Smeg Mini Pro Espresso Coffee Machine review: a beautiful manual coffee maker that lets you call the shots, but at a price
Smeg Mini Pro Espresso Maker: Two Minute Review
The Smeg Mini Pro Espresso Maker is a manual coffee maker that gives you the barista experience, giving you the option to brew espresso using the smooth and tactile lever or simply twist the filter handle into place and press Just click the button. Button to let the machine do the work for you.
back Tried Smeg Mini Pro last yearone of my colleagues at TechRadar concluded that while it’s cute, it’s “probably a bit much for me and most coffee drinkers” — but after using it to replace my usual espresso machine for a few Weeks later, I’m inclined to disagree. Although it has the appearance of a professional coffee machine, it is not just one of best espresso machine I’ve used it to brew consistently great coffee, it’s also one of the easiest to use and makes getting a great cup of coffee easy.
It’s relatively compact (small enough not to dominate a small kitchen) and well-designed, with features including a bright LED display, a pressure gauge that indicates how well your espresso is brewing, and customizable temperatures and volume settings – the latter of which is handy if you frequently use the single-shot and dual-shot presets.
However, while not over the top in terms of features, the Smeg Mini Pro espresso machine does cost a lot. I expect to pay a premium for one of these best coffee machinebut it’s rare to see a manual consumer espresso machine at this price point. That’s close to the price of a commercial machine (with pressure analysis and flow control features the Mini Pro lacks), so you’d have to really fall in love with it to justify the cost.
Worth a look if you like the idea of ​​a lever coffee machine and don’t have that much cash to spend La Pavoni’s range of fully manual machines (now part of Smeg), which includes several more affordable models.
Smeg Mini Pro Espresso Machine: Specifications
| Name | Smeg Mini Pro Espresso Machine |
| type | manual |
| Dimensions (height x width x depth) | 14.2 x 8.7 x 17 inches/360 x 220 x 433 mm |
| weight | 35.7 lbs/16.2 kg |
| Pump pressure | 15 bar |
| Water tank capacity | 57.5 oz/1.7 liters |
Smeg Mini Pro Espresso Machine: Price and Availability
- Launch in UK June 2024
- List price £1,399.95 (approximately US$1,700 / AU$2,800)
- Not available elsewhere yet
The Smeg Mini Pro espresso machine launches in the UK in June 2024, priced at £1,399.95 (approximately $1,700 / AU$2,800). As of this writing (January 2025), the feature has not yet rolled out to other regions.
That’s a serious price tag for a home espresso machine, even more expensive than something like Breville Barista Touch Impress.
Smeg Mini Pro Espresso Machine: Design
- Fashion aesthetic inspired by the 1960s
- Optional joystick or button control
- No flow control or pressure analysis
The Smeg Mini Pro is a cute-looking coffee maker with the same brushed metal and smooth curves as the fully automatic BCC13 bean-to-cup coffee maker I reviewed last year. It’s available in three colors: white (pictured), black or emerald green.
It’s also relatively compact, measuring 14.2 x 8.7 x 17 inches/360 x 220 x 433 mm. This means it doesn’t look out of place in my small kitchen and easily fits under my wall cabinets.
While it might seem a little intimidating if you’re used to more basic machines, the Mini Pro is incredibly simple to use. Reach behind the machine and you’ll find a power button on the left side that turns it on with just a tap. Once completed, the machine will start heating. Its standard setting is 92C, which in my experience gives good results, but you can dig into the settings to change it if you prefer a higher or lower value.
The circular LED display in the upper right corner shows key information such as whether the water has reached temperature, how long it took to brew a cup of espresso in manual mode using the machine, maintenance status, and various customizable options. It’s bright, and while simple, the icons in the interface are unmistakable.
There’s also a pressure gauge in the lower left corner of the front of the machine, which can give you an idea of ​​how well your final shot will extract. It’s a shame there’s no flow control or pressure analysis, especially for a machine of this price.
The Mini Pro comes with four filter baskets: two pressurized baskets, which Smeg says are best for experimenting with grinding, metering and tamping, and two non-pressurized baskets, which are perfect when some of these factors are beyond your control ( If for example you are using freshly ground coffee). Which one you should choose depends on whether you are brewing one cup or two.
You can also use a blank filter (which I haven’t seen in many espresso machines) when cleaning the water tank, along with a brush and two different sized needles. One of them is for cleaning steam Wand, another hole for the filter.
