Best Bean-to-cup coffee machines to buy  

What’s the difference between semi-automatic, automatic and super automatic bean to cup espresso coffee machines ?

We’ll give you the definition, but have to tell you that there is a cross over between all the categories and some reviewers, and manufacturers put their machines in different categories. De ‘Longhi for example simply call their machines manual or automatic so you will find some or their machines referred to as semi-automatic,  or automatic. Sometimes they call them fully automatic which we equate with super automatic. So, to be fair, we have listed ours as they get more automatic, more luxurious, and more customisable, but the boundaries between each category ( particularly semi and automatic )  are somewhat blurred.

Semi-automatic definition

Semi-automatic have use the best of both automatic and manual worlds. The espresso brewing part and the milk frothing can be anything between manual and automatic. For the brewing, they have an automated pump, and automated temperature controls for the boiler, and activation switches to engage and disengage the pump. The switches on the machine means that you are in control and can decide when to turn the pump on and off. For the frothing, it can be anything from manual to fully automatic depending on the machine and the brand.

Automatic

Automatic machines are essentially  beautiful-looking, high-quality domestic vending machines ! Choose whatever type of coffee you want and it does it for you brilliantly, quickly, cleanly. Milk frothing should be automatic too. You might just get to handle a portafilter, or frothing jug here, and you should be able to set up some personalised drinks. They can even do all the clean up and maintenance for you. All at the press of a button.

Super-automatic

Super-automatic machines are automatic machine +++. They are both the ultimate in luxury and convenience.  Everything us usually done behind the scenes so they generally have a sleek front face. They have pre-set features for brewing the coffee. As you move toward the super-automatic they can allow you to tweak the settings to get your perfect coffee, then you get to save it as a pre-set coffee so that you can press a button and get the preset any time you choose.

In a nutshell, these machines grind the beans and brew the coffee,  with steam wands to do the milk frothing, and some automatic features.

Gaggia Naviglio Coffee Machine

Sage / Breville – The Barista Touch

De’Longhi Eletta ( 44.620 vs 44.660)

also rans… a model we are just looking at…La Specialista by de ‘Longhi which looks more like the Sage / Breville models… watch this space. The Breville Barista Express is also a fabulous machine but we feel it belongs more in a manual espresso machine category and the semi-automatic role has been taken over by its successor the Barista Touch.

 It takes coffee beans only ( just saying as some other machines can take both beans and ground coffee ). Having beans is more important than ground coffee in any case. The only advantage I see to having the option of ground coffee is for the convenience or so that you can have easy decaffeinated coffee.

It has a ceramic grinder which takes 300g of beans and you can adjust the grind of the beans and also the strength of espresso to your taste.

You can also adjust the grind to make your coffee stronger with a finer grind ( 5 settings). It also comes with an adjustment key should you wish to tweak !

Note: A ceramic coffee grinder is better than a steel grinder

Having a ceramic grinder instead of s steel one means your coffee doesn’t taste burnt as the ceramic grinding doesn’t conduct extra heat into the bean oil when grinding. It also means it grinds more quietly.

Paul interjects… ‘that’s why the F1 brake pads are ceramic not steel – when the foot is taken off the brake, it cools down immediately’… now we know !

The Naviglio works at 1850 Watts, has a water tank capacity of 1.5 Litres, and makes excellent strong espresso with a good crema, at 15 bar pressure. It’s advised to always use filtered water, or you can fit a filter into the tank (which is easy to pull out). A Intenza+ filter (like a Brita style)  is recommended. A light sensor comes on when you need to refill with water, or beans.

It can store up to 10 cups worth of ground coffee when it grinds the beans. It has a nice LED button interface to select from 3 different measures of the freshly ground coffee to go into the filter so you can adjust the strength to suit your taste.

You can also very easily customise and have the machine memorise the lengths ( size / volume ) of finished coffee in your cup.  You can also make two cups at a time ( just press the 2 cup button ), and can also pre warm your cups on the top.

It works with cups from 70mm to 110mm high. Instead of adjusting the base to allow for different coffee cups, the brewing head extends downward to reach small cups.

