I'm a former Starbucks barista - this KitchenAid espresso machine is the best thing I've used for making latte art at home.

As much as I love my career as a journalist, being a barista holds a special place in my heart. Collectively, working in various cafes was my longest form of employment. From a year at Costa Coffee (kind of like the British equivalent of Starbucks, but more Italian), a year at an artisanal independent coffee shop (I know, I felt really cool), to eighteen months as a supervisor at Starbucks, I’ve contributed to the making of coffee.

Whenever I come home to my family, I always have to make coffee for everyone using our (very) simple and old Vintage icon of De’Longhi. Everything is fine, it works, makes delicious drinks. But can I make latte art with his spitting steam wand? No. No, I can’t. And I couldn’t do that with the Smeg ECF02 espresso machine I just tested. I started to think that this was not possible with home espresso machines.

Enter KitchenAid Semi-Automatic Coffee Machine (from Burr Grinder!). I have never have experienced this kind of power before. Not in a non-professional car. It’s not even that expensive at $699. Objectively, this is a lot of money, but for a coffee machine and coffee grinder? This is one of the lowest MRSPs I have ever seen.

Choose your meat grinder

The KitchenAid semi-automatic machine has a built-in burr. There are two main types of coffee grinders: blade and burr. Most cafes will use grinders, including Starbucks and Costa.

A blade coffee grinder cuts the beans to the desired size. This creates friction, heat and can be unstable: some parts of the coffee grounds will be larger than others, so some parts of your coffee puck will be over-extracted and some under-extracted. This leads to uneven taste.

A black espresso machine from KitchenAid photographed against a blue background with silver chrome buttons, pressure regulator and steam wand.

(Image credit: Future)

A mill with millstones grinds grains. This is a faster and more specific way to grind grains. Your burr grinder does not generate excess heat and produces an even grind. As a result, your espresso will be smooth and balanced since all grinds will be the same size. Not only does this machine have a built-in sander, but you can also adjust the size and dose to your liking with the convenient adjuster. With this setting you can find your ideal taste.

This is my espresso

Once you’ve found your perfect grind, it’s time to really put your KitchenAid to work. Taking shots is extremely easy: you simply lock the group handle in place using a single-wall portafilter (you can also use a double-wall portafilter if you use store-bought pre-shredded material, although I wouldn’t recommend this), select single or double shot and press the button . Ta-da! It’s like magic. The machine will pour you a superbly complex shot. As with any good espresso, you can literally see the shot’s three layers: a dark brown heart, a toffee-colored body, and a fluffy, meringue-like crema.

A black espresso machine from KitchenAid photographed against a blue background with silver chrome buttons, pressure regulator and steam wand.

(Image credit: Future)

I wanted to drink this espresso so much that I burned my tongue. Don’t be like me and wait a second for it to cool, but when your espresso looks this good, how can you wait?

Magic steam wand

Of course, many home coffee machines can produce good portions. But how many of them can make decadent, fizzy, velvety microfoamed milk? Answer: not much. So far, in my experience, only this one.

At 15 bar, you can expect a home machine to be able to produce microfoam. But this is not true for all of them. But KitchenAid is different. Look at this latte art.

photo of latte with rosette latte art

(Image credit: Future)

I know it’s not ideal. But it’s been three years since I was last behind the counter at a café, so I’m a little rusty. But getting this result on the second try? I couldn’t have done it without the help of my semi-automatic KitchenAid machine. There’s no reason why you couldn’t achieve cafe-level success within a few months if you make lattes every day with this machine. Now everyone can become a latte master!

A black espresso machine from KitchenAid photographed against a blue background with silver chrome buttons, pressure regulator and steam wand.

(Image credit: Future)

I think it’s hard to surprise me when it comes to coffee machines. Not because I’m a coffee fanatic, far from it, but because it’s an occupational hazard for former baristas to compare their home machines to the professional quality machines they were once accustomed to. But with the KitchenAid Semi-Automatic Burr Espresso Machine, I’m closer than ever to my coffee shop days.