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Sunbeam Origins Classic Espresso Machine: Two-minute review
The Sunbeam Origins Classic Espresso Machine proves that not all good manual coffee machines carry a premium price tag. In fact, the combination of its affordability and its ease of use should appeal to beginners or anyone looking to upgrade their home coffee game at an affordable price. It looks the part, is intuitive to use – with plenty of assistance given through the form of video tutorials and manuals – and produces coffee that’s full of flavour.
For milk-based coffee drinks, a steam wand is also on hand and it delivers plenty of pressure to froth and steam milk with ease and (optionally) get to grips perfecting latte art. I was particularly impressed with the fact it worked well with plant-based milks, even ones without an explicit ‘barista’ label.
The Origins Classic comes supplied with the essential tools you need to turn your home into your own coffee bar, including single- and double-shot single-wall 58mm filter baskets, a portafilter, a tamper, a stainless-steel milk jug and a few cleaning accessories.
While it’s great you get so much in the box, the accessories aren’t of a particularly high quality, at least when compared to more expensive machines I’ve used such as the Breville Oracle Jet (we’ve tested the UK version in the Sage Oracle Jet), this can be somewhat forgiven as this Sunbeam is a lot more affordable and can often be found at a significant discount.
During my testing, however, I found that using the machine wasn’t as smooth sailing as I’d hoped. Sunbeam claims the machine benefits from anti-static technology to prevent coffee from spilling onto the benchtop when beans are being ground and dosed into the portafilter. This was sadly not true in my experience.
I chose to grind a double shot of coffee throughout the majority of my testing and it seemed as though the default preset amount deposited was too much for the large basket (despite Sunbeam claiming the “perfect” amount is ground each time) and much of the yield found its way to the kitchen counter. In reality, what I was likely experiencing is what’s known as fluffy grinds, which isn’t strictly a fault of the machine but can be due to other factors such as the type of beans and their age. However, I experienced similar symptoms with two different types of coffee bean, so while it might not be entirely to blame, the grinder is certainly a contributing factor.
Fortunately, you can override the default system settings to set your preferred grind amount to get around this problem, and I found that not only did it improve the mess in my kitchen, but I was still left with a double shot that was practically perfect and extracted in the ideal amount of time.
When it comes to steaming milk, I discovered you’ll need to go through a trial and error process to determine how long to steam for. I used the supplied jug until it was too hot to touch the main body, believing the milk would’ve been piping hot at that point, but that was not the case. I eventually learned to keep the steamer going beyond this point, and the results improved.
In the grand scheme of things, these are minor setbacks that have straightforward resolutions, and considering the price of the Sunbeam Origins Classic, I wouldn’t call them deal breakers. The machine isn’t quite perfect, and is unlikely to make our shortlist of the best coffee machines in Australia, but it is very good for the price and should please many wannabe baristas who are looking for a compact espresso machine that won’t make too big a dent in their wallet.
Sunbeam Origins Classic Espresso Machine: Price and availability
- Launched in May 2025
- Only available in Australia and New Zealand
- List price: AU$829 / NZ$899
Sunbeam is an Australian brand and as such, the Origins Classic Espresso Machine is only available in the ANZ region.
It launched in early May 2025 with a list price of AU$829, but at the time of writing, it could already be found with some heavy discounts – most major Australian retailers have it listed for under AU$600. At launch, I saw the list price in New Zealand to be NZ$899 but, at the time of writing, it’s shot up to NZ$1,199 at some Kiwi retailers. I reached out to Sunbeam for a confirmation of the retail price for New Zealanders, but I was directed to a discounted price of NZ$799 at Harvey Norman instead. With that in mind, shoppers in NZ should carefully compare prices from different retailers and definitely not spend more than NZ$899 on this machine.
Considering it offers the essential functions to make a coffee – a built-in grinder, customisable shot extraction times and a steam wand – it’s very affordable. However, it does enter a space occupied by industry heavyweights Breville and De’Longhi, both of which have similarly specced and similarly priced machines, such as the Breville the Barista Express or De’Longhi La Specialista Arte.
