Best affordable bean to coffee , coffee machine please

[kerstina]

Can anyone recommend one that is fairly simple to use and clean . If on the more expensive side I might be able to get DS to contribute too. For an Xmas present for DH

Depends what you mean by affordable but IMO the best are DeLonghi, we have a magnifica - they are more expensive than say a nespresso or a filter machine but the coffee is excellent and they seem to go on forever, ours has had to go back to the factory for servicing once in 10 years, and we bought in second hand originally so it's overall lifespan is even longer IYSWIM? It's easy to use and maintain, it run its own internal rinse cycle regularly so you just have to empty and rinse the grounds tray every so often, top up the water and beans of course, and wipe off the milk steamer/frother spout if you use that. And an occasional descaling cycle is needed esp if you live in a hard water area but that's not hard, it has a specific programme so you just put the stuff in an leave it it to it...

Worth looking into a second hand option if they're too expensive for you new, as I say we got ours used and it's been great...

What is your budget?

I don’t know your budget. We have a Sage Express Impress which I love. Paid £600 but there may be Black Friday deals?

Thank you for replies. I was hoping to find one about £300 .It is his birthday Christmas Day too. I think DS might contribute a bit if I ask him so could go a bit higher. I think the magnifica by Delonghi could be it then . We have had pod machines before but it would be great to get one that uses actual beans. Just got to look for a good deal .

I use a Sage Smart Grinder Pro (£179.99 Amazon) and an Aeropress (£35.00 Amazon).

Great coffee, keeps everything simple and easy to clean.

We also have a Delonghi bean to cup and I would buy again. The coffee is brilliant, it’s very simple to use as well as clean and guests always comment/ask/linger to look at the machine (especially men for some reason?).

The milk thing fits in the side bit of the fridge and goes in the dishwasher 👏

I have a Melitta solo.
I got it because it’s quite small and fits well on my worktop.
Makes really good coffee too.

Following with interest!

De Longhi have an outlet on eBay selling refurbed machines with a warranty.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/delonghiukco

Having bought a refurbed Magnifica from them, I can personally recommend. It was delivered without a milk carafe and DeLonghi customer services had one couriered for the next day so a big up to them for that.

They also posted me a hardcopy of the user manual in A4 for no charge.

When we bought ours I did a load of research which mostly consisted of watching very detailed videos on YouTube. For me I found CoffeeKev / https://coffeeblog.co.uk/about-coffee-blog/ the most helpful and down to earth. I got a Sage one, it’s fab but they aren’t true bean to cup machines.

Also a lot of the coffee nerds on YT give out discount codes which is really helpful.