Coffee lovers like having their houses smell like their favorite coffee blend for Christmas. For this Christmas, you have a chance to make this happen for at least one coffee lover in your life by giving him/her a coffee machine as a Christmas present.
However, there are too many coffee machines available on the market and finding the right one for your friend, family member, co-worker, or boss might not be the easiest thing to do. Well, let us be the ones to help you pick the right coffee machine with this list of the five best coffee machines available. We hope that you’ll find the right machine among our coffee machine gift ideas and share the happiness of your ‘gifty’ when he/she opens the Christmas present.
#1 Breville the Barista Express Espresso Machine, BES870XL – Best Choice
The Barista Express is an espresso machine that makes delicious single and double espresso shots and it’s what we’d like to call a ‘full package.’ This is the machine that will do it all on its own, starting from the grinding of the coffee and ending with a cup of fresh espresso in the hand of someone who deserves to have the machine for Christmas.
The Barista Express has an integrated bean hopper and a conical burr grinder, which means that it will automatically grind the coffee beans. Yes, it will grind those fresh coffee beans for your dear person and it will then make an espresso with the help of its 15-bar pressure pump.
Whomever you decide to give this machine for Christmas will be a lucky person because he/she will be able to grind the coffee on multiple levels of coarseness and do a manual over ride if he/she wants more coffee in his/her cup. There’s also a built-in tamper that will come in handy when the lucky person gets the coffee grinded by the Barista Express. Another interesting thing about the machine is that it will grind the coffee directly into a stainless steel portafilter, which means more convenience and less mess.
When it comes to milk-based drinks, you will definitely put a big smile on the face of your loved one if he/she likes milk in the coffee. This is because the Express has a steam wand that is great for micro-foaming milk, which is, furthermore, great for creating latte art. Then, your dear person will also have the convenience of frothing the milk in a stainless steel milk container because the Barista Express comes with one.
Key features:
- Single and double espresso shots
- Integrated conical burr grinder
- Integrated bean hopper
- 15-bar pump
- Multiple grind sizes
- Manual over ride
- Digital temperature control (PID)
- Steam wand
- Built-in tamper
- Control panel with push buttons and dials
- Comes with a stainless steel milk container
Pros
Great-quality espresso
Let’s you control the amount of coffee the grinder grinds
The micro foam steam wand allows you to make great milk foam
Intuitive control panel
Grinded coffee goes straight into a portafilter
Comes with a scoop, tool, Allen key, filter baskets, portafilter, cleaning brush, and more
Cons
Nothing for this product
#2 Breville BES810BSSUSC BES810BSS Duo Temp Pro Espresso Machine, Stainless Steel – Best Value
The Breville Duo Temp Pro espresso machine is another one of our coffee machine gift ideas. This espresso machine brings a lot of value for the money. Therefore, the person that receives this machine as a gift will get professional-grade espresso in his/her cup if you’re willing to spend a few hundred bucks and turn it into a great Christmas gift.
The Duo Temp Pro uses ground coffee to make one or two espresso shots at a time, which will come in handy for when your friend or family member has you or someone else over. There’s a 15-bar pressure pump in the machine that optimizes the extraction of the espresso by applying the right pressure over the ground coffee in the portafilter. Furthermore, the Duo Temp Pro also comes with an integrated tamper to make things easier when it comes to tamping the coffee.
Milk-based drinks are also a possibility with the Duo Temp Pro thanks to the built-in steam wand and the stainless steel milk jug that comes with the machine. The frothed milk will have many tiny bubbles and your dear person will be able to decorate his/her latte with the foam. Frothing is done manually, which is great for customization of the foam and greater control over the frothing process.
The Breville Duo Temp Pro is very easy to use and it has an intuitive control panel with only a few push buttons and one dial. That said, you can be sure that you won’t make your dear person struggle to figure out how to use the machine. The Duo Temp Pro is, furthermore, very durable, hand-friendly, and makes a professional-grade espresso. Therefore, if you think that your dear person will like a machine that makes great coffee drinks in an easy way, you should consider buying him/her the Breville Duo Temp Pro for Christmas.
