Welcome to our final “real” holiday gift list of gear suggestions for the coffee and espresso lover in your life. We’re doing this list up a bit differently, because we’re talking about a lot of money here, and our goal is to give you some of the best options out there with ‘bang for the buck” being the primary motive driver. That said, there’s more than a few “best in category” machines and technology on this list.
We’re breaking this list into three sections: espresso machines, espresso primary grinders, and Espresso accessories. The accessories section is pretty light because we just couldn’t bring ourselves to recommend $400 auto tamper machines, or $250 auto frothers.
If you missed our other holiday gift lists, here they are:
- Coffee Gear and Gadgets Under $50
- Espresso Gear and Gifts Under $50
- Coffee Gear Under $100
- Espresso Gear Under $100
- Coffee Gear Under $300
- Espresso Gear Under $600
The only thing missing as of this publication is our “Dream Coffee and Espresso Gifts List” which will be our Senior Editor’s top dream pick for a variety of coffee and espresso gear categories.
In the interest of transparency, many of these products listed are a) sold by a CoffeeGeek advertising supporter, or b) use our Amazon affiliate link (but not all!). We do not get any kickback from the advertiser sponsor links.
If you appreciate these lists and want to help our website further, please consider using our general affiliate link for Amazon when you do your holiday shopping there. We get a tiny micro percentage kickback on anything you buy, as long as you visit Amazon with this link.
Now it’s time for our top and most unique gift picks for espresso fanatics, all under $600
Top Espresso Machines
our best picks for machines under $600
For our Holiday Gift List suggestions this year, we’re going Breville heavy on espresso machines because a simple fact is that they produce the best machines at various price points, and the rest of the industry is just trying to catch up. We do have a few darkhorse suggestions too, as well as a true classic, and the best lever machine you can buy today.
The Breville Lineup
There’s no doubt that Breville is the world’s leader in espresso machines sales. They also dominate in several categories, including the best selling espresso machine of all time, the top selling dual boiler machine, and the best selling machine in the $200 to $400 category. There’s no way we could have this kind of holiday gift list, without listing several machines by this company, so here we go:
The Breville Bambino is one of those underdog, under the radar machines, but at $299 (or less) today, it is undoubtedly the best machine available at that price point considering the featureset. Inside at the core is Breville’s Instant On Thermojet system, making this machine one of the fastest “single boiler” machines to transition from brewing to steaming (and back again). The thermojet system, found in some of Breville’s $1500+ machines, also produces copious amounts of steam. That alone would make this machine a top choice.
The Bambino also has a PID control to deliver rock steady 200F water at the grouphead. It also has programmable volumetric volumes for the shot buttons, and a preinfusion mode that can be manually controlled (though you can’t change the auto’s timing). It has a dedicated hot water button (the Bambino Plus does not), and can pull a shot 3 seconds after turning it on.
All of this adds up to a pretty amazing machine at $299. Nothing else can really compete with it, and if you’re looking for the perfect gift for someone getting into espresso, one that won’t break the bank, this is the one.
Breville’s Bambino Plus has almost everything the Bambino model does (save for the hot water single button), but adds several key features. One is under the hood – a 3 way solenoid valve for instant pressure relief after a shot pull – but the is the true show stopper. It is the automated milk heating and frothing system that can deliver genuine microfoam milk, completely hands off. And it can do it to three different temperature levels and three different froth amounts. It even cleans up after itself (after you give the wand a quick wipe).
All this in a machine that is, at full MSP of $499, but often goes on sale for $450, $400 or even less. Here’s our full review.
The Bambino Plus also comes with a few tools that the Bambino does not, including a better tamper and Breville’s Razor tool. It uses the same design for portafilter that Breville’s Barista lineup does, meaning there is a ton of aftermarket chopped portafilters and upgraded models you can buy for it.
This machine is an ideal gift for someone who loves their lattes and cappuccinos, but doesn’t have the skill (or desire) to manually froth milk.
Now 10 years old, the Breville Barista Express just keeps chugging along. Initially introduced at the $599 price point, its full MSRP is $699, but you can almost always find it for sale for $600 or less (as I type this, Amazon has it for $560). For that reason this worthy machine makes our list. Here’s our Review.
