The coffee gadget market has caused a massive proliferation of devices for all tastes, preferences, and budgets, but it’s still easy enough to divide them into a handful of tiers when you consider what kind of gift each would make.
The lowest tier contains cheap machines one would buy as a housewarming present for a friend or relative’s third or fourth property, like a timeshare in the country or a freshly christened yacht. The second-lowest is a mandatory gift for someone you don’t know well or care for very much, such as the wedding of a distant cousin or former nemesis. The third tier is a gift for someone you know and like, and the fourth is a treat yo’ self gift you bestow upon yourself after finishing a large project, landing a promotion at work, or finally turning a profit at …
The coffee gadget market has caused a massive proliferation of devices for all tastes, preferences, and budgets, but it’s still easy enough to divide them into a handful of tiers when you consider what kind of gift each would make.
The lowest tier contains cheap machines one would buy as a housewarming present for a friend or relative’s third or fourth property, like a timeshare in the country or a freshly christened yacht. The second-lowest is a mandatory gift for someone you don’t know well or care for very much, such as the wedding of a distant cousin or former nemesis. The third tier is a gift for someone you know and like, and the fourth is a treat yo’ self gift you bestow upon yourself after finishing a large project, landing a promotion at work, or finally turning a profit at your bespoke AI-powered marketing and SEO agency.
Gevi’s imaginatively named Espresso Machine lands at the high end of the second tier. This single-boiler, 15-bar machine performs essential functions like grinding coffee, pulling shots, and steaming milk at a level that’s acceptable for its cost. The mostly plastic chassis won’t impress most normal folks, but the lack of gauges, digital menus, and other customization options might actually excite the type of gruff Philistine who screams “BLACK COFFEE” at the barista before they can get a word in edgewise whenever they walk into a third-wave cafe. You might as well just stay home with that attitude, in which case, all the Americanos with none of the hassle of talking to humans are available right in your own kitchen.
Power Up
The machine is easy to assemble and comes with a small handful of chintzy accessories you’ll want to replace immediately, first among them being the glossy plastic tamper that only weighs about 80 grams—one-fifth the weight of the tamper that is included with the Casabrews 5700PRO. The included portafilter uses the same plastic for the handle, but the stainless-steel basket feels solid enough while tamping. The tank holds 2.3 liters of water and is easy to fill while attached to the machine or under a faucet. It clicks into place seamlessly with no drips or leakage. It doesn’t have a maximum or minimum fill line, but the small hole about half an inch below the hinged lid at the top serves as the former in a relatively intuitive way.
The bean hopper is a notable bright spot on the machine in terms of quality and ease of use. A durable lid outfitted with a rubber gasket keeps beans in the hopper fresh, and a clearly labeled guide to grind size adjustments is printed in white letters right above the tick on the top of the machine that indicates your current setting. It was a joy to know exactly which way to turn the dial to get a looser or tighter grind, and there’s a gratifying, clicky feel to the motion. The simple manual suggests a setting between 5 and 10 for espresso. I settled on 3 as I dialed in the machine and pulled shots daily for about three months, which yielded a consistent enough output that didn’t stress the grinder or clog up the grouphead.
Photograph: Pete Cottell
The lone Grind button outputs enough grounds for a single-shot setting with one press, or a double shot with a quick double press. Out of the box, these gestures yielded an average of 12 grams and 16 grams, respectively. I typically shoot for at least 19 grams in the basket when I dial in a machine, so I referred to the manual to see if any adjustments were possible. This led to an onerous and fidgety process that is undoubtedly the most annoying aspect of the machine, but it wasn’t surprising due to the fact that it has no menus and only three buttons. To adjust the grind “memory,” you hold down both the Grind button and either the Single button to reprogram the single-dose amount, or the Double button for the double amount. The grinder will start grinding, and you’re tasked with pressing the Grind button to turn it off when you think it’s ground enough beans for your ideal dose. It then “remembers” how long it was on, and will allegedly grind for that long on subsequent uses of that specific grind option.