Key features:
- One or two espresso shots
- Works with ground coffee
- 15-bar pressure pump
- Steam wand
- Integrated tamper
- Comes with a stainless steel milk jug
- Comes with filter baskets, water filter, water filter holder, and a Razor dose trimming tool
Pros
Makes delicious coffee and milk-based coffee drinks
Let’s you choose the coffee volume
Is very easy to use
Has parts made of durable materials
Cons
Doesn’t have an integrated grinder
#3 Breville BES880BSS Barista Touch Espresso Maker, Stainless Steel – Premium Pick
The Premium pick on our list of coffee machine gift ideas is the Breville Barista Touch espresso maker. This machine will let your friend customize the coffee drinks not only for Christmas, but for as long as the machine lasts, which will be a long time since it is very durable. The Barista Touch has all the elements that an espresso machine needs to be considered an all-in-one machine, and your friend will definitely love you a bit more if you bring it to him/her for Christmas.
Single or double espresso shots, the Barista Touch will always be at your dear person’s disposal and will make him/her delicious coffee drinks. The machine has an integrated bean hopper and a conical burr grinder, which is great because your loved one won’t have to buy a separate grinder to grind the coffee beans with.
With a selection of five pre-programmed coffee drinks, the Barista Touch will keep happy the person you decide to buy it for. However, if this person wants to customize the drinks, he/she can definitely adjust the coffee strength and the milk texture and temperature. Speaking of milk, the Barista Touch comes with a steam wand and will let your friend or family member froth milk manually. Furthermore, the foam created with the help of the steam wand will be great for latte art in case your dear one wants to ‘draw’ a tiny Christmas tree in his/her coffee cup.
The Barista Touch is a very easy-to-use machine. It has an intuitive control panel and it grinds the coffee directly into the portafilter. The machine also comes with a touch screen and offers the option to program up to eight coffee drinks to someone’s personal taste, making it the perfect gift for people who like programmability.
Key features:
- Single and double espresso shots
- Integrated bean hopper
- 5 pre-programmed coffee drinks
- Integrated conical burr grinder
- Digital temperature control (PID)
- BPA-free water reservoir
- Touch screen
Pros
Adjustable milk texture and temperature
Adjustable coffee strength
Fast heat up time of only 3 seconds
Coffee dose control
Coffee is grinded into the stainless steel portafilter
Cons
Nothing for this product
#4 Flair Signature Espresso Maker (Plus, Black)
Going further down our coffee machine gift ideas list we come to the Flair Signature espresso maker. This is a manual espresso maker and is the perfect Christmas gift for someone who likes to prepare espresso manually. It has a very interesting design, and if the person you’re intending to cheer up with this gift values the way objects look, this is probably a great gift for him/her.
The Flair Signature espresso maker will let your co-worker, friend, or partner put in some effort into making his/her coffee since it has a lever. This lever can apply from 6 to 10 bars of pressure to the coffee in the portafiler of this espresso maker. The machine also has its own detachable brewing head with a 2.02 ounce water cylinder and it takes from 30 to 45 seconds to extract the espresso.
What’s great about the Flair Signature espresso maker is that it’s highly-portable. Whomever you decide to give this espresso maker for Christmas will be very grateful to you because he/she will be able to actually make espresso wherever he/she decides to take the machine. This is because this espresso maker is compact and it comes with a carrying case.
Because its brewing head is detachable, the Flair Signature espresso maker is very easy to clean and maintain. All you have to do to clean it is detach the brewing head, disassemble its parts, and rinse them. Therefore, if there’s someone you want to remind how much you love him/her this Christmas, you could give him/her this easy-to-use, easy-to-clean, stylish, and manual espresso maker.
Key features:
- Manual espresso maker
- Lever pressure (6-10 bars)
- 02-ounce water cylinder
- Extraction time of 30-45 seconds
- Stainless steel tamper
- Stainless steel and aluminum base
- Padded carrying case
Pros
A unique design
Compact and portable
Short extraction time
Easy to clean and maintain
Cons
The espresso maker doesn’t come with a burr grinder
#5 Gaggia Brera Super Automatic Espresso Machine
We decided to end our list of coffee machine gift ideas with the Gaggia Brera super automatic espresso machine. This is a machine we would’ve given 4.5 stars if only it took a bit less time to clean it. However, your friend or family member might be able to forgive this tiny flaw when he/she tastes the delicious coffee this machine makes.
