Like your own personal coffee-making robot
Tom's Guide Verdict
I’ve used a fair few coffee machines in my time. Manual, semi-automatic, fully automatic, french press, moka pot, pods — I’ve tried them all. So what makes a machine one of the best espresso machines? I look for ease of use, affordability, and, most of all: taste.
So when I got a chance to test the $1,999 (not a typo) KitchenAid KF8 Fully Automatic Coffee Machine, I couldn’t wait to get stuck in. After a pretty straightforward setup, I was whipping up lattes, cortados, flat whites, cappuccinos, and macchiatos in mere seconds. I could’ve made everyone in the office a drink each in under five minutes. Sounds too good to be true, right?
I’m not going to lie to you — I wouldn’t recommend the KF8 for coffee aficionados. The automatic machine means the user is completely removed from the coffee making experience. Some people thrive on measuring their beans, tamping, and steaming their own milk. If that sounds like you, you’d be better off with the KitchenAid Semi Automatic Espresso Machine I reviewed recently.
But is this fully automatic machine worth it for busy people who just want a caffeine boost with minimal fuss? Find out in this KitchenAid KF8 Fully Automatic Coffee Machine review.
KitchenAid KF8 Automatic Coffee Machine: Cheat sheet
- Who is it for? People who want coffee, and want it now
- What does it do well? Makes coffee after coffee at supersonic speeds
- What are its weaknesses? Its drinks taste simply… fine
- How much does it cost? If you’re squeamish, look away now: $1,999 / £1,899
- What should you use it for? Making coffees with very little effort
KitchenAid KF8 Automatic Coffee Machine: Specs
KitchenAid KF8 Automatic Coffee Machine review: Price & availability
The KitchenAid KF8 Automatic Coffee Machine is objectively a lot of money: $1,999 at Amazon U.S. and £1,899 at Amazon U.K.. In comparison, the Philips 3200 Series Fully Automatic Coffee Machine is $999 at Amazon. When we tested the Philips 3200, we liked its ease of use and range of options, but thought the espresso was a little weak. It’s $1,000 cheaper than the KitchenAid KF8, though, so a far sight more achievable for most people.
If you’re a fan of the process of making coffee, you might want to consider some semi-automatic machines: these grind beans for you, but you pull the espresso and steam the milk. My favorite is the KitchenAid Semi Automatic Coffee Machine with Burr Grinder ($699).
KitchenAid KF8 Automatic Coffee Machine review: Design
The KF8 is a big machine. I think this would be better suited to an office space than a residential kitchen — unless, that is, you’re blessed with a big kitchen. It’s 18 inches long, which is about as deep as my kitchen counters. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it’s worth noting if your house, like mine, is on the smaller side.
In terms of looks, the KF8 is very conventional — its aesthetics align with most other automatic machines I’ve used. The machine comes in three colors: black, stainless steel, white, and juniper green. I would personally choose the juniper green version, but I tested the stainless steel one. The stainless steel is prone to scuffing. During photography, our photographer brushed one of the panels and it left marks. It’s prone to fingerprint marks, too, so you’ll need to polish regularly if you want it to stay spick-and-span — worth noting if that’s something that would put you off.
The KF8’s 5-inch touchscreen requires minimal pressure and responds immediately. You use this touchscreen for everything: creating profiles to save your favorite drinks, choosing drinks, and being told when you need to change the water or empty the grounds drawer.
KitchenAid KF8 Automatic Coffee Machine review: Grinder
As this is a fully automatic coffee machine, the grinder is hidden inside the machine’s 18-inch bulk. The KF8 boasts a conical burr grinder with seven grind settings, meaning you should be able to find whatever grind size suits your taste. Burr grinders usually produce a better coffee than blade grinders as burrs crush beans instead of slice, producing a more consistent grind that extracts more evenly.
On the right hand side there’s a knob where you can adjust grind size, but I found this incredibly stiff. I had to put my sweater sleeve over my hand to get enough grip to actually adjust the grind size. Even after using it for a couple of days, the knob was still difficult to turn.
