Here is my personal experience with KitchenAid Semi-Automatic Espresso.
Like many, a few KitchenAid products were on my registry when I got married ten years ago. Known for intuitive design and impeccable construction, the brand is at the forefront of finding the right balance of performance, build quality, and price.
Recently, the company entered the highly competitive market of home espresso machines, taking on industry stalwarts like Breville and Gaggia. They launched three fully automatic models (KFs 6-8), and a Semi Automatic Espresso Machine.
I’ve been a fan of espresso at home since my graduate school days. I first had a combination coffee pot/espresso/steamer device. It cost about $100 and lasted about as long as you’d think.
The coffee was decent, but I snapped the mechanism on the milk frother when absentmindedly turning the knob a fraction too hard.
Having ‘graduated’ to French press for my whole beans, I didn’t need the combo anymore. I saved quite a bit of space by getting a little DeLonghi machine. I got it for just under $200 on sale and had it for a good twelve years.
I thought the opportunity to upgrade to a semi-automatic machine with a built-in Burr grinder would be excellent. But, as we’ll see, it comes with mixed results, and quite a bit of trial and error. When it works, it works. But, the struggle to get there probably isn’t worth the $700 retail.
Specs and Features
KitchenAid was kind enough to send the Semi Automatic Espresso Machine in Cast Iron Black, ID KES6551. It’s a handsome looking machine. Working our way from left right and top to bottom, there are a few features to be aware of.
The buttons are well laid out and easy to read. The ON/OFF switch is, as you’d expect, in the upper left. Below is a ‘heating’ light, which will blink a steady cadence for 30 seconds or so until it turns solid, signifying the machine is ready to go.
But, even though it says that, you’ll want to give it more time to heat up.
Working rightward is the Burr grinder knob. The machine is capable of pulling a single or double shot, and the amount of coffee it will grind is laid out. There are 15 volume settings for each, but the larger indicator in the middle is a good starting place.
There are also 15 settings for the size of the grind. Since I only used this to make espresso, I kept the grinder at the finest setting. However, you could also use this for drip coffee or other filtration methods, too.
Below that is a holder for the portafilter, which will sit securely there while the coffee is grinding out.
Squarely in the middle of the machine are buttons for coffee, steaming, and hot water. Directly below are three options, as well, for how hot you like your drink. Personally, I keep mine on the second setting.
One more over are options or one or two shots. Below is the self-cleaning cycle option, which you’ll want to run every two to three months.
The main event is the hefty portafilter. The handle is plastic, but it’s wrapped around solid metal. This is a considerable upgrade from my previous budget machine.
It’s got a flat bottom, which does detract a little from the dispensing experience of the open-bottomed ones. We love to see that crema! But, it makes it far easier to tamp. Which, as we’ll see, is absolutely necessary.
On the far right is a metal frothing wand. It’s nicely mobile and far more user-friendly than my budget one. There’s a silicone ring to help you move it around, which is a nice touch.
Below is a drip tray for, well, drips and excess runoff. There’s a nifty floating device that rises up to tell you when the tray is full. Indeed, it’s a little red thing that says ‘full!’
I was, honestly, quite surprised by how much of the housing for the KitchenAid espresso machine is plastic. The ‘cast iron’ paneling is a sturdy material mimicking the texture of a seasoned skillet. It’s a unique feature…but yes, plastic.
The material on top (which should be a cup warmer, but it’s not) is plastic. The knob for the volume selector is metal and feels nice. Other buttons, though, are shiny plastic.
The machine sits at 15” H x 13” W and has a depth of 11.” It takes up surprisingly little counter space and sits well under a kitchen cabinet. I think it’ll work fine for anyone from single-family homes to all but the smallest apartments.
It does offer concealed space for extra portafilters. While I mostly ground my own doubleshots using a double-walled filter, space for portafilters is behind the removable drip tray. You’ll have to jigger it a little to get them to stay, but it’s not too bad.
What Works
Here’s what I liked about the KitchenAid:
Size, Design, and Features
Great size, even for a townhouse with limited counter space. I find it doesn’t take up much more space than my previous one.
Some home espresso machines have more buttons and levers than a Saturn V rocket. Not here. It has good icons for switching between modes, shot sizes, grind sizes, and the like.
The features are just enough. KitchenAid didn’t try to cram this full of stuff you don’t need. While I’m not much of an Americano guy, having a hot water spout is a nice touch.
The Grinder
The Burr grinder is incredibly quiet. My Barazata Encore sounds like a freight train. My baby daughter is terrified, and my dog runs out of the room when I switch it on. But, the KitchenAid grinder is so near-silent I can run it at 6 AM while my kids are still asleep.
Most two-in-one tools don’t succeed as well as a specialized one. They usually end up doing neither well. But, this does a surprisingly good job of grinding coffee. I’ve only really tried it on the finer settings, but the grinds look even- no clumps, or large pieces of coffee bean in there.
