Espresso machines aren’t for everyone, they’re often fiddly and inconsistent. Unless you’re a trained barista, they can be frustrating and messy. Pod machines bridge the gap between instant coffee and espresso machines and the Vertuo Creatista is Nespresso’s most advanced yet. These obviously come as one machine and you are able to make lattes with the majority of domestic espresso machines today. Are milk frothers worth it? It’s almost impossible to resist the ease of a Nespresso machine. They come ready to go out of the box and each time you want a coffee, you only need to pop a pod in the top and press a single button. It’s totally mess free. As espresso machines go, this is an affordable choice. Its slimmed-down silhouette is useful if, like me, your kitchen is on the smaller side, and it’s the perfect entry-level espresso machine as you can use either freshly ground coffee or ESE (easy serve espresso) pods without compromising on taste and performance. But the BCC02’s efficiency - and the excellent results - will make up for that. It extracts espressos very consistently, invariably delivering them with a decent crema. Cappuccinos, meanwhile, have a singularly nice texture, that steam wand foaming milk up beautifully.

I'd say the milk frother is the part of this machine that impressed me the most. It's by far the cleverest of its kind I've ever used and requires essentially no hands-on work from you. Prefer the fuss-free process of making coffee from a capsule, but want a sophisticated take on this style of machine? This model is that. We also like how easy it is to get started with, and that it makes a great range of coffees, while foaming milk is also simple. Oat milk - I find oat milk the easiest to steam out of all the alternative milks on offer (that I have tried to steam), especially the barista versions (the team at Oatly are doing a grand job). If there’s one thing Italians do well, it’s coffee. Gaggia was born in Milan of one man’s quest to improve the coffee-extraction process and create the perfect espresso. That was in 1948. Today, Gaggia sells everything from manual to automatic espresso machines and is perhaps best known for its nostalgic Gaggia Classic. The compact footprint makes this a great professional-style machine for a smaller kitchen – it measures W19.5 x D32 x H31cm. Made from stainless steel it looks the part, too. Like other Sage coffee machines it’s ready to roll in a flash (if one of those lasts 3 seconds). It comes with a stainless-steel milk jug, too.The key to a great espresso is even extraction that starts with low pressure pre-infusion, according to Sage, so that’s what this machine does. You can control the volume of espresso shots manually, if you prefer. Handily, it’ll tell you when it needs cleaning. This is because the micro foam is much more velvety and consistent which make it much easier to pour latte art. If your latte art leaves a little to be desired, you may like that this has an easy-to-use adjustable steam wand with different options for frothy cappuccinos or creamy lattes. Once I had it set up and had played around with the grind size, it was easy to use. Firstly the bambino plus has an option for you to choose the milk temperature and essentially lets you automatically texture the milk.

Pod (or capsule) coffee machines tend to be looked down upon by espresso enthusiasts, but they are the easiest and most convenient way to make coffee at home. They use one sealed capsule of fine-ground coffee for each drink. All you have to do is put it in the machine and press one button. In the long run, pods can be expensive, and you’re limited as to what kind of coffee you can make. They’re also not always recyclable, although there are more and more eco-friendly pods popping up on the market.

Are bean-to-cup coffee machines easy to clean?

This small feature ensures the exact temperature and pressure are achieved during extraction of espresso. Almond Milk - I find that it really does depend on the brand when it comes to almond milk. I remember using a fresh organic almond milk at one coffee shop I used to work in that would not foam. I would recommend using Almond Breeze Barista Blend if you’re serious about the Almonds. Portafilter: The handle and holder for the ground coffee filter that’s used with an espresso machine. The coffee is simple to make: simply slide the lever on the pod cylinder to the right to open it, pop a vertuo pod in, close and press the button on top to go. The coffee takes around 30 seconds to heat up before pouring a coffee deliciously rich in crema. All that’s left to do is fill the steel milk jug with your preferred milk, fit it under the steam wand and choose your temperature and level of froth (both have a choice of three). Not everyone can afford to spend this kind of money on a bean-to-cup coffee machine, but the PrimaDonna Soul does genuinely justify its asking price. It creates a huge range of drinks – 21 to be precise – and the milk carafe means that it takes just one prod of the touchscreen to produce a very pleasant cappuccino or latte. What sets it apart from the cheaper machines, however, is the Bean Adapt feature: this helps to eke far more flavour from every type of coffee bean than the average automatic machine.

When we froth milk we place the tip of the steam wand on the top of the milk frothing jug and texture the milk by adding air into the top of the jug. Whether you’re a fan of cappuccino, macchiato, espresso, mocha, ristretto or just plain-old filter coffee, only the very best coffee machines will make you the coffee you want time after time. Thing is, choosing the right machine for you depends not only on your favourite type of coffee, but also on how much time, effort and money you want to invest in the brewing process. My first impressions of this machine were very positive indeed, as it’s a stylish-looking espresso machine for the same price as most pod or capsule models. There’s a built-in steam wand and you can adjust milk temperature and texture to get different milky coffees just right.I started by running through a couple of water cycles before inserting coffee beans into the swing-out container. I experimented with both coffee beans and ground coffee, cheap and expensive. Each time I was impressed by the flavour the Melitta machine extracted from the coffee.