Which is the best espresso machine?

I know I shouldn't have favorites, but I have to admit I do like this little DeLonghi, I mean for less than $100 (at the time of writing) then you get a great little espresso machine with can compete with much higher priced models

It is pump driven not steam driven which means you get decent pressure to get the most out of your grinds, and it has separate thermostats to control the water temperature for brewing and for steam production.

You can use your own ground coffee in it, or a nice feature is the ability to use the ESE pods so you don't need to worry about grinding or tamping, you can just pop one of them in and start brewing.

It includes a crema enhancer which some people hate as they say it can ruin the taste of the espresso, but unless you are a serious espresso geek then I can't see it being a problem, and it does ensure you get an nice impressive layer of crema on the top for an authentic espresso look and taste.

The frothing wand is too low and everyone complains about that, but I say just raise the machine up off the side a bit with something and that solves the problem, or you can buy a smaller frothing pitcher if you want. Plus you will probably need to get a proper metal tamper.

So this machine gives you great tasting espresso or cappuccino, it is cheap, it is easy to clean, it is very popular and it looks great, it does have some small issues, but if you like your espresso and you don't want to spend a fortune then this is a great choice.

The Nespresso, if you love your espresso and are a fan of gadgetry, then this may be what you are looking for. Let's start with the looks, it looks fantastic doesn't it? Most espresso makers are pretty but still look utilitarian, this looks like a work of art.

It doesn't let you down when you ask it to brew either, you can have 40ml or you can have a stretched espresso (lungo) at 110ml, and all you need to do to get your drink is pop in a 'Nespresso Coffee Capsule', choose how much you want and away it goes, then at the end it pops the used capsule out into a container ready for you empty later (it can hold 14 so if you are feeling lazy you can leave it for days!).

The Nespresso has great reviews, in fact of the 73 reviews on Amazon at the moment then 71 are at 4 stars or above, that is 97.26% of the people who love it! I've never seen anything get that many good reviews compared to bad.

This machine is all about convenience, if you like to fiddle and perfect your cup of espresso, grinding your beans and tamping it down and adjusting the settings and brew time etc, then this is not the one for you, if however you love a good espresso/cappuccino but you don't want any mess or hassle, then this is perfect.

Bear in mind it costs over $200 and you will need to buy the capsules as it doesn't take normal ground coffee, but if you don't mind paying around $0.50 to $1 per capsule and like how easy it is to use, then this could be the best espresso machine for you.

If you really don't want to spend much on an espresso machine as you only make one a few times a week, then this could be the machine for you. The Mr Coffee ECM160 is easily the cheapest here at less than $40, but you do need to add the price of a steaming pitcher to that (unless you have one) and around a 49mm tamper as well, so factor them into the price when you are trying to decide.

This machine is steam driven which means it has a lot less pressure than the pump driven ones (somebody compared it to a drip coffee maker for example), but it also means it is a lot quieter too. The reviews for it are generally good, the build quality is not fantastic so don't be rough with it, but other than that it does what it sets out to do, brew you up to 4 cups of espresso at a time and give you the ability to froth milk for a nice cappuccino.

The milk frother includes a frothing aid which might be useful for some people who struggle, but for everyone else then you can just take it off to give you more control over the process. The drinks it makes are certainly not going to win any awards, but then for the price you do get a good shot of espresso, personally I don't think it looks as good as some of the other units either, but it is not ugly, just not as pretty as some of the others.

As I said, if you only want the occasional espresso and don't want to have an expensive machine sitting around, then this does the job.