Wanting a bean to cup coffee machine

[chillimartini]

Not really a AIBU question but here we are...I am looking for a good quality coffee machine. It has to be compact as space is a major issue. I am willing to spend up to £400 but would be happy not to. Could anyone recommend any that they have experience using? X

[Brefugee]

i have one of the Siemens EQ series (so I think out of your price range?) and it's brilliant.

[Anyonebut]

I have a Delonghi and another similar Delonghi at work. They both work well and make good coffee. My only "complaint" is they are a bit noisy, so not great if you are waking up earlier than everyone else. However, I have nothing to compare them to, so not sure if other brands are less noisy or not.

[AliBear90]

@brefugee would you say it’s worth it? We currently use a cafetière as I hate instant coffee. And keep considering getting a bean to cup machine, but not sure if it’s actually worth it or if it’s no easier/ better than it is in the cafetière

[EnterNight]

Not bean to cup, but the Breville One Touch is £149 in Currys at the moment and thats a brilliant machine. Add on a Melitta grinder for £50 and you've halved your spend.

I've just bought one for DH as he was costing a small fortune in Tassimo pods due to WFH. I thought it would be a bit gimmicky but I like it. It's easy to use, makes a lovely Latte and I like that the milk container pulls out and stores in the fridge.

[SudokuBook]

Mine is a gaggia one, was about £350

Only thing I would look for again would be one with 2 hoppers so I could have decaf in one

[UnhappyMondays]

Watching with interest; currently have delonghi Icona which is brilliant and use 2/3 times a day, also have several cafetières of different sizes and stove top espresso maker which are independently fine but not comparable.

Next jittery yet inevitable step down the caffeine rabbit hole certainly will be a bean to cup... however I’m not convinced yet (from drinking coffee at friends who have one) that it’s astoundingly better than I get from the Icona... I still want one though!

[TerrorWig]

We have this delonghi- it’s used multiple times a day for hot and cold coffees (just an espresso over ice then lots of milk). It’s noisy but I don’t think you can get away from that when it is grinding the beans.

One thing to be aware of is that the coffee is not hot as it’s not made with boiling water - we just microwave ours tbh! I also have a subscription with amazon for coffee beans which is half the price of the Lavazzo beans I ordinarily buy from Costco Here

[Talulahoopla]

We have a Cuisinart. Sits on the corner of our worktop and it's really quite neat compared to others I've seen. There are barely any on the market (or there weren't when I got ours two years ago), especially within your price range but this one should be. We think it's great - just ordered 1kg of beans from a local coffee roaster this morning. We make a pot every day and have a couple of good sized cups each throughout the morning. I love a filter coffee as there's far less messing about than making espresso coffees, there's such a variety of beans that every coffee is an absolute delight and the smell of freshly ground and brewed coffee if amazing. I can't go back to instant now and struggle with pod coffee because neither compare. My DP is also the kind that will spend months researching before committing to any kind of tech or appliance. I got him it as a gift but it was one he'd already decided on before I bought it (or so he said) so can't have been a bad choice. Highly recommend bean to cup!

[theyoungandtherestless]

I have a DeLonghi Magnifica and it's the best thing I've ever bought! I use it multiple times daily. I paid about £230 for it.

[Cheeseismylife]

I have a delonghi b2c and I love it. Wad about your budget but was on offer when I bought it. Bizarrely the same one is now almost £800 and that's 2 years on. Mine does fluffy milk automatically so does cappucino, latte etc. It's not boiling hot which I thought would bother me at first but actually it doesn't. It just means you make it when you actually want to drink it, not allowing time for it to sit and cool.

[MuthaClucker]

I have a DeLonghi Caffe Corso and would thoroughly recommend.

[JeremyIronsBenFolds]

I have the Sage Barista Touch which DH got me for my birthday a few months back. I love it, and wouldn’t be without it now. It’s pretty idiot proof and makes a great flat white.

[isseywith4vampirecats]

delonghi caffe corso here too5 years old and still makes super coffee

[Hoppinggreen]

DeLonghi magnifica here too
Absolutely love it, was around £200 and makes lovely hot coffee and the milk frother is excellent

[FangsForTheMemory]

Mine's a DeLonghi ECAM 23 something or other. I love it beyond everything. Was about £350, 3 years ago and I wouldn't be without it.

[Puddlejuice]

I have a Sage, which I adore. If I had to find a niggle it would be that the hot water dispenser is not quite hot enough if you're wanting to add milk, but that aside its a thing of wonder.

[UserFriendly14]

DeLonghi Caffe Corso here too- Black Friday bargain so DH told me shortly after I opened it on Christmas morning!

It makes a lovely cup and I hate having to have other instant coffees away from the house now. It is noisy (especially as kitchen is under master bedroom) but as PP have said, I don’t think you can get away from that with a bean grinder.

[QuantamBaby]

I have a DeLonghi Etta Plus and I absolutely love it. At full price it's a bit over your budget but we found one for about £450 in the Black Friday sales a couple of years ago... I would never go back to anything using pre ground coffee...

[JustC]

Sage here, but not bean to cup as I wanted to option to use decaff grounds without the faff of emptying the basket. Couldn't be happier with it. Love the frother, proper frothing, which I found De'longhi lacked( although otherwise a perfectly good machine).

[EnidsCrochetCorner]

Another vote for Delonghi Magnifica, this is mine £400.

We paid £350 in a half price sale 5 years ago. It is used every day, several times a day. The milk bit is so easy, we wanted one that was simple to use and even easier to clean. After it has piped through the milk, you change the cup underneath and simply turn to dial for it to steam clean the milk delivery in the machine. Best thing ever.

Dh did a hell of a lot of research, months, watched videos etc. Before this we had a stove top espresso maker. He got the Delonghi for his 40th birthday.

We have decaf beans bought locally through a friend who gets them from a small coffee roasting business. We put an order in, like I imagine you order drugs

[EnidsCrochetCorner]

Mine puts the coffee "pucks" into a container at the bottom and tells you when to empty it. Very easy.

[Anyonebut]

@TerrorWig, if your coffee is not hot, there's probably something wrong with the machine. And, please tell me you don't microwave your coffee, that's a sin! Reheating coffee makes it bitter and not very nice in general. Do you mean you microwave the cups?

Most Delonghi's have a button to rinse the machine between cups if you want, which a) makes the coffee come out hotter b) the rinsing water can also be used to warm the cup.

[berryhead2013]

Can anyone tell me if there is a coffee machine that keeps it warm for more than an hour I had one years ago but have struggled to find one ever again

[GrumpyHoonMain]

Starbucks franchises often sell their (very old!) Mastrena machines on Ebay. They are expensive even when they’re old, but a friend of mine got one and the coffee is so much better than anything else.

[Shoxfordian]

I have a delonghi autentica
I really like it but it's very demanding