Best Bean to Cup Coffee Machine Reviews – my husband is a complete coffee fanatic, so I thought it would be useful to ask him to write a review about the Delonghi Bean to Cup Coffee Machine (ESAM 2800) that we have owned for several years. You can read the FULL REVIEW below as well as some other suggestions. This post may contain compensated links, please see my disclosure page.
Best Bean to Cup Coffee Machine Comparison Chart
| Image | Name | Features | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
  | De'Longhi ESAM2800 Bean to Cup Coffee Machine. | Read our FULL review for all the features | See current prices |
  | De'Longhi ECAM44.660.B Eletta Bean to Cup Coffee Machine, 1450 W - Black [Energy Class A] | One touch cappuccino, caff latte, lattemaccchiato, espresso macchiato and flat white drink choices | See current prices |
  | Krups Espresseria EA8108 Automatic Bean to Cup Coffee Machine, Black [Energy Class A] | The most compact Krups fully automatic machine with adjustable settings for coffee size, strength and temperature | See current prices |
  | Gaggia Brera Bean to Cup Coffee Machine | Program the dispensing buttons on the electronic control panel to suit your own personal coffee preferences | See current prices |
  | Delonghi Bean to Cup Magnifica | Can be adjusted (14 grinding level level) | See current prices |
Delonghi Bean to Cup Coffee Machine Review (ESAM 2800)
Dave’s full review of the De’Longhi Bean to Cup Machine.
Coffee! I like coffee! I like coffee a lot! By coffee, I don’t mean your local supermarket’s finest floor sweepings, I mean proper coffee. I’m talking beans, I’m talking grinding (steady), I’m talking fresh unadulterated coffee. I’ve had various coffee making items over the years, making it in various different ways. From the humble filter coffee/espresso machine back in student days and my slight obsession with Taylor’s Dark Roast Hot Lava Java. That machine lasted a long time, though its espresso was rubbish you can’t go far wrong with a filter machine.
Following the above machines sad demise, I dabbled with a Tassimo and Senseo
, decent ish coffee and really convenient in my messy workshop, where the Tassimo still resides, many years later. Though in the days of greater awareness of single use plastics, I question its future somewhat, refillable pods please Tassimo. That’s the one thing the Senseo had in its favour, its pods are like a round tea bag so go in the compost. After that I got a bit more techy with my coffee, with built in bean to cup coffee machines, the catchingly titled AEG PE8038. Looked ace, nearly fully automatic, but shockingly unreliable, sorry AEG but it was!
It went after a little over a year. So, onto the next and indeed current one, which so far is proving rather good. An equally catchy title of De’Longhi ESAM2800. I’ve had it just over 3 years now, it has made 2 – 4 mugs a day, every day I have been here, and I work from home so that’s a lot of days! What is a bean to cup machine I hear you asking? Simply put, you put coffee beans in one end and lovely coffee comes out the other end. There’s variations on the theme but that’s about it. The Delonghi is fully automatic. You need to fill it with beans and water. Open its top, fill it with good quality beans – more on that later – It has a decent quality burr grinder
There is inevitably coffee snobbery about and some will be revolted at the idea of not having a separate £500 grinder and not being able to leave a shamrock or whatever in the top of their coffee. Oh, that’s Guiness isn’t it. Anyways, in my view, if you put decent beans in, the coffee from this is spot on and so quick and convenient. You can adjust the amount of coffee per shot/double shot. Also, you can adjust the amount of water it dispenses to suit your favourite size cup/mug. Both with a quick turn of a dial. If you want a quick espresso, you can either turn the water adjuster right down, or just press stop when your espresso cup is full to your liking. Easy to add an extra shot to your cup in this way too, with just a little more button pressing. Yes, yes, I know, a highly trained barista, 30ml, shot pulled in 20-30seconds, etc, etc. It may be better than the yours, or indeed may not if they are in a grump that day, but they’re using a £5000 machine and they have done millions of them.
Random useful feature, there is a flap on the top where you can add ground coffee for a one off decaff for example, without having to dig out all your beans in the main reservoir. I suppose I should mention the frothy thing, or the steam wand as I guess it should be called. I don’t use it, milk belongs in custard or cheese sauce, not my coffee. However, it does work absolutely fine, I wouldn’t say I would be keen to use it regularly as it’s a bit of a faff, but maybe I would if I liked it. If you’re likely to be desperate for a fluffy latte then Delonghi also do a model with a built in automatic frothy milk jug, which looks good, the De’Longhi ECAM44.660.B Eletta Bean to Cup Coffee Machine though I admit I haven’t tried this one.
No plastic pod waste, you just chuck the container of grounds on your garden when instructed by another flashy light, I must chuck it in different places, the flowers in that spot are doing so much better! Some of the integrated machines are plumbed in to your water supply too, this does appeal, but you can get 5 decent mugs from a tank of water so it’s not too much of a hardship. What’s broken in that time? Nothing, not a sausage. Though I do like that you can extract some of the guts of it (the brewing unit) for cleaning and replacement if needed with just a squeeze of 2 buttons and a pull! Other parts do seem to be freely available too and look easy to swap out if you don’t mind that sort of thing.
The only maintenance it ever gets is running the official ECODECALK
stuff through it when its flashy light tells me too. Really easy to do, hold the descale button down, fill the water reservoir with the Ecodecalk and however much water it tells you, put a pan/jug/random big receptacle under the steam nozzle and open it’s tap thingy. Leave it to do stuff for 20 minutes, then close the tap. Refill with fresh water and open the tap again. It will then rinse itself out until empty and then turn off. Job done, now make yourself a coffee. We have quite hard water here so it’s a good thing to do as it will kill coffee machines, it certainly kills our kettles!
