How We Pick
Espressora is a catalog-first site. Here’s exactly how a product earns a place in our hubs and guides.
What we verify
- The model is real and currently relevant. We list exact model numbers (e.g., Breville BES870XL, Fellow Ode Gen 2). If two variants of the same machine differ by finish only, we say so.
- Specs come from the source. Manufacturer or brand product pages first, retailer listings second. We never pull spec numbers from other review sites, and we never quote Amazon spec tables. If a spec isn’t published on the page we checked, we leave it out rather than fill the gap.
- Prices shown exactly as we read them. Every priced product carries the exact price we verified at the retailer where we saw it, shown as “$X at Retailer” — never a tier, never a rounded estimate. Prices change; an exact price is a snapshot, not a promise. We never estimate, never convert currencies, never quote a price from a search snippet.
- No price, no claim. If we couldn’t verify a price at a real retailer, the price cell is blank.
What we never do
- We don’t claim hands-on testing. We are not a lab and we don’t pretend to be one. Verdicts in our guides are based on verified specs, documented features, and fit for a stated use case — framed honestly as such.
- We don’t estimate. Missing spec? It’s missing. Missing price? The cell stays blank. A gap is always better than an invented number.
- We don’t do recall roulette. Products under an active CPSC recall are excluded from our rankings. Region-locked variants priced in non-USD and commercial-only units are kept out of home rankings.
How we choose picks
For each guide, we shortlist models that are currently sold at mainstream US retailers, compare verified specs side by side (bar pressure, boiler/thermoblock type, burr type and grind settings, capacity, dimensions where published), and select picks that cover distinct real use cases: best overall, best value, best for a specific workflow (e.g., small kitchens, beginners, milk drinks). Every pick card lists its specs, honest pros and cons, who it’s a good fit for, and who should skip it.
Corrections
Found a spec we got wrong or a price that’s off? Tell us on the contact page — we re-verify and fix, and we note the correction.