Fall is when coffee tastes best. Not because of the weather—that’s dumb, it’s good all year. Coffee tastes best in the fall because this is when all the espresso makers, coffee machine makers, and coffee grinder makers trot out their best deals. Which means it’s when you upgrade your home bean game. I usually advise people to wait to buy espresso machines on Prime Day in the summer, or right now.
Here are the best deals you’ll find during the fall bean bonanza, on the best espresso machines, drip coffee machines, and coffee grinders WIRED has tested—in some cases for 7 years or more.
The Breville Barista Express Is $250 Off
Breville Barista Express is the unparalleled blockbuster of the espresso world, long one of WIRED’s top picks and long the best-selling machine of its kind on Amazon. The reasons are simple. It hits that Goldilocks sweet spot of taste, ease, and affordability—and never more so than during big sales events. It’s still the one I recommend as the best device for most people, especially as a starter to the espresso world. If you’re looking for a machine with a grinder included, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better or more reliable semi-automatic machine than this Breville. This thing has been chugging happily along.
Ninja’s Best Espresso Machine Is $150 Off
I was as surprised as anyone when Ninja got in on the espresso machine game. It’s a tough world, full of Italians. I was even more surprised when the Ninja Luxe Cafe Premier performed as well as it did out of the gate when introduced last year, with a terrific milk frother and a bean-assist function that’s useful in dialing in your grind settings on the built-in conical burr grinder without being obtrusive. This year’s Luxe Cafe Pro is the refinement of the Premier machine, with an automated tamper and a much-needed hot water spout. Sure, the “drip coffee” is no great shakes, and the fast cold brew isn’t as good as the slow kind. But this is a great espresso machine for beginners, and the cold foam is best-in-class. And with this discount, it’s only $100 more than the Luxe Cafe Premier ($499).
The De’Longhi Rivelia Is on Its Best Sale Ever
The De’Longhi Rivelia is both the Italian coffee giant’s new flagship superautomatic machine and the machine that sold me on the idea of superautomatic machines in general. What’s so “super” about it? It will make basically any and all varieties of frothy drinks with barely any participation on your part. Espresso and americano and several varieties of full coffee-mug drinks require just the press of a button, with a helpful bean assist function that’ll dial you in for each bean. Milk frothing is ridiculously easy and can be customized for density. Nearly alone among such devices, you can swap out between two bean hoppers. This means caff in the morning, decaf in the afternoon.
This Coffee Maker Lasts for Freaking Ever
The Moccamaster KBGV drip coffee machine will last. It will last for years. It will last, perhaps, decades, according to testimonials online. It lives forever, in seemingly every Scandinavian household—stubbornly analog, precisely engineered, repairable, and replaceable. Even after its 5-year warranty, you can repair it for roughly $60 at the North American Moccamaster workshop outside Portland, Oregon. You don’t even need a deal for this to be a deal. But there’s a deal. It’s more than $100 off. That’s pretty good.
WIRED’s Top-Pick Coffee Grinder Is $40 Off
The Baratza Encore ESP is the coffee grinder I recommend to anyone who asks whether they need a good coffee grinder. They totally do. And this one is the most versatile and high-performing I know at its price, with a dead-ingenious fine adjustment at the espresso level of the scale, plus larger adjustments so you can also use this thing for excellent drip, French press, and cold brew. Its steadfast sturdiness and analog nature mean it’s not as pretty as a Fellow Opus (also on a good sale and a terrific, very quiet grinder!) But this Baratza will power through the years without complaint.
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