Buying guides
Your first espresso machine under $500
Three machines under $500 and three different trades: the Gaggia to learn on, the Bambino Plus for milk, the Dedica to start. Plus the grinder you need.
Compact machines
Small-footprint machines for kitchens that have run out of counter, and what you give up to save the width.
Buying guides
Articles
Real espresso in twenty centimetres
Small machines used to mean bad espresso. The compact category grew up, and the compromises moved somewhere more sensible.
Compact espresso machines for a small kitchen
A small machine is not a worse machine, it is a different set of compromises. What footprint, height and tank access really cost you, and what you keep.