The Gaggia Brera works with both whole bean and ground coffee, and it doesn’t require a lot of knowledge about espresso machines to be operated. This is because it’s a machine that has a very intuitive LED screen and a few buttons next to it that will give no one a hard time when preparing espresso. By giving it a few commands, the machine will pull out single and double espresso shots in no time.
This espresso machine has an 8.8 ounce bean hopper and it relies on the Gaggia Adapting System to grind particular coffee beans in a particular way. The machine also comes with a 40 ounce water reservoir and a Panarello steam wand for milk frothing. Therefore, you will not only bring espresso, but also milk-based coffee drinks at the home of your friend or dear co-worker this Christmas if you buy him/her this machine as a Christmas gift.
Something interesting about this espresso machine is that it has programmable settings for the coffee strength. This makes the Gaggia Brera a great Christmas gift for everyone who would like to make customizations to the coffee drinks. Furthermore, if you’re planning to give the Brera as a gift to someone who is into saving energy, you should know that this machine has a standby mode. Energy efficient, easy-to-use, and programmable—it could be that the Brera is the gift you’ve been looking for.
Key features:
- Works with whole bean coffee and ground coffee
- LED screen
- Gaggia Adapting System
- 8 ounce bean hopper
- 40 ounce water reservoir
- Panarello steam wand
- Removable brew group
- Accommodates cups from 3.25 to 4.5 inches
Pros
Heats up very fast with the help of the Rapid Steam technology
Easy to maintain with elements accessible from the front
Programmable coffee strength
Standby mode saves energy
Cons
Cleaning the machine is easy, but it takes a long time to do it
Things to consider when buying coffee machine
What type of coffee machine to buy – Think about what kind of coffee machine you would like to give to your friend, co-worker, family member, or other dear person. Are they into espresso machines that work with ground coffee only, pod-based machines, bean-to-cup machines, or coffee makers?
Each one of these coffee machines has its advantages. Espresso machines that work with ground coffee only are a great choice if your dear person already has a coffee grinder or doesn’t mind if the coffee is not freshly grinded. For those who do want the freshness of the whole bean coffee, a bean-to-cup machine would be a nice gift to give. Furthermore, pod-based machines are great for people who want quickly-made espressos and don’t want coffee over their kitchen counters. And finally, coffee makers are great for people who prefer coffee machines that make a lot of coffee at once. Therefore, consider these things and choose the right coffee machine wisely.
Does your friend want a simpler or a machine with more options and settings – Some prefer having a coffee machine that has a few buttons and can make the coffee quickly without them putting too much effort into the coffee making process. Others, however, like machines that have a little bit more to offer when it comes to options and settings. Consider this when buying the perfect coffee machine as a Christmas gift for your dear person.
Water tank size – Coffee machines with larger water tanks are great for people who like having a lot of coffee during the day or live in families where pretty much every family member is a coffee lover. On the other hand, smaller households and people who are not heavy coffee drinkers could benefit from machines with smaller water reservoirs. These machines are also usually more compact than the machines with larger tanks, so they can be a good choice for someone who doesn’t have a lot of space on the kitchen counter.
Milk frothing – Does your friend or co-worker like pure espresso or is he/she into milk-based drinks? Figure this out before you go to buy a coffee machine for someone, or otherwise your loved coffee lover might not find the machine to be of much use.
Price – Think about how much you can spend on a coffee machine. We know this is irrelevant to the person you want to give the machine as a gift, but it is relevant to you. Also, keep in mind that even more affordable coffee machines can have some of the features found on some high-end machines. Therefore, we advise you to pick a coffee machine that you can afford, but that will also meet the needs of your friend, family member, co-worker, boss, partner, and other people you care for.
Conclusion
Each of the coffee machines on this list can be a great Christmas gift for some coffee lover in your life. We think that Breville the Barista Express is the best machine to go for overall, but ultimately, the choice is yours. Think about what your dear person would like to get from a coffee machine and you will make no mistakes in your judgement. We hope this article helped you make your decision and we wish you a Merry Christmas.