When you’re putting together a setup for great coffee, cappuccino and espresso at home, there are a few approaches: Do you go for an all-in-one pod solution, or an old-school French press and manual coffee bean grinder? Are you in love with coffee enough to want an espresso machine? There’s no wrong way to go about it, so I rounded up the perfect coffee or espresso setups for any budget (with my home setup included).
For each section, I listed the items from greatest to least importance. At a bare minimum, #1 will make your mornings better, but there are additional accessories that can make your experience even better, and you can mix and match. Have a $100 budget? Get the $50 coffee maker and a great milk frother from my $250 setup. Add a Yeti Rambler tumbler, and your daily latte factor drops to just the price of some beans. It doesn’t take many $10 Starbucks orders to pay for even a high-end home barista setup.
A Great Espresso Setup for Under $50
1. Espresso and Cappuccino Machine
For under $50, the Mr. Coffee Espresso and Cappuccino Machine is one of the best all-in-one solutions that can make great espresso, and using its built-in milk frother, cappuccinos. You’ll have to use pre-ground coffee (I recommend Lavazza!), but this setup proves you can still enjoy a fancy cup of Joe without breaking the bank.
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An Old-School Approach for Under $75
1. French Press
French presses like this one from Mueller offers a more robust (and arguably better tasting) cup of coffee than coffee pods. The great part about this approach is that it is completely manual so cleaning (it’s dishwasher safe) and storage is so much easier, plus it’s light and easy to take with you to work or on a visit. If you only need a couple of cups, a smaller 20-ounce version saves you $15.
2. Manual Coffee Bean Grinder
While you can just buy pre-ground coffee, doing it yourself will produce a fresher and better tasting coffee or espresso. Even better is that the Ceving manual coffee grinder doesn’t use any electricity, so it’s much quieter than an inexpensive electric one and again—no cords to deal with.
3. Milk Frother
To create a delicious cappuccino or latte with the setup above, my editor recommends the Ninja Milk Frother that he uses at home. It’s fast and works great, it’s easy to clean, and is small and easy to store. And when we wrote this, 20% off.
My Personal Home Espresso Setup for Under $250
1. Nespresso
After dealing with a messy manual espresso machine (I had to constantly clean coffee grounds off the counter!) from De’Longhi for a few years, we wanted an easier and cleaner setup. We chose the Nespresso Vertuo Pop+ because of the price and how quick and easy it is to make a cup of delicious coffee in the morning.
2. Nespresso Vertuo Capsules
While the Nespresso machine is well under the budget of $250, buying Vertuo capsules adds significantly to the price. We spend about $50 a month for capsules, which count toward an Amazon Subscribe & Save discount. Also, make sure you get Vertuo and not the original Nespresso machine capsules. My favorite flavor is Diavolitto!
3. Instant Pot Milk Frother
While I generally drink my coffee and espresso black, my wife loves a latte! We added an Instant Pot Milk Frother to our setup to achieve this on this budget. It works well with both dairy and non-dairy milks, and it’ll heat your foam, too.
4. Cappuccino Cups with Saucers
To round out the setup, a fancy set up cappuccino cups with saucers will do the trick. When we went to Italy in 2021, our hotel had a similar setup. Le Tauci brand cappuccino cups with saucers adds a slice of Italian touch to your morning coffee. They are also 5% off when we wrote this. Lo adoriamo!
5. Long Coffee/Tea Spoons
Adding long coffee spoons like this gold-color stainless steel option from Genrice adds just a touch more class and style to your home coffee setup without killing your budget. These are great for stirring cocktails as well!
6. Tumbler To-Go
Why go to Starbucks when you can make an ever better cup of coffee at home? Cappuccino or espresso cups don’t do so well in car cup holders, but this Yeti Rambler tumbler does! Although I work from home, my wife makes a coffee or tea in her tumbler almost every morning to take to work.
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A Real Home Barista Setup for $500 and Up
1. De’Longhi La Specialista Arte Evo
While you can spend thousands on a coffee setup like some celebrities, under $500 is a sweet spot between quality and cost. Enter the De’Longhi La Specialista Arte Evo, an espresso machine that offers one of the best combinations of features for the price, like a built-in bean grinder; milk frother; and even the ability to make cold brew coffee!
2. Premium Coffee Subscription
While we currently subscribe to Nespresso’s Vertuo capsules every month, the De’Longhi La Specialista should take premium coffee beans for the best experience. This will all boil down to your taste, but a monthly subscription plan from Bean Box with a variety of different coffee beans will let you discover your favorites.
3. Coffee Bean Roaster
What’s better than grinding retail coffee beans? Roasting your fresh beans at home, of course! French Roast’s coffee bean roaster will help you get one of the freshest cups of coffee. Anything fresher and you’ll be picking the beans yourself! You can get your beans unroasted on Amazon.
4. Demitasse Espresso Cup Set
What’s the point of having a great espresso machine if you’re using regular coffee mugs? Add a little class to your morning setup with this demitasse espresso cup set from Aozita that includes four mugs, four espresso spoons and four saucers.
5. Milk Dispenser/Carafe
Because the coffee machine in this setup has a built-in milk frother, adding a dispenser like this one from Yummy Sam makes a lot of sense. It holds 68 ounces, stays hot for 12 hours and includes a handy brush for easy cleaning.
6. Gooseneck Electric Water Kettle
While an espresso machine should be able to cover all your hot water needs, sometimes it’s nice to just have a way to quickly heat water for tea, hot chocolate or to make pour over coffee. Bodum’s Gooseneck Electric Water Kettle does this job nicely. Make sure to get the brushed stainless steel option to match the other items in this mix.
7. Coffee Syrup
I blame my mother for my lifelong coffee addiction. One of the ways she got me hooked during my high school years was by enticing us with Torani brand syrups. Vanilla and caramel are my favorites but they have a dozens more flavors and sugar-free options, too!
8. Countertop Coffee Station Organizer
To give the true coffee shop experience at home, you’ll like some type of countertop organizer like this one from Anboxit. I like that you can add string spoons (like the gold ones above), different types of coffee beans, syrups and napkins/towels for cleanup.
9. Coffee Mat
As someone who recently moved into a home with white countertops, the struggle is real with keeping everything clean around our coffee bar. A coffee mat like one from Amoami can fit your coffee machine and a few other messier items to keep counters clean. If black isn’t your style, there are also fun graphic styles with cute coffee phrases!
10. Breville Espresso Accessories Kit
The accessories that come with your coffee maker are usually fine, but adding this Knodos espresso accessory kit will take your home coffee bar to the next level. Made for Breville machines, it’s finished in a rich walnut wood, the kit includes a knock box, spring-loaded tamper, distribution tool, dosing funnel, and bottomless portafilter.
11. Sugar Dispenser
To complete this $500 and up coffee bar setup, a glass sugar dispenser from Aelga is the way to go. The stainless steel top matches the espresso maker, making it a perfect addition to your fancy new espresso bar!
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