It’s a single boiler machine, so naturally takes longer to heat up again for steaming your milk, after you’ve made the coffee. However it has a Panarello style steam wand that makes up for this ! You can’t adjust the steaming yourself, but this type of wand just does a great job for you. It also has a button for hot water.

the advantage of having a Panarello steam wand ?

Having a Panarello type steam wand makes it a little easier for you to make froths for lattes or cappucinos. It infuses a bit of air into the pipe along with the steam to help with the frothing and create a nice thick and even micro-foam. This system also means you can use this steam wand to dispense hot water, and you should be able to easily start brewing another coffee immediately after the steaming process.

Conclusion: Why you should buy the Naviglio espresso machine

Overall the Naviglio is a nice ( if mean-looking !) sturdy device.  It is very easy and intuitive and has lots of icons and light signals to tell you what’s going on.

It does a great job and is super value for money here.

In the U.S. we want to show you the Gaggia Valasca. It’s just a step up with 5 coffee and 10 grind choices, and also a little lighter ! Apart from that it’s essentially the same machine.

If you like this model, and can spend a little more, have a look also at the Gaggia Brera model in the Automatic section.

(if BUY button does not work for you, please click here for UK, and here for USA

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This is a great upgrade from the Barista Express machine. It has a super fast start-up, and an easy to use touchscreen to do everything from grinding the beans, to brewing the coffee, and frothing the milk. Yet you can still adjust all three controls until you get the texture, taste and temperature to suit you … then save it as a formula the machine will easily recreate for you at the touch of a button !

This machine creates a milk to the creaminess or micro-foam and temperature you desire but still you get to deliver it in the traditional way through the steam wand. The Barista Touch has a selection of coffees for you to choose from but you can save 6 ( 8 for the Breville version in the U.S.) of your own personal customisations. If you don’t fancy the touch screen options and want something more manual then you can go back to the Barista Express with its buttons and dials instead.

Conclusion: Why you should buy the Barista Touch espresso machine

Okay, I admit it, this probably has to be my ( Aoibheann’s )  favourite machine except for one con pointed out. It combines the look, the features, the technology and the quality – along with the ability to produce consistently great coffee whilst also being flexible. I don’t like to dictate, and I always like to keep things open. So this machine is a winner – it allows me to play. It makes me feel involved in the process, and also have the flexibility to please myself and everyone else with however they might like their coffee.

(if BUY button does not work for you, please click here for UK, and here for USA)

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There are at 3 Eletta models here – 2 could fall into this category of semi-automatic .

Which Eletta is semi-automatic, fully automatic, or super automatic.

De Longhi machines can be very confusing to understand, with their names and numbers, and varying model codes in different regions of the world. So we intend deciphering that for you here, with regard to the Eletta.  First, it’s worth pointing out that some call the Eletta a semi-automatic and some an automatic or fully automatic machine. I think there is a good reason for this. There are three Eletta models worth looking at that seem to span from semi to super automatic. 

So let’s look at the first, most semi-automatic ECAM44.620 (Eletta Plus), and compare it with the automatic 44.660 (Eletta Cappucino) and even the super – automatic with the 45.760 (Eletta Cappuccino Top) models here. 

All of the Eletta models allow you to  use pre-ground coffee or the beans – up to you ! So you can easily try out some new grinds, or even have a decaffeinated element. It has a memory function to save your favourite settings once you adjust the length, strength and temperature.

All the Eletta machines also auto-clean on start up and shut-down. They all also have an auto clean function, an automatic shut down function for energy saving and… and yes you can use it to pour hot water only. If you are particularly energy conscious first, the Gaggia Brera is also a great competitor to the de Longhi Eletta.

Eletta plus 44.620  vs.  Eletta cappucino 44.660 

The only difference between the ECAM 44.660 and the 44.620 is a little design and that the 620 is a bit smaller and can’t produce cappuccinos automatically. The ECAM 44.660 is called the cappuccino model because it has the famous De ‘Longhi LatteCrema system installed. 

