Week after week, we receive offers. Manufacturers and retailers write to us: test our machine, we’ll pay you 10,000 euros, you get the device, we include you in our campaign. There have been offers of all kinds – a car hasn't been among them yet, but pretty much everything else has.
Our answer is always the same: No.
We buy every machine ourselves
This is not a marketing claim. We buy our test devices, often at full price, sometimes at B2B prices like a retailer would pay. But we pay. We insist on an invoice – and sometimes we have to ask three times before we finally get it. Some manufacturers seem to mean well, but that is exactly what we want to avoid.
Anyone who seriously questions this is invited to appoint an independent trustee to check our test machines and the corresponding invoices. We are completely open about it.
Why we order directly from manufacturers
In the past, we bought machines anonymously from retailers. In doing so, we repeatedly ended up with devices with outdated firmware—remaining stock that had been in the warehouse for a long time. Not the best starting point for a fair test.
Today, whenever possible, we order directly from the manufacturer. This ensures that we test the current model with the latest software. At the same time, we have a direct line if we have questions or notice anything unusual.
Do we receive particularly well-adjusted devices then? No. The machines still come with an offset. Sometimes we even wish someone had taken another look at them before shipping.
What happens if we find a fault
If we discover a fault during a test, we contact the manufacturer. In these cases, we order a second machine – we don't buy this one; it is provided to us and returned afterwards. We then check whether the error is confirmed or if it was an isolated case.
With modern machines that have OTA (Over-the-Air) updates, it also happens that the manufacturer fixes the error via a software update within a few days. We take this into account in the evaluation because it demonstrates a quality of the machine: it can be updated. A static machine cannot do that.
Afterwards, we publish the test. But it doesn't end there. We encounter many of these machines later in our home barista courses. This allows us to see over time whether our test results correspond to reality. We will also redo some tests – not because the original tests were bad, but because our test protocol has become stricter and some manufacturers have changed their quality implementation.
How we finance ourselves – without selling the tests
Our business model clearly separates what we test from what we sell. We test espresso machines and espresso grinders. We sell coffee and accessories. We made this distinction deliberately. We do not sell machines and grinders because we test them.
It wasn't always like this. We had a shop in Basel where we also sold machines. We included the machines we had tested well into the shop – not the other way around. Nevertheless, we realized that the role of a neutral referee is not compatible with selling. So, we stopped.
For the same reason, we no longer offer consulting for individual machines. We cannot help a manufacturer with development and then evaluate the same device. That is a conflict of interest.
In our videos, there are no paid collaborations with coffee companies. No sponsorship format for machine brands. We looked into it, and it doesn't fit what we want to do. We are open to sponsorships outside the coffee world – sports apparel, skincare products, the barber from Basel. But nothing that touches our independence regarding coffee equipment.
Our test protocol has a version number
We adhere to a documented test protocol, which we explained in detail in its own video. Recently, this protocol has been given a version number, which is linked in every test report. This way, you can see which standard was used to evaluate a machine.
Nevertheless: we too are shaped by previous experiences and preferences. We have known some manufacturers for years, we have visited factories, we have eaten together. That is the reality. That is precisely why we measure more and more accurately and look for objectifiable data. Our voice alone should not be enough – the numbers must support the evaluation.
Don't buy blindly based on our recommendation
We provide a lot: temperature stability, energy measurement, noise level, extraction data. We want you to be able to take this data to a specialist shop and make your own decision. But get a picture for yourself. Come to our courses, go to a trade fair, try out machines at a specialist dealer. Gather your own experience and use our data as one of several foundations.
And if you want a machine tested: write it in the comments. The more often we hear a request, the faster the device ends up in our test calendar. The list is long, and a test takes time. But we are listening.
If you want to support our work: buy our coffee or our accessories. The cleaning powder, for example. That’s how we finance the tests – and remain independent.
