KitchenAid has made quite the splash with its KF series of super-automatic espresso machines (the KF6, KF7, and KF8). They came late to the party, meaning they’ve learned from the best in the market and produced a superb lineup of machines that not only look great but also produce great coffee. However, choosing the best KitchenAid espresso machine is a tough call – they’re all so similar.
Having tested each machine thoroughly, the KitchenAid espresso machine we’d buy is the KF6.
We focus on the quality of the coffee and the value for money, and the KF6 produces just as good coffee as the other two for a much lower cost. We’re happy to skip the touchscreen and extra drinks as, for most people, the KF6 selections work great.
This is just, like, our opinion, man. Maybe the looks are more important to you, or you need a machine that makes your favorite coffee, or you really hate using buttons or a touchscreen. We’ve tried to cover all aspects when comparing these 3 machines so you can make the best choice for you.
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At a Glance: Which Is Best?
The KF6 is the cheapest model. Soft touch buttons, milk hose with no container, and 7 coffee options.
Coffee Quality: 9/10
Milk Quality: 8/10
Ease of Use: 9/10
Value for Money: 9/10
The KF7 has a 3.4″ touchscreen, a milk container is included, and 3 more coffee drinks than the KF6.
Coffee Quality: 9/10
Milk Quality: 8/10
Ease of Use: 9/10
Value for Money: 8/10
The KF8 has a 5″ touchscreen, a “plant-based milk” setting, 2 more profiles, and 2 more coffees than the KF7.
Coffee Quality: 9/10
Milk Quality: 8/10
Ease of Use: 9.5/10
Value for Money: 7.5/10
What are the Differences Between the KF6, KF7, and KF8?
To look at, you’d be forgiven for thinking these 3 automatic espresso machines were identical. So let’s look at what actually separates the 3 models from KitchenAid:
Coffee Drink Options
The KF6 has 7 coffee options, the KF7 has 10, and the KF8 has 12. So as we move up in price, we’re getting a couple of extra choices each time. The KF8 will also dispense hot water for green tea if that is important to you.
The different drinks choices are:
| KF6 | KF7 | KF8 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Espresso | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Americano | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Caffe latte | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cappuccino | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Macchiato | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Latte macchiato | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Coffee | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Hot water | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Warm milk portion | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Espresso lungo | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cortado | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Flat white | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Foamed milk | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cafe au lait | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Ristretto | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
As you can see, the KF6 has most of the big hitters that will keep most people happy. Although it’s missing a couple of very popular drinks like the flat white and cortado.
The KF7 adds flat white, cortado, and lungo so, at this point, we’re probably at 95% of coffee lovers’ go-to drink being on the menu.
The KF8 adds cafe au lait and ristretto, giving you a grand total of 12 espresso drinks to choose from (plus a portion of warmed milk).
Since the customization is so good, we really don’t feel you need the extra options. The cortado and flat white on the KF7 could easily be recreated on the KF6 by customizing the latte option and saving this to one of the user profiles. The machine doesn’t foam the milk differently for these two compared to a latte, anyway.
Maybe you love having the choice and feel that it’s worth upgrading to the KF7 for the drinks list. We find it very hard to justify going to the KF8 for the coffee options alone.
User Profiles
Both the KF6 and KF7 have 4 user profiles for saving custom versions of your favorite drinks. The KF8 has 6 profiles to save drinks.
We like having the extras, mostly because of the way the KF series deals with “double shot” drinks. So we used profiles to mod the drinks for extra caffeine!
All drinks, except Americano, can be made as x2 (only one water spout means only one Americano at a time). These are not “2 shot” drinks as KitchenAid indicates in their marketing but a complete double of a single drink. What I mean by that is that if you press x2 on a latte, you’ll also get double the milk, not just a double shot.
This is great for making lots of coffee quickly if you’re entertaining. But it’s annoying if you want a stronger version of your usual.
By using one of your profiles, you can set up your usual drink with half the volume of milk, meaning you just press a button for a double-shot version of your favorite. For example, if you usually have 1oz (30ml) espresso and 3oz (90ml) milk in your latte, then set your “double shot” version to be 1oz (30ml) espresso and 1.5oz (45ml) milk. The machine will dutifully deliver 2oz espresso and 3oz milk when you hit the x2 option.
In a 2-person house, using one whole profile for setting up double-shot drinks is fine, but if there are 4 people needing coffee, then you might run out on the KF6 and KF7.
User Interface
The display and user interface change with each version of the KitchenAid super automatic machine.
- The KF6 has a 2.4″ color display and soft touch buttons
- The KF7 has a 3.5″ touchscreen and soft touch buttons
- Whilst the KF8 has a large 5″ touchscreen and soft touch buttons
Does it make any real difference to how you use the machines, though?
For most things, it doesn’t.
