# Best bean-to-cup espresso machine?



## jjlothin (Nov 20, 2017)

The Krups bean-to-cup espresseria I'd had for nearly 5 years gave up the ghost last week, and being desperate, I ordered the current model: Krups Espresseria EA8150.

However, I've just had to arrange to return this (to Amazon) as it's got an incredibly annoying habit of insisting that the coffee drawer needs emptying after 2 or 3 (single) espressos - UNLESS you spend 10 minutes or so carefully cleaning the inside where the coffee drawer fits with a wet cloth. Apart from the time factor, my eyesight's just not good enough to do this repeatedly in the way that it obviously needs to be done.

So now I have to get a new machine asap.

I've been looking at the De'Longhi Magnifica Bean to Cup Espresso ESAM4200 but it doesn't have a feature I particularly liked on the Krups: the ability to choose the exact size of your espresso (I'd eventually come to realise that, for a decent double espresso, I needed to get it to make 2 x 30ml cups, rather than 1 x 60ml!).

Obviously, that shouldn't completely rule it out, but I was wondering if, in the meantime, anyone could recommend a reliable bean-to-cup that makes excellent espresso? My budget would be up to £500 (though hopefully more around the £300 mark!)

Many thanks for reading.


----------



## RoA19 (Feb 23, 2018)

I'm sure more knowledgeable members will arrive shortly, but from my readings on here the Melitta Varianza gets great reviews & the Melitta Caffeo Barista also (tho' more expensive)


----------



## GingerBen (Sep 7, 2017)

I'd be looking at the sage barista express in that range personally. Bit more input required but arguably better results


----------



## Jony (Sep 8, 2017)

@DavecUK


----------



## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Melitta Varianza CSP. My review of it is here:

https://coffeeequipmentreviews.wordpress.com/2016/07/29/melitta-caffeo-varianza-csp/

BB don't stock it any more, whether they will again I don't know, but Redbur coffee and Amazon are two places you can look.

https://www.redber.co.uk/collections/home-bean-to-cup-coffee-machines/products/melitta-caffeo-varianza-csp-black-bean-to-cup-coffee-machine

They had the steel finish at £599, currently sold out, but might get more in.


----------



## jjlothin (Nov 20, 2017)

RoA19 said:


> I'm sure more knowledgeable members will arrive shortly, but from my readings on here the Melitta Varianza gets great reviews & the Melitta Caffeo Barista also (tho' more expensive)


I'm afraid it looks like both of those are outside my budget (£500 would realy be tops) - and neither gets brilliant reviews on Amazon? Not, of course, that that's the be-all-and-end-all ...


----------



## jjlothin (Nov 20, 2017)

GingerBen said:


> I'd be looking at the sage barista express in that range personally. Bit more input required but arguably better results


... again, the Amazon reviews re reliability/breakdown aren't too good ... (Life was so much simpler before Amazon reviews!)


----------



## jjlothin (Nov 20, 2017)

DavecUK said:


> Melitta Varianza CSP. My review of it is here:
> 
> https://coffeeequipmentreviews.wordpress.com/2016/07/29/melitta-caffeo-varianza-csp/
> 
> ...


Many thanks - your review's great, but - yet again! - the Amazon reviews vis-a-vis breakdown/unreliability are somewhat offputting ...


----------



## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

I would listen to DavecUK's reviews over anything anyone writes on an Amazon review personally.


----------



## Jony (Sep 8, 2017)

+1


----------



## jjlothin (Nov 20, 2017)

MildredM said:


> I would listen to DavecUK's reviews over anything anyone writes on an Amazon review personally.


Reading DavecUK's review, I have no doubts that he knows what he's talking about and is an awful lot more knowledgeable about the whole area than probably 90% of Amazon reviewers, and certainly a lot more knowledgeable than I am!









My concerns are that (a) as he was only reviewing the machine over a limited period, he wouldn't have had the unreliability/breakdown problems the Amazon reviewers report; and (b) the Melitta Varianza CSP comes in nearly two hundred pounds over my budget!


