The Best Coffee and Espresso Machines According to Celebrities and Shopping Editors

Our morning cups never tasted so good

Lindsey made her first foray into the digital world as an inaugural writer for beauty Q&A platform Makeoverly. She was later brought on as a writer for StyleCaster and Buzzfeed before starting as an associate editor at Byrdie. Prior to her current role as Director of Commerce for PEOPLE and Entertainment Weekly, she was the associate general manager of Byrdie and InStyle.

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Maybe you're a stickler for drinking the same style of coffee every day (we understand the comfort in keeping to a routine) or maybe you like to switch things up and try something new and exciting. Coffee culture is just about as hot (or iced) as it's ever been, with the #CoffeeTikTok hashtag garnering 5.3 billion views on the social media platform. More people are curious about how to make a barista-level blend at home, and users are sharing their tips, from which milks to use, down to the very machine that brews the best cup.

We at PEOPLE love being fed these coffee and espresso tips on our For You Pages, but ever the celebrity-enthusiasts, we also love to see what the stars are using for their morning cup of java. After some perusing on Instagram and watching videos of our favorite celebs, we compiled a few of the machines that big names like Taylor Swift and Oprah have been spotted using and took them for a spin ourselves. Below, our honest thoughts.

Buy It! Nespresso VertuoLine Evoluo Machine by De'Longhi, $217 (orig. $256.50); amazon.com

The one and only Oprah Winfrey may have included the Nespresso VertuoLine Evoluo on her Favorite Things list back in 2015, but she's clearly a huge fan of the brand, having included other models on it multiple times since. Queen O lauded this particular machine for its ability to make both coffee and espresso ("complete with crema!"). This machine brews two different sizes of espresso (1.35 oz espresso and 2.7 oz double espresso) and two sizes of coffee (5 oz and 8 oz). This model features a descaling alarm to let you know when it's time to clean the machine of built-up calcium and lime, an automatic shutoff after 9 minutes, and a heat-up time of 15-20 seconds.

"I've been on the hunt for the right machine to make the perfect cup of coffee for years," says PEOPLE commerce director Lindsey Metrus. "After trying various drip coffee machines and French presses, every cup I'd make would have a bitter, metallic taste to it, despite switching up the beans. But once I got my hands on the Nespresso VertuoLine Evoluo machine, my morning brew has forever changed. This machine brews the smoothest, most flavorful cup of coffee or espresso (my favorite being the Caramel Cookie flavor) with just the right amount of crema, as Oprah notes. I love how quickly it brews and how easy it is to use (which means I'm typically drinking a bit more coffee daily than I'd care to admit!).

"I also love that you can recycle the pods through Nespresso's recycling program — when you order your pods through Nespresso.com, you can add a free recyclable bag to your order and then return your used pods to a Nespresso boutique, via UPS, or at an authorized drop-off point (Williams Sonoma accepts them)."

Senior commerce editor Erin Johnson was also a fan of the small but mighty machine. "First of all, I love the design. It's sleek and takes up minimal counter space, which is appreciated in my small Brooklyn kitchen... it also just makes me smile when I see it on my counter. (Nespresso is the Dyson of coffee machines, in my opinion.) I also love that you can use multiple types of pods, and it automatically adjusts to whichever pod you just inserted. You don't have to worry about multiple options or settings — it does it for you."

Both editors did note that you have to push down quite hard on the top of the machine after you've inserted the pod, which can feel a bit jarring at first if you're expecting it to be a soft close. Once you get used to it, though, it's smooth-sailing.

Buy It! Cuisinart PerfecTemp Coffee Maker, $99.95; amazon.com

Leave it to Jennifer Aniston to use a well-priced coffee maker in a fun colorway like gold in her kitchen. Also leave it to Jen to be a complete trend-setter and style influencer since this colorway appears to be currently sold out everywhere. Still, we wanted to give the drip coffee machine a try, because if it's good enough for Jen, it must brew a pretty stellar cup.

