How good is Kmart’s $39 manual espresso maker?

Specifications

Dimensions: 20cm x 7cm (height x diameter)

Weight: 397g capsule set-up; 407g ground coffee set-up; 496g total

Materials: various plastics, plastic composites, rubber

Price: $39

In the box: Anko Manual Espresso with built-in cup, coffee scoop, instruction manual and two spare silicone rings for the hand pump.

Pros and cons of the Anko Manual Espresso

Pros

• Makes a rich espresso shot with good crema on top
• Can be used with ground coffee or capsules
• Compact and lightweight
• Inexpensive.

Cons

• Only makes a single shot of coffee
• The screw-on Tritan cup taints the flavour of the brew
• Brewing into a different mug makes the device less stable
• The hand pump requires some strength to press and squeaks loudly
• Messy to load when using ground coffee
• The many small parts are fiddly to clean and dry.

The verdict

The Anko Manual Espresso is a compact, budget-friendly coffee brewer that pulls a rich, crema-topped espresso. Being compatible with both ground coffee and capsules, I think it’s pretty clever for just $39.

However, it’s limited to brewing a single shot at a time and its Tritan (food-grade plastic) cup can taint the flavour, while using a different mug compromises stability. Plus, cleaning and drying the many small parts can be a hassle, especially when making consecutive brews.

I think the Manual Espresso is good value, but I won’t be packing it on my outdoors adventures. It’s best for those wanting a single shot of coffee who have access to a kitchen or use refillable coffee capsules. Keep reading for full details.

Using the Anko Manual Espresso

First brew

At first, the Anko Manual Espresso looked like it’d be diabolical to use – there are 11 parts to figure out. Some were already connected and needed to be separated for cleaning before first use, then reassembled. Getting set up for the first go required close inspection of the instruction manual’s diagrams.

Thankfully, only 9 parts are needed to make a brew – swap out a couple if you’re using a capsule instead of ground coffee. I washed and dried everything, then followed the directions in the instruction manual for brewing with ground coffee.

The Manual Espresso is surprisingly noisy to use – every press of the hand pump makes a sound that’s somewhere between a duck quack and squeaky bed springs. It raised a few eyebrows around the office.

It also requires a bit of force to pump the coffee through – less than an AeroPress or the Wacaco Minipresso, but it might not suit people with reduced strength.

You can feel the pressure building with every pump. But it’s a bit of an anticlimax when you see how small the delivered espresso is – a single shot.

The crema produced was impressive. But the coffee tasted somewhat of plastic. I expected that’d resolve after a few more brews with proper washing between.

The shot was also lukewarm, as there’s no instruction in the manual to pre-heat any of the parts. Although easily fixed, that’s an extra step not required for other portable coffee makers I’ve used.

Subsequent brews

Everything went together much quicker for subsequent brews. I preheated the water tank with hot water and brewed into a ceramic mug (also preheated) instead of the Tritan cup supplied to see if that’d fix the taste. The result was a rich espresso of a good temperature. But I could still taste plastic.

After five brews, the plastic taste resolved when using my own mug. But using the Tritan cup supplied continued to produce the faint taste of plastic, even after many more brews and thorough washing.

Brewing into a mug other than the Tritan cup supplied isn’t as convenient. The Tritan cup screws into place, stabilising the device. Balancing the espresso maker on another mug makes it difficult to keep everything level, particularly due to the force needed to pump the coffee through.

Ground coffee vs capsule

The Manual Espresso is versatile, with a couple of parts that can be swapped out to allow the use of ground coffee or capsules. Using ground coffee is slightly messy – it’s difficult not to spill any as you fill the coffee adapter and tamp it down, and you need to dispose of the used grinds.

The capsule option is cleaner, as you just drop a pre-filled capsule into the adapter with no risk of spilling grinds. But unless you’re using refillable coffee capsules, every brew will produce packaging waste – that makes single-use coffee capsules a “no go” for me.

However, the Anko Manual Espresso might be the perfect use for refillable capsules. Rather than being limited to pre-packed capsule brands, you can fill the capsules with your favourite ground coffee. Then, when you’re out and about, make a brew and throw your used capsule in a bag to take home to clean and refill.

Cleaning

Cleaning the Manual Espresso is simple enough if you rinse it straight after brewing to prevent the build-up of coffee residue. But it’s fiddly to deep clean, as there are so many small parts with hard-to-reach crevices.

You also have to be careful not to stab your fingers when washing and drying the capsule holder. Its spikes are designed to puncture a coffee capsule, and I found them equally capable of puncturing the skin on my finger.

After rinsing, you need to reassemble the espresso maker and pump cold water through, then disassemble again to dry it. I had to leave the device to air dry, as I couldn’t get paper towels into all the nooks and crannies that water got into. So, there’s a bit of a wait before it can be stored away.

Similarities to other portable coffee makers

I’ve tried a range of portable coffee makers. For me, the Anko Manual Espresso is most similar to Wacaco’s Minipresso GR. Although they look quite different, they each have quite a few parts to assemble (and clean) and include a built-in cup. They also both require a good amount of pressure to pump the coffee through and make a single shot of coffee of excellent strength with superb crema on top.

But Wacaco’s Minipresso GR is around $85 at the time of writing, while the Anko Manual Espresso is less than half the price at $39. There isn’t any plastic taste with the Minipresso GR. Although that issue with the Anko device might resolve with continued use.

The other main difference is that the Anko Manual Espresso can brew coffee with either ground coffee or capsules, which the Wacaco Minipresso GR can’t. Wacaco makes the Minipresso NS for capsule fans, but no Minipresso can do both. Wacaco makes a capsule adapter for another of its products – the Nanopresso, which usually uses ground coffee. But that combo costs about $160.