Best bean-to-cup coffee machines
For barista-grade coffee at home, invest in a bean-to-cup coffee machine
Starting with whole, freshly roasted beans is the best way to brew a perfect cup of coffee, but a dedicated coffee grinder takes up time and space.
The more streamlined approach is a bean-to-cup coffee machine, which takes care of the entire process. These sophisticated devices represent a sizeable investment, but the best of them justify the expense every morning.
The best bean-to-cup coffee machines
Melitta Caffeo Barista TS Smart
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“There isn’t a better fully automated coffee machine than this one,” says Expert Reviews. It earns its “smart” suffix with an app that lets you control and customise the entire bean-to-cup process, providing a user-friendly interface that delivers an excellent cup of coffee, including steamed and frothed milk. It’s also very easy to maintain, with built-in automatic cleaning and descaling programmes. If you’re willing to spend in this price bracket, go for this one.
Melitta Caffeo Barista TS Smart, AO.com, £799
Sage BES875UK Barista Express
Not only does this coffee machine look like something a real barista would use - it'll also make your coffee taste like it too. With an inbuilt grinder that ensures your drink is always as fresh as can be, it also boasts low-pressure pre-infusion for a more balanced flavour, high-pressure steam for great tasting micro foamed milk, and a separate hot water wand if you want to make an Americano or simply want to heat your cups up. Dose-controlled grinding means less waste, and the machine comes with a Sage milk jug with temperature controls included.
Sage BES875UK Barista Express, amazon.co.uk, £443.87
Gaggia Naviglio
At less that half the price of the TS Smart, here’s a bean-to-cup machine for bean-counters. It has fewer options for customisation and the steam wand is manual, but that makes it “delightfully simple” and “wonderfully convenient”, says Trusted Reviews. And the espresso shot it produces is on a par with those from machines that cost hundreds of pounds more.
Gaggia Naviglio, www.amazon.co.uk, £366.24
Gaggia Brera
The Brera, another machine from Gaggia, is a dual-boiler machine, unlike its single-boiler sister above. The advantage is that the two boilers can be heated to different temperatures, so the machine is always ready to steam milk (with a manual wand) and brew coffee simultaneously, speeding up the production process. Other than that, the spec and results are similar to that of the Naviglio. It’s “nice-looking, simple to use, fast and convenient”, says Coffee Blog.
Gaggia Brera, www.amazon.co.uk, £669
Gaggia Anima
The third Gaggia on the list is the highest in the range, and the ideal model for an espresso aficionado. The shot it produces is “dark and rich, with the full flavour preserved”, says Trusted Reviews. Milk has to be whipped up using the manual wand, but you can set the brew volume to anything from a 10ml ristretto to a 230ml long black. For some coffee fans, it’s all about control.
Gaggia Anima, www.amazon.co.uk, £699
Melitta Caffeo Varianza CSP
The German-made Varianza first retailed at £750. Now £100 cheaper, it’s something of a bargain. Less comprehensively specced than the TS Smart, it nevertheless provides the full barista service, including high-quality coffee and automatic steamed milk. It’s also compact and easy to maintain. “At this price, there isn’t a bean-to-cup coffee machine that can touch the Varianza,” says Expert Reviews.
Melitta Varianza, www.amazon.co.uk, £599.99
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - November 24, 2024
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - taped bananas, flying monkeys, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The Spanish cop, 20 million euros and 13 tonnes of cocaine
In the Spotlight Óscar Sánchez Gil, Chief Inspector of Spain's Economic and Tax Crimes Unit, has been arrested for drug trafficking
By The Week UK Published
-
5 hilarious cartoons about the rise and fall of Matt Gaetz
Cartoons Artists take on age brackets, backbiting, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The Count of Monte Cristo review: 'indecently spectacular' adaptation
The Week Recommends Dumas's classic 19th-century novel is once again given new life in this 'fast-moving' film
By The Week UK Published
-
Death of England: Closing Time review – 'bold, brash reflection on racism'
The Week Recommends The final part of this trilogy deftly explores rising political tensions across the country
By The Week UK Published
-
Sing Sing review: prison drama bursts with 'charm, energy and optimism'
The Week Recommends Colman Domingo plays a real-life prisoner in a performance likely to be an Oscars shoo-in
By The Week UK Published
-
Kaos review: comic retelling of Greek mythology starring Jeff Goldblum
The Week Recommends The new series captures audiences as it 'never takes itself too seriously'
By The Week UK Published
-
Blink Twice review: a 'stylish and savage' black comedy thriller
The Week Recommends Channing Tatum and Naomi Ackie stun in this film on the hedonistic rich directed by Zoë Kravitz
By The Week UK Published
-
Shifters review: 'beautiful' new romantic comedy offers 'bittersweet tenderness'
The Week Recommends The 'inventive, emotionally astute writing' leaves audiences gripped throughout
By The Week UK Published
-
How to do F1: British Grand Prix 2025
The Week Recommends One of the biggest events of the motorsports calendar is back and better than ever
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published
-
Twisters review: 'warm-blooded' film explores dangerous weather
The Week Recommends The film, focusing on 'tornado wranglers', stars Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell
By The Week UK Published