The VonShef 4 Bar Espresso Coffee Maker Machine, is one of the cheapest coffee machines, currently available on the UK market. Please do not let the low price make you think, this is a low quality coffee maker.
Buyers rate this model as 4.2 out of 5 stars, so well rated at a very affordable price.
You can see what this particular VonShef model looks like just below. It is available in the red colour or a distinct black colour, which I have shown below .
Both colours look really good, though I have a slight preference for the red. It will however come down to which colour matches your kitchen the best.
VonShef Red
VonShef Black
This coffee machine can be used to make coffee shop style coffee. That includes coffee drink choices like espressos, lattes, and cappuccinos. You can also use it to make hot chocolate and all in the comfort of your own home.
The Vonshef Brand
The VonShef brand make a wide range of cooking and kitchen appliances that includes food preparation, food storage, kitchen electricals, gadgets and cookware.
They do not make a lot of coffee kitchen products apart from coffee grinders and these grinders are also suitable for grinding nuts and seeds.
What Buyers Say About the VonShef Espresso Coffee Machine
Below we have summarised what real life buyers make of this machine. Overall they rate this VonShef 4 Bar model as a 4.2 out of 5 star machine. This is based on a 5 star rating system, with 1 being the lowest rating, and 5 stars being the highest.
I have shown the buyer ratings by a percentage split, which I think you may find useful, to see the ratings at a glance.
It is pretty easy to see from these ratings, that they are good. Around 6 out of 10 people give this machine a full 5 star rating. 81% rate it 4 stars or higher, so overall pretty good ratings. At the other end 10% is significant enough for the lowly 1 star rating. That indeed requires some further investigation.
What Buyers Didn't Like Abut the VonShef Coffee Machine
If the percentage of 1 star reviews is small, I normally ignore that, as the complaints are small. However at around 10% at the lower end, there could well be something for you as a buyer, to consider, before making a purchase.
When I looked at those here is what I found. Those buyers bought this simply because of the cheaper price. Their expectations were that they would get coffee shop style results. It is worth pointing out to any potential buyer, that with a 4 bar pressure, you will never get that quality.
The more expensive espresso coffee makers use 15 bars and more to make the espresso, and create a great crema. That type of machine will cost 3-4 times more that the £33 you will pay for this one. This is a budget style coffee maker that can make an espresso, but not to a very high standard.
Overall though with just over 80% being satisfied with their purchase, we will now look at this coffee machine in much more detail.
VonShef 4 Bar Coffee Machine Specification & Key Features
- Has a low 4 bar pressure
- The machine brews the coffee directly into the supplied decanter as shown in the image above
- It uses a stainless steel coffee filter, so no paper filters to buy
- It has a milk frothing arm
- The maker has a removable drip tray and comes with a measuring scoop and tamper
- It uses 850 watts of power
- Measures 0.5 x 23.5 x 29 cm and weighs around 2.8 Kg
Who Would Buy this Vonshef Coffee Maker?
There are a great many choices for coffee machines in the United Kingdom. The average price for a good quality coffee maker is around £70-100. As this VonShef is half of this price, they have aimed this to be a budget offering. So if you are on a tight budget, or want to see whether you would use a coffee machine or not, then this one is worth a try.
What makes this one different is without doubt the low price. VonShef is now becoming a very popular kitchen brand. They make a lot of kitchen appliances like waffle makers, food mixers, toasters etc. This is one of their coffee machine options.
If you are a real coffee buff, then don't buy this one, as the results will disappoint you. Although this one makes a decent espresso, it doesn't make a great one. If you are someone who likes the odd cup of coffee from time to time, then this machine will be fine. If you are a regular coffee drinker, you would we think, be disappointed.
Key Things to Know About the VonShef
All espresso machines work by forcing water under pressure through the machine. Coffee powder or coffee grains are put into the filter, and the pressurised water is then pushed through these grains. It is a particular type of brewing method used to make great espresso.
You can then drink the espresso, add water to it for an Americano, milk for a latte, or steamed milk for a great cappuccino. However the foundation for all these drinks is the quality of the espresso that is made.
The more pressure the better the crema or foam on top of the espresso. The better quality machines will use 15 bars of pressure or more. This one only has 4 bars, so the cream will never be as good as the more expensive machines.
You put water into this machine which is filled from the top. The lid just screws off easily, and it holds enough water to be able to make 4 espressos at any one time.
Please note you can NOT use coffee pods or capsules in this machine. There are different types of machines available for those, which you can read about on our coffee capsule article.
My Summary & Verdict on the VonShef 4 Bar Coffee Machine
The majority of people seem happy with the results. This is not a high end machine by any stretch of the imagination, but is appears to be good enough for most buyers. There are for certain much better machines available on the UK market, but those will be a lot more expensive.
This model has a recommended retail price of around £55. Many online stores have slashed the price to around £33-35. At the lower price this is good enough value for money.
This type of promotion is usually available. That is one of the key factors that help people decide that this is the right coffee machine for them. This one is pretty basic and you can only make small amounts of coffee at any one time. It is simple enough to use and easy to clean.