Best Espresso Machines That Make Cold Brew and Iced Drinks

The De’Longhi Eletta Explore is the best machine for iced coffee drinkers who also want great hot drinks. It brews true cold brew by cold extraction✕Cold extractionbrewing coffee with room-temperature water at low pressure over a few minutes. It gives a smooth, low-bitterness iced coffee without waiting overnight., and its dedicated cold carafe makes the thickest one-touch cold foam I’ve tested.

It’s quiet, generous with coffee and easy to live with. The app is slow, and two milk carafes need regular cleaning.

Real cold brew in minutes

The Eletta brews with room-temperature water at low pressure. My cold brew was smooth, sweet and low in bitterness, and in a blind test it came close to my 16-hour homemade batch.

It took a few minutes, not hours. On hot afternoons, that changed my routine completely.

Cold foam from its own carafe

The cold carafe whips cold milk into a dense, sweet foam that floats on iced drinks. An iced cappuccino with cold foam was the best iced drink I made all summer.

Hot drinks too

The hot carafe made dense, glossy foam for cappuccinos and flat whites. Milk scored 9.1, the best of my picks.

Espresso

Hot espresso was good, scoring 8.4, with doses up to 16 grams. Long drinks were full and strong.

The Eletta’s cold carafe makes thick cold foam at one touch.

Quiet

The grinder stayed under 65 decibels. It was one of the quietest machines in this guide.

Generous doses

The Eletta used up to 16 grams of coffee per dose✕Dosethe weight of ground coffee used for one brew. A classic double shot uses roughly 14 to 18 grams., so iced drinks still tasted of coffee once the ice started to melt.

Who it suits best

The Eletta suits households that drink iced coffee as often as hot, especially iced lattes and cold brew.

What to know before you buy

Two carafes mean more fridge space and daily washing. The app connects slowly.

For the best mix of iced and hot drinks, the Eletta Explore is my pick.

The Jura Z10 is the best iced coffee machine I’ve tested if you also want the best hot espresso. Its cold extraction made the closest thing to overnight cold brew of any machine.

It also made the richest hot espresso in this guide. The touchscreen can start drinks by accident, and there’s a learning curve.

Cold extraction

The Z10 pushes cold water through the grounds in short pulses under pressure. My cold-extracted coffee was smooth, sweet and full, and it scored 9.0 in my blind test against overnight cold brew.

Hot, cold and light

The menu splits into hot, cold, Light Extraction and milk drinks. Light Extraction suits light roasts that taste sharp as espresso.

Our tip: Use a medium roast for cold extraction, because very dark roasts taste flat when brewed cold.

The best hot espresso

The grinder adjusts itself between recipes, and the espresso had a dense crema and deep chocolate notes, scoring 9.1.

Milk and cold foam

The milk system makes hot and cold foam. Cold foam was good, though not as thick as the Eletta’s dedicated carafe.

The Z10’s menu splits drinks into hot, cold, light and milk.

A grinder that changes itself

The Z10’s conical burr grinder✕Conical burr grindertwo cone-shaped grinding rings, one inside the other, that crush beans to an even size. Even grounds extract evenly, so the cup tastes less bitter and less sour. changes its setting for each recipe, so cold extraction gets a different grind from espresso. I never touched it in four weeks.

Who it suits best

The Z10 suits enthusiasts who drink iced coffee and straight espresso and will use the extra drinks.

What to know before you buy

It’s large and heavy, and a stray tap can start a drink. It’s the biggest outlay here.

For the best hot and cold coffee from one machine, the Jura Z10 is the one.

The Ninja Luxe Café Premier is the best-value machine for iced lattes. Its one-button cold foam✕Cold foamcold milk whipped into a thick, sweet foam without heating it. It floats on iced drinks instead of melting into them. preset whipped cold milk into a topping that held its shape for over five minutes.

It also guides you through real espresso: it recommends a grind, weighs the dose and tamps for you. Its bigger coffees from the large basket can taste weak.

