Real espresso in twenty centimetres

What got smaller, and what did not

A compact machine narrows the body, shrinks the reservoir and loses the cup warmer. What the good ones keep is a 58 mm portafilter, a real group and enough thermal mass to hold temperature for two shots.

That combination did not exist ten years ago at any price. It does now, and it is the reason the category stopped being a compromise and became a choice.

Where the compromise moved

The reservoir. A litre or less, which is three or four drinks and a steam session. You will refill it often, and you will notice if your water needs filtering, because a small tank goes through filter cartridges faster.

Steam. Usually a single boiler, so milk means waiting. Some compacts use a thermoblock for steam, which is instant and drier than a boiler’s steam but tends to run out on a second jug.

Cooling. Less metal means less heat stored and faster swings. A compact likes a warm-up and dislikes an hour idle followed by a sudden shot.

What to look at in a shop

1. Portafilter size. 58 mm means the whole world of baskets, tampers and screens fits it. 51 or 54 mm narrows your accessories a lot.
2. Where the water goes in. A tank you can reach without moving the machine is the difference between refilling it and resenting it.
3. Depth, not width. Most kitchens run out of depth first, and the swing of the portafilter handle needs its own space.

The one to avoid

A small machine with a pressurised basket, a plastic group and a panarello wand is the old category, still on sale. It makes a foamy drink that is not espresso and cannot be improved, because the pressurised basket creates the crema artificially rather than by extracting.

If a machine’s spec sheet does not name its portafilter size, that is usually why.