The 44.620 does have milk frothing settings for you to choose your ideal micro foam for your milky cappuccinos or lattes, but you have to just use the steam arm to deliver it. So you do get to practice the frothing part a bit more manually if you fancy looking like a barista !

Both use 15Bar pressure, a thermoblock boiler and a burr grinder with several settings, and you can produce one, or two cups at a time. You can also pre-warm a few cups on the top. The Eletta 44.620 is black with a silver front, and the Eletta 44.660 is all black.

Moving down:

… What about the De ‘Longhi Magnifica

If you want to pay less but stay with De Longhi, then go with popular entry level Magnifica. (ESAM 4200 in the UK, or ESAM 04110 in the US. ) To be fair,  you should buy it only if you prefer only black coffee because the Magnifica doesn’t get the same rave reviews about its milk frothing.  After all it doesn’t have their LatteCrema system installed ! Just click through here and you will also find it here on  Amazon

Eletta Conclusion

Why you should buy the Eletta , and which one is best to buy today

Overall, the Eletta is probably one of the most popular espresso machines on the market.  It’s a crowd pleaser. It will do everything for you, brilliantly, or it will let you do it yourself – for example the frothing system fully automatic, or manual option… the bean grinding as you please, or just pop in some pre ground coffee if you prefer.  Which one would you choose? All new De Longhi machines are going to have the LatteCrema system installed, so if you like your coffee milky… we would advise buying one that has this so we would choose the Eletta Cappucino (ECAM44660) over the Eletta Plus (ECAM44620). For the price and features, the Eletta Cappucino is ur choice.

However, when it comes to price, we have also seen some amazing offers showing little price difference between the Eletta 44.660 and the more super automatic Eletta 45.760  Cappcuccino Top, 45.760 – so also check out when you click through to Amazon- you may get more for your money if you get a good deal there ! The Cappuccino Top is one of our 3 winners in the next category ´Best Automatic Espresso maker´so carry on and read all about it too. 

(if BUY button does not work for you, please click here for UK, and here for USA)

The automatic machines do everything at the touch of a button. They grind the beans, brew the coffee,  and can even steam the milk to make your milky latte, or cappuccino etc.

De’Longhi Eletta Cappuccino Top 

Gaggia Brera

Jura ENA Micro 90

An espresso making snob just might think where’s the fun in all full automation ! What if you don’t agree also with what the automatic machine has decided is the best brew for you ? So you have to decide here that when you spend all that extra money for automatic, do you want the machine to take ALL the control away from you, and trust what the machine has decided is the best grind, brew time, temperature, and length of extraction for your personal taste. 

But maybe you’re a more trusting person than that. Maybe you get your fun somewhere else, and just want the coffee delivered by the experts !  Sounds fair ! So here are our best picks.

Gaggia Brera Espresso machine

The Gaggia brera is another unique design, which we like. It gets touted as the model for energy conscious coffee lovers, with its energy-efficient switching to standby mode after one hour, then uses less than1 watt per hour. In  fact a lot of models have a stand-by mode so I don’t know yet why this model is touted as being so environmentally friendly.. .I’ll find out for you though !

Like the best automatics, it has some programmable buttons for your own personal coffee preferences, maybe that’s why I’ve even seen it named ‘super-automatic’ on amazon once. 

It has a ceramic grinder ( for 250g of beans) with adjustments from coarse to fine…but just 5 settings which is fine, but not for the purist !

It has a removable brewing unit for easy cleaning and maintenance, and a hot water and steam nozzle. It uses a rapid steam technology and a pannarello style steaming wand, so you don’t have to wait too long to get your frothing going, after the coffee has been brewed

The water tank takes  1.2 litres and is  Brita filter compatible. Cleaning and descaling are automatic and by all accounts the espresso produced is really good, but maybe not the best of the bunch. However Gaggia have included a lot of great features in a small space, so you are getting an awful lot for your money. 

Interesting… so why did Gaggia call it Brera? Brera is a buzzing popular district in Milan, but the wiki definition is the medieval word meaning a land expanse either cleared of trees or naturally lacking them !

