Hi, I’m Claire – and I’ve been thinking about espresso machines longer than I care to admit.
It started in college, when I picked up a job at a small independent coffee shop in Seattle to cover rent. I expected to make lattes, get tipped poorly, and move on. Instead, I spent four years pulling shots on a temperamental La Marzocco, learning what dialed-in actually means, and watching a head barista treat the espresso machine like a living thing that needed reading every morning.
That stuck with me. After college, I left the bar but never left the coffee. I bought my first home espresso machine – a used Gaggia Classic that taught me more about water temperature, grind consistency, and the limits of pre-infusion than any blog post ever did. Ten years later, I’m still here, still tinkering, still buying machines I probably don’t need.
Better Coffee Days is where I write about what I’ve actually used, what I’ve researched obsessively, and what I’d recommend to a friend who texted me asking which espresso machine to buy. Some of these machines I’ve owned. Some I’ve tested at friends’ houses, in coffee shops, or through extended hands-on sessions with people who own them. Some I’ve researched in depth – reading owner forums, talking to baristas, comparing specs, and watching the same machine reviewed by ten different people to see which complaints come up consistently.
I try to be clear about which is which.
A few principles that shape what I write here:
No machine is universally “the best.” The right espresso machine depends on what you’re brewing, how much you’ll use it, how much counter space you have, and how much you actually enjoy the fiddling versus just wanting good coffee in three minutes. I try to write reviews that help you figure out which one of those people you are.
Specs matter, but only some of them. Boiler type, PID control, portafilter size, pre-infusion – these affect what’s in your cup. “Stainless steel housing” usually doesn’t. I’ll tell you which is which.
I’d rather talk you out of a purchase than push you into one. A lot of people buy a $1,500 espresso machine when a $400 one would have made them just as happy – or, more commonly, the reverse. I’d rather you spend the right amount on the right machine than the most amount on the most-marketed one.
If you have questions, want to push back on a review, or just want to argue about whether DeLonghi’s super-automatics are actually any good – get in touch. I read everything.
– Claire