Are you looking for the best latte machine for home use? Do you want to practise latte art with your latte maker at home? Or you are simply done with paying the high prices for latte at the coffee joints?
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Search for Best Home Latte Machine Begins
Now you start to look for the best latte machine for home use. But there are so many latte makers in the markets. Which one should I buy?
To have an easier time in our search for a home latte maker, we need to know the type of latte maker we are looking for.
Latte Defined
Before finding out the type of latte machine we want, let define what is Latte. Latte is a mix of espresso shot and steam milk, with a little foam on top. The ratio is typically a third of espresso and two thirds of steamed milk.
Which Home Latte Machine to Choose?
Since latte is made up of espresso and steam milk, the following two questions will be the starting blocks of our search.
- Do you want to make espresso manually or automatically?
- Do you want to steam milk manually or automatically?
If your sole objective is to enjoy lattes at home without much effort, then a latte maker with automatic espresso-making and milk-steaming capabilities is more suitable.
If you wish to practise your Barista skills making espresso and latte art, you would want a latte machine which allows you to make espresso and steam milk manually.
If you want to just have fun making nice latte art, you can get a latte machine which makes you espresso automatically with a touch of button but allows you to steam milk manually.
Now that we have an idea of the type of home latte machine we want, let us take a look at the best latte machine for home use at various price points.
Reviews on Best Latte Machine For Home Use
Latte Makers Under 200
At this price point, you get entry-level machines with basic functionality, enough to make you decent lattes. For those who are new to making latte at home, this is an excellent price point to try out making your first home latte.
Delonghi EC155
Delonghi EC155
The Delonghi EC155 is an excellent entry-level home latte machine. It allows you to practise your Barista skills at making espresso. It also comes with a steam wand for you to froth the milk for latte.
With its simple controls, it does not take you long to familiarize with the operations for this machine. This machine also gives you the choice to use coffee pods or coffee powder.
Cleaning it is easy with the water tank and drip tray removable.
The Delonghi EC155 is also compact and light.
One negative point is its small water tank of only 35 ounces.
Nevertheless, it is still a budget buy for beginners looking to start out their latte making journey at home.
Mr. Coffee Café Barista ECMP1000
Mr. Coffee Cafe Barista
The Mr. Coffee Café Barista is an excellent entry-level home latte maker under 200 dollars. It also allow you to practise your Barista skills at making espresso. What makes this different from the Delonghi EC155 is its automatic milk steaming capability.
Making latte on this machine is simple. Tamp your coffee grinds into the portfilter ( attachment holding the coffee ) and attach the portafilter to the brew head. Then pour skimmed milk into the milk container and press your selections. The machine then takes over and you get latte shortly.
The water tank, milk container and drip tray are all detachable. So cleaning it is easy too. You can also clean the inside of the milk sprout by pressing a button to run a rinsing cycle.
The water tank is rather large with a capacity of 55 ounces. This means you can make more cups of latte per refill.
In addition, its cup tray can be adjusted to accommodate both small and large cups.
Home Latte Machines Under 500
At this price point, you start to get more features in the latte maker. They are also able to make better quality latte.
Delonghi Nespresso Lattissima Pro
DeLonghi Nespresso Lattissima Pro
Making latte gets easier with the DeLonghi Nespresso Lattissima Pro. This is a mid-range latte maker which allows you to make espresso and steam milk automatically.
It uses the Nespresso coffee pods. This means that you avoid the inconvenience of cleaning up any coffee powder spillover. The milk container is also detachable and any remaining milk can be stored in the refrigerator after use.
The Lattissima Pro also comes with a touch display which allow you to re-programme the preset water and milk setting for the latte drink option. It is also compact and ideal for small kitchens.
This machine can also accommodate both small and large cups with its pivoting cup support.
What I dislike is that the water tank is located at the back. As it is rather heavy at 5.7 kg, it is rather inconvenient to move about. That means I cannot tuck it under my cabinet.
