Built in Coffee Machines......
Discussion
Currently have 2 x Neff ovens but sadly the steam oven is knackered and beyond economical! We're fine with just the one oven so prompted by Wifey (so I know I'm on a winner) she mentioned getting a built in coffee machine 
Not done much research yet and thought I'd throw it out to anybody that's gone down this road. Budget circa 2K but want all singing all dancing and must be able to do two decent cup/mug fulls at the same time, include milk options. Any input appreciated.
Not done much research yet and thought I'd throw it out to anybody that's gone down this road. Budget circa 2K but want all singing all dancing and must be able to do two decent cup/mug fulls at the same time, include milk options. Any input appreciated.
We had one in the family; utterly not worth it. Basically a regular bean to cup machine with a price overhead (and more awkward to clean) for having been repackaged into a 600mm wide housing. They even use a water container you have to unplug and refill vs being connected to the mains supply. The milk was held in a thermos vs actually being chilled.
There are much better ways of doing great coffee at home; whether going for a better bean to cup machine or investing in a really nice espresso machine and standalone grinder.
There are much better ways of doing great coffee at home; whether going for a better bean to cup machine or investing in a really nice espresso machine and standalone grinder.
Edited by bobthemonkey on Wednesday 6th September 20:25
I wouldn’t. In fact, I haven’t. I have a hole where an integrated coffee machine used to be before it irreparably failed. It has a standalone bean to cup machine in the aperture now (Jura) which makes a much better cup of coffee and the unit cost half as much as an integrated unit.
Integrated units cost greatly more, there isn’t a huge choice and they compromise on the quality.
Bean to cup machines aren’t terribly reliable, I’m on my fourth in the last 20 years. For that reason I’d buy a standalone machine and something else as an integrated unit. (Microwave? Steam oven?)
Integrated units cost greatly more, there isn’t a huge choice and they compromise on the quality.
Bean to cup machines aren’t terribly reliable, I’m on my fourth in the last 20 years. For that reason I’d buy a standalone machine and something else as an integrated unit. (Microwave? Steam oven?)
I got a Bosch one when I did our kitchen. It was a bit of an extravagance and more out of wanting a matching unit for the block of four appliances and already had 2 ovens and a microwave.
The kitchen has been done for almost 2 and a half years and the coffee machine is used daily by myself and eldest daughter. It does nice coffee and I’m really happy with it.
As others have said they’re bloody expensive for what they are and you can get stand-alone for much, much cheaper. If it wasn’t to fill the specific gap I wouldn’t even have contemplated one but I guess that’s the reason they sell them (and whack the massive premium on)!
The kitchen has been done for almost 2 and a half years and the coffee machine is used daily by myself and eldest daughter. It does nice coffee and I’m really happy with it.
As others have said they’re bloody expensive for what they are and you can get stand-alone for much, much cheaper. If it wasn’t to fill the specific gap I wouldn’t even have contemplated one but I guess that’s the reason they sell them (and whack the massive premium on)!
Don’t do it.
Fill with water. Fill with milk. Fill with beans.
Clean milk. Clean lines. Clean out bean waste.
All for a few cups of coffee. The machines are £2k and I never really had a decent cup of coffee.
Use a counter top one. Cheaper. Faster. Better coffee.
If you like black coffee you might just get away with it.
Fill with water. Fill with milk. Fill with beans.
Clean milk. Clean lines. Clean out bean waste.
All for a few cups of coffee. The machines are £2k and I never really had a decent cup of coffee.
Use a counter top one. Cheaper. Faster. Better coffee.
If you like black coffee you might just get away with it.
bobthemonkey said:
We had one in the family; utterly not worth it. Basically a regular bean to cup machine with a price overhead (and more awkward to clean) for having been repackaged into a 600mm wide housing. They even use a water container you have to unplug and refill vs being connected to the mains supply. The milk was held in a thermos vs actually being chilled.
There are much better ways of doing great coffee at home; whether going for a better bean to cup machine or investing in a really nice espresso machine and standalone grinder.
Sadly whatever type we opt for cannot have a mains water feed where it's going (there's a bi-fold door in the way and we're not about to rip up expensive floor tiles). Can't see any issue with having milk in a container chilled or otherwise apart for the need to clean it and associated pipes on a daily basis There are much better ways of doing great coffee at home; whether going for a better bean to cup machine or investing in a really nice espresso machine and standalone grinder.
Edited by bobthemonkey on Wednesday 6th September 20:25
MarcoD said:
I got a Bosch one when I did our kitchen. It was a bit of an extravagance and more out of wanting a matching unit for the block of four appliances and already had 2 ovens and a microwave.
Did you keep the steep stool, so you have somewhere to put things down when you take them out of the oven?InformationSuperHighway said:
Depends on how snobby you are with your coffee, but those built in units are very average (At best), highly expensive and a pain to clean.
I would use the space for something else and invest in a separate grinder / espresso machine setup. But then.. I am said coffee snob.. so
I would use the space for something else and invest in a separate grinder / espresso machine setup. But then.. I am said coffee snob.. so
I get the snobbery bit - I've dipped in and of the main coffee thread in here over the years 
We've had cheapish traditional machines before and appreciate that there are so many variables like type of bean, grind size, tamper pressure, temperature etc, I'm surprised that any two cups ever end up being the same! I'm an engineer and to me every step in a production process should be consistent and repeatable to the n'th degree. Basically, get rid of any 'deviation' and even if the end product is wrong as long as they're all wrong it's simple to correct for future runs.
I fail to see how a modern automated machine can't produce the same high quality product time after time after time. Think of a 50p drinks machine - pop your money in and out comes your choice, granted it'll probably taste like s
te but at least it's consistent. This floats my boat as a stand alone but i've a feeling Wifey will torpedo it.............