Cold foam at one button

Put cold milk in the jug, choose cold foam, and the whisk does the rest. The foam was thick and sweet, and it floated on my iced lattes for over five minutes.

Iced latte in two minutes

From grinding to a finished iced latte with cold foam took about two minutes. That’s quicker than most café queues.

Cold brew

The cold brew mode steeps cooler water through the grounds. It was smooth and mild, scoring 8.0 in my blind test.

Guided espresso

Hot espresso scored 8.5, with consistent weighed doses and assisted tamping.

The Premier’s cold foam held its shape for over five minutes.

Hot drinks

Hot flat whites were good, with consistent espresso and decent microfoam✕Microfoammilk foam with bubbles so small you can’t see them. It feels silky, pours smoothly and blends into the espresso. from the hot froth preset. It’s a genuinely year-round machine.

Who it suits best

The Premier suits iced latte lovers who want great cold foam without a premium outlay.

What to know before you buy

Large-basket coffees tasted weak. It’s a big machine, and there’s no hot water spout.

For iced lattes on a budget, the Luxe Café Premier is the best value.

The Breville Oracle Jet made the best hot espresso of any Breville, and it adds cold brew and cold espresso✕Cold espressoespresso brewed with cooler water. It tastes smoother and less bitter over ice than hot espresso, which can turn sharp when chilled quickly. for iced drinks. It grinds, distributes and tamps for you into a 58 mm portafilter.

Its manual steam is superb. The automatic milk makes bubbly foam, and it uses a lot of water.

Cold espresso

Cold espresso brews at a lower temperature, so it doesn’t turn sharp when it hits ice. My iced americanos tasted noticeably smoother than with hot espresso.

Cold brew

The cold brew mode made a smooth, mild iced coffee in minutes, scoring 8.2 in my blind test.

Our tip: Use cold espresso for iced americanos and cold brew for iced lattes, because each suits a different drink.

The best Breville espresso

The Jet distributes grounds before tamping, which evens out the puck. Hot espresso scored 9.0.

Milk

Manual steaming is superb, but there’s no dedicated cold foam setting. I whisked cold foam by hand.

Cold espresso tasted smoother over ice than hot espresso.

Living with it

The Jet heats in seconds with ThermoJet, so an iced americano before work took about three minutes from switching on. The portafilter✕Portafilterthe handle with a metal basket that holds ground coffee. You lock it into the machine, and hot water is pushed through the coffee inside it. needs a quick knock and rinse after each shot.

Who it suits best

The Oracle Jet suits espresso lovers who want iced drinks without giving up café-quality hot shots.

What to know before you buy

The automatic milk is bubbly, and the dose drifts slightly. It flushes a lot of water.

For great espresso plus cold brew, the Oracle Jet is a strong choice.

The Ninja AutoBarista covers espresso, drip coffee and cold brew at one button. It dials in its own grind and weighs every dose.

It froths milk hands-free in a jug. It’s big for one bean hopper, and its settings menu takes learning.

Cold brew at one button

Choose cold brew, and the AutoBarista steeps cooler water through the grounds. It was smooth and mild, scoring 7.9 in my blind test.

Drip coffee too

The drip setting makes a clean filter-style mug. For a household that drinks drip in the morning and cold brew in the afternoon, it covers both.

Our tip: Brew cold brew with the triple dose for a stronger iced coffee that stands up to melting ice.

Espresso

Grind IQ settled in after a few days, and espresso scored 8.8, full-bodied and consistent.

Milk

The whisk jug makes warm or cold foam. Cold foam was decent, though less thick than the Eletta’s or the Premier’s.

The AutoBarista makes espresso, drip and cold brew at one button.

A summer week with it

Each morning, I made a drip coffee for my partner and an espresso for me. In the afternoon, cold brew with a splash of milk replaced my second espresso, all from the same button panel.

Who it suits best

The AutoBarista suits homes that want espresso, drip and cold brew without a portafilter.

What to know before you buy

One hopper in a big body, and a menu that takes a week to learn. The jug needs washing.

For one-touch espresso, drip and cold brew, the AutoBarista is a great all-rounder.