Sowtech Espresso Machine Review

Have you been on the hunt for your first espresso machine but were put off by the prices? Are you looking to make coffee shop-style espressos, cappuccinos, and lattes from the comfort of your own home? Looking to save money from coffee shop prices?

If so, then the Sowtech machine could be the one for you. Dive into this Sowtech espresso machine review to find out how you can become your own café barista from the comfort of your own home.

A true entry-level espresso machine for the budding barista that comes with a lifetime warranty seems a great place for any coffee fan to start.

Read on for the full review to find out if Sowtech’s semi-automatic espresso machine is worthy of going straight to the top of your wish list. We have scoured the internet for every expert review on this espresso maker to collate with our own. This means we have the most comprehensive coffee maker review you can find. Whilst not all home coffee experts give numerical scores, we have averaged these out. Therefore, you can get a consensus opinion on how good this espresso and cappuccino system is and know for sure if it is the right one for you.

At a Glance: Sowtech Espresso Machine Review

1. 3.5 BAR Steam Pressure

3.5 Bars may not sound like very much pressure but, for this budget price point, it is actually pretty good. The pressure holds steady, allowing you to consistently pull 1-4 espresso shots at a time.

2. 1-4 Cups of Espresso

With the Sowtech espresso machine, you can brew one to four cups of espresso at once. So, if you need a lot of espresso to keep you going, or if you have a few people to serve in the morning, the ability to brew them all at once is a big plus. Anything to get that morning coffee quicker!

3. Quick Brewing Time

Once you turn this coffee maker on, you will have espresso in just a few minutes. Could there be anything better on all those mornings when you just don’t have the time?

4. Removable Drip Tray

You can mop up spills quickly with the removable drip tray. Plus, anything that makes cleaning easier is a win in our books.

5. Lifetime Warranty

The Sowtech espresso machine boasts an incredibly generous warranty, something which is extremely unusual for an espresso machine in this price bracket. As you can purchase this coffeemaker at around the $50 mark, many would assume it would have to be replaced after a year or so. Therefore, Sowtech’s inclusion of a lifetime warranty speaks absolute volumes for the quality. The manufacturers show their confidence in their espresso maker, so you should too.

The following steps walk you through how to use the Sowtech espresso machine:

1. Fill the filter: Simply use the scoop to put your ground coffee into the filter. There are fill lines indicating how much coffee is needed for the number of espressos you wish to brew.
2. Tamp your grounds: The other end of the measuring spoon is a tamper. So use this to tamp down the coffee grounds.
3. Attach the portafilter to the machine: Twist the filter anti-clockwise to secure it in the machine.
4. Fill the water carafe: Fill the water carafe to the appropriate level for the number of espressos you want, again there are helpful fill lines.
5. Pull your espresso: Twist the knob on the top of the machine to pull your espressos into the carafe.

Now wasn’t that easy?

You can then use the steam wand to froth your milk to make milk-based espresso drinks like lattes or cappuccinos if that is your preference.

Unlike some more complex types of coffee makers, there aren’t really any options to fiddle about with. So you can get good results on the first try. Plus, it means you’re unlikely to mess something up in a morning daze after little sleep or perhaps a touch too much indulgence from the night before.

If you already have your favorite coffee beans, most coffee stores will be able to grind this for you. Some will sell the same coffee in both whole beans and ground form as standard.

Also, most supermarkets sell a wide range of ground coffee for your home espresso machine. So you will have no problem finding your favorite coffee to have at home. Once ground, coffee has a short lifespan – around 1 hour. Whereas beans can last weeks. So, if you are purchasing pre-ground coffee, I would take steps to preserve your ground coffee to prevent the flavor from decaying over time.

Visually, this Sowtech machine is very simple with black plastic and stainless steel accents. This is fairly ubiquitous at this price point. While it’s not winning any beauty contests, it certainly isn’t an eyesore. So, it won’t look out of place in most kitchens or offices.

The milk-frothing wand is on the left, which is a mild annoyance. If like me you’re right-handed, you’re more likely to end up trying to maneuver the milk jug with that hand. In doing so, you can possibly touch a hot part of the machine. It’s a mild irritation so you do have to take care.

The build quality is what is really impressive with the Sowtech. As they offer a lifetime warranty, the manufacturers are really showing off their faith in their coffee machines. This is amazing and, being such an affordable espresso machine, it really speaks to the confidence they have in the build quality. There is no “buy cheap, buy twice” with this machine and they will happily replace it if you run into issues.

There is good and bad in the coffee performance of the Sowtech espresso machine.

The temperature and pressure are both very consistent, which is excellent for coffee extraction. The 3.5 BAR pressure isn’t enough for true espresso but can make something almost like café style espresso – which is better than many of the machines at this price.

However, steam power means the water is too hot. This makes the espresso more bitter. Plus, the pressure isn’t enough to extract excellent espresso, and really won’t get the best out of medium or light roast coffee beans at all. If you enjoy dark or very dark roast coffee it will perform admirably for this price point.

In order to get good coffee extraction, you must careful not to use too finely ground coffee. Otherwise, it won’t be able to force the water through at all. While this is true for all espresso machines, the lack of pressure makes it more likely when using the Sowtech.

So the espresso it produces is fine, nothing wrong with it at all, but we wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s “good” espresso and it’s a long way from “great” espresso.

On an entry-level espresso machine, we really don’t expect there to be any additional features beyond purely pulling espressos, so the Sowtech actually does quite well by having a milk frothing wand.

The milk frothing wand is a nice feature to have at this budget price point and it works well. You can make a nice microfoam with a little practice. So soon you’ll have your favorite milky drink nailed down. If you’re not careful, you can burn the milk but this is true of any steamer so you can’t hold it against Sowtech.

As no part of it is very big, you don’t need lots of space to dismantle it all to get it cleaned properly. All the pieces can be easily rinsed out in the sink. There are also no small or fiddly parts that could be easily lost during a deep clean.

Steam-powered espresso machines don’t need the same level of deep cleaning as some other espresso machines. If you keep on top of washing the parts after each use, you will keep it in really good condition. While descaling an espresso machine is generally pretty fast and painless, it still takes time and you often have to buy specialist cleaning products to do it. The Sowtech saves you time and money on cleaning.

Also, the lifetime guarantee means you can be confident you aren’t going to end up having to replace it in 9 months when one of the cheap parts breaks.

It’s a very reliable, decent espresso maker and if all you want is a latte every morning, then this will do you very nicely. If you’re looking to get into the nuance of espresso you’ll need to splash out a bit more sadly. For that, it would definitely be worth saving up in our opinion.

Steam espresso machines come with their drawbacks in that there is usually a burnt flavor to your coffee. However, as steam-driven machines go, the Sowtech is very good, and if you drink very dark roast coffee you may not notice the burnt taste at all.

But all in all, our verdict for the Sowtech Espresso Machine review is that it presents good value for (not a lot of) money.

Don’t forget to Buy Your Sowtech Espresso Machine 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.