Since we are nearing this year’s Mother’s Day, we will dedicate all our reviews for this week to all the women – moms or not. Whether you are looking for a gift for the most important woman in your life or yourself, we will spare you of the legwork and present you our best recommendations based on our own research and other users’ reviews.
For a mom, starting her morning with a nice and hot coffee is all it takes to have that energy for the whole day. Gift her with something that ensures her morning brew is always available steamy and delicious just the way she likes it. A semi automatic espresso machine can deliver freshly brewed coffee any time for the queen of the house.
If you have a coffee lover mom, spouse, or partner, or someone who just needs her cup of brew fresh and tasty, or even wondering if making coffee is something to pursue professionally, a semi automatic espresso machine is a perfect choice.
What a semi automatic espresso coffee machine differs from a super automatic coffee machine is that the former gives the user more control over the quality of coffee she makes. It allows her to take charge of the brewing process, so she can extract her espresso right. This way, she takes part in the most crucial process and builds her skills from there.
A semi automatic espresso machine is also a good investment that offers both convenience and control over the quality of coffee you are making. What might start as a hobby for your mom can end up a professional skill she can practice as a business. You are not just gifting her with something she loves doing, but also encouraging her to explore a new skill for a boost in her confidence.
To help you narrow down your options, we did our research and came up with the 3 best semi automatic espresso machine that fits the best woman in the house.
Best Semi Automatic Espresso Machine for your Daily Home Brews – (Comparison)
| Name | Key Feature | |
| Breville BES870XL Barista Express Espresso Machine – (Editor’s Choice) | Delivers a Third Wave Specialty Coffee with its beans to espresso technology | Check Price |
| De’Longhi La Specialista Espresso Machine | Separate heating systems for the espresso and the milk | Check Price |
| Calphalon BVCLECMP1 Temp iQ Espresso Machine | Compact | Check Price |
Breville BES870XL Barista Express Espresso Machine – Editor’s Choice
This semi automatic espresso machine allows you to experience barista-quality coffee at the comforts of your home. That is, you get what you want, taste-wise while experiencing the whole process from bean to espresso.
This barista coffee machine creates that Breville’s third wave specialty coffee. This formula claims to be the best quality coffee you can make at home. That is, something that is fuller in body and flavor, a velvety feel in the mouth, and with a flavor that is like no other.
Now, the key to achieving this in your coffee is having an espresso machine with grinder.
First, a coffee with a fuller flavor comes from extracting the coffee from the right dose of ground beans. With the Breville BES870XL Barista Express Espresso Machine, you get an integrated grinder that gives a precise grind for your beans that releases the right concentration for a full-bodied flavor. After all, a good quality coffee bean alone is not enough – you have to undergo it to the best process for it gives out its best.
You can also designate the grinding size with a rotary knob. This allows you to adjust the setting manually from coarse to super fine. As for the temperature, you can work with its digital temperature control so the water and pressure you use in the extraction phase are just right to release the innate flavors of your beans.
After the grinding process comes to the extraction. This semi automatic espresso machine gives out the right pressure given the stage. It starts with a low pressure during the infusion stage, which gradually increases (automatically) to ensure that all the flavors are extracted from your beans. This results in a flavorful and non-watery brew.
The Breville BES870XL Barista Express Espresso Machine also features a steam wand, which you subject for milk to create that right foam texture fitting for your precious latte or latte art. The micro foams from this latte machine are full-bodied ones that hold your latte art well.
Pros
- Delivers a Third Wave Specialty Coffee with its beans to espresso technology
- Dose control grinding
- Precise temperature control for extracting the best flavor out of your coffee beans
- With an integrated coffee grinder and milk frother
Cons
- Too many plastic parts
Conclusion
The Breville BES870XL Barista Express Espresso Machine is fitting for first-timers with barista coffee machines. The intuitive controls and settings provide a good learning experience as you scale your skills from novice to professional. The semi automatic espresso machine operation gives you the convenience of making your own barista-quality coffee at home minus the bulk of commercial coffee machines and the expense of buying your daily brew.
