I Tried Jennifer Aniston’s Favorite Coffee Maker, and My Mornings Will Never Be the Same

I am and forever will be a coffee snob. We don’t own a drip coffee machine and strictly stick to pour overs on the weekdays, while the weekends are meant for the French press. We’ve never been a coffee machine type of family … until recently, that is.

I discovered this particular espresso machine brand that has taken residence in multiple celebrity homes, including Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Jimmy Kimmel, and Kacey Musgraves: the TK-02 espresso machine. It’s known for being a pricey “personal barista” for your kitchen, making it easy to have specialty coffee-shop-level drinks right in the comfort of our own home.

Recently, Terra Kaffe released a new TK-02 machine, an upgraded version of the original espresso machine, with a new iced coffee feature that sings to my iced-coffee-loving heart. However, with a pretty steep price tag (it’s certainly an investment at $1,495 a machine), I had to ask myself: Is it really worth the price tag? 

Once the machine is cleaned, configured, and set up, you can finally make a cup of coffee! Pour beans into the funnel at the top, then select the type of drink you want to make. Place your cup onto the drip tray underneath the drink dispenser, and be sure to pull the dispenser down closer to the cup so coffee and water doesn’t splatter everywhere. Then watch your drink be made right in front of you. Espresso, Americanos, cappuccinos, lattes, and even a new iced coffee feature perfect for hot summer days!

I can report that this machine is the real deal. It makes quality beverages that taste just like something you would get in a coffee shop, and it’s easy to play around with the settings. Want a second or third shot of espresso in there? Simply add it on when you select your drink and the machine will make that happen.

Compared to a traditional espresso machine where you have to grind and press the coffee before doing a pull, this machine makes it simple; just dump the coffee beans into the funnel at the top, and it will grind up the coffee and do all the work for you.

In particular, I was a major fan of the new iced coffee feature now available with the TK-02. When making an iced coffee, you set a cup filled with ice on the machine and it will brew drip coffee into the cup so you can have a brewed iced coffee without having to do a 24-hour cold brew in the fridge, or pour a hot americano over top. The coffee was balanced perfectly; not watered down, not too strong, just right. I may or may not have made a second one immediately after.

My only qualm with this machine is how long it takes to boot up when it’s time to have a cup of coffee. When it boots up after being asleep, the machine warms up the water, cleans itself out, and gets ready for a fresh cup. This takes several minutes, which can be daunting when you’re in a rush. This is where having the app comes in handy; you can schedule the time you want the machine to boot up so it’s ready to go when you need coffee. But without that setting, you’ll find yourself waiting a few minutes.

So is it worth the price tag? I would say if you’re the kind of person who enjoys a high-quality coffee in the morning, love having lots of options to choose from, and don’t want the hassle of having to make all of it by hand yourself, it’s worth it. You won’t need to have other machines alongside you (skip the brewed coffee, this machine does it for you as well), so think of it as an investment and a way to declutter all the other coffee makers taking up space on your kitchen counter.

• Play around with the water to coffee ratio. The machine is already programmed with its own settings when it comes to water amount and number of shots for the different drinks, but that doesn’t mean you can’t configure these settings to program drinks that you like. I like a little less water in my espresso compared to what the machine provides. (You can change the water to coffee ratio in the Espresso Profile settings in the app. I changed mine to 30 milliliters per pull of espresso.) Don’t be afraid to play around with it and find a proper setting that works for you.
• Set up the app. The Terra Kaffe app is your ticket for programming new settings (like the iced coffee setting!) and for setting a schedule for the machine. Since it does take a while for the machine to wake up, you can set a time for it to start booting up as you get up in the morning, so it’s ready to go by the time you’re ready to make coffee.

Buy: Terra Kaffe TK-02, $1,595; Use code Kitchn100 for $100 off.