----------



## Jony (Sep 8, 2017)

Those are the options or buy cheaper one. Can't really say much more,


----------



## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

jjlothin said:


> Reading DavecUK's review, I have no doubts that he knows what he's talking about and is an awful lot more knowledgeable about the whole area than probably 90% of Amazon reviewers, and certainly a lot more knowledgeable than I am!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I used the machine extensively for months and I still have it now. Wheeled out for those days when I feel Lazy. I think I could confidently say that there would be 0 amazon reviewers with anything near the experience and knowledge I have of reviewing, testing and designing in the espresso machine and coffee roaster area. I have been doing this for more than 13 years now. You would do well to spend the extra £100 and get it right. Used correctly there is no reason it should be any more breakdown prone than other bean to cup machines and by it's design a bit less likely to give problems. If there is ever a brew group Issue, then it's easily and cheaply repaired by simply replacing the entire brew unit. The big issue is cleanliness and the ability to prevent mould formation around the brew unit.

It also has a 2 year waranty......however, if you want to trust the Amazon reviewers and save £100, the choice is yours.


----------



## jjlothin (Nov 20, 2017)

Many thanks for all the clarifications, DavecUK







! I AM very tempted by the Varianza, but the cheapest I've found comes in at virtually £700, which is actually £200 over budget, alas ...


----------



## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Look harder I am sure i found them cheaper than that. If you wait deals come up on them from time to time.

https://www.redber.co.uk/collections/home-bean-to-cup-coffee-machines/products/melitta-caffeo-varianza-csp-black-bean-to-cup-coffee-machine

I gave you the link above before, £650, but they often have special offers at under £600


----------



## Jollybean (May 19, 2013)

Trust what Dave says. He really knows what he is talking about


----------



## jjlothin (Nov 20, 2017)

DavecUK said:


> Look harder I am sure i found them cheaper than that. If you wait deals come up on them from time to time.
> 
> https://www.redber.co.uk/collections/home-bean-to-cup-coffee-machines/products/melitta-caffeo-varianza-csp-black-bean-to-cup-coffee-machine
> 
> I gave you the link above before, £650, but they often have special offers at under £600


Many thanks, DavecUK, for your time and trouble on this. I'm going to have to give this serious thought!


----------



## Benreade (Apr 28, 2018)

Reality is a budgeting is a hard fact for most, but you can boost spending power

Tip 1 - google one word camelcamelcamel. This is an awesome website that tracks amazon prices over time. Allows you to see if current price is fair, or allows you to set a threshold to be notified when the price drops. I bought a bbq at a stonking reduction in January thanks to this

Tip2 - get an Amex gold card. Spend £2k on this in under three months and you get £100 gift card. You can boost this by £15 by amazon under a current offer

I'm basically re farming money saving expert (MSE) advice here, another super website


----------



## jjlothin (Nov 20, 2017)

Benreade said:


> Reality is a budgeting is a hard fact for most, but you can boost spending power
> 
> Tip 1 - google one word camelcamelcamel. This is an awesome website that tracks amazon prices over time. Allows you to see if current price is fair, or allows you to set a threshold to be notified when the price drops. I bought a bbq at a stonking reduction in January thanks to this
> 
> ...


Many thanks for the excellent tips!


----------



## SheepAreOnFire1903 (Jul 8, 2017)

jjlothin said:


> Many thanks for the excellent tips!


Isn't this the model £450 http://www.ecookshop.co.uk/ecookshop/product.asp?pid=6733247


----------



## ashcroc (Oct 28, 2016)

SheepAreOnFire1903 said:


> Isn't this the model £450 http://www.ecookshop.co.uk/ecookshop/product.asp?pid=6733247


That's a CS not a CSP. I've absolutly no idea what the difference is between the 2.


----------



## jjlothin (Nov 20, 2017)

SheepAreOnFire1903 said:


> Isn't this the model £450 http://www.ecookshop.co.uk/ecookshop/product.asp?pid=6733247


Thanks for posting that link - although it does say Varianza CS as opposed to Varianza CSP? And as I'd never be using any of the 'milk' options (I'm espresso pure & simple!), I was wondering if the Melitta Caffeo Solo might be more appropriate to my usage/budget?


----------



## jjlothin (Nov 20, 2017)

Many thanks to everyone for their help - particularly to @DavecUK (and @Jony, for directing his attention to the thread), for alerting me to the existence of both Melitta as a possible brand and Redber Coffee Roasters as a supplier.

In the end - as there's only me who'll be using it and the maximum number of espressos I can drink in a day without losing sleep (!) is three shots - I've gone for the Melitta Caffeo Solo. I'm still experimenting and the coffee's not quite as hot as I'm used to (on the highest temp setting), but so far, so very good ...