There are reasons this machine has sold more units than any other consumer espresso machine in the history of the technology. In short, a) it is well made, b) it has a programmable PID, c) it is OPV’ed to a true 9bar at the grouphead (a change made in 2019), d) it is feature packed, e) it has that eye catching pressure gauge, f) it’s the complete package with the included grinder.
This isn’t to say the Barista Express is perfect. Indeed, it’s dated in some ways and we have an article suggesting how Breville could improve it with the Barista Express Gen 2.
Even with all that, this remains one of the best overall espresso machines you can buy for a loved one who wants to get into quality espresso in the home. They don’t have to buy anything else, other than coffee. This machine is capable of five star shots, excellent microfoamed milk, and should see years of service.
Other Espresso Machines
It’s not just about Breville on this Holiday Gift List. Here’s some excellent gift ideas in other espresso machine types to consider.
If the Flair 58 (listed below) is too much at $580, the $340 Cafelat Robot (or the $410 Cafelat Robot Barista model) is a lot more budget friendly and still a fantastic option for a unique, capable espresso machine for the loved one in your life.
Like the Flair 58, this is a fully manual espresso machine. Unlike the Flair 58, this is a beautiful work of art from top to bottom and occupies a very tiny footprint. We even take one of these on vacation. It is more than capable of brewing a proper double of espresso, and one of the best things about it is the very quick turnaround time, if you want to pull multiple shots. It is for that reason alone we’re listing this instead of Flair’s other machines, the Signature and Pro 2 (both awesome machines, but a lot of prep and cleanup between shots).
This started out as a hobby project for Cafelat, but has now turned into their main business. Why? Because it’s an outstanding product. Here’s our full review of the Robot.
What a history this machine has had. We’ve written about the Gaggia Classic many times on CoffeeGeek, going back to our initial First Look in 2002. We also covered Gaggia’s return to a quality machine with the Classic Pro in 2019, and we recently published the First Look on the Evo Pro a few weeks back.
This is the machine to consider gifting to the person in your life who loves to cook from scratch. Who loves to tinker. Who isn’t afraid to experiment. If you buy the Gaggia Classic Evo Pro for a loved one, you’re buying them a machine that has the potential to last decades. You’re also buying them a machine that has an excellent resale value should they decide to go a bit more prosumer espresso down the road.
Our First Look details this machine quite a bit. If you want the TL:DR, this is a 100ml, coated aluminum boiler machine with a full brass grouphead, a full stainless steel 48mm portafilter, a huge reservoir, and a rock solid build quality that includes a lot of commercial grade parts and wiring inside. All made in Italy.
Choose this machine for the culinarian in your life who wants to really dive deep into espresso. And a tip: if you buy from Whole Latte Love, use the coupon code GAGGIA to get $50 off (limited time offer).
Hey there – Mark Prince writing this entry. I love the Superkop. If it were up to me, and I had a choice to buy the Superkop at $900, or the Flair 58 at $580, I would go the Superkop (with the wall mount kit) 100% of the time.
But the Flair 58 is a better overall espresso machine. I feel it is the best direct lever machine you can buy today, and I’d even argue it’s the best direct lever machine of all time. The only reason I’d chose the Superkop over it is because the Superkop is literally a functional work of art. The Flair 58 is more utilitarian and that gawdawful power brick and power button assembly give it some fugly components. Check out our review for a lot more info on this and the rest of the machine.
But let’s put aside those negatives. The Flair 58, with the passive electrical heat system to keep your pre-heated water at ideal temperatures, with the standard 58mm portafilter, with the visible pressure gauge system, with the shot mirror option, with the ingenious 2 way valve system for filling the reservoir and lifting the plunger, and with the long throw lever with the nice grip, is espresso nirvana for the person in your life who loves things hand crafted.
This machine, in their hands, can deliver true 5 star espresso, personally hand crafted by them as an integral part of the brewing process. The Flair 58 is an end-game machine, and an awesome gift for any serious espresso nerd.
Grinders Galore
top picks in espresso grinders under $400
We featured a few grinders in our Under $300 Coffee Section, and those are mostly multipurpose or brew-primary grinders. The ones we’re featuring here are what could be called espresso-primary, with a few exceptions. We’re also presenting them in order of cheapest to most expensive, with a top out price point of $400. Because to be honest, $400 is a lot for a grinder, and you can get a lot for that price.
When you gift someone a Baratza grinder, not only are you buying them a grinder with quality parts, good motors, good build quality, and good burrs, but you’re also giving them a product with the best after-sales support in the entire coffee and espresso equipment manufacturing industry. You’re gifting them a generational product.
