With visits to your favourite establishments decreasing, what are the best options to recreate that ‘in-store’ cup of joe in your own kitchen?

As we continue our Working from home series, our breakdown today comes in the form of one life’s absolute necessities. The morning cup of coffee.

Times are strange, your routine is broken and the trips to your favourite coffee place, be it a quick stop or a long sit down to people watch are now non-existent. The one thing that got your day started has gone and let’s be honest, it’s miserable.

It’s not all doom and gloom, however, we’re here to tell you that there is a way out. Put the instant coffee in the bin, save the kettle for the tea and level up. It’s time to invest in a coffee machine and bring that in-store vibe straight into your kitchen.

Now everyone likes to drink their coffee in a different way and its very important to choose the right machine to suit your style of coffee, lifestyle and also your kitchen space.

Some machines specialise in certain types of drinks while others can offer you the whole range both of which can have a huge price range. Confusing we know. Before we move into our favourite machines we thought it’d be best if we break down the different type of domestic machines in the market today.

Filter Coffee Machine

Seen on every set of every American movie and TV show since the beginning of time, the filter pot coffee is ideal for those who like to prepare their coffee in bulk. The benefit of a filter coffee machine is that it can stay warm throughout the day allowing you to pop back for refills of Americano style coffee.

Espresso Machine

Espresso machines are great for those that love the theatre of making coffee but also the freshness. You’ll need a separate grinder when purchasing espresso machines but this also has the added benefit of choosing the beans you want before every cup.

Pod Machines

Pod machines are favourable by many due to their ease and convenience. The market is dominated by the Nespresso cup in the UK and Keurig in the US, with Nespresso pods making smaller Espresso type shots while Keurig K-cups are centered around the long “Americano”.

The benefits of Pods and pod machines is that they’re easy to clean and the machines are very quick to start up. There are also a wide variety of pods you can choose from however you’ll be limited to the strength and size of your coffee in most cases.

Bean-to-cup

Bean to cup machines are generally more expensive than pod machines but you’ll save money on the coffee itself as usually end up paying a premium for pods.

It’s essentially the best of both worlds from the espresso machine and the pod machine. Beans are only ground upon demand and its relatively mess-free as they’ll fall into their own bin after the coffee is made.

With bean-to-cup grinding on demand, The aroma will be stronger and crema usually a little thicker. Better bean to cup machines also come with steam wands and milk frothers built in to give a closer commercial experience.

Aside from the cost of the machine, the other downsides are that it may take slightly longer to prepare your coffee cup upon starting up and you’re limited to whatever coffee is in your hopper at the time.

Here are some of our favourite machines that we’ve shortlisted.