Coffee for the start of school: The best coffee machines for students

One thing no student kitchen should be without is a coffee machine. The price of takeaway coffee is skyrocketing, so fueling your late-night study sessions can get expensive if you don’t make your own coffee at home. Luckily, there are plenty of great, affordable coffee machines to suit your student accommodation and budget – whether you prefer espresso or filter coffee, loose grounds or capsules.

We test new coffee machines every month here at TechRadar, and we’ve used our years of coffee-making experience to put together a handy guide to the best back-to-school options for students who need a little caffeine to get them through a long day of lectures. We’ve also included essential buying tips to help you make the right choice too.

Need to upgrade your tech or school supplies for the new school year? Check out our guide to the best back-to-school sales 2024.

The best coffee machines for students

Nespresso Vertuo Pop coffee machine Nespresso

Wacaco Minipresso MS2 coffee machine Handheld device

Instant Infusion Brew 12-Cup Coffee Maker filter

Instant brew coffee, 12 cups

Keurig K-Compact coffee machine Keurig

Nespresso Vertuo Next coffee machine Clever

AeroPress coffee machine Simply

How to choose a coffee machine for students

Our top-rated compact coffee maker is the Smeg ECF01 Espresso Machine, but while it looks fantastic and produces exceptionally good coffee, at $490/£319 it’s probably outside the budget of most students. If you’re working on a college budget, you need to know your priorities to make the smartest choice.

Price

You don’t have to spend a fortune on a great coffee maker if you keep your expectations in check. You can get a quality single-serve espresso machine for well under $100 if you can live without features like a steam wand for frothing milk.

If you want to make proper lattes and cappuccinos in your dorm, you could pay more for a stick coffee maker or get a standalone frother like the ones listed here. Even with the extra cost, it’s still much cheaper than getting takeout coffee several times a week.

Size

In student kitchens, countertop space is at a premium, so we recommend choosing a single-serve coffee machine that takes up as little space as possible. Here are the dimensions and weight of the coffee machines listed above.

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Coffee machine	Size	Weight
Nespresso Vertuo Pop	5.3 x 16.7 x 9.8 inches / 136 x 426 x 250mm	7.72 lb / 3.5 kg
Wacaco Minipresso NS2	2.2 x 2.8 x 6.9 inches / 60 x 70 x 175mm	12.7 ounces / 360 g
Instant brew coffee, 12 cups	14.1 x 6.9 x 14.4 inches / 359 x 176 x 366mm	6.15lb / 2.8kg
Keurig K-Compact	12.5 x 8.2 x 13.2 inches / 317 x 208 x 335mm	8.8lb / 4kg
Nespresso Vertuo Next	12.5 x 5.5 x 14.7 inches / 318 x 140 x 374 mm	8.8lb / 4kg
AeroPress	5.25 x 4.2 x 4.2 inches / 133 x 107 x 107mm	7.98 ounces / 226 g

Filter coffee or espresso

Filter coffee is a breeze to make and doesn’t require anything more complicated than a moka pot or a filter. There are also super-compact filter coffee machines that can make up to 12 cups and keep them warm on a hotplate so you can write your essay all night long.

Espresso is more complicated, as it requires pressure to force the water through the coffee grounds (whether it’s loose or in a capsule). An electric single-serve machine is the easiest way to do this, but there are also hand-operated espresso machines if you don’t have room for another appliance in your student kitchen and don’t mind using a little elbow grease.

Person puts coffee pad into espresso machine

Coffee capsules are convenient, but may be less economical than using loose coffee grounds (Image credit: Getty Images)

Coffee grounds or capsules

Another factor to consider is whether you want a coffee maker that uses loose grounds or aluminum pods (bean hopper machines are great, but are generally too big and expensive to be practical for students).

Coffee pods from brands like Keurig and Nespresso are the most convenient option. There’s a huge range of different beans and roasts, there’s nothing to weigh or measure, there’s no risk of spillage, and you don’t need any other equipment to use them. However, they’re often more expensive per cup and you have to throw the pods away when you’ve used them up. There are programs that recycle them, but these may not be practical for students depending on your living situation.

The alternative is a machine that uses loose grounds. This is more economical but needs to be measured (ideally with a digital scale) and can be messier. Coffee beans lose their complex flavour within minutes of grinding, so investing in a grinder to make your own would be ideal (see our guide to being a barista at home for more details). However, this is an extra expense and will take up more space in your student kitchen. If you’re less fussy about flavour, you can use pre-ground beans and measure them out with a simple spoon.

Coffee for the start of school: The best coffee machines for students

ByJasper

By Jasper

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