Using the buttons beside the screen isn’t any harder than using a touchscreen. I guess you could argue that we’re all so used to touchscreens now that it is an easier way to do things. So we should give the KF7 and KF8 a slight edge here.
The larger screen on the KF8 is maybe the biggest needle mover in terms of ease of use. It’s easier to see all the options you can change and adjust them without going in and out of different menu screens. Plus, it looks nicer.
But we’re really scraping the barrel here. The differences are very, very small – after a week or two of having the machine and using it on most days, you’d barely notice.
A Battle of Looks (and Design)
The basic exterior is the same on all three of these machines, but the differences in the user interface really matter for the looks.
Let’s get the important bit out of the way first: all 3 KitchenAid super automatic machines have the same basic construction. They’re all the same size, 10.2″ wide, 14.3″ high, and 18.5″ deep, and they all weigh 37 lbs.
The design and construction are identical in every way except for the user interface on the front of the machine.
The KF6 has a 2.4″ screen and soft touch buttons that are used to select and customize coffees and to deal with cleaning and maintenance. The KF7 and KF8 both have touchscreens with some soft-touch buttons to switch between menus. The KF7 has a 3.4″ touchscreen, and the KF8 has a 5″ touchscreen.
On a purely aesthetic basis, the KF8 is the best-looking machine. That large color display with a few icons around looks sleek, modern, and perfectly minimalist. The KF7 and KF6 start to look a little dated and “cluttered” with a larger collection of soft-touch buttons around the smaller screen.
The only other difference is that the KF7 and KF8 are available in 4 colors: stainless steel, porcelain white, cast iron black, and juniper (a kind of green/grey color). The KF6 doesn’t come in juniper for some reason. It is our least favorite of the colors, but maybe it matches your kitchen perfectly.
Winner
The KF8 is the best-looking of the KitchenAid espresso machines, but they’re all basically the same, so it’s extremely marginal. They all look pretty good, especially in cast iron black, and we can’t imagine the looks being a deal-breaker for anyone.
Espresso Taste Test
The most important part of any machine comparison, which makes the best coffee?
All the KF series espresso machines have the same internal brewing parts. The only difference you can find is that the KF8 allows for 5 different dose levels, and the KF7 and KF6 only have 3. This is practically meaningless since you need to have it on the maximum dose, 15g, to get a good espresso from all of these machines.
They have identical espresso quality. We couldn’t Pepsi challenge the difference between the 3 machines.
Winner
This has to be a dead heat, as we’re comparing 3 identical espresso-making units. All the differences in the machines are elsewhere, so your KF6, KF7, and KF8 are producing the exact same coffee quality.
What About the Milk?
Alright, so the coffee is the same. Surely there is some difference in the milk though?
There isn’t any difference in the milk from these 3 machines either.
Both the KF7 and KF8 come with a milk container that attaches to the hose and can be kept in the fridge. Whereas the KF6 has a hose that you can put into any container (or buy the KitchenAid one separately). But this doesn’t change the actual milk foam that’s produced by the machine.
There are 2 actual differences when it comes to milk delivery.
The KF7 and KF8 let you choose if you want milk or coffee first in your favorite drinks. The KF6 doesn’t and has some weird ideas about which way round they should be added.
The KF8 also has a “plant-based milk” setting. Plant-based milks have different fat and protein content compared to regular cow’s milk, meaning that frothing them is a little different. Not many machines have this setting yet, so it’s quite a cool feature. The problem is two-fold, though:
Firstly, we don’t think it makes a difference, certainly not with the oat milk we tried. The KF7 and KF6 foamed our oat milk just as nicely as cow’s milk.
Secondly, not all plant-based milks have the same protein and fat content. So one setting for almond, oat, rice, pistachio, cashew, or whatever other plant milk seems kinda insane.
The KF6 also won’t dispense just a portion of milk foam, though it will dispense a portion of warm milk, which is always nice for hot chocolate in the winter. The KF7 and KF8 have settings to dispense milk foam and warm milk if you want to make a pup-cup or babyccino.
Winner
This is also a tie. While the KF8 does offer the plant-based foaming setting, it’s not really any better than the regular milk frothing. If you think being able to get a portion of milk foam is important, then the KF7 and KF8 edge it over the KF6.
So which KitchenAid espresso machine should you buy?
The KF6 is the obvious choice. It produces the same quality of coffee, has most of the drinks you’ll likely want, and is comfortably the cheapest machine.
The KF7 and KF8 are better looking and maybe a smidge easier to use. They also have flat white and cortado, which are fan-favorite drinks. We just can’t justify an extra $500 or $800 to get these things.
You’re getting the same coffee and milk quality for a lot less money from the KF6. The KF6 performs exceptionally well for its price, looks good, is well-made, and does almost everything you could want from a super-automatic espresso machine.
Save your money, the KF6 is the best KitchenAid espresso machine you should buy.
Which is Your Winner?
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