Coffee makers are louder than their size suggests. Most of them move water with a small vibration pump or boil it up a tube, and the ones with a built in grinder crush beans a few inches from your ear. Breville, Keurig, Hamilton Beach and Philips all describe a buzzing pump, a gurgle near the end of a drip cycle or a hiss from a heating espresso machine as part of normal operation.
The sound that sends people to the manual is a different one: a loud buzz while nothing comes out. Here the makers agree on the order of checks. Water tank first, then air in the line, then scale.
Pump buzz on espresso and pod machines is normal
Espresso needs pressure, and pressure comes from a pump that vibrates. The guide for Hamilton Beach's 40730 and 40731 espresso makers is blunt about it: "Espresso makers require high-pressure pumps, so it is normal for machine to be loud."
Breville builds the answer into its troubleshooting tables. In the Barista Touch and Bambino Plus instruction books, the row for a "Pulsing/pumping sound while extracting espresso or steaming milk" gives the cause as "The machine is carrying out the normal operation of the pump." The remedy column reads "No action required as this is the normal operation of the machine." Steaming gets a separate note in the Barista Touch book: "When the machine creates steam, a pumping noise can be heard." The Barista Express even pumps while it warms up, and its manual adds "This is normal."
Pod brewers make the same buzz between cups, because many refill an internal tank after each brew. The K3000SE owner's manual describes it this way: "Following the brew, your brewer will fill in preparation for your next brew. The pump will make a vibrating sound. This is normal." That is a commercial Keurig. The home K-Mini Plus and K-Express Essentials guides we checked never mention a pump sound.
Why is my coffee maker making noise but not brewing?
Usually the pump is running without water. An empty tank, a tank that is not pushed fully into place or a shipping plug left in the reservoir lets the pump pull air, and that is loud.
Breville's Barista Touch table has a row headed "Water doesn't come through (the machine makes loud noise)." First cause: "Water tank is empty or water level is below MIN." The fix is two words, "Fill tank." De'Longhi's help page for the Stilosa, titled "The pump is excessively noisy", gives a single "Potential cause: No water in the tank." and a single remedy, "Fill the tank to MAX".
Philips explains the mechanism for its Barista Brew. A tank that is not seated "can draw air which will cause a loud pump sound", so the support page asks owners to "push the tank as far as possible and make sure the rubber cap is removed." On Philips machines with the tank on top, the fully automatic page adds a check for "coffee beans, dirt, or particles under the water tank area."
Hamilton Beach ties the noise to a dry reservoir in so many words: "if Water Reservoir does not contain water, attempting to brew will cause a loud noise." The answer for a Mr. Coffee Café Barista that runs with no coffee coming out begins with a part people forget, asking you to "Check to make sure that the red plug found at the bottom of the water reservoir is removed."
Keurig's guides frame the empty reservoir as a brewing problem rather than a noise. "A minimum of 6oz of water is required to brew," the K-Mini Plus guide reads, and if it will not start you should "Add an additional 2oz of water to the reservoir to ensure the minimum fill level has been met".
Air in the line keeps it buzzing
Sometimes the tank is full and the buzz carries on. Then air is trapped in the pump circuit, which happens on a new machine, one left unused for a while or one that ran dry.
De'Longhi's US pages say this outright. For a machine "buzzing loudly and not dispensing water" with a full tank, "there may be a small amount of air in the system." Its fix is to open the steam valve with a cup under the frother "for around 30 seconds until water comes out", and it adds: "Do not be alarmed if the machine buzzes loudly." A second De'Longhi page, on a pump that will not prime, covers a machine that "is new, or has not been used for some time" and gives the same reassurance: "Do not be alarmed if the machine vibrates or is noisy initially."
Philips describes the same fault on its fully automatic machines. "If air is trapped in your Philips Espresso Machine, you will hear a loud noise and the water will not be drawn from the water tank into the machine," its noise page reads. The cure is to switch off, empty the tank, take out the AquaClean or other filter, refill, switch on and run "two to three cups of hot water." An AquaClean filter has to be bled first: shake it for five seconds, then hold it upside down in a bowl of water "till no more air bubbles appear."
On Hamilton Beach and Mr. Coffee pump espresso makers, the cure is priming. Hamilton Beach says a reservoir that "has run dry" may mean the unit needs to be reprimed using its first use steps, and the Mr. Coffee FAQ asks owners to "Ensure that the unit has been primed prior to first use."
Why does my drip coffee maker gurgle?
Gurgling and boiling near the end of a drip cycle is normal. Hamilton Beach ties the sound to the last of the water passing through the machine.
Hamilton Beach answers the question "Why is my coffee maker noisy?" in its FAQ with: "It is normal for a coffee maker to produce gurgling and boiling sounds near the end of the brew cycle as the last of the water cycles. This sound may also be heard anytime the unit is turned off and back on." An older Hamilton Beach coffeemaker guide covers steam as well: "The coffeemaker may steam or make sounds at the end of brewing. This is common with automatic drip coffeemakers."
That is as far as the drip makers go. We found no Mr. Coffee, Cuisinart or Ninja drip coffee maker page that describes gurgling as a fault, or sets a point where it stops being normal.