Conclusion: Why you should buy the Gaggia Brera 

We do love the style of this Gaggis machine, and it has a lot going for it. Even if it tries to be all things to all people, it does most things really well… and at an amazing price. So it’s not for the purist, but it is a perfect machine for someone that wants a well priced, compact, solid, entry level fully automatic model.

(If BUY button does not work for you, please click here for UK, and here for USA)

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This is probably the pinnacle for bean to cup for the single cup personal machine. It’s high end, sleek, simple, beautiful… and very compact. It uses a unique process developed by Jura, to extract the coffee. Call P.E.P. ( pulse extraction process). The grinder is a good ceramic burr grinder and holds just enough beans (4.5oz / 125g), and the water tank only takes 37oz. / 1L  So this machine is aimed at low usage or single people. 

This is a very discreet machine, making magical coffee. The milk and water spout are well integrated on the front, and the control panel discreetly stored on the top of the small machine ( 9.1” x 17.5” x 12.7” ). It’s also quite lightweight but sturdy at just 20.7 lbs / about 9kg.  A single boiler using thermoblock technology and the auto shut off can go all the way down to 15mins ! 

How P.E.P.  extraction works 

It pulses the force of hot water through the coffee grounds so that they get soaked and extraction at intervals, instead of all at once. So the coffee gets to expand and the most flavour can then be pulled out.  

  

 

Conclusion: Why you should buy the Ena Micro 90

This one is for the apple mac user, minimalist pad, or high end purist. Or also for someone that doesn’t like to get their hands dirty… but still want the best coffee seemingly produced out of thin air ! 

(if BUY button does not work for you, please click here for UK, and here for USA)

For the purists that don’t take milk in their coffee ! 

Some might argue that a machine doing all this without the milk capability is still deemed a fully automatic machine – so, incase you don’t have milk with your coffee… the alternative models that do just that. are the black coffee A1 and Ena Micra 1. If you want the best of both worlds, buy one of those with and the separate stand-alone Jura milk frother machine shown below.

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So what makes it super-automatic espresso machine ?

Well,  it’s the programmable feature that allows you to personalise your coffee choices to your own taste at every stage of the process… and then save it so that every time, at one touch of a button, you get your own recipe served up – super- automatically !

You’ll find also that these machines generally have a touch screen now, but often have a version before without the touch screen. Where appropriate we’ll point that model out too. if the touch screen doesn’t appeal, then sometimes, you’ll find the other model at a better price – but not always !

 De ‘Longhi PrimaDonna Deluxe (stainless steel option)

Jura S8 ( and E8)

Sage / Breville Oracle Touch

Also rans: Melitta Barista TS Smart,  De ‘Longhi Elite (We’re not finished with these models yet, so watch this space ! )

For this super-automatic category, we spent a long time comparing the two best models from De Longhi – the Eletta and the PrimaDonna. They both use the great ‘Latte Crema’ system but what else can they do, or not do !

Just like Braun hand blenders, the names, numbers and differences per region from this company really set us up for massive confusion – so we’ve been chatting daily to De Longhi and others for quite a while now. Funny that De ‘Longhi also own Braun ! Here’s some helpful information on decoding the model numbers.

what the De ‘Longhi acronyms mean 

ECAM vs. ETAM vs. ESAM

Easy ! ECAM means compact, ETAM means thin, ESAM means silent. However this doesn’t mean that models Ecam and Esam are not  silent – they may also have the De ‘Longhi silent grinder installed, but they also are compact, or even  thinner better than compact  !

Moving on from our last De ‘Longhi model –  the Eletta, in the Semi automatic range. Let’s now compare it with the next model up. The Prima Donna.

De ‘Longhi Eletta vs. de ´longhi Prima Donna

Again these models are quite similar. The Prima Donna is more expensive – why? – because one major difference is that the outer shell of the Eletta is mostly plastic whereas the prima donna models are entirely stainless steel.

With regards to one touch drink buttons,  the Prima Donna has more options. It has the Caffelatte, cappuccino and latte machiatto as touch buttons, whereas the Eletta has cappuccino. It also has a cup illumination feature ( nice for night time !) . They both have the auto cleaning, shut-off, energy saving modes. Both are 11kg.

