I tried Salter's new espresso machine — it might be the best budget-friendly way to enjoy coffee at home

This review puts the Salter Professional Espirista Coffee Machine to the test to find out whether it can deliver a good quality cup of coffee, at an affordable price point.

Espresso machines are by no means cheap, which is what sets Salter's latest appliance apart. With a very affordable RRP of £124.99, can it be considered one of the best coffee machines on the market? After using it daily for three weeks, here are my thoughts.

In a nutshell

Salter are known for producing reliable kitchen appliances at an attainable price point, and the Professional Espirista Coffee Machine promises to be no different. The brand launched their collection of barista-style coffee machines at the back end of last year, and they've already amassed an array of positive reviews online.

And after using the Espirista machine daily for the last three weeks, I can see why. It's rare to find an affordable espresso machine that can produce a good quality cup of coffee, but the Salter Professional Espirista can do just that. The machine itself also carries a sleek design, pretty enough to warrant a space on any kitchen countertop.

But, there's a caveat. You'll need to set aside a good five or ten minutes to make your morning coffee with this machine due to the preheating times. It's recommended to preheat the frothing wand before you brew your coffee, though this adds a considerable chunk of time to the process. But, skipping this step will result in a less than hot drink at the end, so if you want your drink to be piping, you'll have to put the time in.

Specifications

• Coffee type: ground
• Dimensions: 37(H) x 19.3(W) x 35.5(D) cm
• Coffee options: single and double shot espresso
• RRP: £124.99
• Water tank capacity: 1.4L
• Pressure: 15-bar
• Weight: 4.4kg

Who tested this coffee machine?

Katie Sims

I'm Katie, and I've been writing digital content for Ideal Home for the past three years. I've tested a variety of home appliances, including vacuums, dehumidifiers, BBQs, blenders, and coffee machines. I love coffee, and my favourite way to drink it is a flat white, though I am partial to a cappuccino as well. 

Unboxing and first impressions

The Salter Professional Espirista arrives in one box, which is lightweight and easy to carry around. The box paints a pretty accurate picture of what the coffee machine looks like, so I know exactly what to expect when I pull the sleek, black appliance out.

Included in the box is the coffee machine, scoop, coffee funnel, single cup filter, double cup filter, and cable. I was a little disappointed to see that all of the individual components were wrapped in plastic, and it would have been nice to see some effort made towards using recyclable packaging materials. My preference is for appliances to arrive in cardboard, as this can go straight in with my household recycling.

In terms of set-up, there's little to do beyond inserting the cable into the machine and plugging it in. Before you get started, you'll need to choose whether to use the single or double cup filter depending on if you want a single or double shot of espresso. As a flat white drinker, I pop the double cup filter into the coffee funnel, and attach this easily to the machine.

Note that you'll need to purchase your ground coffee separately to get going. I use the GRIND House Coffee Blend, which costs £8 for a 227g bag. I also purchased a milk jug to use with the steam frothing wand, which isn't a dealbreaker by any means, but many machines do come with this included.

I have to say that I'm a fan of how the Salter Professional Espirista looks on my kitchen countertop. It's slimline, so doesn't take up much space, which is a big plus for kitchens that are on the smaller side like mine. The coffee funnel also makes it look like a proper coffee machine, for lack of better description. I've only used a Tassimo T-Disc machine to make coffee at home before, so having an espresso machine like this in my kitchen looks (and feels) like a definite upgrade.

What's it like to use?

When it came to actually using the machine, I did need a practise run to be able to make a cup of coffee I was happy with. The machine switches on via the power button on the side, at which point the three icons for single shot, double shot, and steam (which is the function used for the milk frothing wand) illuminate on the touch panel. The instruction manual explains that once these stop flashing, the machine is ready to use.

The manual recommends heating up the milk frothing wand before using the coffee function, as this will create a hotter drink at the end. It takes around 30 seconds for the steam button to stop flashing once I've touched it, at which point I turn the steam control dial as per the instructions. Water spits outs into my milk jug and the steam function activates.

The first thing I notice about this is that it's loud. The noise level increases to what I would describe as a racket, and I'm definitely ready to rotate the dial and close the steam function after a minute or so has passed. There's nothing to indicate that the frothing wand has finished, you just need to use your judgement to decide when to turn it off.

Once the steam function was finished, I tapped the control panel which triggered the coffee icons to start flashing again. Perhaps I'm a little impatient, but I found that it took a while for the machine to be ready to use again. A good few minutes passed before the icons stopped flashing, which I could foresee being annoying on busy working from home days.

In the meantime, I use the scoop to get my coffee into the funnel. I like how the scoop has a flat end on the one side to satisfyingly press the coffee down with. As I'm making a double shot drink, I use just under two scoops worth, and attach the funnel to the machine.

Eventually, the icons indicate that the machine is ready to use, so I tap the double shot button and watch as my coffee begins to pour. It comes out in a satisfying drip motion, and only takes a minute or so to finish. Then, I return to the steam function to froth up my milk in my now hot jug, which takes a further couple of minutes.

Despite pre-heating the milk jug, by the time I add my milk to my coffee, the drink isn't quite the temperature I'd like. I put this down to a combination of being a little slow using the machine (it is my first time after all), but also the length of time it took for the machine to be ready to use again, after the initial pre-heating of the frothing wand. I also used too much milk, so I'm struggling to get a proper feel for what the coffee tastes like.

The next time I make a coffee, the drink is much more to my liking. It's hotter, and also has a stronger taste. I have zero complaints with the quality of my drink this time round; the coffee tastes smooth and rich, with enough of a punch for my liking, and the milk is nicely frothy.

