The Best Commercial Coffee Machines for 2024

Looking for a new coffee machine for your business is a difficult task in 2024, with so many fantastic brands, models and machines available. With a broad range of categories to select from such as fully automatic bean-to-cup machines, to tried and true barista-operated espresso machines, knowing which type of machine to purchase can be an overwhelming task. 

We’ve been helping businesses choose their ideal coffee machines since our humble beginnings back in 1985, and therefore have almost 40 years of experience selling a wide range of commercial coffee equipment. So, to help you along your research journey, this blog post outlines our favourite commercial coffee machines in 2024 for a number of categories including:

• Best overall commercial coffee machine
• Best value commercial coffee machine
• Best coffee machine for baristas
• Best for ease of use
• Best machine for bulk brewing (filter coffee)
• 5 honorary mentions

The coffee machines mentioned have all been used and tested by our team along with our growing list of wholesale coffee partners across the UK. Decision criteria for this list included a wide number of factors including: Price, cup capacity, machine type, ease of use, features, build quality, drink quality, customisation options, ease of cleaning, longevity and ease of service.

Continue reading to discover our recommendations for the top commercial coffee machines in 2024.

Our top choice for commercial coffee machine of the year is the Eversys Cameo, a fully automatic espresso machine that provides barista-level drink quality with ease. It wins best commercial coffee machine of the year thanks to its incredible coffee quality at the push of a button, along with the recipe customisation, milk technologies, cleaning and support features that set it above the rest.

Eversys’ industry-leading ETC system allows the machine to constantly dial-in the coffee recipe, taking any onus on the barista to keep the coffee tasting great day in, day out, and lets multi-site businesses to control and monitor the performance, coffee extractions and stats remotely.

The Eversys Cameo features industry leading cleaning features to make sure staff are taking care of the machine to promote optimal performance, drink quality and longevity. What’s more, the modularity of Eversys machines allow engineers to immediately replace broken modules on site for speedy repairs and limited downtime, and a 10 year guarantee helps to protect your investment for years to come. 

The Cameo represents the entry point for businesses to buy into the Eversys’ ecosystem, boasting all of the same industry leading features as their larger, higher capacity machines like the Enigma E’4 and the Shotmaster. The new legacy is a more affordable model, but daily cup capacity rather limits its use to low volume outlets such as office kitchens.

New to market this year, the D8 is a brand new single boiler espresso machine by Italian machine manufacturers Sanremo. At an extremely competitive price point, the D8 brings a range of modern updates to the entry-level single boiler category making it our stand-out choice for 2024’s best value for money coffee machine.

Compared to Sanremo’s pre-existing entry-level espresso machine the ZOE, the D8 provides a massively updated design language, energy efficiency improvements and workflow upgrades designed specifically for the modern coffee shop – all for a very small bump in price from the ZOE.

An upgraded stainless steel, circular boiler design allows for higher brew temperatures, with an updated heat exchanger and heating elements behind each group head providing fantastic cup quality for all types of coffees. Baristas can create four recipes for each group head, adjust temperatures between 91 and 98 degrees to fine-tune the flavour of all roast levels, and adjustable steam pressures allow you to speed up service or to reduce pressure for less experienced baristas.

Non-stick steam wand tips that reduce the chance of burning milk is a small but greatly appreciated improvement to workflow, with additional cool touch steam wands and a hot/cool water mix valve both available as affordable optional upgrades. The D8 is available in three different colours with bespoke custom colours and branding also available, and buyers can select from a 2 or 3 group head model with a standard or lowered drip tray for larger cups.

When looking to invest in a coffee machine that will be operated by baristas, you’ll want to look for a traditional espresso machine and coffee grinder setup. With a vast number of high end espresso machines on the market in 2024, there’s no end of choice for which espresso machine to buy.

Being fortunate enough to work with and test a wide range of machines on the market, our choice for best coffee machine for baristas is the Sanremo Café Racer – a fully-featured espresso machine with a design language inspired by racing bikes.

The Café Racer is an industry leading, high-spec espresso machine used in global barista competitions and loved for its many features that aid in a fast and consistent workflow for your baristas. The Racer is not only capable of keeping up with the highest level of demand, it’s also just an absolute pleasure to use – so much so that we keep one for ourselves in our Cardiff showroom purely for making our staff coffees, entertaining guests and showing off to potential wholesale customers.