Apart from that they are fairly similar – especially with the S Deluxe model.

You will find either the Deluxe XS or the Deluxe S. The difference – the XS is more compact at just 195mm x 475mm x 326mm (WxDxH)… or should we say… it’s thin, and the corresponding model number with the ‘T’ tells us that –  the Prima Donna Deluxe XS is ETAM 36.365. To do this however we notice the bean hopper takes just 170g beans as opposed to 400g and the water tank is no long easy to slide out from the side. It’s still transparent and you can move it out , but it’s now at the back of the machine. 

The Prima Donna S is compact, not thin and has the model number ECAM 28. 465. You’ll find it in the US Amazon.It still takes 250g beans and has the water tank at the side as with most models.

Conclusion: Why you should buy the De ´longhi Prima Donna coffee machine

So if you want a top quality stainless steel  espresso machine, next up from the Elite 45.760 model – go for the Prima Donna Deluxe models ( S or XS Deluxe or S Deluxe). In the UK, click here to take you here to the XS Deluxe model – we’d recommend buying this version in the UK as it is De ‘Longhi Prima Donna model they offered by De ‘Longhi UK. 

We love the Jura. It exudes style and quality. For us, it is the ultimate choice in super automatic sleekness. Then, after we decide that… we discover that Jura have used Roger Federer to advertise it – we feel our job is done !

But we have to give you more. So here it is…

The S8 is super automatic and can use beans or ground coffee – using Jura’s Aroma generation 3 grinder. The bean hopper is 280g and it also has a coffee grinds chute should you wish to use that.

We could throw Jura technology at you but it is in fact a very simple one touch button coffee brewing machine, and one touch for frothing. The frothing pipe and LCD display are both subtly streamlined and it is equally good at lattes, cappuccinos and machiattos… as well as having a hot water option.

It is a good size machine at 280 x 351 x 439 mm and takes cup sizes from  72 – 118 mm. Single or double cup pouring, with 12 programmable options of coffee… 3 with double dose features. It has 10 strength controls.

It has a 2 Litre water tank with integrated filter, and an intelligent system that tells you when to change filter.

The main selling point of all the Jura automatic machines is the consistent very high end espresso it can make. The pump uses a unique Jura ‘Pulse Extraction Process’ to optimize the extraction time no matter what length of coffee you choose. It’s fast, and efficient, and you will always get the best possible aroma.

The difference between the S8 and E8 – the touchscreen of course with the S8, a few more programmable features on the S8, and the option of a chrome model.

Conclusion: Why you would choose the Jura S8

All singing, all dancing, good, looking, great ethos and personality. If you can afford it, buy one !

(if BUY button does not work for you, please click here for UK, and here for USA)

17.75″ / 45cm high , and 35lbs / just under 16kg weight.

For the busiest of people… that want it all.  Get the best barista-style coffee totally automatically made for you, at home.

The Oracle touch is the top machine from Sage and Breville. It looks more like a manual barista machine, well in fact it is that with it´s dual boiler,  but it also has the ability to automate everything from grinding, dosing, tamping, brewing, steaming and frothing. No need to even tamp, that´s all automatic too.

A little bigger than the others in the range,  and a lot more expensive. But, with deep pockets usually comes more space ! It´s nice and weighty with a bean hopper that holds 280g of beans, a grinder with 45 settings, and a 2.5 Litre water resevoir. You can even choose to automate, or go manual.

Features a really user friendly swipe & select touchscreen with 6 main brewing options, 8 customisable ones

This machine is also for you, if you drink lots of coffee, only want the best, and can’t wait around for it.

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Conclusion: Why you would choose the Oracle Touch

Top of the Breville / Sage range of espresso coffee machines. Has the best of all worlds. Looks like a real barista machine, delivers a fabulous barista espresso by all accounts that you would get from a manual machine, whilst giving you all the flexibility of a fully automatic. Pricey, but worth it. 

… How did we do our Coffee machine tests and reviews ?