Ticks, hisses and the brew group
A tick or a hiss from an espresso machine while it heats is the heater and a pressure valve. Philips covers it on its Barista Brew page:
"It is normal for the machine to make a ticking or hissing sound during heating up, or after brewing. What you hear is the internal heater warming up and the electronic valve operating to release the internal pressure, where steam and water will end up in the drip tray."
Bean to cup machines have one more moving part. Philips expects "some noises while brewing your coffee", and when the sound turns "unusual and different than normal", the suggested cure is to clean and grease the brew group. Rinse it weekly in lukewarm water and let it air dry. Before pulling it out, switch the machine off and wait for any noise to stop, which Philips times at "around 15-20 seconds".
Why is my espresso machine grinder so loud?
A grinder that suddenly roars, or runs without grinding, usually has something hard caught between the burrs. Breville and De'Longhi give clearing steps; Jura sends it to customer support.
The Barista Express and Barista Touch manuals share a row: "Grinder is making a loud noise." Cause, "Blockage or foreign object in grinder." Fix, "Remove hopper, check for debris or blockage. If necessary, clean and clear grinder chamber and chute."
De'Longhi is candid about where the object comes from. Its US grinder page admits "the eventual presence of small foreign objects inside any bag of coffee beans is almost inevitable." For most models it walks owners through unplugging the machine, vacuuming the beans out and looking between the two gears, with a warning in capitals: "DO NOT FORCE IT if it’s stuck." Machines with an electronic grinder, such as the Maestosa and PrimaDonna Soul, go to a service center instead. The UK version of the page names the usual culprit as "a stone from the coffee beans."
JURA's E8 and D6 manuals offer no home remedy. "Grinder is making a very loud noise" has one cause, "There are foreign objects in the grinder", and one action: contact customer support in your country. The D6 book also warns that beans "treated with additives (e.g. sugar), ground coffee or freeze-dried coffee will damage the grinder."
A loud buzz with a ground too fine message
De'Longhi links one buzz to the grind setting. With a loud buzz and a ground too fine error, it suggests removing the water filter, running a rinse, then moving to a coarser setting while the grinder runs, noting that "Optimal grinder settings are between 3 and 5." If no water comes out of the rinse, "the unit may require servicing."
Scale makes a machine louder
Nespresso links scale directly to noise. "Scale buildup can make the machine louder, so removing scale can help to keep your machine running smoothly and quietly," reads its descaling article, which we read on the Irish site because the US address returned an error.
The schedules differ by maker. Nespresso's VertuoLine guide recommends "descaling every 3 months or 300 capsules (whichever comes first)" and warns that "Other solutions (such as vinegar or store-bought descalers) may cause damage to your Nespresso machine." Keurig asks for a descale "every 3-6 months" in the K-Mini Plus guide, sooner with hard water. Mr. Coffee goes by symptoms instead of a calendar, asking owners to delime "when you begin to notice an increase in the time to brew espresso, or when there is excessive steaming."
Strange sounds during descaling
Descaling makes some unusual noises too. On a Keurig that is badly scaled, "you may see only a small or no output dispensed, followed by the sound of air blowing out." The fix in the K-Mini Plus guide is to switch off and unplug, empty any solution from the reservoir, rinse and refill it, then run the fresh water rinse again. If that fails, "allow brewer to sit unplugged for at least 30 minutes before continuing with the rinse." Foam in the cup during the process is "natural, as the solution is reacting with the scale inside."
Nespresso machines simply go quiet when a descaling pass is done. "The machine will stop making noise once the water tank is completely empty," the VertuoLine guide explains, and the Essenza Plus guide uses the same silence as the cue to start a second rinse.
When to contact the maker
Stop and call when the noise survives the tank, air and scale checks, or when the machine shuts itself off. Each maker sets its own line:
- Keurig: still brewing a partial cup after two descales. "If you have repeated the descale procedure on your brewer two times and it is still only brewing a partial cup, contact Customer Service."
- Breville: a Bambino Plus that is on but stops working may have tripped its thermal cut out "due to the pump overheating". Unplug it, let it cool for 30 to 60 minutes, and "If problem persists, call Breville Support."
- De'Longhi: no water after the rinse, or a stuck object in an electronic grinder.
- JURA: any grinder making a very loud noise.
- Philips: noise that the tank, air and brew group steps did not cure.
Keurig's guides add a limit worth knowing before you open anything: "Beyond these recommended cleaning and maintenance procedures, this brewer is not user serviceable."
Other kitchen noise pages
We found no decibel figure for a home coffee maker on any of these maker pages. Standalone grinders do better, and our quietest coffee grinders guide sets out the nine that publish one, from 60 dB on Ascaso's H64 to 72 dB on the Niche Zero among single plain dB values. A blender is the other short, sharp noise in most kitchens: see the quietest blenders guide and how to make a blender quieter.
For the rest of the counter, air fryer noises explained and microwave noises explained cover fans, beeps and rattles. If your brewer sounds rougher every year, read why your appliance got louder, and the decibel chart puts kitchen sounds next to everyday ones.
Ninja, Cuisinart and what we left out
Ninja's support site showed a bot check, so no Ninja wording appears here. Cuisinart's pages and manuals that we could open had nothing on noise. Nespresso's Vertuo Next, Vertuo Up and Vertuo Creatista manuals mention no sound outside descaling, and the only Nespresso decibel figure we came across belongs to a plumbed office machine. Every quote on this page was checked on November 12, 2026.