I did say more on the beans later. Well, it’s later now, so here I go. What beans do I buy, you can get away with most of them, the machine copes well, but not all beans are created equally. You may be used to seeing really dark glossy beans. They look rather pretty and look like they’ll be marvellous………..however, I tend to disagree. Though a little more expensive than cheaper supermarket packets, mine come from a specialist online coffee establishment, Hasbean. I’ve been buying here for years, you pick your favourite bean, click the roasted whole beans option and they roast them to order and appear at your door in a day or two. Don’t accidentally pick the green beans option, that gets messy! If you don’t know what you like, they do an excellent espresso starter pack too with a variety to try. They are directly imported and bought from individual farms/producers. Take time to read some of the info, the owner really gets to know them. He will also tell you what to expect from your beans. Now, this is a bit like wine tasting, you might get it, you might not. Even if you don’t taste the honey and sultanas or dark chocolate (sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t), it gives you an idea of the character of the coffee you’ll be getting. This is definitely our best bean to cup coffee machine 2018. Check the prices on Amazon for the Delonghi coffee machine bean to cup
De’Longhi Coffee Machine Bean to Cup, ECAM44.660.B Eletta 1450 W – Black
Another of the Delonghi bean to cup coffee machines. Make all your coffee shop favourite drinks with the Eletta ECAM 44.660.B bean to cup coffee machine. Nothing else can beat freshly ground beans to create your favourite coffee. Whether you like a strong espresso or long frothy cappuccino, this machine can deliver it at a touch of a button. Your choice of fresh coffee beans finely ground with the integrated burr grinder. Creating coffee shop quality coffee, to be enjoyed in the comfort of your own home. Navigate with the two line digital display to personalise the coffee strength and length to your preference. Great bean to cup coffee machines DeLonghi patented Latte Crema Technology automatically creates perfect luxuriously smooth milk every time. Fresh milky coffee has never been easier with the removable milk carafe. Simply store in your fridge until you need to make your coffee. Great quality but not cheap bean to cup coffee machines. See current prices on Amazon for De’Longhi ECAM44.660.B Eletta Bean to Cup Coffee Machine, 1450 W – Black
Krups Bean to Cup Coffee Machine, Black Espresseria EA8108
Compact without compromise: Krups smallest Beans to Cup coffee machine for coffee lovers who are big on taste, but short on space. The ideal introductory Bean to Cup espresso machine .Ultra compact machine delivers maximum coffee taste, while using minimum space. Ergonomic and intuitive design makes it easy to achieve cafe-quality results at home. Compact Thermo-block System heats water to the optimal temperature quickly for consistently hot coffee from the first to the last cup and less lime scale. Stainless steel grinder produces a precise and uniform grind, and the ideal crema .Krups introduces its most compact, fully automatic, Bean to Cup machine: the Espresseria Automatic EA8108. Providing simplicity without sacrifice, the ergonomically-designed EA8108 features a patented water heating system and professional-quality grinder, making it an ideal introduction to a world of Bean to Cup machines. This fully-automatic machine has a 15 bar pump pressure for maximum flavour extraction and a milk frothing nozzle for a barista-quality latte or cappuccino. It’s also quick to heat up and uses a metal conical burr grinder – the same grinder used by professional coffee houses. In fact, it’s a coffee shop that fits neatly on your worktop. Finished in piano black, the diminutive EA8108 unites style with function. The large rotary control knob and push buttons allow for intuitive operation. Users can select their coffee type, adjust the temperature, volume and intensity, and achieve professional-tasting results with ease. Automatic rinsing, cleaning and descaling programmes take care of system maintenance. In common with all Krups Bean to Cup machines, the EA8108 features the patented Compact Thermo-block System. Bean to cup coffee maker. This innovative system delivers rapid water heating for consistently hot coffee, right from the first cup. Furthermore, as water is constantly flowing through the system, this means less lime scale build-up – and less descaling as a result. The Krups EA8108 features a professional-quality, resistant stainless steel conical burr grinder. This ensures a precise and uniform grind, while preserving the maximum bean aroma and the perfect level of crema. The grind can be adjusted to fine, medium or coarse; the finer the grind, the stronger the coffee See current prices on Amazon for Krups Espresseria EA8108 Automatic Bean to Cup Coffee Machine, Black
Gaggia Brera Coffee Machines Bean to Cup
Prepare your Espresso – Compact, traditional design and simple to use. Espresso as tasty as from the Barista in your favorite cafe? No problem! The Gaggia Brera Bean to Cup espresso machine gives you professional results, right in the comfort of your kitchen. Select the espresso strength and length just as you like. These energy-efficient bean to cup coffee makers automatically switch to standby mode after one hour, then uses less than one watt per hour. Program the dispensing buttons on the electronic control panel to suit your own personal coffee preferences. Durable ceramic grinder retains the purity of the coffee aroma, and can be adjusted to grind as coarse or as fine as you like. Via the ground coffee compartment you can brew a different blend without changing the beans. Removable brewing unit for easy cleaning and maintenance. See current prices on Amazon for Gaggia Bean to Cup Coffee Machine Brera
Delonghi Bean to Cup Magnifica
Can be used with coffee beans. Can be adjusted (14 grinding level level). Colour details: Silver. Capacity: Water Container 1.8 1. Capacity: 1350 Watt/15 bar pump pressure. See current prices on Amazon for DeLonghi Bean to Cup Magnifica ESAM 3000
While you are here, have a look at my other household product reviews for Memory Foam Mattresses, the JML iron, Belling Cookers, Made to Measure Radiator Covers, Gtech Pro Vacuum and Best Bean to Cup Coffee Machine.