How We Choose What to Recommend
We have not tested any of this equipment. Here is exactly what we did instead, and what that method can and cannot tell you.
Last updated
The short answer
We do not test coffee equipment. We compile published manufacturer specifications, do the arithmetic that follows from them, read what large numbers of owners consistently report, and say plainly who each product is wrong for. Every figure on this site is cited, and where a manufacturer does not publish one, we leave the row blank.
The claim we refuse to make
Nearly every site in this category tells you it tested twenty espresso machines. Some of them did. Most did not, and the phrasing - in our testing, we found, after weeks of use - is doing work that no lab did.
We have not tested any of the equipment on this site. There is no test lab, no set of owned units, no controlled comparison. Saying so costs us the easiest credibility signal in the category, and we would rather forfeit it than claim something a reader could not verify and we could not defend.
What we do instead
1. Compile the published specification, from the manufacturer
Every figure quoted on this site - portafilter diameter, boiler capacity, burr size, microns per click, brew temperature, wattage, dimensions - comes from the manufacturer's own product page, manual or spec sheet, or from a major retailer's published specification where the manufacturer does not maintain one.
Each of those sources is listed at the bottom of the page that uses it. If we cannot source a figure, it does not appear. That is why several specification tables on this site have blank cells: a missing row is honest, and a guessed row is not.
2. Do the arithmetic
A great deal of what matters in coffee equipment is arithmetic that nobody bothers to do. What a machine costs to run once beans, filters, descaler and the grinder it requires are included. Whether a grinder's step count actually delivers usable resolution in the espresso range. How much milk a pitcher needs before the steam wand can reach the right depth.
We show the working, with the assumptions labeled, so you can substitute your own numbers. That is the point: an answer you can check beats an answer you have to trust.
3. Read what owners consistently report
Where thousands of owners agree on something a spec sheet does not capture - that a grinder is unusually loud, that a machine's steam is stronger than its price suggests - we say so, and we label it as owner consensus rather than as a measurement.
We do not aggregate ratings into a score, because a number implies a measurement we did not make.
4. Say who each product is wrong for
Every product write-up on this site has a Skip it if section, and every roundup contains at least one product we would not buy. A list where everything is recommended is a list nobody should trust, and the fastest way to tell whether a review is honest is to look for the part where it says no.
How we choose what goes on a list
- 1Availability. We link to one retailer. If a product cannot be bought there, it does not get a buy button, and we say so rather than pretending otherwise.
- 2Verifiable specification. If we cannot source the numbers that matter for a category, the product does not get ranked. We would rather publish four honest entries than pad a list to ten.
- 3Relevance to the reader. These pages are written for someone upgrading a specific weak part of a setup, not for someone browsing. A product earns a place by being the right answer to a stated problem.
- 4A defensible reason to skip it. If we cannot articulate who should not buy something, we do not understand it well enough to recommend it.
What we will not do
- Invent a specification. If a manufacturer does not publish wattage, we do not fill it in from a review site.
- Publish a price. Prices change, and a number we cannot verify at the moment you read it is a number that will be wrong. Every button says Check price.
- Score a product. A rating implies a measurement. We did not measure anything.
- Emit rating markup. No `Review`, no `aggregateRating`, no star ratings in structured data. Marking up an editorial opinion as a review rating would contradict this page in machine-readable form.
- Claim a credential. Sawyer V. is an enthusiast who reads manuals and does arithmetic. Not a certified anything, and we will not imply otherwise.
- Take payment for placement. No sponsored positions, no paid rankings, no free units in exchange for coverage.
The tiers we use
Because we do not print prices, products are described using tier labels we define ourselves rather than dollar figures. They are relative positions within a category, not price brackets:
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
How this is funded, and what that changes
This site earns commission when you buy through a link. That is disclosed on every commercial page and in full on our affiliate disclosure.
The structural check on that incentive is the Skip it if section and the do-not-buy verdict on every roundup. Both cost us money, and both stay. If a page ever recommends everything on it, that page has stopped being useful and you should discount it accordingly - including on this site.
Corrections
If a figure on this site is wrong, tell us and we will change the page rather than just replying. A link to the manufacturer's specification makes that fast. Contact us here, and see our editorial policy for how corrections are handled.
Questions people actually ask
Do you test the coffee equipment you recommend?
No, and we say so on every page. We compile published manufacturer specifications, do the arithmetic that follows from them, and report what large numbers of owners consistently agree on. We never write 'in our testing' about equipment we have not tested.
Why do you not publish prices?
A price we cannot verify at the moment you read it is a price that will be wrong. Rather than print a stale number, every buy button reads 'Check price' and takes you to the current listing.
Why are there no star ratings on this site?
A rating implies a measurement, and we did not measure anything. We also do not emit rating markup in structured data, because doing so would contradict this page in a machine-readable way.
How do you make money?
Affiliate commission when you buy through a link, at no extra cost to you. It has never changed a recommendation - every 'skip this' verdict on the site costs us money and stays anyway.
What happens if a specification on the site is wrong?
Tell us and we will correct the page, not just reply to you. A link to the manufacturer's own specification makes that quick.