Coffee Gear Editor
Leo Varga
- Espresso machines
- Coffee grinders
- Milk frothers
- Coffee makers
- Coffee drinks
About Leo
Leo spent eight years behind specialty café bars, first pulling shots and steaming milk through the morning rush, then training new hires to dial in a grinder and stretch milk for latte art. Teaching beginners showed him exactly where home espresso goes wrong, and it is usually the grinder, not the machine.
At Mr. Kitchen Adviser he covers espresso machines, grinders, milk frothers, and the rest of the home coffee bar alongside George. He looks past pressure numbers on the box to the things a barista notices: temperature stability, steam power, grind consistency, and how much fuss a machine adds to a weekday morning.
Leo’s first advice to anyone buying an espresso setup is to budget for the grinder before the machine. A modest machine with a good grinder will out-pour an expensive one fed with stale, uneven grounds.
How I test. I dial in each machine the way I trained baristas to: adjust grind and dose, pull shots, steam milk, and repeat until I can judge consistency. I score taste, ease of dialing in, milk texture, and how much cleanup a daily habit takes. Read more about our testing process.
Articles by Leo
Guides and reviews from Leo land here as they publish.
Meet the rest of the team
Every reviewer brings a different specialty to the test kitchen.