Coffee machine help please

[Tighteningmybelt]

DH has been a literally angel this year and I want to surprise him with a coffee machine but not sure what’s the best one as I don’t drink coffee.

I know he would like a bean to cup one, I was looking at one from Phillips but think the ninja one looks good too. Quite a big price difference though.

Would anyone be able to recommend which one to get please? He usually drinks latte when we are out. Budget is £500, he will be blown away!

Thank you

We bought this one as a treat to ourselves last Christmas and it’s been great.

https://amzn.eu/d/4ISYK7q^^

The sage barista express is by far the best one you can buy. It’s around £480.

We’ve just ordered ourselves the Delonghi Magnifica Plus which seems to get the best reviews as a ‘super automatic’ bean to cup -https://tomscoffeecorner.com/delonghi-magnifica-plus-review-best-superautomatic/ Got it for around £500 on the Delonghi site but now out of stock! The other Delonghi Magnifica ones also get good reviews and are slightly cheaper.

Sage barista express! I have it and use it every single day. Some nights I go to sleep excited to wake up and make my coffee lol.

Mine is this one: https://www.johnlewis.com/sage-the-barista-express-impress-luxe-coffee-machine/stainless-steel/p6354148?s_ppc=2dx_mixed_technology_BAU&tmad=c&tmcampid=2&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23001357484&gbraid=0AAAAAD2el1w5PXZh6v5SHN9hdY1dEnUkK&gclid=Cj0KCQiAxonKBhC1ARIsAIHq_ltaU4QKMZtuhC46apc4cBkUHrxgUi8u5JMm493OXsRswfSL6FiF_yEaAiZoEALw_wcB

I got it from John Lewis where it is currently on sale, albeit still a little over your budget. I think they have an older version in black on sale on Amazon.

I’ve got the Ninja one. Makes an excellent range of delicious coffees, cold brew and hot chocolate that is better than the Hotel Chocolate velvetiser. Froths real, oat, almond and lactose free milk really well too.

We got the Ninja Luxe in the Amazon sales- it's brilliant really easy to use and like pp froths milk up so well for cappuccinos. Still under 500 even at full price.

I’ve just been down this path

sage machines aren’t true bean to cup in that you still need to go through the steps of filling and emptying the portafilter (the thing the coffee grounds go in) and frothing your own milk. They make a better espresso - that’s the trade off

if you want a true bean to cup that makes ever so slightly less good espresso but will do you a very good latte or cappuccino at the press or a button you want a De’Longhi. These also empty the grounds (my bugbear is that every time I want to make a cofffee some filthy bastard hasn’t emptied it out since making themselves one). I have the evo next and it’s v v good.

this fella gives very good reviews to suit all budgets and also gives discount codes. coffeeblog.co.uk

We have recently changed from a Gaggia brera bean to cup to the Ninja. The Ninja is a bit less automatic ( like the sage !) but for us it won frol
everything we researched because as other PPs mentioned it works for the whole family with
DCs loving the hot chocolates and iced coffee options.
I also appreciate the fully automated clean and descale cycle which used to be far more hands on with the old machine.

We have the Melitta Cafe Solo. True bean to cup. Tells you when to do the cleaning cycles. Makes gorgeous latte. We use a separate frother but you can get tge Cafe Solo Milk with integral frother wand.

Delonghi autentica cappuccino. Had it 5 years and love it still

We have a Sage Barista machine - I spent ages researching, watched a lot of review videos on Youtube (highly recommend Coffee Kev from coffeeblog.co.uk) and decided that this was the right option and price for us. You might have different preferences so it's always a good idea to look at the options and see what would work best for you.

