If you are a lover of cappuccino or espresso, are you tired of paying $4 or more for a cup? This is the biggest reason why it is becoming popular for coffee lovers all over the world to buy a home espresso machine.

There is a large selection now available and it may be difficult to pick the best one so we’ve done the work for you. Our selection of the best home espresso machine under 2000 USD is the Gaggia Accademia and this review will explain why.

In September 1938, Achille Gaggia filed a patent in Milano, Italy, for the first espresso machine that was steam-free, which was different than others before it.

It also included the revolutionary design of a piston mechanism forcing hot water at high pressure through the coffee grounds.

This method caused a foam to appear on top that made his espressos like no others and they became very popular. Since then Gaggia has become known for several designs of coffee machines.

In case you didn’t know…the word espresso comes from the Italian words “caffé espresso” meaning “pressed-out coffee” and that is exactly what espresso is—coffee brewed by forcing a small amount of nearly boiling water under pressure through finely ground coffee beans.

Making espresso is not just making a cup of coffee from a special coffee bean. In fact, you can make espresso from any kind of coffee beans. It’s all about chemistry and happens at the molecular level—a combination of the perfect balance of temperature, pressure, and grind.

That is what Gaggia’s Accademia does automatically for you so you can be the best barista for miles around.

If you want to be able to make cappuccinos and lattes, the modern designed Gaggia Accademia is a dream come true with its unique Milk Management System that has a detachable carafe. It has a built-in milk frother for a cappuccino, latte macchiato, and more.

The steam to froth milk takes only a few seconds to be ready. The milk does not enter the machine during the process so there are no worries of old milk getting the machine contaminated. You can keep the milk in the carafe in your refrigerator until you want to use it to brew. Click here to see a video on some features.

The Accademia has one-touch programmable pre-set options for seven beverages that are done in just a few seconds. All you do is put a cup under the 6-1/2 inch adjustable dispenser and push a button to get espresso, caffe, caffe lungo, cappuccino, latte, latte macchiato, or hot water for tea. This video shows you the many different beverages the Accademia can brew up.

The double boiler cuts the waiting time down to just a few seconds between brewing and espresso. It also has a very durable ceramic grinder that will retain the purity and aroma of the coffee beans and not burn them like some machines do.

There is a digital display that lets you know exactly what is it doing so it is easy to navigate through different options with ease.

The machine is tough as it is constructed out of fingerprint-proof stainless steel and will stand up to a long use and look good at the same time. Cleaning is easy due to the removable brewing group.

The rest of the cleaning is done automatically with the automatic descaling (cleaning of mineral build-up) that gives you perfect cups of espresso day after day and a long life for your Accademia.

Features and Advantages

Here are some of the fantastic features and advantages of the Gaggia Accademia:

• Saves money and a trip to the coffee café
• A wide variety of cups/glasses can be used due to adjustable telescopic coffee dispenser with a maximum height of a little over 6-1/2-inch
• The burr grinder is ceramic with integrated bean hopper and a double lid to seal in the aroma
• The coffee grounds container is removable from the front of machine
• From 7 to 10 cups of coffee can be dispensed and are programmable
• It has maximum extraction of flavor with the pre-brewing system
• Fully automatic from doing the grinding, tamping, brewing, steaming, and frothing
• Dispenses on demand—select desired beverage from one of seven automated buttons
• Stylish and has a small footprint on your kitchen counter without taking up too much space
• Beverage milk selections, temperature strength and volume can be preset to your specifications
• 15-bar pump and two powerful stainless steel boilers that heat to brewing temperature in seconds will let you alternate between brewing and frothing without any down time
• A pre-brewing cycle infuses coffee grounds with hot water to help extract the flavor and aroma
• Both the grinder and bypass doser are accessible through the top of the machine to cater to pre-ground/decaf drinkers
• A one-touch Milk Management System can deliver steamed or frothed milk directly into your cup or steam/froth manually with the steam wand
• It will memorize your favorite or customized drinks and programmed settings will not be affected if you override programming to prepare a special drink
• The milk circuit is rinsed by an automatic cleaning cycle after each use to make sure it is free of clogs and contaminants and the carafe is made of BFA-free plastic
• The removable drip tray and water reservoir makes cleaning up easy
• It comes with a one-year general warranty
• Dimensions are 16.8 inches long by 11 inches wide by 15.2 high and it weighs 45 pounds
• There is a test mode that you can test different functions if something isn’t working – click here for a video that tells you about it

Disadvantages

• Some may think the price around $1,500 is too high
• Some complaints are that the milk doesn’t get hot enough
• Replacement parts or repairs take too long
• Because it self-cleans, you need to refill water often
• Descaling is not totally automatic and instructions can be confusing
• The waste dump tray needs to be emptied often

Verdict

The disadvantage that descaling is not totally automatic is true, especially if you have hard water; however, you can click here for a video on doing the process to cut down on confusion. There are several other videos on Youtube.com that can be helpful to review.

The automatic features of the Gaggia Accademia Home Espresso Machine would certainly be wonderful to have if you drink a lot of the many drinks it will make in a matter of a few seconds or do lots of entertaining and be able to let them serve themselves due to how easy it is to operate.

Having an automatic home espresso machine may be well be worth the price of this one but even though we believe this one is the best, you are the one paying for it so you should research as many brands and types of machines as possible. We want to make sure the one you purchase is the best home espresso machine under $2,000 for you.