Russell Hobbs Everyday Espresso Machine: one-minute review

The Russell Hobbs Everyday Espresso Machine is an entry-level coffee maker with an unusual twist: in addition to a regular portafilter for ground coffee, it comes with a holder for Nespresso Original style coffee capsules. A handy option if you’re making the switch from pods to fresh beans, or sharing a kitchen with someone who prefers a different brewing method.

It’s very cheap too, with a list price of just £149.99 / AU$189.95 (about $200). For comparison, my two top-rated budget coffee makers, the De’Longhi Dedica Duo, and Philips Baristina, are $299.95 / £279.99 (about AU$600) and $449.99 / £299.99 / AU$599. respectively.

At that price it’s no surprise that the Everyday Espresso Machine is made almost entirely from plastic, but it still looks smart on your kitchen counter with its silver and matt black finish, and guests won’t guess how little you spent.

The budget price is reflected in the accessories though, which are quite bare-bones. In addition to the two portafilters, you get just two filter baskets, a lightweight scoop/tamper combo, and a pin tool for clearing the steam wand. There’s no milk pitcher, water filter, or water hardness testing strip included in the box.

What really matters is performance, and I was pleased to find that the Everyday Espresso Machine could brew a decent shot with fresh coffee once I’d identified the best grind size, and extraction was consistent. However, I found I had to grind my coffee much coarser than I would usually to avoid under-extraction, and the puck of coffee grounds was always quite wet at the end, which suggests that although the pressure was lower than optimal.

Brewing with coffee capsules was easy, but again, it was a soggier experience than I’d like, and the used pod ended up sitting in a puddle in the portafilter after brewing.

The steam wand is the real problem, though. It feels flimsy, wobbling as you move it into position, and its lower section is too short, making it hard to submerge in your milk pitcher. Worst of all, it has an air intake hole that creates so much foam, I had to stop steaming my milk while it was still cold to prevent the jug overflowing. The large bubbles aren’t fine or stable enough for a latte, which is a shame when you’ve just brewed a perfectly good shot of espresso.

If you take your coffee black and want to shift between pods and grounds, this might be a good option for you. Otherwise though, I’d recommend saving up a little more cash and opting for the much more solidly-made De’Longhi Dedica Duo instead.

Russell Hobbs Everyday Espresso Machine: price and availability

• Available in the UK and Australia for £149.99 / AU$189.95
• Not currently sold in the US
• One of the cheapest espresso machines I’ve tested

The Russell Hobbs Everyday Espresso Machine is available in the UK direct from Russell Hobbs for £149.99 (about $200). It’s known as the Russell Hobbs Heaton Espresso Machine in Australia, where it retails for AU$189.95. It’s not sold in the US at the time of writing.

It’s one of the most affordable coffee makers I’ve tested here at TechRadar, and even cheaper than my favorite budget espresso machine, the De’Longhi Dedica Duo, which has a list price of $299.95 / £279.99 (about AU$600).

• Value score: 4/5

Russell Hobbs Everyday Espresso Machine: specifications

Russell Hobbs Everyday Espresso Machine: design

• Accepts ground coffee and Nespresso Original capsules
• Steam wand is disappointing
• Plastic components have a strong odor

The Russell Hobbs Everyday Espresso Machine is compact, and exceptionally lightweight. Upon weighing it, I found that the whole unit is just 6lbs / 2.74kg, including the plug and water tank, which could be a real advantage if you need a coffee maker you can tuck away in a cupboard between uses.

The Everyday Espresso Machine’s exterior is entirely plastic except for the drip tray and steam wand, but as you can see from the photos here, it doesn’t look cheap, and the silver-colored panels on the front give a convincing look of brushed steel.

It does, however, have a noticeable plastic odor when new. The instructions running the machine without any coffee to rinse it before making your first drink, but I’d actually suggest doing this a few times to wash away any taste (and flushing the steam wand thoroughly as well to avoid tainting your milk).

As with all coffee makers, you should wash the water tank, portafilters and baskets before use. These are safe to hand-wash with soapy water, and the tank has a reassuringly solid-feeling handle for easy carrying, which is a welcome touch.

The Everyday Espresso Machine comes with two portafilters: one for ground coffee and one for Nespresso Original style coffee capsules. The one for capsules has a conical insert, which holds the coffee pod and pierces the bottom when pressure is applied so water can penetrate.

There are just two filter baskets for ground coffee (single and double shot size). Both of these are pressurized, which makes sense for a beginner-level machine because they’re more forgiving than single-walled baskets if your grind isn’t perfect.

You get a double-ended tamper/coffee scoop, which is standard issue for a budget espresso machine. It doesn’t feel very satisfying to hold, and it’s not as easy to use as a more solid tamper with a smooth metal finish, but it gets the job done.

The Everyday Espresso Machine’s steam wand pivots out from the left-hand side of the machine, and is controlled using a large, tactile dial. Unfortunately, during testing I found that the bottom part of the wand was too short, meaning it couldn’t reach far enough down into my milk pitcher.

The wand also has a pinhole in the side, which is intended to create extra foam when you steam your milk. Unfortunately,during my tests I found it created lots of very large bubbles, and made it impossible to create smooth, pourable microfoam. In fact, it created so much foam, I had to stop steaming before my milk was hot to avoid it overflowing.

• Design score: 3/5

Russell Hobbs Everyday Espresso Machine: performance

• Consistent results when grinder is dialled in
• Water pressure seems to be lower than usual
• Doesn’t heat or foam milk properly

The Everyday Espresso Machine is simple to use, with just two brew buttons, but unlike most espresso machines, these don’t correlate to a single or double shot. Instead, the first button brews a double shot, and the second a quad (intended to be divided between two cups). The drink volume is customizable, but it’s something to be aware of.

The machine heats quickly, though the cup-warmer on top isn’t very practical. Like the rest of the machine’s chassis, it’s made from insulating plastic, so it’ll barely be warm even half an hour after the machine has come to temperatures.

I was pleased to find that, although some components feel flimsy, the Everyday Espresso Machine does feel more robust than the Casabrews 5418 Pro. The filter baskets fit into the portafilter handle properly without feeling loose, and the handle locks nicely into place.

My first few shots of espresso pulled very slowly, and I found that I had to grind my coffee much more coarsely than usual to get good results. The puck of ground coffee was still quite wet once I’d finished brewing, which suggests that the pressure was low, but once I’d found the best size, the results were consistent.

Brewing with a Nespresso capsule is straightforward; just place it in the conical holder provided, put the holder in the portafilter handle, and carry on as though you were using coffee grounds. The process is quick and easy, but messier than using a standard Nespresso machine. Usually brewing with pods is a neat process, but the Everyday Espresso Machine leaves water in the portafilter that tends to spill when you release the handle.

If you’re only really interested in brewing from capsules, I’d recommend picking a simple dedicated Nespresso machine instead. The Nespresso Vertuo Pop (for Nespresso Vertuo pods) or the Nespresso Pixie (for Nespresso Original capsules) are both affordable options.

For me, though, the steam wand is the weakest point. As mentioned previously, this is an espresso machine with a dairy intolerance; it incorporates too much air into the milk, so you have to stop steaming before it’s sufficiently heated, and it’s too short to use comfortably. The heat-resistant silicone handle is a nice addition, but the whole wand wobbles when you move it.

Whether I chose oat or dairy, the wand simply made lots of very large bubbles, which might look impressive if you’ve not used a coffee maker before, but are no practical use. This might be an entry-level machine, but new users need proper tools too, and this steam wand misses the mark.

• Performance score: 3 / 5

Should you buy the Russell Hobbs Everyday Espresso Machine?

Buy it if