To see how easy each machine will be to use, we try the controls, fill the water tank and bean hopper, adjust the grinder, make a coffee, and clean it inside and out.

We experiment with each machine to find how well it heats milk, looking for fine, pourable froth.

We measure the consistency of 4 consecutive coffees after warming up each machine for 5 minutes. We add another 5 minutes for thermoblock and small boiler machines, and 30 minutes for heat exchangers.

Our priority is testing the models you'll see in stores and major online retailers. To do this, we check current market data to see what's most popular. We'll also test models that a lot of members have requested.

Our expert panel members taste a 30mL shot of espresso from each machine in a blind taste test and assess each shot by looking at the colour and thickness of the crema, the aroma, flavour, mouthfeel and aftertaste. We use a reference machine to check the consistency of our taste testers. Our lab testers use single-wall baskets where supplied (double-wall if no single is supplied) and an ECM grinder to get the right grind.

For our taste tests we rely on the expert palates of brothers David and Matthew Gee from Barista Basics as well as Anee Sampath, managing director of Samson Coffee House. We also have in-house experts who step up when required, including CHOICE's own home economist, Fiona Mair.

Unlike other product review sites, we don't accept free test models from manufacturers. This allows us to be independent and review without interference. Instead, we buy products anonymously from a variety of retailers, then bring them into our labs. This means we get what you'd get, and can be sure the model has not been potentially 'tweaked' for better performance.

We crunched the numbers on the cost of making coffee yourself on a home espresso machine versus buying takeaways from a cafe. For two people, each drinking a coffee a day, we found the total cost of making coffee at home would be $1173 compared with $3285 for takeaways. We factored in a year's worth of costs for a manual coffee machine, coffee beans, the milk you'd use, and parts and maintenance.

Pod or capsule coffee machines are usually cheaper than manual espresso machines and they're convenient if you're short on time or have limited bench space. But our expert taste testers agree: if you're fussy about flavour, a manual espresso machine will almost always give you the best, barista-like results.