Coffee enthusiasts always swear by the expert technique of freshly grinding the beans before tamping to make the perfect espresso shot. But what if we told you there’s an easier way? Automatic self-tamping machines not only save your beans but also make your life a lot easier. The best espresso machines come with automatic coffee doses and tamping, making the process a piece of cake. With auto doses of over 18 grams of coffee, touch screen operations, adjustable grind controls, and separate boilers for milk frothing and espresso, these machines are the true champions in their league.
But here’s the real star of the show: Proportional-Integral-Derivative, or PID, the system that reads and maintains the water temperature. It’s the crucial factor that separates the winners from the losers in the world of espresso machines. So, get ready to raise your cup to the deserving champions and say goodbye to the harsh coffee realities.
Table of Contents
What is an Automatic Espresso Machine?
Automatic espresso machines are more expensive, though are much easier to use than semi-automatic espresso machines. They come with built-in bean grinders for a fresher espresso and milk frothers, making the process of bean to cup quicker and the final crema better quality (if you choose a good bean). They often have LED screens or touch screens with pre-programmable coffee styles for a better user friendly experience.
As they’re more expensive they often have more appropriate features than semi-automatic machines such as higher watts meaning quicker water heating times plus auto descaler/cleaning programs.
Other useful nuances and bonuses for the barista that’ll propel an espresso machine higher in this list will be its cleaning friendly quality and build quality.
Automatic espresso machines will sometimes have two boilers so you can heat frothing steam and the espresso water simultaneously, whereas you often have to do one after the other with cheaper semi-automatic espresso machines with one boiler.
Coffee Bean Capacity
A notable nuance in choosing an automatic espresso machine is how many grams of coffee the integrated conical burr grinder automatically grinds, doses and tamps. After all at the high level of automatic machines you don’t want to be found lacking for your guests.
One cup of espresso is seven grams of beans which is approximately fifty five beans per cup (green beans weigh more than roasted coffee beans). A high end machine will dose and tamp over 21 grams of coffee.
Best Espresso Machines With Automatic Coffee Doses and Tamping
1. Breville Oracle Touch BES990BSS Espresso Machine
The Breville Oracle Touch BES990BSS is designed to bring coffee style drink making (from seed to cup) to your home or workplace with a focus on automatic, user friendly beverage creation fit for the aficionado.
At first glance the Oracle Touch is impressive, fully clad in brushed steel, though without an overbearing footprint for a machine of this stature, being only 14.5 x 14.7 x 17.6 inches.
The touchscreen stands it apart from the crowd as there are no buttons or dials apart from the on/off button and grind size dial on the right flank. At second glance, the touch screen draws you in with colored graphics and offers high-end functions; from controlling the temperature of the milk to even choosing how much milk froth you want, this truly is a user friendly, automatic espresso machine.
Grounds Size Dial
Choose how fine you want your beans by twisting the grind size dial on the right flank – a touch the aficionado will be hooked on.
Charcoal Filter of The Breville oracle
A charcoal filter amazingly filters the water stored in the sizable reservoir which slips in and out of the back: capacity approx 84 ounces of water. A great feature to save time is you can pop a flap open on the front and fill this machine from the front too.
Cleaning The Breville Oracle
A roller bearing allows for easy maneuvering of the Oracle so you can easily slip it left or right to clean behind it; the ability unlock and lock it is a nice touch. A highly thought out tool kit comes with the Oracle including mini brushes, a used grounds bin and even a magnet to suck out the tamper for cleaning.
You can cleverly set the clean cycle with the touchscreen; included is a small pack of descale tablets which should be added to flush a round the machine a few times a year. Important parts like the drip tray can be removed and washed with soapy water.
A great feature is after wiping the milk frother wand off the wand automatically drops vertically and purge cleans with steam.
Tip of The Day
For lots of cappuccino worthy milk froth slide the touch scale to 9 out of 10 and set the temperature at 155
Pros
- Highly controllable touch screen
- PID system
- Customizable drinks memory – design, name and store.
- 22 Grams of Coffee automatically dosed and tamped
- Water filter
Add-ons I Liked
- Pros 55ml commercial grade portafilter
- Tool/cleaning kit
- Pitcher
- Used grounds bin
Cons
- Er um… the 4 digit price may leave some people gaping, but you get what you pay for with the Oracle
How to use in Short:
- Fill with beans
- Choose drink from touchscreen, press grind
- remove portafilter and transfer to brewing station and lock in
- Place pitcher under wand, heat milk,
- Watch countdown
- Don’t worry the touch screen has a tutorial detailing each part you’ll need to be accustomed with.
Fantastic self-tamping which saves time and wastes no beans shouldn’t be underestimated. This highly user friendly automatic espresso machine not only delivers, bean to cup, top quality espresso drinks, it too has highly likable customization settings and a smorgasbord of handy features to help with cleaning and upkeep. Plus the Oracle has been built to last and all that while looking good doing it with its brushed stainless steel design.
2. De’Longhi ECAM37095TI Dinamica Plus Fully Automatic Espresso Machine
Famed for its appearance in that Brad Pitt commercial, the De’Longhi ECAM37095TI Dinamica Plus comes from a stylish stable of espresso machines; the De’Longhi brand is well known for creating home espresso machines that look good.
The Dinamica boasts 13 grind settings for its built in bean grinder which is impressive. The TFT screen provides clear one touch choices and holds up to 3 saved bespoke coffee profiles: not bad.