The Encore ESP, at $200 or less, is a very well suited grinder for entry point espresso, but one that is also a multipurpose grinder, capable of grinding everything from 17.5g for a Bambino espresso machine, to 120g for a 2litre auto drip machine. We’ve even used ours for grinding a 1kg bag of coffee in one session (grinding about 150g in batches, back to back). Check out our full review for more details.
The Encore ESP lacks some key features, like a digital / mechanical timer, but makes up for it in an excellent burrset and inclusion of a 54mm/58mm dosing cup along with its standard grinds bin. This is an excellent grinder choice as a gift for someone who likes all forms of coffee brewing, but wants a good espresso grinder as part of the mix.
This grinder has come out of nowhere to be one of best entry point, espresso primary grinders you can buy today. If the espresso lover in your life wants a performance driven, fast and quiet espresso primary grinder, this is an excellent choice.
The SK40 has a worm drive for selecting the grind without any steps. This allows for exacting fine tuning on the grind. It occupies a very small footprint, spins at a high rate, and grinds very fast. It does retain a lot of grinds, but that’s what the incorporated bellows are for: they blow out all the grinds, so if you put 18.5g in, you should expect 18.4-18.5g out.
The burrset is also upgraded over the previous original SD40 model, and everyone agrees it is a worthy update. We wrote a bit about this grinder recently.
The SK40 would be awesome paired up with the Bambino, Bambino Plus, or Gaggia Classic. It’s also a serious upgrade if the person you’re gifting this for normally gets their espresso coffee preground, or they use a cheap sub $100 grinder for espresso use.
Natia here: I’m the proud owner of the 1ZPresso J-Max hand grinder, which many people believe is the best manual grinder on the market today for espresso use. It comes down to the excellent burr set and the incredible 9 microns per click, and over 90 clicks per rotation, for serious espresso dialing.
We thought the J-Max would be a great grinder to recommend as a gift idea for the espresso nerd in your life, but guess what: 1ZPresso has updated and upgraded the J-Max to the new J-Ultra model. Same ultra premium 40mm conical burr set, but better ergonomics, their folding handle design, magnetic catch cup, and they’ve re-engineered the grind dial down to a minute 8 microns per click adjustment. It still features the super beefy central piston (which you can use with a drill for faster grinding!), all metal construction inside and out, and now comes with a nice travel case.
This would be an incredible pairing with manual machines like the Flair 58 or Superkop.
As a side note, we’re not listing a Canadian source for this – the grinder is obscenely overpriced in Canada by its main importer. Buy from US source, or Aliexpress.
Mark contributes: I’m just going to say it: I love this grinder, even with all its shortcomings. Love it. It is so unique and special. If i got this as a Christmas gift, I would be over the moon and think it was one of the best gifts I ever got in the realm of coffee gear.
The grind quality from the Mini is spectacular, from turkish (yes, it can do a 200um grind!) through to Pour over. And for the coarser grinds that conical burrs typically struggle with, this grinder does an above average job. I think it’s because the RPMs are so lo on it. The output of this grinder is better than the Comandante C40, which it is often compared to.
The downside to this grinder is for espresso, it’s crazy slow: it can take up to 50 seconds to grind 18.5g. And the motor is seriously lightweight: Option-O rate it as a motor you should not use more than 6 or 8 times a day, and if doing espresso, give it a good 5 minute rest between espresso grinds. We write a lot about this grinder, here.
All this said, this is a spectacular and unique gift to get the espresso or coffee nerd in your life. $375 and up, depending on where you buy. And worth every penny.
We still consider the Sette 270 series the best espresso primary grinder under $1500. Yup, even against the DF64 Gen 2, listed next. But that’s espresso only. If you want multipurpose, the DF64 Gen 2 is the leader. For further druthers, the 270Wi is tops, but the non-scale equipped 270 is nearly as good.
So how do you choose between the DF64 Gen 2 and Sette 270 if you’re shopping for that perfect grinder gift? The answer is, know your gift recipient. If they are 100% espresso, all the time, go with the Sette 270.
Here’s why: this conical burr group by Etzinger, tied in with the burr carrier system, is the best conical burr and grind delivery system on the market today. It is so good, it doesn’t need a plasma generator to reduce static like the DF64 Gen 2 does. This grinder delivers a fluffy, uncompacted and even distribution of coffee direct to the portafilter. No WDT required, it is so good. Not to mention fast.
