Mr. Coffee One-Touch CoffeeHouse+ Review: Espresso Drinks Made Easy!

I welcome a good ol’ cup of joe any day of the week. But sometimes I crave café-quality espresso beverages at home and the Mr. Coffee One-Touch CoffeeHouse+ seemed like it could deliver.

So, I decided to explore the Mr. Coffee One-Touch CoffeeHouse+ to see if it cuts the mustard.

As it happens, I ordered this popular machine from Amazon to test out for you. I explored everything from its innovative, modern design and one-touch brewing action, to its intuitive control panel. A little later I’ll tell you what I did and didn’t like.

So, at $174.49 is the One-Touch CoffeeHouse+ worth your hard-earned dollars? Let’s jump right in!

Mr. Coffee One-Touch CoffeeHouse+ Overview

Mr. Coffee is no stranger to manufacturing automatic espresso and drip coffee machines. Their latest model, the Mr. Coffee One-Touch CoffeeHouse+ is an improvement on the earlier Mr. Coffee One-Touch CoffeeHouse model. This previous model costs less, coming in at $202.37.

One thing to note is that this one-touch espresso, cappuccino and latte machine is semi-automated for effortless home brewing. Chief among its automatic features is a visual status bar. This bar not only provides feedback on drink progress but also indicates when the machine is ready to brew.

Standout features include the smart control panel and integrated 19-bar Italian pump. It promises to let you brew cappuccinos, lattes, and single or double shots of espresso while achieving optimal flavor extraction. Additionally, the adjustable cup tray can accommodate both espresso and cappuccino cups.

Another feature that sets this coffee maker apart is its automatic milk frother. It transforms your milk into a fluffy, airy foam for delectable lattes and cappuccinos, absolutely hands-free. Simply dial in to your desired froth level, press the latte or cappuccino button and let the machine do the rest.

Now, onto capacity. This semi-automatic coffee maker has a decent 17.6-ounce (520-milliliter) water tank and 18-ounce (532-milliliter) milk reservoir. What’s more, these components are detachable, making for easy filling and cleaning. And I absolutely love that you can put the milk reservoir with leftover milk in the fridge – quite handy!

Lastly, grind dosage is supposed to be guesswork-free thanks to the 2-in-1 scoop and espresso tamper, pressurized filter basket and Easy Serve Espresso (ESE) pod compatibility.

All in all, the Mr. Coffee One-Touch CoffeeHouse+ is a stylish, easy-to-use beginner coffee maker. It’ll come in handy on those rushed-up mornings when you don’t feel like fussing over the perfect espresso.

Mr. Coffee One-Touch CoffeeHouse+ Features

Size and Design

As I’ve noted before, a stand-out feature of the Mr. Coffee One-Touch CoffeeHouse+ is its clean, modern design. It comes in two colors – gray and white – both of which will appeal to those who love neutral shades. Personally, I prefer the gray version, so that’s what I ordered.

Also, this coffee maker has a fairly compact footprint. It’ll fit in nicely in any kitchen, even when space is at a premium. What’s more, it weighs a manageable 13.6 pounds (6.19 kilograms), so it’s hardly cumbersome to move.

Still, as with everything in life, nothing’s 100 percent perfect. I must admit to having doubts over the durability of some of the components. Take, for example, the milk dispenser; with repeated use and the high-temp steam cleaning action, the likelihood of a breakdown is high. With that in mind, I do wonder whether this machine’s quality can justify its asking price.

User Interface

The user interface is another feature that helps this coffee machine stand out. Once pressed, the power button, located to the right of the machine, immediately activates the user interface.

This intuitive control panel includes a status or progress bar, which indicates when the coffee maker is ready to brew as well as your drink’s progress. However, I will say that the backlit progress bar is kinda hard to see under normal light conditions. In fact, I had to dim the lights to see if the machine was actually doing anything!

The panel also has several brew buttons for espresso, cappuccino and latte drinks. A simple press of a button automates the brewing process. Furthermore, manual “Espresso” and “Froth” buttons help you customize your selections.

Portafilter

This 3-in-1 coffee maker comes with a portafilter that fits snugly into the machine’s group head. Its pressurized single-shot and double-shot filter baskets ensure optimal coffee extraction during brewing. This pressurization corrects for various factors, such as an imprecise grind setting and improper tamping.