Thank you, is there such a thing as one where you press the button and it does the whole coffee or do you always have to do the milk separately? I’m checking out all these recommendations

I prefer to do the milk separately tbh, makes it easier to make two coffees at the same time! We have a slimline delonghi machine plus a grinder (essential) and absolutely love them, use them every day without fail, worked perfectly with no issues for the last 3 years

We have this one and he’s v happy with it. https://www.johnlewis.com/philips-series-3300-ep3347-90-bean-to-cup-coffee-machine-black/p111202300

We have the Ninja Luxe, currently £441 on Amazon. I love it, it's so simple to use.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ninja-Cappuccino-Espresso-Automated-ES601UKGM/dp/B0FHL4QQZW/ref=sr_1_6?crid=1E7OXRCXUDEFM&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.RLq6idCHZiwKnR6zbukjnDncdnaw6MEd90BHfIRsqeaEVu62gfWtrrszRFYtcSdS-y8CKOepMy8ntJAJJsKmsdMGhsM7umORjyZXAB89LBzcyZHhLDcOyyV33GKCzUvIlfGWwakSBZvcAwJWG9I_q0PQ2aCoSRUrmptZNwiOPie8zO-FAMxc7IFQyQRCP4Wn1VwgArPDPaHMmNIPPi5tUzryHrVFHH3jBABCfguyvRQfixnUBgES1vQgz5f_f0QbCCQnBStohwaztKlbcF7aQCR0s0v8BtRo1bG8hBAUMNQ.XLQuUa4pTDWvpiltATdM2b3Q-xFHRTZX0yM5r1U4Djo&dib_tag=se&keywords=ninja+luxe+cafe&qid=1766005479&sprefix=ninja+luxe%2Caps%2C128&sr=8-6&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.0fa28f01-6fca-4422-af4e-d52d5ad71bfe

Honestly, the coffee on this kind of machine just isn’t as nice. Really recommend a machine with a separate grinder and steam wand.

We have a Melitta F230-102 Purista bean to cup machine. It cost a bit over £300 and is really good. We don't take milk in coffee, but you would need a separate frother with this machine.

I have had a DeLonghi Magnifica. Had it 6 years or so now and I would have another in a heartbeat. Unsure of cost nowadays though.

We have a Phillips 5400 which we like. It’s an automatic beam to cup so you just press the button of the coffee you want and it makes the whole thing without you having to do
anything. It makes several different coffees - cappuccino, latte, flat white, espresso, americano etc. It is also very easy to clean the milk compartment which was really important for us after having harder to clean ones in the past. We did consider the sage one but for us the convenience of the automatic one was totally worth it

@Tighteningmybelt we have the one @neonleopard linked above, the Delonghi Magnifica S thing but a previous model. See the photo here. The milk carafe slots into where the hot water is dispensed from, you remove that spout on the left.

https://www.delonghi.com/en-gb/s/ECAM22.320.SB

We have had it 10 1/2 years I bought it for Dh's 40th and have several coffees a day in fact DH starts with an espresso and whilst he drinks that he makes a cappuccino and then puts a tall coffee into his Yeti cup that keeps it hot and takes it to his desk upstairs. Luckily decaf. We get beans via Amazon.

The milk carafe thing decants the milk through the machine to warm it and then on ours you turn the dial and it cleans itself. You just pop it back into the fridge with the remaining milk in. If you like your coffee super hot then either warm the cups through using the hot water dispenser )we have a boiling water tap) or the coffee cup warming plate on top of the machine. I want to be able to drink it not scold my mouth.

I prefer the carafe rather than faffing about steaming the milk with the wand thing. I just want to press a button and have a cappuccino.

The machine is very easy to clean and to descale, plus you should still be able to set the amount of water to fit your cups.

We have replaced 1 O ring ourselves following instructions on Youtube. It is a great machine. It has done 18,000 drinks. Well built solid machine.

Nespresso pod, simples

I have said many times on MN - my Sage will be dragged from my cold, dead hands. You should be able to get a new barista for that budget. The coffee quality is so much better than most of the “bean to cup without the trauma of having to tamp down” types.

Coffee machine preferences can be a religious or distro war 😀

Oh dear, we have an earlier Delonghi Magnifica model and it’s frankly awful, totally regret buying it. Horribly loud, constantly wants de-limescaling, unimpressive milk frother, and makes mediocre coffee. The Plus model might be a totally different cup of beans though, as it were - I hope so for your sake. I’m wondering how long we have to put up with it before justifying a Sage Barista.

Sage barrista pro. You can get discount here for Sage machines https://coffeeblog.co.uk/sage-coffee-machines-5/