Best Latte Maker under 1000
At this price point, you find that latte makers start to have more features for making even better lattes.
Breville BES870BSXL Barista Express
Breville BES840XL the Infuser
The Breville BES870XL Barista Express is a high quality latte maker which allows you to practise your Barista skills and steam milk for your latte art. Quality of latte gets even better with this machine.
It has a low pressure pre-infusion process which will maximize the extraction of flavours and aromas from the coffee grinds, thus giving you better espresso for your latte.
Another key to making better espresso is the temperature stability offered by this machine through the combination of its 1600 watts thermo heating system and a PID temperature regulator.
In addition, it also automatically cool the water temperature down to the optimum espresso extraction temperature after steaming milk.
An espresso pressure gauge gives you continuous feedback on the brew pressure during the entire espresso extraction process. This allows you to find out what may have led the espresso to deviate from your preferred taste. From there, you can make the necessary adjustments.
With this Breville Barista Express, you get a really large water tank with a capacity of 67 ounces.
Cleaning is made even easier with its dry puck feature. This feature will drain excess water from the coffee puck in the portafilter, making it easier to knock the dry puck out after espresso extraction. Its clean lines exterior surface make wiping easy. Similar to the above machines, its drip tray and water tank are detachable for cleaning.
In addition, you also get an integrated coffee bean grinder with a removable bean hopper.
The removable bean hopper makes transferring unused coffee beans even easier with a locking mechanism which allows beans to pour out from its bottom into another container.
With the locking mechanism, you can reduce the exposure of the beans to the surrounding air, which will otherwise cause them to lose their freshness.
For those looking for BPA-free products, all its parts in contact with water and coffee are BPA free.
DeLonghi ESAM3300 Magnifica
DeLonghi ESAM3300 Magnifica
The DeLonghi Magnifica is another high quality latte maker. This machine has an integrated coffee grinder and a very compact brew unit. Its direct-to-brew system makes you espresso automatically from coffee bean to cups.
Nevertheless, you can still steam milk manually for your latte art.
Unlike the above machines, this machine uses a double boiler system. With the double boiler system, this machine can maintain the two different temperatures of espresso extraction and steaming milk at the same time. Thus, you do not have to wait between switching these two tasks.
In addition, these boilers are very compact, allowing excellent distribution of heat throughout the water. Thus this machine is able to provide the optimal temperature of extracting quality espresso for your latte.
Another key feature is its user centric design. It is really easy to clean this machine as all removable parts are all accessible from the front of the machine. Even the water tank is accessible from the front.
The water tank is also very large holding up to 60 ounces of water.
Besides coffee beans, you can also use ground coffee powder including decaffeinated ones by using its ground coffee funnel on top of the machine.
With so many features, it still remains very compact. And with all the parts requiring frequent interaction accessible from the front and top, you can easily place it under the cabinet.
Espresso Latte Machine under 1500
DeLonghi ESAM3500 Magnifica
DeLonghi ESAM3500 Magnifica Super Automatic
DeLonghi ESAM3500 Magnifica
DeLonghi ESAM3500 Magnifica is almost the same as DeLonghi ESAM3300 Magnifica. What is differs is its automatic milk frothing capability and its digital controls.
With the DeLonghi ESAM3500 Magnifica, you can make espresso from bean to cup and steaming milk automatically. Making latte only requires you to put the beans into the bean hopper and clip the milk container to the machine. Press a button and you will get your latte in no time.
Cleaning the interior of the milk sprout is easy with its rinsing function which can be activated with a push of the button.
Using the digital controls, you can programme your preferred espresso and milk quantities for your latte. In addition, the controls allow you to set a timer for the machine to automatically start for your use at your preset time.
Should I get a Latte Maker?
Here are the best latte machine for home use. Whichever you choose will primarily depend on your objective for getting the machine and your budget. No matter which one you pick, they are all value for money. And you will be able to recoup your investments over time with the savings from buying the pricey lattes from the coffee joints. I hope this latte machine reviews have helped you make a decision on which to buy.