Let’s just say the portafilter’s design could be better. Emptying the spent coffee grounds from the filter basket can be messy seeing as there’s no latch between it and the portafilter. In fact, I ended up knocking the basket out with the spent puck on more than one occasion. Plus, the portafilter has an annoying plastic cover on the bottom. That’s probably because it uses pressurized baskets, but I’d recommend trying to find a replacement portafilter if you want to make real espresso with this machine.

Tamper

A 2-in-1 plastic scoop and espresso tamper offers a nice touch, making dosing and brewing a breeze. With that said, you’ll want to use a coffee scale if you want consistent results.

What’s more, the tamping action isn’t going to be that great. These tampers are not weighted, and you won’t be able to exert sufficient tamping pressure. This, in turn, results in an uneven puck finish and a flavorless, under-extracted shot.

Suffice to say, you’ll likely need to tamp the grounds several times to ensure a nice, even puck.

Adjustable Cup Tray

Another genius feature of this coffee maker is its adjustable cup tray. This stainless steel adjustable beauty clamps higher into the machine for easy espresso brewing. For milk-based espresso beverages, click the tray lower into the machine. The extra space will accommodate your larger cappuccino or latte cups.

Automatic Milk Frother

The Mr. Coffee One-Touch CoffeeHouse+ hands-free milk frother is one of the components that sets this coffee maker apart from others in its price range.

While other espresso coffee makers use panarello steam wands, which require manual milk frothing, this machine does all the hard work for you. Not bad for a semi-automatic espresso machine!

On the flip side, because of this automation, it can be hard to regulate the temperature of the milk and foam. Also, you must clean the milk frother after every few brew cycles to avoid subsequent coffee drinks tasting bad. I’ll discuss the automatic milk frother’s performance a little later in this review.

Specialty Drinks

I suppose my favorite feature of this 3-in-1 coffee maker is the range of brew options it offers you.

Fancy a single or double shot of espresso? Go right ahead and make one at the touch of a button! In addition, the manual “Espresso” button allows you to adjust the water-to-espresso ratio if needed, or even fashion yourself an americano.

Brewing espresso macchiatos, lattes and cappuccinos with this machine gets the job done in a matter of minutes. And best of all? You can customize your coffee by adding more foam with the “Froth” button.

How to Use the Mr. Coffee One-Touch CoffeeHouse+

Using this Mr. Coffee One-Touch CoffeeHouse espresso, cappuccino and latte maker is pretty straightforward. Once unpacked, give your new acquisition an initial clean and then place it on your kitchen counter before plugging into a power outlet.

You’ll then need to fill the removable water tank with water for brewing. This water will also come in handy when cleaning your machine later on.

If making a creamy cappuccino or latte, now’s the time to fill the removable milk reservoir with cow juice. Oh, and be sure not to exceed the maximum fill line.

Turning on the machine’s power switch also activates the status bar. Wait until this progress bar reaches 100 percent before activating the auto or manual brewing options.

Grind espresso coffee beans on a fine grind setting using an espresso grinder. Alternatively, you can use pre-ground espresso coffee. But, I strongly advocate grinding your own espresso beans. None of that stale coffee action here please!

Next, scoop coffee grounds into the machine’s portafilter. Depending on what you want, choose between the single or double insert. One scoop equals 6 to 8 grams for a single shot and two scoops, 15 grams for a doppio. Then again, if you use your magic coffee scale you’ll be sure of more accuracy and consistency.

Next, with the same scoop that doubles as an espresso tamper, gently compress the coffee grounds. Wipe away any excess grounds before locking in the portafilter. You could also use a higher-quality weighted tamper and other espresso-brewing tools for the best results.

Finally, place your espresso cup or coffee mug onto the adjustable cup tray. Lock it higher up or lower down depending on your cup size. You’re now ready to brew.

My Observations

During my testing I experimented with both straight espresso and milk-based drinks. The control panel gives you options, including preset espresso, cappuccino and latte. There’s also the option to take matters into your own hands by using the manual functions.

I will say that brewing a double espresso using the preset button is a little tricky. It sounds simple in theory – just press the button twice. However, I found that the button felt rather unresponsive and I was never quite sure whether it had registered two hits.

Having used pressurized filter baskets in the past, I knew that a coarser grind size would be necessary. Still, dialing in my shots took quite a while. But once I’d figured out what was what, I started getting very drinkable espresso from the Mr. Coffee machine.

Incidentally, I got the best results by using between 10 and 12 grams of coffee.

