Hamilton Beach Espresso Maker Review

If you are looking for an affordable way to bring lattes, cappuccinos, mochas, and espressos into the comfort of your home, the Hamilton Beach Espresso Maker (40715) could be just the ticket.

Solid but unspectacular espresso and milk at an affordable price. The Hamilton Beach delivers on what budget espresso machines are supposed to do. Its for those who just want a decent coffee at home without it costing the Earth.

Read on for our complete Hamilton Beach Espresso Maker Review to uncover a budget-friendly way to enjoy a good coffee at home without shelling out hundreds of dollars.

At a Glance: Hamilton Beach Espresso Maker Review

1. Can Use Grounds or Pods

This feature can make your life that bit easier. In addition to being able to use ground coffee, you can also use E.S.E. in the Hamilton Beach model 40715.

E.S.E. stands for Easy Serving Espresso pods.

It really comes down to what you prefer for making your espresso. This is a useful feature if you’re in a hurry or if you prefer not to have to grind/tamp your coffee each time.

2. Two Cups per Brew

You can look at this as either a positive or a negative depending on how much coffee you really need to make at a time. Perfect if you want a double espresso shot for yourself, or you’re making coffee for two of you. However, it can become cumbersome if you are brewing coffee for a larger crowd.

3. Single Button Brewing

Getting your coffee couldn’t be simpler. All you have to do is press one button and off you go. The Hamilton Beach Espresso Maker is aimed at beginners to home espresso-making, so there is nothing complex to contend with here.  

4. 5 Year Warranty

You can use your Hamilton Beach Espresso Maker 40715 safe in the knowledge that they have your back for 5 years. If anything goes wrong, the lengthy limited warranty has you covered.

However, the buttons could be easier to operate:

Each button has 2 positions – pressed in or not. And the difference between these 2 positions is minimal so can be easily confused. Plus, there are only two indicator lights – one to say the machine is on and the other indicates the machine is ready for whatever function you have selected. But it doesn’t indicate what that function is.

Maybe I’m just too slow to work it all out. I just wanted a couple of lights to tell me if I’d selected espresso or milk.

You can adjust the steam from the wand with the big dial. We only used it on full power as you can get some water into your milk if you use it at lower strength. This ruins the texture of your steamed milk. We didn’t get latte art quality milk from it but we did get a decent cappuccino and latte style.

But all in all, it’s a simple machine. And it’s particularly easy if you are using pods as it’s a “push button to go” operation that is as simple as they come.

Generally, the Hamilton Beach espresso machine works best with a slightly coarser grind than a regular espresso grind. So keep that in mind when grinding your beans or buying coffee grounds at the store.

We were using espresso 5 clicks coarser than we normally would using our 1Zpresso J-Max grinder. This isn’t a huge difference in the grand scheme of things. You can try tamping a little more gently if you find the espresso is really bitter with your pre-ground coffee.

If pods are your preference, then you have complete flexibility as the Hamilton Beach 40715 will work with any E.S.E pods. We didn’t use any E.S.E. pods when we tested the Hamilton Beach, sorry, but they’re designed to be consistent so should be fine.

Standing at 13″ tall by 8.2″ wide and 12.3″ deep means it’s quite a big machine. Though it does come with a big water container which is useful. But if counter space is a concern for you, you’ll definitely want to measure up before purchasing this espresso and cappuccino maker.

As with most espresso machines under $100, the Hamilton Beach espresso maker is mostly black and silver plastic on the outside. But that’s not a big drawback and it means the exterior doesn’t get too hot.

A nice feature is a matte finish on the cup stand. Most machines have a metal cup stand which can get scratched as the cups vibrate when the pump pulls the espresso shots. This matte finish, however, keeps your coffee machine looking newer for longer.

The water boiler is aluminum, which isn’t the best for keeping a consistent temperature. But it does mean the espresso maker is quite light. You’re not going to get top level consistency from machine at this price so worrying about boiler materials is maybe a little redundant.

Also, Hamilton Beach offers a 5-year warranty. This is superb and incredibly rare. So it is a true testament to the build quality of their espresso makers.

Firstly, the portafilter with pressurized filter baskets creates a nice crema. Yes this does mean you won’t get the same nuanced flavor as with unpressurized baskets but at this price point, that’s unlikely anyway.

We highly recommend running some hot water through the portafilter before brewing if you have time. We found the espresso much better with a properly pre-heated portafilter.

With all machines at this price, you will get “good” espresso, not “great” espresso. But, for many people, good is good enough so it isn’t always necessary to split hairs on such things.

The milk frother works pretty well, once it’s warmed up. Although it can be a bit aggressive and create big bubbles. Compared to other budget machines we found it a little harder to use. But with a bit of practice, you’ll be getting some nice foam for cappuccinos and lattes.

Don’t expect that perfect flat white or latte art texture without a lot of practice though.

Having a milk wand is not a standard addition in the budget market, so definitely a plus. It allows you the option for making cafe-style drinks like cappuccinos, lattes, and mochas from the comfort of your own home.

The ability to use pods or grounds is also a bonus. So if you can’t really be bothered with grinding your beans, you can just chuck a pod in, press the button, and off you go. This also saves on mess, which is always a big consideration.

The machine does need to be descaled. However, the descaling only needs to be done every few months, depending on water quality and usage.

Just knock the used coffee puck into the bin/compost/container for recycling and rinse. If you’re using E.S.E. pods it’s even simpler just bin/recycle the pod and rinse.

We cleaned it in seconds after each use. Be sure to thoroughly clean the milk wand after every use though. Milk wands get disgusting quickly if you don’t wipe down with a wet cloth after each use.

You might need a bit of space for everything to be laid out after dismantling and deep cleaning. But it’s still straightforward enough.

There isn’t a dramatic difference between the two machines. However, to start with the Hamilton Beach Espresso and Cappuccino Maker 40792 is a more compact model than the 40715. The interface is also more stripped back. Whilst this is pitched at making things even simpler, we would argue that it has little to no benefit – maybe even making things worse.

The 40792 also has a cup warmer. This is a nice little feature as putting espresso into a cold cup is a sin no espresso lover should want to commit.

The mechanism for locking the portafilter in place has been altered in the 40792. This is with a patented ‘Slide and Lock’ system. Again, it feels a little unnecessary as portafilter systems are fairly standard across all espresso machines.

The Espresso and Cappuccino Maker 40792 comes in at a slightly higher price point than the 40715. In our opinion, whilst it has some nice additional features, they don’t justify spending any more money. You would be just as well buying the 40715.

The design is a bit old-fashioned and it’s quite big but that’s very much a personal preference, so you may disagree. The 5-year warranty is a big plus point for this machine. This is not something you’ll see on many espresso machines at any price point. Plus, the ability to pour 2 cups at once is another small plus in its favor.

So to conclude our Hamilton Beach Espresso Maker review – this is a good option on a budget, for good (not great) espresso, plus the option for cappuccino and latte. Long warranty means no “buy cheap, buy twice” worries either.

Don’t forget to Buy Your Hamilton Beach Espresso Machine 40715 Today

Matt Woodburn-Simmonds

Matt's coffee obsession started in 2006 when working as a Barista. A tendency to turn up to work hungover kickstarted his coffee journey which quickly turned into a love affair. As he moved on to work as a Restaurant Manager and Sommelier, the obsession continued to grow. Now, his passion is helping others to enjoy better coffee at home.