The milk container can be handily unattached and stored in the fridge and an iced coffee setting, ‘True Brew’ is a nice touch and works well, delivering strong flavor though you’ll need a bullet ice machine to keep up with the Hollywood A-listers no doubt.
The latteCrema system allows you to program even different textures of milk froth for your lattes which is a plus point and worthy of a leading espresso machine with automatic coffee doses and tamping. The system also froths rice soy and oat liquids is that’s your poison.
The dual dual heating system works to maintain optimal temperature and heat steam for milk froth and hot water for coffee in unison and in quick time.
Cleaning the De’Longhi
When you’re drip tray is approach full simply un-click it and drop it in the dishwasher along with the milk carafe. Plus the milk froth wand is washable in a dish washer. The system has a handy self-clean system for purging the tubes and cavities. A descaling solution should be used a few times in the year. Easy user-friendliness is a great way to sum up the De’Longhi Dinamica.
Pros
Easy to use 3.5 Touch screen
5.3 inch/ 13.5 cm cup height
2 year warranty is a bonus and adds assurance
Carbon active water filter
What You Get
Measuring Scoop, Total Hardness Test, Cleaning Brush, Descaler 100mL, Removable Water Spout, Milk jug
Cons
- 60.9 fl oz water reservoir is smaller than the Breville
- No low water level indicator on the screen
The ability to customize your own special blend and save that recipe by touch screen is a useful feature. Even download an APP so you can control this dusky, plastic and steel, beverage maker by smart phone. The bean capacity is 1/2 pound of beans which is competitive among its peers.
3. Philips 2200 Series Fully Automatic Espresso Machine (Budget friendly)
The Philips 2200 series automatic espresso machine, is designed to make creating espresso based beverages an easy experience with a fine final result. Coming at less than half the price of the next cheapest automatic espresso machine on this list maybe you would be excused for having lower expectations.
Firstly, the machine looks great in its black livery and though the touch screen does not have as many options as some, its as clear as day to choose one of three styles of coffee. However, the buttons could do with some hepatic feed back as you’re not sure what’s happening until you hear the low and then rising pitch of a grinding sound.
The options for dosing – a 3-setting “aroma” control and grind size are limited and the only time you see the grounds is in the “spent grounds” bin which excludes you from an authentic experience of admiring tumbling beans which is a small shame.
Notwithstanding that small gripe the espresso shot comes out full bodied and with a generous crema. Flat whites, cappuccinos or lattes can be created; the milk froth is decent without going to the top of the class when it comes to thick froth for latte art. The real bonus of the Phillips is that it does what an automatic espresso should: makes it dead simple (almost fool proof) to create a top bistro style coffee beverage in your own home of workplace and at a much more affordable price than some.
Pros
- Smaller than many automatic espresso machines: Width 9.5 inches, Depth 17 inches, Height 14.5 inches
- Aqua Clean Waterfilter
- Milk carafe and drip tray can easily be removed and cleaned.
- 28 grams of Coffee beans
Cons
- No added tools or cleaning kit
4. De’Longhi ECAM29084SB Magnifica Evo
The Magnifica Evo is a good looking automatic espresso maker clad in mostly plastic panels and featuring some useful nuances for easy home use. One of those nuances is the capability to switch from its own bean grinder to accepting already ground coffee. You can also make a plain cup of coffee or tea with hot water if you so wish.
Without a comprehensive LED touch screen like its more illustrious sibling, the Oracle Touch, the Magnifica Evo still gleans some similar and worthwhile functions from the Oracle: colored icons on top buttons illustrate 7 coffee recipes including the nice possibility of iced coffee.
The burr grinder that sits atop of the 9.45 inches wide machine has a useful 13 settings so the aficionado inside you can attain the courseness and fineness of grounds you desire.
Milk Frothing WIth The Magnifica Evo
I found the density of the automatic milk froth to be just right for a cappuccino with no splattering, spilliage or dribbles. It too performs handsomely at steamed milk for lattes. The milk carafe easily clicks out so it can be stored in a fridge or given a clean by hand or in a dishwasher.
The Magnifica Evo works with a thrermoblock system whereby a piece of metal that has a heating coil inside is heated and water is pushed to it. The water instantly turns into steam for milk frothing. Withits regular auto clean system, water filter, programmable recipes and reliable auto milk frother, the Magnifica Evo packs a punch higher than its price.
Pros
- When turning it on and off a clean cycle starts
- Comes with a useful carbon active water filter, cleaning brush and descaler
- Self Cleaning function after every use
Cons
- The water reservoir is smaller than some others: 64 Ounces
In Conclusion
When you’re in a rush to go to work, sometimes the fact you don’t have to wash dregs out of a portafilter is a pleasant benefit of best espresso machines with automatic coffee doses and tamping. I digress these machines make lives of coffee lovers easy but also give incredible control over bean grinding fineness, milk froth and milk temperature. They make cleaning easier, use constant water heating control (like PID) at the right temperature and look great on your counter top.
All of the above are worthy choices in ‘Best Espresso Machines With Automatic Coffee Doses and Tamping.’
If I was more budget conscious but wanted a choice of bean fineness, ease of use, and nuances such as a water filter, cleaning brush and cold coffee option I would opt for the De’Longhi ECAM29084SB Magnifica Evo.