The machine features a "bold" brewing option for a stronger cup of java as well as three different heat settings depending on whether you want to keep the carafe "warm" or have your cup served piping hot (or at a regular temperature). You can also wake up to the smell of freshly-brewed coffee (isn't that the dream?) with its 24-hour programming functionality and choose the number of cups you want brewed, whether in advance or on-demand (while the carafe can make up to 14 cups at a time, it features a 1–4 cup setting if you just want one or a few cups). While the gold colorway may be unavailable, there are plenty of other chic options, from cream and stainless steel to "Umber", a pretty rose gold.

PEOPLE's commerce project manager, Dhara Patel found the machine to be even better than her trusty Keurig. "Setting up and using the Cuisinart PerfecTemp coffee maker was extremely straightforward. I love that I can control how much coffee goes into the carafe and that I can brew cups either with the included reusable coffee filter, or with traditional paper coffee filters. It takes about 3-5 mins for the coffee to brew, and you can make up to 14 cups at a time." Compared with a Keurig, Patel notes that the Cuisinart machine allows for more brews in-between cleanings where the Keurig needs to be descaled more often.

As far as taste goes, Patel says that her cups were bold in flavor, even when the bold setting wasn't chosen, and that the overall body of the coffee was rounded and less acidic and bitter than when she uses coffee pods.

Buy It! Breville Barista Pro Espresso Machine, $679.95 (orig. $849.95); amazon.com

Considering Emma Chamberlain has become somewhat of a coffee connoisseur after founding her namesake coffee and tea company, Chamberlain Coffee, it's no surprise she uses a machine with all the bells and whistles — specifically the Breville Barista Pro Espresso Machine. This espresso machine features a grinder to guarantee freshly ground beans every time and allows you to play barista with the included temper and razor for trimming excess grounds. It'll also dispense the perfect amount of grounds depending on whether you choose the single or double shot option. You can also steam and froth your milk on the 360-degree machine attachment and practice your latte art (or just simply pour in normally and enjoy).

For PEOPLE commerce editor Erika Reals, it was love at first use with this machine; she notes that the espresso drinks it brewed were the best she's ever made at home, "even rivaling my favorite local coffee shops."

One downside is Reals considers herself a visual learner and would have preferred a QR code with video instructions to get a better grasp on how to use the machine with all of its nuances: "The machine is overall intuitive, with a LED screen that displays the current settings, and the automatic grinder is a game-changer. If the latter wasn't included, it would be a lot more complicated in figuring out the coarseness and weight of the grinds for each puck. While it takes a bit of trial and error to make the perfect shot of espresso, I personally enjoyed figuring out the science behind each brew — the quality of the espresso depends on the right grind size (there is a knob where you can easily adjust the grinder's coarseness) as well as the amount of grinds in the puck, how much pressure you add when tamping, as well as a few other major factors."

This machine is currently on sale for $679, which may feel like a huge investment, but if you're splurging on coffee-shop drinks on a regular basis, it more than pays for itself.

Buy It! Nespresso CitiZ Original Espresso Machine, $265.29 (orig. $329); amazon.com

It's not easy being an international pop sensation with 12 Grammys under your belt, so being caffeinated is probably a non-negotiable for Taylor Swift. And as we can see in her Vogue 73 Questions interview, she owns 3 different machines (with a casual VMA tucked in-between) to brew her morning java. One of those is the Nespresso CitiZ Coffee and Espresso machine which dispenses smooth, delicious coffee or espresso at the touch of a button. Just place a compatible CitiZ pod into the machine and press the top button for a frothy cup of espresso or coffee. And, like the VertuoLine Evoluo, the pods can be recycled using a Nespresso-approved recyclable bag via select locations and UPS.

PEOPLE commerce staff writer Alyssa Brascia found the machine to be extremely easy to use for an espresso newbie: "I'm such a fan of the rich espresso that the CitiZ produces, and especially love how much foam is left on top of the brew. I'm no espresso aficionado, but I thought the aromatic scent and bold flavor was a pleasant experience first thing in the morning (and during my second or third cup)." She also loves how sleek and compact it is on her apartment countertop in NYC which doesn't afford her much space for clunky machines.

One downside to this machine is the noise level — Brascia notes that, living with roommates, she finds the volume to be a bit louder than she would prefer, especially when she's logging early morning hours.

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