Editorial Policy
This page states the principles behind every page on Espresso Guidebook — what we promise to do, and what we promise not to do.
Our mission
Espresso Guidebook exists to help someone choose an espresso machine, grinder, or accessory with a clear picture of what the manufacturer actually documents, and what that documentation means in practice — instead of re-sorted marketing copy dressed up as a review.
Manufacturer documentation first
Every specification we publish starts from the manufacturer's own product page, manual, or official support documentation. Our research methodology describes the exact process; the "Evidence, confidence & limitations" table on each product page shows, per specification, which source backed it.
Source hierarchy
When sources disagree or a manufacturer page is incomplete, we prioritize in this order: the current official manufacturer product page, then an official manual, then official support documentation, and only then a secondary source such as a specialty retailer's own specification listing — always labeled as secondary, never presented as if it came from the manufacturer.
Manufacturer facts vs. editorial analysis
Every review separates two different kinds of statements: what the manufacturer documents (a spec, a stated feature, a claimed heat-up time), and our own editorial analysis of what that means for a buyer. Language like "Breville states" or "the manufacturer documents" marks the first kind; language like "in practice" or "this matters if you..." marks the second. We do not blend the two into a single unattributed claim.
Secondary sources
A small number of specifications on this site — always labeled in the evidence table as "Secondary-source only" — come from a retailer specification listing rather than an official manufacturer page, usually because no official page states that particular figure, or because no official manufacturer page exists for the product at all. We flag this honestly rather than presenting a retailer listing as if it were the manufacturer's own claim.
Hands-on testing policy
We do not claim to have hands-on tested a product unless a review says so explicitly and describes what the testing involved. Absent that explicit statement, treat every claim about noise, feel, build quality, or real-world performance as a stated limitation of documentation-based research, not a first-person result — the evidence table on each review marks exactly which claims fall into this category.
No fabricated testing, ratings, or reviews
We do not publish star ratings, review counts, or aggregate ratings we have not genuinely collected. We do not invent user testimonials, and we do not copy or paraphrase Amazon customer reviews.
How we choose products to cover
We prioritize established manufacturers with genuine, checkable product documentation, and products that form a coherent ecosystem around espresso machines and grinders. We add a product only once we can verify its core specifications against at least one source. Being covered here is not paid placement, and product order on roundup pages reflects editorial judgment, never commission rate.
Affiliate independence
Espresso Guidebook participates in the Amazon Associates Program and may earn a commission on qualifying purchases (see our affiliate disclosure). That relationship never determines which products we cover, how we rank them, or what we say about them — a machine is described the same way whether or not a reader ever clicks through to Amazon.
Use of AI-assisted tools
Some research organization and drafting on this site is supported by AI-assisted tools, always under editorial direction and review before publication. These tools are not used to fabricate specifications, invent testing we have not performed, generate reviews, or manufacture star ratings — every published specification is still checked against the manufacturer sources described above, and every page follows this editorial policy regardless of what tools assisted in drafting it.
Update policy
We update a page when a manufacturer changes a specification, discontinues a model, or we are notified of an error, and we update that page's "last verified" date when we do. We do not change a page's displayed date without a real, corresponding content change. See our corrections policy for the full process.
Correction policy (summary)
Anyone can report a suspected error through our contact page. Full detail on what we need from you and how we verify a report is on our corrections policy page.