The Coffee
When the pressure hits in the middle of the range, you get a beautiful, highly flavorful shot that is just as good as anything you’ll find in a coffee shop. A little bite. A little roast. A little sour. And a great crema that lasts.
It’s also a reminder good beans make good espresso. Look for smaller batch stuff. Any roast you like can work, but medium to darker roasts are a little better than the lighter stuff.
What Doesn’t Work
Now for what I didn’t like about the KitchenAid:
Inconsistent Pressure Readings
The very first shot I pulled was dead center in the range. I let it heat up for five minutes before starting. I wasn’t even using great coffee, just some pre-ground Bustelo hanging around. But, it delivered a great pull right in the middle. I tried again two hours later.
Same amount. Same time to heat up. The machine struggled to get to the appropriate pressure. The same thing happened again and again when I switched to grinding my own beans, even on the finest setting.
I found two general solutions for this problem. First, KitchenAid says the machine is fast-heating. That’s largely true. But, after a week of inconsistent results pulling a shot after five minutes of heating, I let it go for 10. Perfect, three days in a row.
Second, espresso wonks say you should tamp (or press down in the portafilter) with about 40 lbs of force to pack the ground coffee in enough to extract at 15 bars of pressure.
Or, in science-y terms, creating enough resistance requires 15 times the atmospheric pressure of Earth to push the coffee through the filter.
With my little Delonghi, I put in two tablespoons of pre-ground espresso, then used a metal tamper I picked up for about eight bucks on Amazon to give a single, hard twist.
KitchenAid gives you a handy line for filling. If you get to the indicator, you can slide the portafilter into the slot and secure it without resistance. But, when I did that, even on the finest grind setting and giving two hard twists with the heavy tamper, the machine barely reached the appropriate pressure.
The solution I came to was — and I’m not kidding — slightly overfilling the portafilter and exerting my entire 155 lbs weight on the tamper to really pack it in. I’d then try to secure the portafilter in the slot.
If I couldn’t move it, I’d scrape a little coffee off the top, then try again. If I met significant resistance, but was still able to get the filter in the slot, I knew I’d get a good shot.
As my month of testing went on, though, I noticed it didn’t really matter where the pressure bar fell. Sometimes, I’d get crazy crema and a good shot even though the needle barely reached the ‘ideal’ range. Some of it could be the beans I was using.
Lackluster Frothing Performance for Some Drinks
I like the solid metal wand. My little Delonghi has a removable plastic component. While I suppose the intention is to make cleaning easier, it actually worsens it. The KitchenAid Semi Automatic Espresso Machine’s frothing wand is quite easy to clean.
The machine will heat up milk just fine. But, I’ve really had to work to get the appropriate amount of foam for a proper cappuccino- 2oz espresso, 2 oz steamed milk, 2 oz foam. And yes, I’ve adapted to using whole milk for better bubbles. But, after trying all sorts of aeration techniques, I’ve been unable to replicate the consistent cappuccinos my little Delonghi is capable of. The Delonghi, I’ll add, you can now pick up used on eBay for under $100… shipped.
Materials Don’t Match the Price
Many of the reviewers on the internet use the stainless steel model. I can see why. As I wrote earlier, the ‘cast iron’ concept is interesting. But aside from some of the base, it appears to be mostly plastic. And I’ve yet to see anything about the other colors in the range being anything but colored plastic. If that’s true, it’s deeply disappointing.
Perhaps the brand needs to cut production costs to offer the Burr grinder. And, perhaps it won’t bother you as much as it does me, your highly caffeinated internet wordsmith. Earnings per share in 2022 for Whirlpool, KitchenAid’s parent company, were only the second highest on record, after all. But, at $700 retail for this thing, I’d expect more metal for my money.
The Bottom Line
When the KitchenAid Semi Automatic Espresso Machine works, it works. The design is intuitive and well-engineered. The Burr grinder is quite good, too. This machine will produce a great shot if you’re willing to work hard for it. There is something satisfying about sitting there with my coffee and a little cookie in my few quiet moments before my five-year-old gets up and the baby starts screaming from her crib.
But, there’s been a twinge of anxiety, knowing I can do everything right and still not get the right pressure. The inconsistency of the pressure gauge and the merely ‘okay’ frothing performance are disappointing. Also, having nearly the entire housing made of plastic isn’t something I’d associate with a $700 KitchenAid product. As mentioned, I’ve had better performance and more metal on machines I picked up for under $200.
Sure, I suppose there’s a little wabi-sabi moment here. If the biggest problem in my day is a weak-pressure shot of espresso, it just might be a good day.
I recognize I’m probably in the minority of reviewers out there. And I’m more than willing to be proven wrong. There could be plenty of human error. It is ‘semi’ automatic, after all. But, at this point, it’s a lot of work for something I could get for less elsewhere.
Thanks for reading.
Feel free to leave any questions you might have down below.