Coffee Experts Blind-Tested Coffee Machines. The Results Surprised Us

[Narrator] We asked caffeine experts

to blind test coffee machines,

and the results were surprising.

Taste that sort of chocolate, nutty taste I'm looking for.

Probably not the strongest, actually.

Welcome to Wired Cafe where the coffee is warm

and the judging is harsh.

[Narrator] We wanted to find out

what coffee professionals thought of the drinks produced

by some of the leading fully automatic machines,

but crucially, without being influenced by design,

brand awareness, usability,

or even how easy to clean they were.

All that matters, here is the taste.

These things are trying to be a barista in your kitchen.

Whether that's true or not will be down to the experts.

[Narrator] Our experts,

Perky Blenders co-founder Adam Cozens

and his business manager, Calum Hunt,

were testing their own Forest Blend beans.

Now, this means that they were best placed to decide

which of the machines we tested

was producing the best coffee

with the most accurate flavor profile.

Not very strong for an espresso.

A real sharpness on the finish.

If anybody can tell how a coffee should taste,

it should be the people who make the beans.

[Narrator] The coffee machines were assigned a letter,

A, B, C, and D,

and we made a latte

and a classic espresso from each for the experts to try.

So we're using the same water, the same milk,

the same beans roasted by the same people.

[Narrator] The latte allows us

to try the various milk heating,

frothing, and steaming mechanisms

while the espresso would reveal

any weakness in the extraction and flavor of the coffee.

Are you sure

you wouldn't like a nice cup of breakfast tea?

[Narrator] Adam and Calum had no idea

which coffee came from which machine.

I think the milk in this is the best one we've had so far.

[Speaker] Foam is, it's quite dense. Yeah.

[Narrator] And then assessed each drink on looks.

Quality of milk steaming, crema,

the golden aromatic foam on top of espresso, temperature,

extraction, and flavor.

The coffees were then ranked in order from best to worst.

The results are by this point

highly caffeinated experts contradicted each other at times,

but they agreed that based on flavor,

the Phillips Cafe Aromis,

the cheapest machine on tests here was the best,

as it was the only one

that nailed both the latte and espresso.

De'Longhi was a close second.

The Terra Kaffe TK-O2 next,

and the Jura E8,

the most expensive of all the machines here.

$800 more than its nearest rival came in last.

However, none of the premium price machines

fully delivered on the promise

of Cafe quality coffee at home.

For the full results and our experts conclusions,

read our story on wired.com

and let us know what we should blind test next

in the comments below.