Retro style coffee machines or vintage coffee machines are trendy among users who want to not only enjoy a good coffee at home but also give their favourite kitchen or room a touch of distinction. There is no doubt that the retro style of the 70s has a more chic air than the typical and boring grey coffee makers with a closed drawer shape.
Let’s face it: retro coffee machines don’t differ from conventional ones except in design. The features are the same (a high-end or low-end coffee maker will still be high-end or low-end, regardless of its vintage design), but the external appearance is not, and that sometimes constitutes a small economic bonus that has to be paid for.
Many brands have vintage-style models that teleport us back to the colours and rounded lines of the 1960s or 1970s. Several features stand out commonly in retro coffee machines: firstly, they tend to be dressed in bright, cheerful colours, with a clear predominance of red.
Besides, they usually incorporate elements that are not very common in other espresso machines, such as the temperature indicators that we see in models such as the Ariete Café Retro or the Gaggia Carezza.
- Ariete 1389 Espresso machine 0.9L Blu. Bianco
- Gaggia Carezza Deluxe Espresso coffee Machine – RI8525/08
Minor details such as the typography, the use of levers instead of buttons, or the total absence of LED panels also contribute to reinforcing the aroma of the past that these beautiful retro coffee machines bring us. Somehow it seems that the coffee with them tastes different.
A typical control panel of a retro-style espresso machine might be this one:
This picture belongs to the Klarstein Espressionata, which we’ll talk about later, but it serves as a reference to give you an idea. There is a needle indicator (either for pressure or temperature), some straightforward indicator lights and some metal or chrome finishes that contrast with the primary colour of the casing. Of course, no digital panels or modern lights.
At coffeemaker.top, we wanted to compile in a single list the best retro coffee maker on the market. If you like retro style, don’t miss out on this ranking of vintage coffee makers. With these coffee machines, the retro style has never been so fashionable!
The best retro or vintage coffee machines of 2023
Within the retro style coffee machines, there are several considerations. First of all, you cannot prioritize or say which is the “most retro” coffee machine because that is a matter of taste and style. Of all the retro coffee makers we have included on this list, there is one that stands out in terms of performance above all others: the Gaggia Carezza.
Moreover, in terms of retro design, both the Ariete Café Retro and the Delonghi Icona Vintage are, in our opinion, the two coffee machines that best represent the retro spirit and the old lines that we claim in this post.
In any case, here is our particular selection of retro espresso machines so that you can judge for yourself. More information will follow:
Ariete Café Retro
We start with Ariete’s retro coffee machine (or one of them, rather). This Italian brand is the first one you should go to if you are looking for a retro espresso machine.
This model is called Ariete Café Retro and stands out not only for its design. The colour black or red are priceless, although it is available in other finishes, but also for its veiled seventies typography, its 15 bar pressure and its 0.9-litre capacity tank. It is compatible with the ESE single-dose bags, and of course, there is no lack of a needle sight glass to control the extraction temperature of your espresso.
Ariete Espresso Vintage
Another espresso machine with a retro design, in this case, is available in various shades but always with a pastel finish (beige, green, sky blue, etc.). Very similar to the previous one, but more recent and with a more refined design. We especially love its stainless steel finishes and the 100% rounded lines, without edges of any kind.
Delonghi Icona Vintage
The Delonghi ECOV 311 model belongs to the Icona Vintage series of the Italian firm Delonghi. A line of products with a vintage look, all very similar, available in pastel colours. Apart from the coffee machine, we can also find the toaster or the kettle, so if you want to give someone a good gift we recommend buying the complete pack: a breakfast kit as the canons say!.
The Delonghi Icona Vintage retro coffee maker has a capacity of no less than 1.4 litres, so it’s ideal for homes where several coffee drinkers live together. You won’t have to keep refilling the tank every day.
Thera Retro Coffee Maker
One of the most recent additions to this list, from the Spanish brand Ikohs. It is a retro espresso machine with a very basic design, the Thera Retro, without any technical features but with an excellent price-performance ratio. If you are looking for a retro design coffee maker that is both beautiful and cheap, this is definitely the one for you.
Its features are quite generous: a 1.5-litre tank, 1100 watts of power, and the classic pressure gauge that many retro electric coffee makers include, so you won’t lose control of the pressure when extracting your coffee.
NOTE: Be careful because the stock is not very large, and sometimes it is not available on Amazon.
Gaggia Carezza
It is one of our favourites, mainly because of its range of services and the immense prestige of the Italian brand Gaggia, an institution in the world of espresso.
There are currently several versions of the Carezza model. The most recent being slightly more refined (the Carezza Style, without a pressure gauge, or the Carezza Deluxe with the original finishes). Still, they all share their very particular and characteristic retro design, with the oval-shaped front and the cup-warming tray delimited by two stainless steel bars.
The coffee machine offers, among other things, a high-quality steamer tube, 1900 watts of power, and a more than generous 1.4 litre capacity in the water tank.
Klarstein Espressionata
If we are going to buy a retro coffee machine on Amazon, this is one of the machines that will appear first in our search. It belongs to the German company Klarstein, and it is a machine with a very similar appearance and performance to the already mentioned Swan Retro.
The thermometer takes up a lot of space on the operating front; the metal finishes and the indicator lights located at the bottom are the culprits of the unique vintage look of this 1.5-litre coffee machine.
Drip Vintage Coffee Machines
Most of the retro coffee machines on the market are express. Still, we can also find good examples in other segments: retro pod coffee makers, retro Italian coffee machines, or these that star in the following gallery: retro drip coffee machines.
- Ariete 1342/05 Retro Style Filter Coffee Machine
- Morphy Richards Vector Cream Pour Over Filter Coffee Machine
And up to here our particular ranking of vintage coffee machines, which we hope has helped you to know better the different options that the market offers in this type of coffee machines and even helps you to decide for example your next Christmas gifts.
