I switched to at-home coffee with the KitchenAid KF4 fully automatic espresso machine. Here’s everything you need to know about it, from its drink list to its care instructions.
The KF4 makes gorgeous, café-quality coffee from the comfort of your own home, and it’s the current star of the KitchenAid lineup. As a fully automatic espresso machine, it contains a burr grinder, milk frothing system, water filter, and more. It’s one of the best do-it-all at-home coffee machines on the market, and worth the price.
What’s in the box of the KitchenAid KF4 automatic espresso machine?
In the box of the KitchenAid KF4, you’ll find the machine itself, a BPA-free plastic milk jug with attachment tube, a care and cleaning kit (including water hardness test strips), a water filter, and a ground coffee scoop.
This espresso machine features a pull-out drip tray and grounds bin.
The KitchenAid KF4’s main features
The KitchenAid KF4 is a fully automatic espresso machine with 15-bar pump pressure. It can make over 20 different hot and iced coffee recipes. It features KitchenAid’s AutoMilk System, which delivers steamed and frothed milk directly into your cup, as well as QuietGrind technology, which minimizes noise and vibration during bean grinding with the machine’s stainless steel conical burr grinder.
This machine has an 8.8 cm colour touchscreen, an easy-to-use interface (with customizable colour selection), and a lot room for customization. You can set up multiple user profiles on it, and within each, you can save adjustments to things like coffee strength, drink temperature, flavour preferences, and drink volume.
The KF4 also features a dispenser light (great for early mornings), a chute to use pre-ground coffee, and adjustable cup clearance to fit even the tallest mugs.
From bean-to-cup, including grinding: What makes this machine so special?
The number one thing that I think makes fully automatic espresso machines like the KF4 so special is their ability to grind in their own beans. When you boot up the KF4, it’ll pull four shots of “waste” espresso to calibrate your machine to your beans. Once it’s done, it’ll have adjusted your grind size, dose size, and perfect pressure and extraction temperature.
For coffee lovers with picky palates who don’t want to fine-tune their own beans (like me), this is a dream. You’ll get the perfect crema every time, with zero fuss.
What drinks does the KitchenAid KF4 make?
The KitchenAid KF4 advertises itself as making 20+ drinks, including:
- Caffe latte
- Espresso
- Coffee
- Cappuccino
- Americano
- Latte macchiato
- Macchiato
- Flat white
- Espresso lungo
- Iced coffee
- Iced espresso
- Warm milk
- Frothed milk
- Hot water
Each drink can be customized by its temperature, strength, body, number of shots, coffee volume, and milk volume.
What’s a “fully automatic espresso machine”?
Fully automatic espresso machines are espresso machines that make your whole drink for you, from bean to cup. They grind your beans, pull your espresso shot, and even dial in your bean grinder for you. They’re a luxurious, fully hands-off experience.
All you need to do with a fully automatic espresso machine like the KitchenAid KF4 is select your drink, press “play,” and enjoy. Machine upkeep is minimal, too: just clean out your water tray and bean grinder at the end of every day, remember to put your milk carafe back in the fridge, and fill your machine’s water tank every 16 shots.
What is AutoMilk?
KitchenAid’s AutoMilk System steams and froths milk from a separate jar, directly into your coffee drink. It features adjustable milk texture and volume, making everything from a silky microfoam to a classic cappuccino froth. It’s really nice: simple, effective, and compatible with both dairy and non-dairy milks.
From the KitchenAid menu, AutoMilk is used in drinks like the caffe latte, cappuccino, and flat white.
The system is really easy to use and care for, though I do wish the lid on the plastic jug fit more securely. It attaches to the side of the KF4’s delivery spout and self-cleans its attachment tube after every drink.
Can multiple people use the KitchenAid KF4?
Yes! The KF4 makes it easy to add multiple user profiles, so everyone in your household can save their drink customizations.
You can add up to four users, and each user can save different drink customizations under their profile.
Which is better, the KitchenAid KF4, KF3, or KF7?
For most at-home coffee bars, I think the KitchenAid KF4 is the best fully automatic espresso machine in the KitchenAid lineup. It’s a great product that makes gorgeous cups of coffee, and it sits relatively “thin” on your countertop or coffee bar. (Most of its volume is in its depth.)
However, KitchenAid makes a few similar machines that people have trouble choosing between.
The KitchenAid KF4 makes slightly more drinks than the KF3. It comes with a milk jug, which the KF3 does not include. If cost is no issue, I recommend the KF4; it’ll be a little more seamless to use. If price matters a lot to you, then KF3 is the better choice.
The KitchenAid KF4 is more modern than the KF7 or KF8. It’s also slimmer, set deeper than it is wide.
How to maintain the KitchenAid KF4
Is the KitchenAid KF4 a lot of work to maintain? Nope: not at all!
This automatic espresso machine has a 1.8 litre water tank capacity, so it only needs to be filled every 16-ish espresso shots. It prompts you for every necessary cleaning session, most of which happen within the machine itself: all you have to do is empty its drip tray and grounds bin on a daily basis. It’ll guide you through quick rinses, deep cleaning cycles, and maintenance.
The milk container included in the KF4 is made from BPA-free plastic, and it washes out easily.
My experience with the KitchenAid KF4
I loved using the KitchenAid KF4. It’s big for an espresso maker, but small for a fully automatic espresso machine—and it easily justifies its counter footprint with its coffee quality. (2026’s KF2, KF3, and KF4 are 25% smaller than KitchenAid’s KF6, KF7, and KF8.)
I love that the KF4 can dial in your beans for you, and I found it both easy to use and easy to customize.
Truly, though, what makes this machine so easy to love is that it makes great espresso. Every shot tastes rich and full-bodied, with a beautiful crema and a complex flavour profile. I’m pretty consistent with my coffee beans—which is important when you test as many espresso makers as I do—and I felt there was a noticeable improvement in the way my go-to beans tasted coming out of the KF4 versus any other machine.
With the KF4, my espresso shots tasted richer, more well-balanced, and less sour than with any other machine. The De’Longhi PrimaDonna Aromatic, which I reviewed here, came a close second. However, my coffee drinks tasted consistently smoother coming out of the KF4, and I think the KitchenAid espresso extraction temperature is simply preferable to my palate.
That doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have the same experience as I did, but if you love delicately-extracted coffee with rich flavours and a big aroma, I think you’ll enjoy the KF4.
Watch the KitchenAid KF4 in action
In conclusion
The KitchenAid KF4 fully automatic espresso machine is an excellent bean-to-cup machine. It produces beautiful, highly customizable cups of coffee, and it stores up to four different user profiles so everyone in the house is happy. (Even if that’s just daytime-you and nighttime-you!)
The KF4 is best for making single serving drinks, as it doesn’t have water volume settings for XL mugs or carafes. It performs equally well while making both iced and hot coffee.
The KitchenAid KF4 is available online at Best Buy Canada in both Matte Black (reviewed here) and Porcelain.
Still not sure if this is the right machine for you? Check out Best Buy’s beginner’s guide on buying an espresso machine.