Sunbeam Origins Classic Espresso Machine: Specs
|
Name |
Sunbeam Origins Classic Espresso Machine (EMM5500BK) |
|
Type |
Manual |
|
Dimensions (W x H x D) |
10.9 x 15.7 x 11.9in / 27.8 x 39.9 x 30.1cm |
|
Weight |
17.4lbs / 7.9kg |
|
Water reservoir capacity |
1.9qt / 1.8 litres |
|
Milk frother |
Yes (manual) |
|
Bars of pressure |
15 |
Sunbeam Origins Classic Espresso Machine: Design
- Good looking and compact
- Simple controls to learn
- Grinder output can be messy
The Sunbeam Origins Classic is a relatively compact espresso machine, making it a good choice for people who have limited space in their kitchen. The De’Longhi La Specialista Touch – our favourite compact coffee machine – is smaller still and is more feature-packed, making it another one to consider for smaller kitchens.
The Sunbeam machine is also quite lightweight at 7.9kg (much lighter than the 10.8kg De’Longhi). While that makes it easy to move around if you want to clean behind it (for example), I did find the lack of ballast occasionally caused it to move when inserting and locking the portafilter into position to extract a coffee.
The body of the machine is predominantly finished in a black colour, but it has a shine to it that I think elevates it to a more premium-like status. This, combined with chrome accents, make it look more expensive than it is, at least in my opinion – I was more than happy to have it on display on my kitchen counter.
The machine is operated using a selection of buttons along the front, with a dial on the right-hand side of the panel for dispensing hot water and steam. The buttons on the front are for power, cleaning, manual shot (your preferred amount of water up to 200ml) and either single- or double-shot pours. You can customise the default water volumes for the two latter buttons if you wish, with all guidance supplied in the (quite frankly) incredibly helpful user manual.
The bean hopper on top of the machine twists to adjust the grind size, with 30 grind settings available. Sunbeam has clearly labelled the hopper to show you the effect turning either way – fine or coarse – will have on shot extraction (slower pour or faster pour), furthering the machine’s appeal to coffee-machine newbies who might be intimidated by the range of features.
However, the bean hopper has a dark, tinted appearance that hindered my ability to clearly see the level of beans inside – when you look at it directly from the side, it’s clearer, but it darkens when viewed from a normal standing position looking down. Unbeknownst to me, this resulted in the beans running out unexpectedly a few times which, in turn, meant the grinder was attempting to churn beans that weren’t there – a clear audible difference can be heard to let you know.
The grinder is preset to dispense coffee for single and double-shot filter baskets, but you can override these settings if you wish to dispense more or less coffee. I needed to get the machine to grind slightly less for a double shot, because it would make quite fluffy grinds, which would regularly overflow from the portafilter and onto the drip tray below (and then onto my kitchen counter when I attempted to brush away some excess into the bin), despite Sunbeam’s claims that anti-static technology built into the funnel should prevent it from happening.
To set the grinder in motion, you need to insert the portafilter and press down once for a single, or twice for a double shot (you can also press and hold it down for manual amounts). I found I needed to be quite forceful with the second press to ensure the machine registered that I wanted a double shot. You can easily see what the machine thinks you want though, as either the single or double-shot buttons will light up, depending on the action. You get a second or two of buffering time before the grinder starts, ensuring you’ve selected the right shot.
The 1.8L water tank slots into the back of the machine and is easy to remove thanks to an internal handle. I found it a little tricky to properly clean as it’s quite narrow and, unfortunately, it’s not dishwasher safe.
The steam wand has a decent range of motion and features a silicone sleeve to protect your fingers when it’s hot. Sunbeam includes a small pin cleaner (found in a tiny drawer behind the drip tray, along with a cleaning brush) to help unclog the steam wand nozzle if the need arises. There’s only one pressure level for steam, however, and there’s no built-in thermometer. Sunbeam does offer another machine, the Origins Sense, that includes a thermometer and preset shut-off temperatures for various types of milks (a review of which is also currently in the works).
Sunbeam supplies the Origins Classic with a commercial size 58mm portafilter, and one and two-shot single-wall filter baskets. Some manual coffee machines also come supplied with double-wall filter baskets, which can theoretically help to produce a well-extracted shot more consistently, but given the amount of help in the user manual and useful prompts on the machine itself, I can’t see many people having trouble getting to grips with just the single-walled option.