I've used them in holiday cottages, and they've been OK, not great. I suppose if you find a bean that works with them and stick with it you should be mostly OK, though I do find that the grind for my usual bean varies between batches.
The attraction of bean to cup is that the thing which bugs me about my machine (integrated grinder, but process is manual) is the mess.
The attraction of bean to cup is that the thing which bugs me about my machine (integrated grinder, but process is manual) is the mess.
I work in the kitchen industry. Built in coffee machines are by and large pretty terrible value for money. I've had decent coffees out of them, but this is usually on supplier training days where the user has perfected how to use the machine. I've never used one myself, or had to bother with the cleaning/maintenance aspect of it.
Another issue you'll have is your oven is likely to be circa 600mm high, but a built in coffee machine will be 450mm high, so you'll need to factor in the cost of a 140mm warming drawer to make it look correct, unless you blank off the gap some other way.
Speaking of looking correct, unless you go for a Neff one from the same collection as your current oven, it won't line through aesthetically either.
If I was in your position, I would keep the dud oven to store baking trays in and buy a good quality countertop coffee machine!
Another issue you'll have is your oven is likely to be circa 600mm high, but a built in coffee machine will be 450mm high, so you'll need to factor in the cost of a 140mm warming drawer to make it look correct, unless you blank off the gap some other way.
Speaking of looking correct, unless you go for a Neff one from the same collection as your current oven, it won't line through aesthetically either.
If I was in your position, I would keep the dud oven to store baking trays in and buy a good quality countertop coffee machine!
dickymint said:
I fail to see how a modern automated machine can't produce the same high quality product time after time after time. Think of a 50p drinks machine - pop your money in and out comes your choice, granted it'll probably taste like ste but at least it's consistent.
This floats my boat as a stand alone but i've a feeling Wifey will torpedo it.............
A modern automated machine will produce consistent results…it’s just that an integrated unit generally produces consistently average results. That may be ok for done people, after all a lot of people buy and drink Starbucks “coffee”.te but at least it's consistent. This floats my boat as a stand alone but i've a feeling Wifey will torpedo it.............
I’ve had 5 stand-alone bean to cup machines over the years, as well as an integrated Bosch one that was pre installed in a house I bought.
The two Jura devices I’ve had have made by far the best coffee, though they were at the higher end of their range.
These days I just use the machine as an espresso maker. We don’t bother using any built in milk frothers as they’re a bit of a faff and need a lot of maintenance. We use a separate Duravit milk frother (far better than an Aerocino) as it’s far more convenient, and you can get it on the go while the machine makes the espresso. Then I make whatever coffee variant myself by mixing accordingly.
If you buy an integrated unit you end up in a cycle of buying replacement integrated units when they inevitably fail, at significant cost.
Jeremy-75qq8 said:
Don’t do it.
Fill with water. Fill with milk. Fill with beans.
Clean milk. Clean lines. Clean out bean waste.
All for a few cups of coffee. The machines are £2k and I never really had a decent cup of coffee.
Use a counter top one. Cheaper. Faster. Better coffee.
If you like black coffee you might just get away with it.
100% This. We rented a house a few years back that had one installed in the kitchen. Used it a few times then found it quickly became a faff more than a luxury. Fill with water. Fill with milk. Fill with beans.
Clean milk. Clean lines. Clean out bean waste.
All for a few cups of coffee. The machines are £2k and I never really had a decent cup of coffee.
Use a counter top one. Cheaper. Faster. Better coffee.
If you like black coffee you might just get away with it.
A decent standalone unit can really add something to a kitchen I think.
Probably posted on the coffee thread but I’ve a Rocket machine and grinder and obviously it makes great coffee but is visually pleasant too. Lots of people comment. Oh AND you learn a new skill - how to make coffee
Probably posted on the coffee thread but I’ve a Rocket machine and grinder and obviously it makes great coffee but is visually pleasant too. Lots of people comment. Oh AND you learn a new skill - how to make coffee
resolve10 said:
I work in the kitchen industry. Built in coffee machines are by and large pretty terrible value for money. I've had decent coffees out of them, but this is usually on supplier training days where the user has perfected how to use the machine. I've never used one myself, or had to bother with the cleaning/maintenance aspect of it.
Another issue you'll have is your oven is likely to be circa 600mm high, but a built in coffee machine will be 450mm high, so you'll need to factor in the cost of a 140mm warming drawer to make it look correct, unless you blank off the gap some other way.
Speaking of looking correct, unless you go for a Neff one from the same collection as your current oven, it won't line through aesthetically either.
If I was in your position, I would keep the dud oven to store baking trays in and buy a good quality countertop coffee machine!
"the user has perfected how to use the machine"Another issue you'll have is your oven is likely to be circa 600mm high, but a built in coffee machine will be 450mm high, so you'll need to factor in the cost of a 140mm warming drawer to make it look correct, unless you blank off the gap some other way.
Speaking of looking correct, unless you go for a Neff one from the same collection as your current oven, it won't line through aesthetically either.
If I was in your position, I would keep the dud oven to store baking trays in and buy a good quality countertop coffee machine!
Can be said of any machine/process that has many variables hence my fixation for each step to be repeatable.
"aperture size"
Yep but not a bad thing to factor in a 'warner'
"it won't line through aesthetically either."
Yep I'm stumped with that one but as they're not side by side it may not be too bad?................
As for counter top - the last thing I want is more clutter but a possibility when we finally get around to finishing the adjacent utility room but then our new gizmo would not be 'on display' for the delight of our honourable guests
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