Nine Bar Basics product guide
KitchenAid KF3 KES8453 Fully Automatic Espresso Machine
Small counters that want hot and over-ice drinks without a milk container taking up space
The KF3 is KitchenAid's compact fully automatic machine with over-ice coffee and espresso settings, 15 or more recipes, a 1.8-litre tank, an 8.8-ounce hopper and an IntelliGrind burr grinder. The milk hose goes into your own container, and the machine rinses itself at power-on and power-off.
Listing checked . Confirm the model, included parts and availability before ordering.
Published specifications
- KitchenAid: 15+ pre-set recipes, iced coffee function, no steam wand
- Manual: 1.8 L water tank; KitchenAid: 8.8 oz bean hopper
- KitchenAid: 14.2 x 7.7 x 18.5 in; listing adds 22.3 lb
- Manual: 120 V, 1450 W, grounded 3-prong outlet only
- Manual: 4 user profiles, no custom names on this model
- Two-year limited warranty; 10-year US parts and service availability
Fit and limits
Strengths
- Over-ice coffee and espresso settings that brew at a lower temperature, per KitchenAid
- Automatic rinse at power-on and power-off, with on-screen cleaning prompts
- Milk rinse can be postponed with a Later option while you make more drinks
Caveats
- No milk container in the box; KitchenAid sells one separately
- Maker page says touchscreen, the owner's manual says off-screen buttons only
- No iced drink appears in the manual's own drinks table
What the KES8453 is
This is KitchenAid's KF3 with iced coffee, in Black Matte, part number KES8453BM. KitchenAid's comparison table gives it 15 or more pre-set recipes, an iced coffee function, an auto milk system, no steam wand, a 60-ounce water tank, an 8.8-ounce bean hopper, a removable brew unit and a size of 14.2 by 7.7 by 18.5 inches.
The manual gives the same machine a 1.8-litre water tank filled from the back, a ground coffee door, a service door on the right and the usual 120-volt, 1450-watt supply from a grounded three-prong outlet, with no adapter or extension cord.
KitchenAid's page says the KF3 and its sibling are 25 percent smaller than the KF6, KF7 and KF8 machines, and the comparison table marks the KF3 as not metal-clad. The listing adds a weight of 22.3 pounds and an output pressure of 15 bar, neither of which appears in KitchenAid's own documents we read.
The iced settings, and what the manual leaves out
KitchenAid's page is the source for the iced feature: the machine has over-ice coffee and espresso settings that brew at a lower temperature, which KitchenAid says prevents over-extraction. The listing repeats that wording in its own bullet.
KitchenAid's advice is to serve cold drinks over ice and pour your milk on top afterwards to build an iced latte, rather than expecting the machine to pour a finished iced milk drink.
Worth knowing before you buy: the drinks table in the owner's manual we read lists espresso, coffee, macchiato, cappuccino, latte macchiato, caffe latte, americano, hot water and warm milk, with no iced entry, and it marks espresso lungo, flat white and frothed milk as KES8454 only. Ask KitchenAid how the iced menu appears on the KES8453 if that is the reason you are buying it.
Buttons or touchscreen? The sources differ
KitchenAid's feature list for this model says a 2.4-inch colour display touchscreen. The owner's manual says something narrower: on the KES8453 the machine has only off-screen touch buttons to navigate between menus, and reserves the touch screen for the KES8454.
The listing sits between the two, describing the control panel as touch-sensitive with icon buttons and the display as a colour LCD with beverage images. If touchscreen control matters to you, confirm with KitchenAid which layout ships on the KES8453.
On profiles the sources agree. The manual gives this model four user profiles and says you cannot create a personalised username on the KES8453, and the listing's details field says four profiles with no names. Drink settings run to strength 1 to 3, temperature low, medium or high, and body light, medium or strong.
Milk: hose in your own container
The manual states plainly that the KES8453 does not include a milk container and that you place the hose end directly in a container of your choice. KitchenAid's page says the included milk hose works with any container, or with the KitchenAid milk container sold separately.
KitchenAid describes the Auto Milk System as adjusting milk texture and volume for each drink, with dual delivery from the main spout, and says the included milk hose works with any container or with the KitchenAid milk container sold separately.
After each milk drink the machine asks for an Easy Milk Rinsing, and this manual adds a Later option so you can keep making drinks, as long as the rinse is run before the machine is switched off. A Deep Milk Cleaning with detergent and the periodic hand-cleaning of the frother are separate jobs.
Grinder, setup and daily care
KitchenAid calls the grinder a steel conical burr grinder with IntelliGrind, which it says detects and fine-tunes the dose so no manual adjustment is needed. The manual still documents a grind regulator behind the right-side service door that may only be moved while the grinder runs: left for finer, right for coarser, finer for light roasts and coarser for dark.
Setup covers language, the water filter and water hardness, with a supplied test strip and a four-level chart running from low at 0 to 60 parts per million to high above 120. The filter lasts about 50 litres before the display asks for a new one. Use only cold fresh tap water, never deionised or mineral water.
The manual asks for four purge shots at first use, and notes that the machine rinses itself at power-on and again at power-off. Rinsing can be reduced by extending the shut-off time, which is adjustable from 8 minutes to 8 hours. The bean hopper is cleaned with a dry cloth only, and no removable part is dishwasher-safe.
Warranty and the 10-year parts commitment
The listing's warranty field says only a 10-year parts and service commitment, which is not the same thing as a warranty. KitchenAid's page states a two-year limited warranty plus a 10-Year Parts and Service Availability Commitment that applies in the United States only, and it adds a three-year extended limited part warranty on the burr grinder.
The manual's warranty section matches the two-year term: a two-year limited warranty from the date of delivery, covering factory-specified parts and labour for defects that existed at purchase, or replacement at KitchenAid's discretion.
It will not pay for use beyond a normal single-family home, accident, alteration, misuse, fire or flood, shipping to a service centre, operation outside the listed territories, operation contrary to the owner's manual, or repairs by people not authorised by Whirlpool. Service runs through KitchenAid's centre rather than the retailer.
Check the current listing
Confirm the model, included parts and availability before ordering.
Primary sources
- KitchenAid product page for the KES8453BM Fully Automatic Espresso Machine KF3 with Iced Coffee
- KitchenAid owner's manual W11766712 rev D for KES8453 and KES8454
Primary sources checked .
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