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Bean to cup coffee machines

(22 Posts)
gransue60 Sun 29-Jun-25 10:19:13

What advice do Gransnet have on bean to cup automatic coffee machines?
We are thinking of buying a Philips 5400 machine but at £500 it’s a lot of money.
We’re fussy about our coffee and currently use an Aeropress and a V 60 dripper. We need a new grinder and we like the idea of an easier way to make good coffee.
We were recently shown around a small artisan coffee roasting company and the owner said he used this machine at home.
However we don’t know anyone else who has one. Reviews on Amazon etc are good but I thought I would ask my fellow Grans for advice.

Pittcity Sun 29-Jun-25 11:49:08

We have a Breville Barista Max which is less automated than the one you are looking at. We love it.
We weren't sure so bought a reconditioned one for a lower price to try it out.
I think that a good cup of coffee is more about using beans that give the flavour you like than it is about the machine.

Casdon Sun 29-Jun-25 11:55:57

I’ve got a Sage Bambino, and a separate coffee grinder which I use once a week and keep in the cupboard. I opted for that combination because it takes up less worktop space, and it makes excellent coffee, I’d recommend Sage.

Mt61 Sun 29-Jun-25 12:01:39

We were kindly given a delonghi bean to cup. Not sure what model, but it’s huge. We have fresh coffee every morning- if it ever broke, I would invest in another for sure.

Nannynoodles Sun 29-Jun-25 12:12:50

We have a DeLonghi bean to cup and absolutely love it!
We have had it a few years now and use it several times a day, if it ever broke we would replace immediately without doubt, only problem is it stops us wanting coffee out so much as ours is often nicer at home.
It does need a bit of cleaning and descaling fairly regularly but easy enough when you’ve done it a few times.

Mt61 Sun 29-Jun-25 12:29:31

Nannynoodles

We have a DeLonghi bean to cup and absolutely love it!
We have had it a few years now and use it several times a day, if it ever broke we would replace immediately without doubt, only problem is it stops us wanting coffee out so much as ours is often nicer at home.
It does need a bit of cleaning and descaling fairly regularly but easy enough when you’ve done it a few times.

I have bought that delonghi cleaner £7 but now just use a cheaper descaler made for coffee machines as it’s a long time out guarantee

Nannynoodles Sun 29-Jun-25 13:50:56

Yes I don’t buy the DeLonghi descaler any longer, I buy a 5 litre one off Amazon that works fine on anything that needs descaling! Does say it suitable for coffee machines though.

Claremont Sun 29-Jun-25 14:11:27

Nannynoodles

We have a DeLonghi bean to cup and absolutely love it!
We have had it a few years now and use it several times a day, if it ever broke we would replace immediately without doubt, only problem is it stops us wanting coffee out so much as ours is often nicer at home.
It does need a bit of cleaning and descaling fairly regularly but easy enough when you’ve done it a few times.

Same here- have had it for 8 years, no issue. And would replace with the same if and when. Grounds go straight onto garden, changing where everytime, or with veg waste for compost.

Brilliant as no waste, so very ecologically friendly. Pods are a disaster for environment.

Grannyjacq1 Mon 30-Jun-25 13:45:51

I love our Delonghi bean to cup machine too. Magnifica model. Use cheap descaler from Savers - Kilrock.

Grannyjacq1 Mon 30-Jun-25 13:47:11

Also Lidl coffee beans- strongest ones - great flavour.

ClaraB Mon 30-Jun-25 14:03:59

We love our Delonghi bean to cup machine, I buy Costa beans when on offer in Waitrose or Lavazzo from Costco

Cateq Mon 30-Jun-25 14:39:02

Our four AC’s all chipped in and got us a Siemens TQ515 at Christmas and we love it. It’s easy to use and clean.

cc Mon 30-Jun-25 15:23:42

We have had DeLonghi bean to cup machines for quite a few years and recommend them. We've tried cheaper brands in our holiday home but don't find that the coffee is as good.
We do have one with automatic milk frothing, but actually don't use this function because of the cleaning required, I don't think those with just a steam wand are as much trouble in this respect but have never tried one. If I want froth I use one of those jugs that warms and froths, or simply warm milk in the microwave. The bean to cup machines without fancy milk frothing are cheaper and make coffee perfectly well.
I'd recommend that you look at Amazon warehouse deals or EBay, there are often some very good deals on there, though you may not get the normal full guarantee from Ebay that you'd get from Amazon or a normal retailer. Delonghi have an Ebay shop selling certified refurbished machines for around half-price.
My first coffee machine was bought on Ebay as an unwanted wedding gift from a couple who didn't drink coffee!

cc Mon 30-Jun-25 15:27:11

Casdon

I’ve got a Sage Bambino, and a separate coffee grinder which I use once a week and keep in the cupboard. I opted for that combination because it takes up less worktop space, and it makes excellent coffee, I’d recommend Sage.

My son had a huge and fancy Sage machine and it makes lovely coffee but the black paint is peeling off everywhere. So if you decide on a Sage machine I'd stick to plain metal rather than painted.

icanhandthemback Mon 30-Jun-25 15:47:06

We have a Delonghi and love it. It was under £300 I think.

letmein Mon 30-Jun-25 15:52:00

Another one for Delonghi, ours is 10 years old from John Lewis and brilliant.

Spec1alk Mon 30-Jun-25 19:49:42

We have a delonghi bean to cup machine. Love it!! Would buy another when it wears out. I bought it from my freeman’s catalogue when I had a 20% off offer

Deedaa Mon 30-Jun-25 19:56:03

To be honest I would stick with the Aeropress. We've had many coffee machines over the years and my husband reckoned that the coffee from the aeropress was by far the best,

Daffydilly Mon 30-Jun-25 19:58:35

We have a sage coffee machine. Their customer service is excellent. When our old machine finally gave up the ghost the husband had another one ordered within hours. It gets used every day.

TiggyW Tue 01-Jul-25 02:10:25

We used to have a DeLonghi bean to cup machine, originally about £400 new, which we inherited from our son because he decided it was too big for their kitchen. It was used every day until it stopped working and would have been expensive to repair. We now have a basic machine with grinder from Lakeland. It cost about £100 and makes great coffee. I buy 1kg bags of beans from TK Maxx, which are the best value. We also have a Magimix Nespresso pod machine, which is quick, but the coffee doesn’t taste as good as freshly ground. I recycle the aluminium pods using the Podback scheme. The fresh coffee grounds are scattered on the garden.

cc Tue 01-Jul-25 13:23:06

www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_dkr=1&iconV2Request=true&_blrs=recall_filtering&_ssn=bhf_shops&store_cat=0&store_name=britishheartfoundationshop&_oac=1&_nkw=delonghi

two new DeLonghi machines being sold by a charity on Ebay

gransue60 Tue 01-Jul-25 18:02:35

Thanks everyone. We have decided that if a professional roaster of coffee recommends a few machines ( he doesn’t sell them) then it’s worth a punt.
We have ordered and await the ‘fun’ of trying out the coffee with beans bought from him! 🤞🤞🤞