----------



## walakalulu (Apr 12, 2018)

I've just bought a JuraS8 and that seems to extract more flavour from fewer beans than my old Delonghi 4200.


----------



## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

Congrats on your new machine! Re the temp, I expect you are pre warming your cups. Even then, don't expect your coffee to be hot like tea


----------



## jjlothin (Nov 20, 2017)

MildredM said:


> Congrats on your new machine! Re the temp, I expect you are pre warming your cups. Even then, don't expect your coffee to be hot like tea


Indeed - I'm warming them to within an inch of their lives!

And I never drink tea, but I think my defunct Krups Espresseria did produce coffee a little hotter. Nothing's perfect, though,







so I have absolutely no regrets that I went for the Melitta.


----------



## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

I suppose if you want the extra heat, just give it 10-15 sec in the Microwave.


----------



## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

walakalulu said:


> I've just bought a JuraS8 and that seems to extract more flavour from fewer beans than my old Delonghi 4200.


Jura do definitely try and get the most from the beans you put in. When I did my engineering test of one of their £1300 models and asked for a double shot...it put twice the amount of water through the same quantity of beans. When I pressed the double shot button on the silly old Melitta, it ground and extracted 2 shots, one after the other into the glass....how stupid was that of Melitta, they could have just put more water through.

P.S. Part of the reason the Melitta espresso might be a tad cooler, is it leaves it in the chamber for longer to improve the extraction, so the entire shot time is a little slower but as Mildred said, make sure the cups are warmed.


----------



## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

DavecUK said:


> Jura do definitely try and get the most from the beans you put in. When I did my engineering test of one of their £1300 models and asked for a double shot...it put twice the amount of water through the same quantity of beans. When I pressed the double shot button on the silly old Melitta, it ground and extracted 2 shots, one after the other into the glass....how stupid was that of Melitta., they could have just put more.


I will come clean . . . I had a Jura - for about 3 days. I bought it based on reviews somewhere or other (it can't have been this forum because it was before its inception). It. Was. Dire. Returned it for a full refund, and then didn't dare buy another machine for ages and went back to a French press. It's just a good job it didn't put me off for life!


----------



## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

MildredM said:


> I will come clean . . . I had a Jura - for about 3 days. I bought it based on reviews somewhere or other (it can't have been this forum because it was before its inception). It. Was. Dire. Returned it for a full refund, and then didn't dare buy another machine for ages and went back to a French press. It's just a good job it didn't put me off for life!


It's a funny thing, Jura don't like me too much....didn't much like my feedback either. Melitta were a lot more receptive, but I thought their machine (where it really counts) was four times as good for half the money!









I also think the biggest problem (which I can't talk about) is already outed on the internet with some nice vids and photos of a machine that I can't name... significantly Melittas system meant this problem only existed in their machines if you never did the simple weekly cleaning routine (I don't mean the one using tablets either).


----------



## easy (Mar 20, 2019)

Amazon reviews are fake as hell. I've recently read an article on that. the scale of a problem is actually worse than you can expect https://marketingland.com/study-finds-61-percent-of-electronics-reviews-on-amazon-are-fake-254055

I personally prefer not that big websites to rely on. There's my favourite considering the particular thread https://wisepick.org/best-espresso-machine-under-200/

Btw they really do provide educational and unbiased content. Hope it'll help someone


----------



## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

DavecUK said:


> It's a funny thing, Jura don't like me too much....didn't much like my feedback either. Melitta were a lot more receptive, but I thought their machine (where it really counts) was four times as good for half the money!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


One reason for me to switch from button pressing to hand tamping ages ago was







mould build up in my







Jura Ena 9 despite a very thorough cleaning routine. The way it's been engineered didn't allow for proper disassembly to reach into some areas.

I'm looking at different el cheapo bean to cup machines now to get into average joe customers minds a bit better (because we don't exclusively deal with the cognoscenti).

Delonghi Primadonna models seem very popular around here, as are the smaller Melitta ones. Can't say anything about them yet but will post my findings


----------



## DrRSG (Jul 11, 2017)

I boughy a Melitta Barista TS in January. It makes great coffee at an adequate temperature. I drink my coffee black.


----------



## Frazer (Mar 16, 2020)

So after seeing the thread here i just 'won' my Melissa on ebay... then noticed theyve dropped the price (in the uk) by £200!...

still, looking forward to melissa coffee soon... Thankyou all for your contributions, really useful...


----------

