Bean to Cup Coffee Machine
Author
Discussion

Neil H

Original Poster:

15,418 posts

280 months

Friday 11th December 2015
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Anyone have any recommendations/ experiences of one of these machines? Looking for a bean to cup machine, must also do milk, be reliable, and as little fuss as possible.

Budget sub £500 (ideally cheaper). Delonghi seem to be popular but I’ve heard their after sales support is poor.

Edit: Should probably have posted this in Food & Drink :facepalm:, if a mod sees this could you kindly move there please.

bogie

17,057 posts

301 months

Friday 11th December 2015
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I had 2 Delonghis in the past and their aftersales was always excellent, pick up in 24hrs and usually returned, fully serviced in another 2-3 days.

For £500-600 you may be able to get a B grade (damaged box etc) DeLonghi that lists at £800-1000

Last time I changed machine I decided to "upgrade" and try a Miele, guaranteed for many thousands of cups use, and paid 2x as much money for it. Its failed sooner than any of the Delonghis (18 months in) and took 3 weeks turnaround for what I thought was a simple fault. Not that impressed to be honest, although otherwise the coffee and machine are very good

Usually my machines are going 4-5 years, but are light office use, say 3-4k drinks per year. In the last 18 months the milk system on the DeLonghi failed 3 times, hence prompting the "upgrade" to something supposedly certified for more cups per year and long factory warranty

Certainly I would try a mid to high end DeLonghi again next time......

SHutchinson

2,363 posts

213 months

Friday 11th December 2015
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I've been fancying one of those Sage by Heston machines, not sure they're as robust as a DeLonghi though. I'd be interested in hearing replies to this also.

tokyo_mb

437 posts

246 months

Friday 11th December 2015
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Can't help you directly with your question. However, I thought it worth providing a perspective. When we refurbished our kitchen my wife initially strongly wanted an integrated bean-to-cup machine.

I read up on the machines and decided that a standalone machine might well give better results. While well out of your price range, the Londinium L1 and HG-One grinder combination that I purchased are both 'heirloom' items that give every impression that they will wear out long after I do.

My wife has been converted, in that she now feels making espresso is not that difficult or time-consuming (with the good equipment) and she appreciates the tactile nature of the lever espresso machine and hand grinder. While hand-grinding light roast beans is hard work the results are worth the effort. The espresso making is easy and steaming milk with such a powerful machine takes no time at all. Also the lever espresso machine needs minimal cleaning or care - just an annual clean and lube.

No connection with either product linked, other than as a satisfied customer.

Shaw Tarse

31,886 posts

232 months

Friday 11th December 2015
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Thread here http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... (there's another longer thread too)

Russ T Bolt

1,759 posts

312 months

Saturday 12th December 2015
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personally I would be looking for a Jura, probably out of budget but you may get lucky. Costco tend to do them at good prices.

I have a Siemens B2C, which apparently was a rebadged Jura. 5 years and 8000 cups later no problems whatsoever. When it does eventually give up will be replacing it with a Jura of some kind.

dmitsi

3,583 posts

249 months

Saturday 12th December 2015
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We had a jura which latest many years of regular use. When it died we replaced it with a delonghi esam, the grinder failed after a short while but the service was excellent and replacement arrived promptly, has been faultless since.
Overall the jura is superior kit, but for a third of the price the delonghi is excellent.

James P

3,036 posts

266 months

Saturday 12th December 2015
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Can't comment on delonghi aftersale service as my ESAM has been faultless in the three years we've had it. If/when it does expire I'll happily replace it with another. Keep an eye on Amazon as they often pop up around £260.

Neil H

Original Poster:

15,418 posts

280 months

Tuesday 15th December 2015
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So the Delonghi machines are ok, that's good to know. Looking around a bit I decided to up the budget so I can get one that does the foam automatically. If I have to mess about with steaming milk in a jug it will probably get used a lot less. So far have found these two which seem to fit the bill, anyone get any other suggestions for a fully automatic machine? To be honest looking at all the Delonghi machines gives me a headache, there are so many.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00I6E7CWG/
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00BYKHD7I/

Would love a Jura but they are a lot more than I would want to pay, and the kind with the traditional levers look nice, but I'm looking for an all-in-one machine.