The 270 doesn’t have the built in scale, but it does have a 0.1 second digital timer with three programmable presets. And the grinder is so repeatable in dose, once you dial in and weigh your doses properly, you can rest assured the digital timer will be within 0.2g of your target dose every time.
Literally the only downside to this grinder is the noise. Everything else is awesome. And it’s Baratza, so your gift recipient will have after-sales support and near at-cost parts availability for easy dIY repairs for years and years to come.
Out of nowhere (a theme with Turin!), the 2nd generation of the DF64, itself a ground shaking, expectations-changing grinder, showed up this summer. And everyone who’s used one or owned one loves the thing. This, in many ways, is the ultimate grinder right now for the espresso fanatic. If you have such a person in your life that you want to buy the ultimate gift for, this grinder could be it.
I mean, this grinder has a plasma generator. Coffee just sluices, like it was friction free, out of the grind chute.
Even with the stock burrs, the DF64 Gen 2 is a near ideal espresso grinder that can also do a very high quality pour over grind, Chemex grind, and even a Press Pot grind. Spend $35 for the DLC burrs, and you get an even better grinder, one that rivals the SSP Burr equipped version (which is $175 more). This grinder is fast, has a very professional grade finish to everything on it, and at $400, is a much better grinder than even the Niche Zero (which costs $250 more). Here is our First Look at the Turin DF64 Gen 2.
This is kind of an end-game grinder. A perfect gift for the espresso nerd who wants it all (but you’re not spending $1,000 or more on a grinder to give it to them).
Espresso Accessories
Gear that will improve home espresso
What if the espresso lover in your life has a fantastic espresso machine and grinder already? There are a few other gift ideas we can give you; items that can help espresso fanatics improve the quality of espresso and enjoy it in special ways.
This is still the gold standard scale for espresso use: the Acaia Lunar. $250. Crazy, right? But it literally is the best espresso primary scale in the world, one that is used in barista championships, in top cafes, and pretty much every Youtube influencer has these in their espresso machine tests.
One reason why the scale is so expensive is that it has a full blown industrial calibre weighing sensor system inside. Even at factory cost, that sensor costs Acaia more than most of the espresso scales you find on Amazon these days.
Acaia updated the scale in 2021 (they opted to not send us one to test) with some new features which make it even better. We’re basing our recommendation on the 2020 version which still works great today. The app still sucks (if you want a well connected app experience, see the next entry), but as a straightforward espresso scale, the espresso lover in your life would cherish this.
We featured the R2 Refractometer from DiFluid in our Under $300 Coffee Gear list, but also wanted to point to the complete package of the refractometer and DiFluid’s connected scale, in a $275-$300 package. The scale and the refractometer work seamlessly together with DiFluid’s app to provide excellent analysis tools for espresso.
The scale is quite nice. It does have some temperature drift problems, but use the included silicone mat to avoid that. What is especially good is how it fully automates all the complex calculations the app does to evaluate espresso. The scale is halfway between the size of an Acaia Lunar, and an Acaia Pearl, and should fit on most espresso machines (definitely not the Gaggia Classic though).
Of course, this can also be used for coffee brewing analysis too, to help the home barista make better brews. This is one of those ideal gifts for the espresso nerd who already has almost everything for their hobby.
Natia loves coffee and relishes at the chance to write about it. She's competed in regional barista competitions in the past, and while no longer a Barista as a profession, she says espresso runs through her veins.
Mark has certified as a Canadian, USA, and World Barista Championship Judge in both sensory and technical fields, as well as working as an instructor in coffee and espresso training. He started CoffeeGeek in 2001.
Zuzanna travels the world because of her job, and makes it a point to find the best cafes, best coffee, best espresso in every city, town, or village she visits.
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Zuzanna Kaminskihttps://coffeegeek.com/author/zussyk/
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Zuzanna Kaminskihttps://coffeegeek.com/author/zussyk/
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Zuzanna Kaminskihttps://coffeegeek.com/author/zussyk/
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Zuzanna Kaminskihttps://coffeegeek.com/author/zussyk/
One Response
I am so in love with the Cafelat Robot and the Superkop! I’m trying to decide if there is any way I can justify having them just to gaze at with a smile.