I played around with grind size to find the best flavor profile. Espresso grind is supposed to be quite fine and stick to your fingers, but I wanted to experiment to make sure I was getting the most out of this machine. I made my colleagues coffee with the grind set to coarse and their reviews weren’t positive, so eventually, I settled on the second notch away from the finest grind. This setting offered the most consistently delicious espresso; finer and it tasted burnt, coarser and it was too weak.
KitchenAid KF8 Automatic Coffee Machine review: Espresso
The KF8 pulls espresso shots through single-walled portafilters, meaning the espresso isn’t aerated as it’s extracted. This results in a more balanced yet complex flavor profile.
As you can see, the espresso shot is clearly layered with the dark heart, caramel body, and fluffy crema. This espresso is extracted well, just how you’d expect on a $2,000 machine. If you’re a black coffee fanatic, there’s no reason why this espresso shouldn’t impress you.
KitchenAid KF8 Automatic Coffee Machine review: Milk
I wasn’t that impressed with the KF8’s milk frothing capabilities. As someone with experience working in coffee shops as a trained barista, I like to think I know what milk texture should be like for certain drinks. A cappuccino should be thicker, stiffer milk (almost like meringue), and a latte should have about ½ an inch of foam on the top. A flat white should have the texture of melted ice cream. But the KF8 served me a cappuccino and a latte with very similar milk textures. The flat white, too, was pretty deflated; no aeration there. In fact, the only drink I made that had a decent milk texture was a latte macchiato. It’s worth noting that this isn’t a KF8 issue — it’s a fully automatic machine issue. To get barista-quality milk, you need a steam wand, which automatic machines simply do not have.
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As you can see, the flat white is, well, flat, even though it’s supposed to be textured and velvety. The latte is a little better, but the cappuccino is much wetter than ideal. Most of my colleagues (including espresso aficionados) were pleased with the flavor of the coffee, but commented that it wouldn’t impress most serious coffee drinkers. Simply put, it’s decent ‘machine coffee’.
KitchenAid KF8 Automatic Coffee Machine review: Storage & maintenance
As I mentioned earlier, the KF8 is a bulky machine, which would be best suited to a larger kitchen or even office space. It’s 18 inches deep and 14 inches tall, which means it would barely fit in my kitchen. It’s not immediately obvious what most of the bulk is: the 74-fluid-ounce water tank is slender, and around 2 inches deep. The bean hopper is at the back of the machine, and the milk frother sits on the side. So all that bulk must be the grinder and the boiler, but it’s much heftier than KitchenAid Semi Automatic, which is only 11 inches deep.
I noticed that the water tank drains quickly, just like the Terra Kafe TK-02 ($1,599). This is due to the machine rinsing itself and purging the milk frother after every drink — on top of using water to actually make the drinks. You’re going to be refilling the water tank a couple of times a day (if you drink a lot of coffee!) but when you factor in that the machines are using this water to make drinks and clean themselves, it’s understandable.
In terms of cleaning, the KF8 prompts you to rinse after every use. You don’t have to, but the option is there. I rinsed the milk nozzle after every use — you put the tip into the drip tray and it purges water to clean out the inside. This does mean that you need to put a container under the nozzle for purged water, otherwise the drip tray will fill up every time.
There are loads of cleaning options in the ‘settings’ tab of the machine. Things like ‘deep milk cleaning’ and ‘deep brew cleaning’. You need to purchase cleaning tablets separately, though. You also need to descale — the regularity depends on your area’s water hardness. As with all other cleaning tasks, the KF8 will prompt you to complete these, so it’s not down to you to remember when you last cleaned the machine.
KitchenAid KF8 Automatic Coffee Machine review: Verdict
The KF8 is a great machine if you aren’t a fan of making coffee. However, if you enjoy the process of pulling shots and steaming milk, you’d be better off with the KitchenAid Semi Automatic ($699).
The KF8 is, without a doubt, the easiest way to make coffee. All you have to do is click a button and the machine makes delicious lattes, cappuccinos, and more in seconds. With the built-in burr grinder’s automatic dosage, tamping, and extraction, you really don’t need to do anything to get a steaming cup of coffee. The detachable milk frother automatically steams your milk, although I found this to be the machine’s weakest link.
If you want a machine that pulls its weight, the KF8 is a hard-working, talented option. Just be warned — it’s not quite at barista-level yet.