Independent buying guides
For home brewers deciding between a pump machine, a bean-to-cup or a grinder upgrade. Each guide answers one question, cites manufacturer and energy figures with the date checked, and shows the formula in the cost-per-cup calculator.
| Guides published | 3 | Each one answers a single buying question. |
|---|---|---|
| Calculators | 3 | Formula, units and assumptions shown on the page. |
| Sources cited | 8 | Each with the date the link was checked. |
| Photographs | 11 | Free-licence images, photographer credited. |
The decisions that actually change what you end up with.
1
Photo: OKJaguar · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
The method that changes the result.
1
Photo: Karl Fredrickson kfred · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Energy, consumables and the cost of a year of use.
1
Photo: massage-techniques · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Intervals, parts and what they cost.
0
Photo: freestock.ca · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Filters, pods, pads and their real intervals.
0
Photo: Jon Sullivan · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Fixing it before you replace it.
0
Photo: Shixart1985 · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Each guide answers one buying question and shows the figures behind the answer.
Running costs
Work out the real cost of a home espresso: the machine spread over its life, the beans per shot, the electricity, and the descaling you cannot skip.
Photo: Herr Andrax · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
How to choose
The four decisions that decide whether a home espresso setup still gets used in year three: grinder first, serviceability, counter and plumbing reality, and milk.
Photo: Benjamin Hell (User:Siebengang) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Technique
Dose in, liquid out, time taken. How to write down a repeatable espresso recipe in grams and seconds, and what to change when the cup is sour or bitter.
Photo: Shixart1985 · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Every figure in a guide is taken from a named source, with the date it was checked. Where a number is an assumption or an example, it says so in the same sentence.
We do not run paid product tests, we do not publish reader reviews, and we do not claim to have handled every product mentioned. Where a claim needs a lab or a long-term test we do not have, the guide says that plainly.
Photographs are free-licence images from Wikimedia Commons or Openverse, credited to the photographer with the licence named. Charts are drawn from the figures printed in the same guide.
This site earns money from advertising and, where disclosed, from affiliate links. That does not change the order of a comparison or the conclusion of a guide.
Some links on this site can earn us a commission. That does not change which product a guide recommends, and it adds nothing to your price. Advertising is not enabled on this site yet. When it is, ads will be labelled and kept visually separate from the guides.
Each calculator shows its formula, units and assumptions. Nothing is estimated for you in secret.
Ingredient cost, consumable cost and machine cost in one figure per serving.
cost per serving = ingredient per serving + consumable per serving + (machine price - resale) / (servings per day x 365 x years)
Annual electricity cost from rated power, hours of use and your own tariff.
annual cost = power (W) / 1000 x hours per day x days per year x price per kWh, plus standby power (W) / 1000 x standby hours x days x price per kWh
What a cross-border order really costs once shipping, duty and tax are added.
landed cost = (item price + shipping) + duty + tax, where duty = item price x duty rate, and tax = (item price + shipping + duty) x tax rate