Bean to cup coffee machine recommendations

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Essex, UK
Hi All, I'm after some advice from the wise community here please.

My Dad has decided he wants to make coffee at home that is as good as what he gets when he comes to my house, to put that correctly he has decided that he wants my Mum to be able to make him coffee at home as good as he gets at my house.

My Mum doesn't drink coffee, currently Instant Coffee is all they drink at home.

I use a Gaggia Classic along with an Iberital MC2 grinder, but I think this might be a bit too much hassle for my Mum to cope with, so I'm wondering if there are any good Bean to cup machines about that can make a decent size mug of Americano with a Double shot of Espresso.

I fully expect a Bean to cup machine will have some limitations, but I'm sure there must be some around now that can make a good cup of coffee.

I've never looked at Bean to cup machines, so before I do I was wondering if anyone has any personal recommendations.

Thanks
 
I've got a Gaggia Brera which does all the above.

I find it works very well. We've had it two years and it's had a lot of use.

I'd go for a similar setup to you next time but if I wanted another bean to cup I'd buy the Brera again.
 
That looks a good start, I think that would suit them quite well as it looks fairly easy to use and seems to get good reviews. Always nice to have a personal recommendation as well.

Thats probably about the right budget for them.

Thanks
 
We're now on our third bean to cup machine (each one has lasted years) and this one is the best yet. Our first was a Lidl/Aldi model (filter coffee only) which although worked ok needed cleaning out every time as the steam would ingress into the coffee grounds and clog it all up; design fault I think. The second was a similar model from Cuisinart which didn't have the design error and performed well.
Our latest model is a DeLonghi Magnifica ESAM 04.320 (model now discontinued I think) which is an espresso and cappuccino bean to cup machine but most importantly has a dedicated "Long" button. A long coffee is kind of an approximation to an Americano whereby it produces two shots of espresso but pauses in the middle of each steam pumping to let the water seep through the coffee grounds so a nod to filter coffee. The results are very good and the machine is much easier to clean and maintain. It does a large and variable coffee size (up to 180ml) it's noisy but does a great job.
So my advice if you're after an Americano is to look for a "long" button.
 
I'm sure machines have improved but mine was quite useless for shots, okay for milk based drinks when you can drown it.

I think rather than jump from instant coffee to a full blown bean to cup machine which is a fair commitment I'd start by introducing him to drinking the better stuff even if it's pre-ground and a french press or a drip machine. You can always grind them some fresh beans and introduce them to that concept later.
 
Just a note to say we didn't pay full price for our DeLonghi machine, as it's pretty expensive. We actually paid about half price through a John Lewis sale. It's always worth checking for bargains as older models are sometimes heavily reduce in price. Also maybe post-Christmas there might be some bargains.
 
antdad said:
I'm sure machines have improved but mine was quite useless for shots, okay for milk based drinks when you can drown it.

I think rather than jump from instant coffee to a full blown bean to cup machine which is a fair commitment I'd start by introducing him to drinking the better stuff even if it's pre-ground and a french press or a drip machine. You can always grind them some fresh beans and introduce them to that concept later.

I totally agree with this. Modest outlay on a cafetiere (and also a dualit grinder IMO) and see how he gets on with that for a few months, then take it from there.
 
WiffWaff said:
antdad said:
I'm sure machines have improved but mine was quite useless for shots, okay for milk based drinks when you can drown it.

I think rather than jump from instant coffee to a full blown bean to cup machine which is a fair commitment I'd start by introducing him to drinking the better stuff even if it's pre-ground and a french press or a drip machine. You can always grind them some fresh beans and introduce them to that concept later.

I totally agree with this. Modest outlay on a cafetiere (and also a dualit grinder IMO) and see how he gets on with that for a few months, then take it from there.

He doesn't want a cafetiere, he has tried that before and didn't really get on with it. Now I find out it needs to do steaming milk as well to make cappuccino, as apparently Mum likes cappuccino. I never knew that.

They seem quite keen on a bean to cup machine so are looking at the options.
 
It's probably blasphemy amongst the serious coffee aficionados here but my Nespresso Citiz and Milk doesn't make a bad instant coffee from a pod. I know this isn't what the OP was looking for but for hassle free coffee it's pretty good IMO.
 
Hi
I am using a Gaggia Platinum Vision this has some parameters that you can alter to change the profle of the sho.t but above all i would recommend getting fresh roasted beans
Paul
 
Lose the beard said:
He doesn't want a cafetiere, he has tried that before and didn't really get on with it. Now I find out it needs to do steaming milk as well to make cappuccino, as apparently Mum likes cappuccino. I never knew that.

They seem quite keen on a bean to cup machine so are looking at the options.

I have had my De'Longhi Magnifica for three years now and it's been brilliant. I'm not in to espresso but love latte/flat white type coffee so for me it's perfect. I'm always getting compliments on the coffee I make (inc. Americano) so can't recommend it enough if the budget isn't too low. They are currently brand new on Amazon at £230.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/DeLonghi-Magnifica-ESAM4200-Espresso-Cappuccino/dp/B001EOMZ5E

There are others out there similar and second hand ones available cheaper too.
 
My jura is amazing.

But having done some research, a nespresso is good enough for the occasional drinker.
I think it was 4 cups a day or more justify a bean to cup.
Sure a nespresso isn't as fresh, but it has other advantages - it's smaller, more convenient, cheaper initially, and a doddle to use
 
Would any of you kind folks with B to C machines take a picture of your single shots and post them.

I have one so I'm aware of their limitations so this isn't for a public flogging, I just want to see what the new generation of machines are capable of.
 
Ben88 said:
It's probably blasphemy amongst the serious coffee aficionados here but my Nespresso Citiz and Milk doesn't make a bad instant coffee from a pod. I know this isn't what the OP was looking for but for hassle free coffee it's pretty good IMO.

+1. If the OP's parents have previously been used to instant, then nespresso will probably be a welcome step up. I was impressed by how drinkable the espresso is.
 
antdad said:
Would any of you kind folks with B to C machines take a picture of your single shots and post them.

I have one so I'm aware of their limitations so this isn't for a public flogging, I just want to see what the new generation of machines are capable of.

Here you go for DeLonghi Magnifica ESAM 04.320 doing a single shot espresso. Using decaf beans and it's a mug instead of a cup, so I don't know if that makes a difference, but I believe the spouts should be as close to the coffee surface as possible.

Honestly don't know if it's good (to look at) or not, so I'll let you be the judge.

Coffee141125-1_zps18052e19.jpg


Coffee141125-2_zps9b893e8b.jpg
 
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