Review: Espresso war brews as KitchenAid takes on Breville for the perfect cup at home

KitchenAid has muscled in on Australia’s espresso machine market. Is this another Starbucks moment or can America finally make a good coffee?

KitchenAid's entry level semiautomatic espresso machine is priced at $999 and comes with a built-in burr grinder.

KitchenAid has released its range of up-market espresso machines in Australia as latte fever grips the US.

It’s rare to see America follow Australia – unless you’re a big shot Hollywood producer wanting to discover the next Margot Robbie or Chris Hemsworth by bingeing on our local soapies.

Australians have known how to make good coffee for years; so much so that when Starbucks was launched locally almost a quarter of a century ago, it was a flop. But US tastes are changing, and Breville has reaped the benefits. 

The Aussie appliance maker recorded double-digit growth in the specialist coffee category after a successful entry into the US.

So it was only a matter of time before American appliance manufacturers joined the latte party, and KitchenAid – the up-market offshoot of Michigan-headquartered Whirlpool – promises Australians that its new machines can make a damn good brew.

KitchenAid was founded in 1919 to produce stand mixers, which are still popular today with their retro design.

It may appear new to the espresso game but a representative quickly corrects me.

“KitchenAid introduced the first electric mill grinder in 1937, so this is kind of not new to us, necessarily, the brand,” he tells me.

So how do their espresso machines stack up?

Unboxing

Two espresso machines arrived on my door step: the entry-level semiautomatic which retails at $999, and the top-of-the-range fully automatic KF8, which is priced at $2599.

In the line-up there are two cheaper fully automatic models, the KF6 and KF7, priced at $1799 and $2199 respectively.

The semiautomatic KF8 machines come in compostable packaging, with no polystyrene in sight. The machines are good to go upon plugging in, filling up with water and coffee beans in their built-in burr grinders.

Usually, I use a mocha pot for my coffee, grinding my own coffee beans in a separate device that can rival a jet machine taking off.

The first thing that surprises me about the KitchenAid machines is how quiet they are. They come with a Q Mark certification, which stands for quiet mark – an initiative which aims to stamp out noise pollution that the World Health Organisation ranks as the “world’s largest killer after air pollution”. Good to know my demise won’t be death by coffee.

KitchenAid doesn’t tell me what the decibel level is, so it’s a bit difficult to measure.

What I find is I can grind coffee in both machines and not wake up my two-year-old son and that’s a win.

KitchenAid has released four new coffee machines in Australia.

Brewing: the semiautomatic version

Brewing coffee is straightforward and designed to remove the intimidation some people can feel when trying to reproduce barista-grade coffee.

There are a number of variables that create a good brew: coffee grind size, tamping and extraction pressure.

On the semiautomatic machine, KitchenAid aims to make this as seamless as it can. You can adjust the grind and how much coffee fills the filter basket. Anti-static tech stops flicking coffee all over the place. A nice touch is a small mark inside the basket to assist with tamping.

Like most new coffee machines, it has a pressure gauge with the espresso sweet spot clearly marked. This can take a bit of trial and error to get right – it took me about three goes to get the quality of coffee right for my tastes.

For instance too much pressure results in a bitter coffee, too little makes it watery. When you get it right there is a nice thick layer of crema.

The portafilter has recessed spouts, allowing it to sit flat on a bench, making tamping easier but that is at the expense of having the classic espresso experience of watching the crema come together from the traditional curved spouts.

Once the coffee is brewed, you have to press the steam wand button and wait for it to heat up. Although you can make two coffees at once, the supplied stainless steel jug is a little small to make two standard cups.

Cleaning is made easier thanks to the wheels fitted under the machine, allowing it to slide – but not freely – across the bench.

Three fully automatic models come in KitchenAid's espresso machine line-up.

The fully automatic option

I didn’t like using this machine as much. I liked being more involved in making my coffee, which is what the semiautomatic machine offered.

The KF8 is more futuristic. It comes with a 5-inch touchscreen were you can display more than 40 drink recipe options, including of course the classics: espresso, Americano, latte, cappuccino etc.

You can also personalise these drinks, with an option to tailor the milk steaming to plant-based varieties.

While you can adjust the temperature, I found the KF8 was a bit lukewarm for my tastes, while my father-in-law described his drink set at max temp as “scullable”. Still, it’s designed to offer a brew at the optimum coffee temperature, which is usually 55C to 66C.

The fully automatic machine also offers a pre-ground coffee bypass chute. This is handy for household members who have different coffee requirements, such as decaf. Alternatively you can buy a separate bean hopper which you can store different blends and varieties in.

Verdict

KitchenAid has done a good job. The semiautomatic machine offers good value that allows people to perfect the art of making barista-grade coffee. It has prompted me to sideline my mocha pot.

I was not a fan of the more expensive version, given its lack of temperature control and input from the user. It’s a matter of personal tastes.

No doubt, it will appeal to those who want to make good brew on the fly and want a different option to coffee pods.

At a glance:

Pros:

Well built and easy to clean

Can replicate barista-grade coffee

Cons:

Supplied jug in semi-auto machine is too small

Max temperature is too low in fully auto machine