Just in time for the holidays, we’ve got a brand new round of staff picks! If you’re not familiar with our staff picks, we periodically send a survey to every person at Seattle Coffee Gear asking them what their favorite items are in each category. We put those results together and mark each product that gets enough votes a staff pick badge on the site! Let’s run through some of these results.
Semi-Automatic Espresso Machines
In the semi-automatic category we saw big wins for Rocket Espresso, and a whopping eleven winners overall. Rocket Espresso’s Giottos, Appartamento, Appartamento Nera, both Mozzafiatos, and the R58 Cinquantotto all made our list. Also joining the staff picks is for the first time is the Solis Perfetta, which we’re thrilled to see as one of our newest machines. Both Rancilio Silvias (PID and standard) made the list, and finally, the Bambino Pro, and Barista Pro from Breville made it on as well. This list of semi-automatic espresso machines represents a wide spread of options and price points, which we’re really happy to see!Superautomatic Espresso Machines
On the superuato front we saw an excellent spread of options from Breville (Oracle Touch), Miele (CM 6350), Saeco (Xelsis), Jura (A1), and Philips. Philips saw two machines on the list with the Carina and 3200 LatteGo. We’ve seen most of these machines on the list before, and it makes sense again that they fall into a number of price points. With a little less differentiation in the superauto space, price is definitely a prevailing factor. Of note here is the Jura A1, which is the only machine on the list dedicated purely to espresso, with no milk steaming option. It’s a testament to the quality of the espresso that comes out of this machine that it made it on alongside the others!Espresso Grinder
For espresso grinders we saw a big win for Eureka, with the Mignon Notte, Mignon Specilita, and the Atom 75 all making the list. Rocket Espresso’s Faustino also made the list, along with the Baratza Sette 270Wi. Here the Sette and Notte fit in as great starter options, with the midrange Faustino and Specilitas sitting between them and the higher end Atom 75.Coffee Grinders
On the brew grinder front we’ve got both the Baratza Encore and Forte BG, two solid Baratza workhorses that we all know and love here. The Eureka Mignon Filtro and Crono also made the list with their stepless brew grinding, and for the first time we see the Fellow Ode and Solis Scala make the list. Finally, fitting into that “espresso or brew” gap, the Rancilio Rocky made its way to the list as usual!Drip Brewers
For drip brewers, we saw winners with Technivorm, Ratio, Breville, and Bonavita. Both models of Technivorm’s KB741 made the list along with the Ratio Six, Bonavita Connoisseur, and Breville Precision Brewer Tribute Edition. Here again we see staff opinions coming in in favor of a range of pricing options, with the Bonavita as the most affordable all the way up to the high customizability of the Precision Brewer. Here’s a few more categories of winners for your perusal!Presses
Stovetop and Cold Brew
- Ilsa Turbo Express Stove Top Coffee Maker
- OXO Cold Brew Coffee Maker
- Toddy Cold Brew System
- Bruer Slow-Drip Cold Brewer
Pour Over
- Chemex Classic
- Hario Coffee Dripper V60 - Clear
- Hario Coffee Dripper V60 - White Ceramic
- Kalita Wave Stainless Steel Dripper
Scales
- Acaia Lunar Smart Espresso Scale
- Acaia Pearl Coffee Scale
- OXO Precision Scale and Timer
- Hario V60 Scale