The 1L water tank is located on the back and has a sturdy handle for easy removal. No water filter provided, but if you have hard water (use the test strips that come with your coffee maker to identify it) You can buy them separately Just screw one into the bottom of the tank. When the water tank needs to be replenished, you will be notified by an icon on the display.
There’s a cup warmer on top with an uneven surface to prevent the ceramic from slipping, and the drip tray slides out easily and empties without spilling. My only criticism of the design, and it’s a very minor one, is that there’s nothing to actually secure the lid that sits above the tank, so when you pull the machine forward to access it, you risk knocking it off.
Most parts, including the filter and filter holder, can be cleaned by rinsing with water. If necessary, you can use mild dish soap to clean the drip tray, but avoid using any abrasives on any part of the machine.
You’ll receive a reminder when it’s time to descale your Mini Pro. The pros at Smeg use Oust brand descaler, but when I checked, they told me any food safe liquid descaler would be fine. They also provide Video showing how to descale your machine.
Smeg Mini Pro Espresso Machine: Performance
- Always produces well-extracted coffee
- Fast heating and quiet pump
- Lack of pressure distribution and flow control
The machine heats up quickly, has separate coffee and steam heat blocks, and independently heated brew heads to maintain a consistent temperature while brewing coffee. In my testing, it reached its target temperature of 92C within a minute and was ready to brew in no time (the LED display will show when it’s ready).
I really like that there are multiple ways to brew espresso – you can pull a single or double cup by clicking one of the buttons, or manually pull up the lever so you can keep an eye on the coffee amount and timer yourself.
The lever action is smooth and satisfying, but if you don’t want to spend time measuring your own shots, the option of two customizable buttons would be nice. Single-shot and double-shot presets are easy to customize; just hold down any button to configure.
The gauge is a great way to know if my coffee may be under- or over-extracted, helping me avoid wasting milk on a bad espresso. Although Mini Pro able Reaching a pressure of 15 bar, it is optimized for 9-10 bar, which is generally considered the ideal pressure for brewing espresso.
During my testing, the machine produced consistently great footage using both the manual levers and the presets. The only shot that disappointed me was when the tank started to run low on water, but not enough to set off a replenishment alarm. The Mini Pro brewed a cup of coffee, but the pressure gauge showed it wasn’t producing enough pressure, and the resulting coffee tasted dry and under-extracted. It was very helpful to have advance warning that this was a bad shot before I added milk so I could refill the tank and try again.
I was also surprised at how quiet the Smeg Mini Pro is in use, with the pumping sound when pulling the lens reaching only 33dB, akin to the whisper of a quiet library.
The steam wand is awesome and is the thing I missed the most after testing the Smeg Mini Pro. Its dial allows you to increase the pressure smoothly so you don’t end up squirting milk all over the kitchen counter (which sometimes happens in my kitchen) gagia classic). The large capacity of the water tank means you can keep steaming longer than the smaller Gaggia, giving you plenty of time to achieve your preferred milk texture and temperature. The dial is large and tactile, and the action is super smooth when you adjust the steam intensity.
Smeg doesn’t skimp on accessories either. The 2.3-inch/58-mm-diameter tamper is well-weighted and even dishwasher-safe for milk jugs. Its shape makes it easy to create good swirls.
Overall, making coffee with the Smeg Mini Pro espresso machine is a real pleasure. I just expect the product to be almost as customized as the business model.
Should you buy the Smeg Mini Pro espresso machine?
| aspect | notes | Fraction |
|---|---|---|
| value | This is a great espresso machine with a stunning ’60s-style look, but you pay a premium for the Smeg brand name and aesthetic. | 3/5 |
| design | I can’t fault the look of this machine, and its well-designed interface means it’s a pleasure to use every day. | 5/5 |
| Performance | The Smeg Mini Pro does its job very well, but at this price I might have expected some additional pro-level features like pressure analysis and flow control. | 4.5/5 |
buy it if
If you don’t buy it
Smeg Mini Pro Espresso Machine: Also Consider
Not sure about the Smeg Mini Pro espresso machine? Here are two more options to consider
How I tested the Smeg Mini Pro espresso machine
I’ve been using the Smeg Mini Pro espresso machine in place of my regular Gaggia Classic for four weeks, usually using it two to three times a day. I usually brew a standard 60ml double espresso at 92C.
I used fresh coffee beans clifton coffee roastersgrind using a Dualit burr grinder and filter tap water. I tested the steam wand using chilled whole milk and oat milk.
For more details, check out How we test, review and rate at TechRadar.
The first review will be in January 2025
