception; beginners might need time to master the techniques.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are some frequently asked questions about barista coffee makers.
What is a Barista coffee maker, and how does it differ from regular coffee makers?
A Barista coffee maker is designed to mimic café-style espresso brewing at home. Unlike regular drip coffee makers, it allows you to control factors like grind size and milk frothing, enabling you to create a variety of espresso-based drinks, such as lattes and cappuccinos.
Can I use pre-ground coffee with a Barista coffee maker?
Yes, most Barista coffee makers allow you to use pre-ground coffee. However, for better flavour, use freshly ground coffee. If your Barista coffee maker has a built-in grinder, you can grind your beans just before brewing to preserve the coffee's aroma and taste.
What is the importance of a PID temperature control system in a Barista coffee maker?
A PID system keeps the brewing temperature steady and precise, vital for consistent coffee extraction and flavour. It adjusts and maintains the water temperature, so every espresso shot is brewed at the ideal temperature.
Can I make milk-based drinks like lattes and cappuccinos with a Barista coffee maker?
Yes, most Barista coffee makers come with a steam wand that allows you to froth and steam milk. This will enable you to create milk-based coffee drinks like lattes and cappuccinos. The steam wand helps you achieve creamy and velvety milk foam, which enhances the texture and flavour of these beverages.
Is a Barista coffee maker suitable for beginners?
Many Barista coffee makers are beginner-friendly but require learning or understanding grind size and extraction time. If you’re new, start with a semi-automatic machine offering guidance. With practice, you’ll gradually improve your barista skills.
Darren Sherwood
The Final Shot
Investing in a barista coffee maker can elevate your coffee experience by enabling you to craft expertly brewed beverages at home. Each machine has pros and cons, catering to different expertise and preferences.
Whether you're looking for the perfect machine for your home or upgrading your cafe's equipment, our guide provides invaluable insights through reviews and careful examination of the pros and cons.
With the right coffee maker, you'll elevate your coffee-making experience and savour every cup of expertly brewed coffee to its fullest potential. When deciding, consider your brewing style, skill level, and budget.
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