What’s more, the Café Racer comes with an extensive range of colour, design, material and custom branding options to suit any coffee outlet and type of business – our favourites are the Renegade and the white with wooden accents versions. It’s available in 2 and 2 group head versions, and the barista is given full control over brew recipes and machine settings to help them bring the best out of every coffee.

Even though high-end commercial espresso machines can create incredible drinks and have a wealth of features, they can be overwhelming and difficult to get to grips with. For the best machine in the ease of use category, our top pick would be the Schaerer Soul 12 bean-to-cup machine with the 2-step milk configuration.

The Schaerer Soul 12 is a fantastic bean-to-cup machine for ease of use, with a bright and intuitive 12” touch screen providing the ultimate self-serve experience. The Schaerer Soul line can be configured as a 2-step machine featuring updated software and automatic in-jug milk steaming allowing the user to pour latte art, which is typically not seen on bean-to-cup machines.

Allowing the milk to be frothed automatically in the jug while the espresso brews speeds up operation and allows the user to select from a wide range of milks, whereas an in-machine milk option is typically constricted to 1-2 milks. Without the need for a built-in milk system or cooling unit, maintenance and cleaning costs are significantly lower making operation smoother and more cost-effective.

For the ultimate ease of use coffee experience, latte art capabilities, machine reliability and ease of servicing, along with allowing multiple milks on an intuitive coffee machine, we highly recommend the 2-step version of the Schaerer Soul 12.

When it comes to seamlessly brewing large batches of filter coffee whilst maintaining a high level of quality, the Marco Jet 6 Bulk Coffee Brewer stands out as the top choice for 2024. This commercial-grade filter coffee machine is designed to handle the demands of high-volume settings, such as hotel breakfasts, catered events, or busy cafés and office spaces where consistent and quick coffee service is a must.

The Jet 6 brews up to 6 litres (around 40 cups) at a time, making it ideal for high-volume environments. It offers three programmable brew settings, allowing for tailored recipes based on different service needs. Despite its industrial scale, the machine is user-friendly with an intuitive interface and a large filter basket designed to prevent grounds overflow.

Additionally, the Jet 6 features a portable urn system, enabling easy transport and continuous brewing. Advanced temperature management ensures consistent brew quality, while safety features like a locking basket during brewing prevent spills and burns, making it well-suited for busy settings

For those who need reliable, high-capacity coffee brewing with flexibility and ease of use, the Marco Jet 6 is an unparalleled choice. Its combination of capacity, programmability, and safety features makes it the best option for bulk brewing in 2024.

Bridge Coffee Roaster’s other recommendations for the best commercial coffee machines

Now that we’ve covered our top picks for coffee machines in 2024, let’s get into a few honourable mentions.

The Sanremo F18 is a high-performance, multi-boiler espresso machine designed for busy, high-volume cafés. It offers dedicated boilers for each group head and steam arm, ensuring precise temperature stability, with real-time temperature monitoring displayed on top.

The F18’s full-colour touchscreen provides easy access to customisable brew recipes, system settings, and diagnostics. Available in two and three group options, with robust construction and customisable features, the F18 is a durable, reliable choice for demanding café environments.

The Eversys E’4 is a part of the Enigma line of machine, with the E’4 featuring two separate coffee and milk stations and the space from the extra wide version to support high levels of productivity for two users.

Featuring the same milk technologies and coffee extraction system as the Eversys Cameo, our best commercial coffee machine this year, the Enigma features twice the capacity and a higher price tag to show for it. The perfect machine for the highest footfall coffee outlets that are looking for speed, consistently high quality coffees, and features that aid baristas of all skill levels to serve incredible coffee.

The Zoe is Sanremo’s entry level espresso machine, built for businesses where coffee is an additional part of their offering. Capable of delivering 100-200 cups per day, the single boiler machine is built to last with its fully stainless steel chassis and houses a competitive feature set at its price point.

This espresso machine is designed with simplicity in mind, showcased in it’s minimalist design and ease of use. Its 10 litre 2mm thick fully copper boiler provides impressive levels of temperature stability when compared to other manufacturers models at this price point, and its range of sizes and customisation options provide a great setup for many businesses.