Consumer advocate CHOICE has been at it again and has tested more than 70 pod/capsule and espresso machines (manual, automatic and semi-auto) from brands including Breville, Sunbeam, Smeg, DeLonghi, Kmart, Aldi and Nespresso.
These are the lowest rating pod machines:
1. Nescafé Dolce Gusto Piccolo XS 9781
CHOICE rating: 41 per cent
Taste test score: 30 per cent
Price: $79
CHOICE SAYS: “Keen for quality coffee? Keep looking. This little machine came last in our test with an unforgivable Rating of just 41 per cent. Not only did it rate terribly for taste and milk frothing, you have to work for it too – you’ll need to stop the flow of coffee yourself and then ditch the pod immediately, as it has no storage for empties. Cancel that coffee order.”
2. Breville Nescafé Dolce Gusto Genio S Plus
CHOICE rating: 46 per cent
Taste test score: 30 per cent
Price: $149
CHOICE SAYS: “It delivered poor-tasting coffee with a bitter flavour, watery mouthfeel and thin crema. Plus, it rated just average for milk frothing and the coffee temperature consistency was OK at best. It does boast customisable drink settings and is easy to clean and use.”
These are the lowest rating espresso machines:
1. Sunbeam Café Barista EM5000
CHOICE rating: 47 per cent
Taste test score: 30 per cent
Price: $299
CHOICE says: “Sunbeam makes some impressive models, this just isn’t one of them. This semi-automatic model is great at serving up espresso at very consistent temperatures. But it scored a deal-breaking 30 per cent in our blind taste test and rated only OK for milk frothing. That’s a big cost for bad coffee.”
2. Sunbeam Barista Plus EMM5400SS
CHOICE rating: 53 per cent
Taste test score: 40 per cent
Price: $749
CHOICE says: “While this machine scores slightly higher overall than the other Sunbeam machine, it costs more than twice as much, which is a lot to pay for a dismal-tasting cup of coffee. With features such as digital controls and an in-built conical burr grinder, it scores a decent 72 per cent for ease of use but falls down on coffee temperature consistency which means it’s not reliable when pumping out more than one or two cups of coffee.”
3. Breville Duo-Temp Pro BES810BSS
CHOICE rating: 59 per cent
Taste test score: 45 per cent
Price: $499
CHOICE says: “This model does score very well for milk frothing and consistent coffee temperature, and also packs handy features such as a drip tray with full indicator, cup-warming plate and onboard tamper. Unfortunately, it earned a woeful taste score.”
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