Photograph: Pete Cottell
Aside from requiring a timer, a scale, and a whole bunch of aspirational guessing to potentially work, this process did little to adjust how much ground coffee was ground when I pressed the double-shot button. I typically use a scale to tare the weight of the portafilter, dose some grounds, check my progress with the scale, then top up as needed until I hit the ideal dosage per my baseline. After about 10 failed attempts at reprogramming the grind dosage to yield something predictable and useful, I gave up and reverted to my manual method with the scale, which hasn’t let me down yet.
Off Kilter
Adjusting the water volume for shots uses a similar process, but the machine consistently yielded 2-ounce shots with the Double button right out of the box, so no adjustment was needed there. Once I gave up on adjusting the grind dosage presets, the machine was a breeze to dial in, and it’s equally easy to make minor adjustments on the grind size to account for subtle changes in the beans between one day and the next.
Your mileage will obviously vary, but I got consistently great results with my trusty medium-roast Columbia Supremo beans from Costco after about five throw-away shots while I dialed in. My baseline at present is a 19-gram dose with a 31-second total shot time, yielding a 2-ounce double shot with a rich crema and very mild bitterness and acidity on the finish.
Photograph: Pete Cottell
The steam wand is powerful, yet erratic and a tad dangerous. Most automatic machines that boast a steam wand and only a single boiler have some sort of standby mode you switch on to prepare hot water in the boiler for use in the wand, which is then activated by another switch you can ride manually while you froth your milk. This machine is equipped with a three-position dial that’s essentially in neutral in the middle position. The left position dispenses hot liquid water from the wand when engaged, and the right position activates its steaming function.
The danger lies in the seemingly random nature of how and when it starts dispensing scalding hot steam. You simply turn it on and brace yourself until it starts shooting out steam. This can take 10 seconds, or 20, or 30, or as long as 35 in my tests. A few times, it kicked on in under 10 seconds. There’s a light above the steam icon near the right side of the dial that blinks until the steam is ready, but you may miss this key indicator and find yourself rushing to turn it off so you can ready your frothing pitcher, submerge the tip, and click the dial back to the right to begin frothing.
It took an average of 56 seconds to froth 5 ounces of 45-degree-Fahrenheit whole milk to 140 degrees with some light foaming and texturing applied before the thermometer hit around 100, at which point it was plunged into the bottom of the frothing pitcher to add temperature only. The wand has a decent range of motion and is moderately pliable; the rubber sleeve on the upper elbow makes it a little safer to move around while frothing. The tip unscrews easily for cleaning, and it was far less gunk-prone than similarly priced units I’ve tested in the past.
When you’re finished steaming, the machine tends to grumble a bit and deposit some excess water in the drip pan beneath the grinder and grouphead. The pan is very easy to remove and clean, with no odd latches, buttons, or strange angles to contend with. Pull the metallic face upward, yank the whole thing out, and remove the grated platform for cleaning in the sink or elsewhere. Descaling is initiated with yet another series of press-and-hold gestures that are outlined in the back of the manual.
Bare Basics
The Gevi Espresso Machine is the very definition of no-frills, and it is priced as such. As a former barista who was trained on commercial-grade machines that don’t have menus, touchscreens, or other creature comforts coffee tech enthusiasts enjoy, I actually found the lack of hand-holding and prodding to be quite refreshing. If you make a bad shot, it’s probably your fault, and it’s easy enough to try again with subtle tweaks in grind size, dose, and the other metaphorical levers a barista will reach for to dial in the perfect shot. Sure, the finish is a bit cheap, and the steam wand can be an untamable beast at times, but any unit at this price point is guaranteed to have a trade-off or two.
When I shop for a bottle of wine before an event to avoid showing up empty-handed, I typically set my sights on the bottom shelf, then scan the next shelf up for a bottle that seems nicer than everything else in its class. The Gevi Espresso Machine is exactly that, and it should be lauded as such.