I will say there isn't heaps of variety with the types of coffees you can make, though for an espresso machine at this price point, that's not surprising. I used the single cup filter to make a latte on afternoons when I wanted a smaller dose of caffeine, and again, I found the finished drink to be really pleasant.

I do wish the milk frothing wand automatically shut off after a certain amount of time, as it can be difficult to judge when the milk is ready. Sometimes, I shut it off too early and the milk didn't stay hot long enough for me to drink my coffee at an enjoyable pace.

It's also important to get the placement of your milk jug right. You need to hold this in place while the frothing wand works, and if you hold it too low, there will be a lot of milk splashes to clean up afterwards. But if you keep the wand fully submerged, the milk will (thankfully) stay in the jug.

But my main gripe with the machine is definitely how long it takes to get to the final cup of coffee. I try skipping the initial step of pre-heating the frothing wand and milk jug a couple of times, and going straight in with the coffee shot, but this creates a drink that isn't as hot at the end. Because I like to nurse my drinks, I prefer them to be piping hot at first, so it was worth me putting the extra time in to pre-heat the frothing wand. But if you are someone who doesn't mind drinking your coffee quickly, you might be tempted to skip the pre-heating step.

I also found cleaning out the filter cup between uses to be a little messy. Dislodging the filter holder from the machine usually results in a bit of spillage, and I soon learned that the part of the machine that the holder attaches to needs to wiped down after each use. A couple of times I noticed my drink tasted slightly more burnt, which I put down to neglecting to wipe away all the coffee remnants from my previous drink.

Thankfully, refilling the water tank is easily done. Simply lift the tank away and slot it back in once it's been refilled. My old coffee machine required a bit of faffing around to click the tank back into place, so I was pleased when I realised how easy this was with the Salter model.

What's it like to clean?

As mentioned, you do need to wipe the area where the filter holder goes after every use, otherwise you'll end up with old grounds in your next cup. You also need to clean the frothing wand every time you use the coffee machine as well, which is easy enough to do. I simply rinsed it with warm, soapy water along with my milk jug, filter holder, cup filter, and coffee scoop.

Needless to say, it does feel like there's quite a few components to clean after every use. I tend to leave everything in the sink while I drink my coffee, then come back to clean up afterwards, and while it takes less than five minutes, it does feel a bit tedious on top of how long it takes to make the actual coffee itself.

Every two to three uses, I also washed the drip tray cover and drip tray in warm, soapy water, which are easy to remove and reattach from the machine. I found that I was wiping the exterior of the machine down frequently at first, because there was a lot of milk splashes to mop up. But once I'd figured out the knack for submerging the frothing wand in the milk, there were less splashes to deal with and so less of a need to wipe the machine down.

The instructions also recommend to descale the machine regularly to prevent the build-up of limescale, which can affect the quality of the drink. Frustratingly, there's no further advice on how to do this, but after looking online, it seems that a descaling solution needs to be bought separately, which you then run through the machine instead of the coffee.

It's recommended to descale the machine once a month if you use it regularly, particularly if you live in an area with hard water. Some coffee machines come with a built-in water filter to prevent the build up of hard water, but the Salter machine doesn't have this feature.

How does it compare to similar models?

The Sage Bambino is currently our favourite espresso machine, which our review found produced high-quality coffee in a low-fuss way. The Bambino's steam wand heats up quickly, as does the machine itself (pre-heating only takes three seconds), so you'll be able to make a hot cup of coffee in a much quicker time than you can with the Salter Professional Espirista. But that comes at a price; with an RRP of £329.95, you can expect to pay an extra £200 for the convenience.

The price point of the Salter espresso machine is definitely where it stands out. At £124.99, it undercuts the Breville Bijou Espresso Machine (RRP £160), which currently holds the title for the most affordable espresso machine in our buying guide. Aesthetically, I definitely prefer the Salter machine, and our review of the Breville model found that it wouldn't fit larger mugs, which wasn't a problem with the Salter. So if I was picking from these two machines as a customer, I'd opt for the Salter Professional Espirista and save a bit of cash.

In terms of Salter's other coffee machines, the Espirista is actually the most expensive, with the Manual Espresso Machine costing £74.99 and the Espresso Machine with Milk Frother costing £94.99. We're yet to test these two other machines, but we know that the higher price tag of the Espirista comes from the 15-bar Italian pressure pump system and the in-built milk frother (making a more compact model as well).

It would be interesting to compare the quality of the coffee produced by each of Salter's machines side by side, but given that the Espirista doesn't cost a great deal more, I'd be tempted to choose this one out of the three.

Should you buy the Salter Professional Espirista Coffee Machine?

In general, espresso machines tend to be expensive, so if you want one that doesn't cost the earth but will get the job done, Salter's Espirista could be the ideal solution. You'd be hard pressed to find a machine at this price point that produces the quality of coffee it does, and so for that reason alone, I would recommend the Salter Professional Espirista.

That being said, if convenience is important to you, you'll need to weigh the price point against the somewhat faffy process of making coffee with this machine. It's by no means a quick process, and there are other espresso machines that will produce a hotter drink in a shorter amount of time. Plus, I found the clean-up process after making each drink to be a little annoying (though if you have a dishwasher, you might not feel the same).

But if you're not bothered about forking out for a fancy, high-tech machine, and you want to enjoy the taste of barista-style coffee in your own home, the Salter Professional Espirista Espresso Coffee Machine might well deserve a place in your kitchen.