Caffeine society: be your own barista--you need a good espresso machine and freshly ground beans.(Test: Espresso machines)

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Many people reckon the smell of coffee is even better than the taste. Grinding the beans then using them to make a brew means you get to enjoy both aroma and taste at their freshest and best. The good news is you don't have to spend a fortune to get a good home espresso machine. Team a little education (see Top five tips, page 37) with practice--and freshly ground good-quality beans--and it's likely you'll be very happy with the results from our top models.

Three of the machines we report on are semiautomatic, the rest are manual. The main difference is that a semi-automatic model switches off when it's poured a preset amount of coffee into the cup. With a manual, you have to keep an eye on it and cut off the flow when there's enough coffee in the cup (30 mL for a regulation espresso).

Fully automatic machines, like those we reported on in August 2005, do almost everything for you, including grinding the beans and transferring the spent coffee to a container within the machine, which you then empty.

The coffee we used was a popular supermarket brand of coffee beans, which we ground just before use. If you buy pre-ground coffee, your results may not be as good as ours--the freshness of the beans and the fineness of the grind are critical to the final result. If you buy premium, freshly roasted beans your results could be even better. Experiment a little, and see what difference it makes and how to get what you like.

The long and short (black) of it

The two best models are the MAGIMIX L'Expresso and SUNBEAM Cafe Latte that we tested last year: both are still available and are good all-rounders. The Best Buy SUNBEAM Cafe Espresso Stainless is almost as good and costs only $179.