De’Longhi La Specialista Espresso Machine
This semi automatic espresso machine delivers the convenience of automatic operation, which means less mess and easier operation. Meanwhile, being semi means you can still command the key aspects in making coffee – choosing your beans, grinding them, and personalizing it with latte art.
This coffee and espresso maker features a built-in grinder so you do not need to buy other equipment for that. It operates via sensor so it only grinds an optimum amount of beans for a flavorful brew. The sensor ensures that you have enough ground beans and automatically stops as it reaches that.
The same grinder is installed with a lever. This turns it into a smart tamping station, which automatically releases the ground beans using the appropriate pressure. This means less mess on your end since you do not need to remove the porta-filter to do this.
One of the highlights of this barista machine is the two separate heating systems that control the bean extraction and milk steaming. This cuts the time in preparing a latte or cappuccino since you can derive your coffee and milk at the same time.
As for the performance, the De’Longhi La Specialista Espresso Machine utilizes an active temperature control. This allows the machine to provide the right temperature perfect to extract the full flavor of your bean. In the same way, though independently, the separate heating system for the milk ensures you have a rich milk froth for your cappuccino or a flat microfoam for your works of latte art.
This semi automatic espresso machine also features a separate spout for you to work on your Americano or tea. Having a separate conduit prevents the output from cross-tasting with your espresso.
Pros
- Built-in sensor-based bean grinder
- Smart tamping station with a pull of the lever in the grinder
- Separate heating systems for the espresso and the milk
- 2 options for milk – flat or rich
- Separate spout for Americano or Tea
Cons
- Most expensive among the list
Conclusion
The De’Longhi La Specialista Espresso Machine is a good choice for someone who wants more features from her semi automatic espresso machine. It also looks sleek in your mom’s or wife’s kitchen countertop with its mostly stainless parts, which you’ll be instantly smitten with.
Calphalon BVCLECMP1 Temp iQ Espresso Machine
If you want something more compact and costs less yet deliver barista-quality coffee, this semi automatic espresso machine is a good choice.
This home espresso machine offers straightforward yet powerful features. It omits some of the adjustable features of another semi automatic espresso machine choices on this list but still promises to deliver high-quality coffee extracted from your beans.
First, it offers 15 bars of pressure that are the optimum level that extracts the most flavor from your ground coffee beans. The whole brewing process comes in 3 levels. First, it executes pre-infusion, which carefully infuses the right pressure to the ground beans as it slowly enters the extraction stage. Next, it works with the Thermoblock heating technology. Combined with a PID temp control, this allows a consistent temperature as your machine slowly extracts the most flavor from your beans.
This espresso machine with frother allows you to process your steamed milk and turned it into a froth with the right consistency. All you have to do is put the milk in the included stainless steel pitcher, subject it to the built-in milk wand, and wait as it works its magic. That is a good latte maker you have there, too.
The Calphalon BVCLECMP1 Temp iQ Espresso Machine features a rotary knob that allows you to select your settings. You can set it to extract either one or two shots at a time, or revert it to the steam option to work on your milk after you made your espresso.
Pros
- Compact
- Has settings to dispense one or two shots of espresso at a time
- 3 levels of brewing functions – Pre-infusion, Thermoblock heating tech, PID temperature control
- With stainless steel milk pitcher included
Cons
- No built-in coffee grinder so either you buy ground coffee or have your coffee ground first
Conclusion
The Calphalon BVCLECMP1 Temp iQ Espresso Machine is for moms who prefer fewer frills from making their coffee yet wanted a barista-quality one. This semi automatic espresso machine’s compact design fits small countertops, even to a coffee nook inside your room.
Final Verdict
The best espresso is all about the flavor. Aside from using high-quality beans, the key is the brewing process. And with that, we choose the Breville BES870XL Barista Express Espresso Machine as the best home espresso machine on this list.
The Breville BES870XL Barista Express Espresso Machine provides you with the best experience when it comes to brewing your barista-quality coffee in the comfort of your kitchen. The semi-automatic operation provides your mom the opportunity to gain another skill and personalize her coffee experience, even the rest of the family’s.