My main complaint is that it’s really tricky to lock the portafilter into place in the group head. Seriously, I’ve done this a million times and I struggled to figure out how to get the thing in there for every shot!

As for the automatic milk frother, I have absolutely no complaints. I can definitely see the attraction here – it’s kind of like what you’ll find on a super automatic coffee machine. Simply press the button for cappuccino or latte and the machine dispenses rich frothed milk to accompany your espresso. Plus, it’s great that you’re able to adjust the frothiness by turning the dial on the milk carafe.

Overall, this nifty machine performed better than I’d expected, even with the sub-par portafilter. You won’t win any barista competitions, but you will enjoy tasty coffee.

Mr. Coffee One-Touch CoffeeHouse+ Cleaning

Cleaning this Mr. Coffee One-Touch CoffeeHouse machine won’t have you scratching your head.

For a thorough clean, begin with the milk frother. Make sure the milk frothing knob is on “Clean” and then direct the steam wand into an empty cup on the drip tray.

Next, press the manual “Clean” button on the control panel beneath the status bar.

The machine will automatically run steam through the wand. Remove your cup, discard this dirty water and then reset the milk settings dial away from the clean function.

You can now remove the milk reservoir. If it has leftover milk, by all means store it in the fridge. Otherwise hand-wash the reservoir with warm soapy water, let it dry and click it back onto the machine.

Next, it’s time to rinse the machine’s group head. Simply place an empty cup onto the drip tray and run a blind espresso shot. Press the manual “Espresso” button for more water if needed, before discarding. You may need to do this several times to ensure a deep clean. And remember, always empty and rinse the water tank between brewing sessions. 

You should note that the drip tray cover is also removable. This makes it easy to clean any spilled coffee or milk. Simply lift the tray and mop up the spillage before giving all the components a final wipe clean.

After every 200 brew cycles, this Mr. Coffee One-Touch CoffeeHouse coffee maker will prompt you to deep clean. To do so, fill the detachable water tank with clean filtered water and add vinegar or a descaling agent. Then, run one or more blind espresso shots to descale the machine.

Please note that the portafilter, filter baskets and reservoirs aren’t dishwasher-safe. If in doubt, always read the user manual for detailed cleaning instructions.

Mr. Coffee One-Touch CoffeeHouse+ Technical Specifications

Mr. Coffee One-Touch CoffeeHouse+ vs Cafe Barista

So how do the Mr. Coffee One-Touch CoffeeHouse+ and the Cafe Barista compare? Well, for starters, these consumer-forward espresso machines are from the same manufacturer.

However, the Mr. Coffee Cafe Barista is more affordable, costing just $199.99.

This price difference makes sense. While the Cafe Barista operates with a 15-bar pump system, its counterpart has an impressive Italian 19-bar system. This improvement, Mr. Coffee says, promises a richer espresso flavor.

When it comes to design both machines are pretty much the same. While the Cafe Barista comes in black and stainless steel construction, the One-Touch CoffeeHouse+ is available in a neutral white or gray plastic finish. As for size, the Cafe Barista is smaller and weighs 10.4 pounds (4.7 kilograms).

Both user interfaces are also similar, with automatic and manual brewing and cleaning options. However, the Cafe Barista’s control panel doesn’t have a status bar.

Both machines have detachable water tanks and milk reservoirs, which differ in size. The Cafe Barista has a larger 33.8-ounce (1-liter) water tank and a 55-ounce (1.6-liter) milk reservoir.

Also, with the Cafe Barista there is no adjustable cup tray. Instead, two built-in cup trays (one on the drip tray and the other built in under the milk reservoir) accommodate different-sized cups.

Ultimately, which one you choose depends on your aesthetic and capacity preferences.

Related: Best Cappuccino Maker 2024

Verdict: Mr. Coffee One-Touch CoffeeHouse+ Review

To sum up, the Mr. Coffee One-Touch CoffeeHouse+ is a pretty great multi-function coffee machine. It could be perfect for those looking to improve or automate their barista game at home. The user-friendly design, one-touch operation, range of brew settings and ESE-compatibility make it an exceptional pick.

Want to indulge in a rich espresso without too much of a fuss? How about a creamy cappuccino or latte? This semi-automatic espresso brewer caters to both options.

While the build quality isn’t the best I’ve ever seen, all parts fit together nicely and the machine does exactly what it promises to do.