I test new coffee makers every month here at TechRadar, and Smeg is one brand I can always trust to impress me with its balance of style and performance. The company, which was founded in Italy in 1948, has made a name for itself in luxe kitchen appliances, and its espresso machines are no exception — and if you’re looking for a statement piece for your breakfast nook, I’m here to help you find exactly the right one for your taste and budget.
Here I’ve rounded up my three favorite Smeg coffee makers for preparing consistently delicious espresso. Whether you want a manual barista experience or prefer to take a hands-off approach and let the machine do the work, there’s a machine here with your name on it.
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Smeg ECF03 Cold Brew Espresso Coffee Machine
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I fell in love with the Smeg ECF03 — a charming coffee maker that brews consistently delicious espresso while adding a dash of “chic 1950s-inspired design” to your kitchen. During testing, I particularly appreciated its handy central pressure gauge, which lets you see at a glance whether your shot is going to be correctly extracted without needing to time the pour.
All the accessories feel reassuringly solid, including the portafilter handle, tamper, and collection of four filter baskets (single-walled and pressurized for single and double shots). Pressurized baskets are more forgiving, producing thick crema even if your grinder isn’t perfectly dialed in.
The steam wand is a pleasure to use as well, with a good range of movement as it pivots out from the machine, and it has a cool-touch silicone grip. It’s just a shame that you don’t get a milk pitcher included in the box; a strange omission at this price point.
Like all big-brand espresso machines released over the last couple of years, the Smeg ECF03 also offers cold extraction, bypassing the boiler and using ambient-temperature water for a drink with a milder taste than the same beans brewed hot. It takes a little longer than preparing a regular espresso, but the results are worth the wait. If that’s not a feature you’re going to use, take a look at the Smeg ECF02 instead, which only brews hot and is considerably cheaper.
Smeg appliances are never cheap, but this is the most affordable espresso machine in this list. Interestingly, it’s also the loudest; it reached a maximum of 72dB during my tests, which isn’t unusual for a coffee maker, but is much noisier than the two below.
Read our full Smeg ECF03 review
Smeg Mini Pro Espresso Coffee Machine
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The Smeg Mini Pro has a crisper, modern look than the ECF03, plus premium features like an independently heated group head (the part of the machine that passes hot water through the coffee grounds), meaning the coffee is kept at a more consistent temperature throughout the brewing process. Consistency is the key to great coffee, so this is a very welcome feature.
The machine offers buttons for pouring a single or double shot, but if you’d rather take manual control, it also has a physical lever that you can pull to control the pour yourself. This doesn’t require much effort to use, and makes the ECF03 pleasantly tactile.
Like the ECF03, the Smeg Mini Pro shows the pressure while you pull a shot, but here the reading appears as a number on the machine’s circular LED display, rather than on an analog dial. The display also shows when the Mini Pro has reached temperature (it’s set to 92C by default, but you can change this if you like).
This machine has a particularly large water tank, making it a good choice for households with multiple coffee drinkers who’ll be preparing lots of shots every day — and who can split the considerable cost between them.
Overall, brewing with the Smeg Mini Pro is an absolute pleasure; every part of the experience has feels premium, with no expense spared. It’s also exceptionally quiet, reaching only 30dB during brewing.
Read our full Smeg MinI Pro review
Smeg BCC13 Bean to Cup Coffee Machine
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I first reviewed the Smeg BCC13 back in September 2024, and it remains one of the best bean-to-cup coffee makers I’ve used thanks to its compact size, clear interface, impeccable build quality, and (of course) superb brewing. In my review, I said that it “produces consistently well-extracted coffee time after time” — and a year and a half later, I still stand by that.
Unlike some other automatic coffee makers, the BCC13 makes it easy to adjust the grind size of your coffee, and tailor the volume of each drink on the menu to suit your tastes. During my tests I soon found a grind size that worked well with my preferred beans, but there are only eight settings to choose from. If you’re very particular about your espresso then you might prefer to choose one of the two machines above and use a separate coffee grinder that will give you finer control. It reached a maximum of 67dB during brewing, which isn’t excessive at all for a fully automatic espresso machine.
It has an automatic milk system rather than a manual steam wand for totally hands-off brewing. During my tests it produced creamier foam using dairy milk than with plant-based alternatives, but you’ll still be able to make a very respectable cappuccino with oat or soya if that’s your preference.
Maintenance is a breeze, too. Some bean-to-cup coffee makers are a nuisance to clean inside, but the BCC13 has no awkward nooks and crannies to trap stray grounds or water. A quick wipe will leave its interior spotless, while its automatic cleaning programs keep the milk and brewing systems fresh and hygienic.
It’s a minor quibble, but I found that the set of minimalist buttons on top of the machine wasn’t very self-explanatory, and I needed to keep referring back to the BCC13’s manual to remind myself how to access all nine drink options during my first few days with the machine. I did get used to them eventually, though.
Read our full Smeg BCC13 review
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The best coffee makers you can buy
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catherine.ellis@futurenet.com (Cat Ellis)