You also get a generic stainless-steel milk pitcher which I found tended to absorb heat quite quickly, without the milk inside heating up to an equivalent level. While you could of course buy a more substantial milk pitcher separately, I think one good jug should be supplied as standard.
A knock box would also have been a great accessory to be included, but Sunbeam does sell a bundle kit of a knock box, tamping mat, milk thermometer and a more premium tamper.
Sunbeam Origins Classic Espresso Machine: Performance
- Consistently well-extracted coffee
- Relatively quiet in use
- Milk steaming takes some learning
The Sunbeam Origins Classic doesn’t take long to master – a series of labelled, removable stickers do a great job of guiding you every step of the way – and, ultimately, produces an excellent espresso with a lovely crema.
It also heats up relatively quickly, taking around a minute, which I found acceptable – there’s nothing worse than a machine that takes an age to get to temperature when you’re in a hurry in the morning.
The press-to-grind feature makes the process of grinding either a single or double shot’s worth of coffee simple and intuitive, although as I mentioned earlier in this review, you’ll likely want to tinker around with the default preset amounts. This was my biggest gripe with the machine, as it would dispense quite fluffy grinds, which would often spill over either onto the drip tray below or my kitchen counter. It’s definitely one of the messiest coffee machines I’ve tested. It’s a simple process to override the dosing settings (you will need to read the manual the first time to learn the procedure), although admittedly, I would’ve preferred to have not needed to intervene.
The Origins Classic is also pretty quiet in use, with the grinding being the loudest part of the coffee-making process, registering around 80dB. When extracting, this drops to a much calmer 60dB. Although, I was standing right next to the machine when I took these readings using the ‘decibel X’ app on my iPhone. It’s not as quiet as the KitchenAid KF6, for example, which registers around 60dB when grinding and only 44dB during extraction, but I’ve tested louder machines like the De’Longhi Magnifica Evo Next.
I was able to achieve a well-timed double shot, typically taking between 20 to 30 seconds, through the majority of my testing period, indicating the grind setting I used was consistently in the right zone. Sunbeam recommends setting the grinder to 15 before you start experimenting, which suited me just fine for the entirety of my testing. I did experiment with moving it to a setting of 25 for coarser grinding and down to 7 for finer, but as expected, in both instances it resulted in an under extracted and over extracted shot, respectively.
While I wasn’t particularly enamoured with the included stainless-steel milk pitcher, the performance of the steam wand was good. You don’t get control over the pressure, but it’s good enough for frothing milk, provided you use the correct technique. I thought I was already familiar with how to best steam milk, having previously worked in a cafe, but I found I had to refer to the manual, which told me to rest the wand on the jug’s spout and angle the jug to the left, so the wand is in a 3 o’clock position. Fantastic advice! When I used this method, I was creating silky textured milk in no time.
I used oat milk for my testing and a non-barista variety at that, the combination of which can often make creating microfoam tricky. Considering I was able to achieve good results each time, I have no doubt it will perform even better with dairy milk.
Should I buy the Sunbeam Origins Classic Espresso Machine?
|
Attribute |
Notes |
Score |
|---|---|---|
|
Value |
An affordable list price that’s already ripe for discounts and you get all the essentials to make a great cuppa |
5/5 |
|
Design |
A lovely machine to look at and use thanks to useful prompts, but a tendency to scatter coffee grounds keeps it from getting full marks |
4/5 |
|
Performance |
A good machine for beginners that produces great-tasting espresso, but the grinder presets may require some intervention to get the dose right |
4/5 |
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
Sunbeam Origins Classic Espresso Machine review: Also consider
Sunbeam Origins Classic Espresso Machine review: How I tested
I tested the Sunbeam Origins Classic over the course of a couple of weeks, using a variety of freshly roasted coffee beans I picked up from a Inglewood Coffee Roasters in Melbourne, Australia and The Little Marionette coffee roasters in Sydney, Australia. I dialled in the grinder to achieve a good extraction and carried out a few of the override functions, such as the amount of coffee that was ground (known as the dose), to get the machine set up to my personal preference.
Read more about how we test.
First reviewed June 2025
Read the full article here