1. Our experience food and drink business owners

We’ve always been passionate about our coffee and have plenty of experience domestically and in the hotel and restaurant business. Being in the food and drink business for 10 years and knowing how we like to always have the best, people kept asking for our recommendations. To be fair, we could only go as far as our own experience so we started making a habit of checking everyone else’s experience too… from our foodie contacts from chefs to business owners and suppliers. 

2. Good, honest detail

So we ask everywhere we go, from homes to foodie businesses, and we set off on our big online research journey. I don’t know why it takes so long but I have to be thorough and have to understand everything perfectly… before I can give you the information. It has to be right, so along the way, I’ve realised how much I learned when I could even discuss corrections with manufacturers on their own sites – something quite rewarding about that – you get the right information and I get the satisfaction . Win win.

3. Online coffee experts

There are some really special experts online but quite often they jump into such technical detail too fast. Coffee machines seem to be like car engines to a lot of guys !  It’s not just the scientists that want a great coffee machine. I know it’s a science, but it’s also an art, and a good bit of theatre.

There are also a lot of wanna be baristas, and simple selling sites that compound the issue with too many errors or too little information.

Finally there are many review sites that the public have come to rely on, partly because they have become household names for so many things… too many things in fact. We like to look at what they say, out of interest, but mostly to see what information they may be perpetuating. Usually there is very little real information to go on, but we use these sites to see what it is they are trying to sell to you, and why, and to see what story the public are being fed. Then we also know how to correct things when we need to, in the hope of helping you more.

4. Customer reviews

We looked at all the customer forums, reviews and post-sale customer comments we could find. We interacted with users online, and talked directly with manufacturers to get down to the nitty gritty details. We read the press articles on the most loved models and brands.

We then wrote our own guides to the coffee making process and what to look out for when buying one, and then went back and made sure we checked all our winners against these criteria too.

5. Our daily passion for coffee 

Our love of good coffee goes without saying really, anyone who knows us will be smiling right now at Paul’s obsession for the perfect espresso, and Aoibheann’s determination to so the best job understanding and writing it up for you.

It took months to digest and decipher the facts, then the story started to form… and it continues as we now have these contacts and update all the time.  We can’t put everything down in writing – we probably write too much already, but we get a good feeling over a long immersed time in the subject.  We hope you too will comment and discuss with us so that we keep these reviews up to date for everyone.

…What does that tell us which brands make the best coffee machines?

Our research was as wide and complete as possible, taking into account the from cook to chef ethos where we want to provide solutions for everyone. Everyone from beginner to expert, from UK to USA and beyond. Machines to suit different lifestyles, personalities and pockets ! Machines that give confidence and results that different people need.

We find very different manufacturers that meet these needs. You’ll find big kitchen appliance names like KitchenAid , Smeg and Cuisinart still playing a big part in this market, so if you are a loyal fan, and their values suit you, you will find a matching offering from them. not for all types of machines however, and we have chosen the best one from each – one of them in this post. Breville and Sage ( one and the same brand ) are an expection as they have a whole range of products in the espresso coffee machine arena and every single product is great. Of all brands they have taken on board the fromcooktochef type of journey with their products so you can get everything from basic to professional and they teach you how to be a barista along the way. We have picked our favourite Sage / Breville that we feel outshines its competition in the semi-automatic bean-to-cup category.

The best Italian coffee machine brands

Finally, you won’t be surprised to find the famous Italian brands that have been making coffee machines for decades. Gaggia and La Pavoni make it into our top picks. Illy, Lavazza and others didn’t … yet !  For coffee connoiseurs ( or snobs !) well down the espresso making journey, you’ll be happy to see we have included Rocket and Rancilio as top picks.

De ‘Longhi coffee machines

De ‘Longhi we knew as a kitchen appliance brand initially and hadn’t realised how involved they were in the Coffee machine industry. It so happens that a lot of our top picks ended up being from De ‘Longhi . The only bone we have to pick with De ‘Longhi however is their machine model names and features all over the world. It is quite confusing and took a long time to decipher. Interesting that we had the same issue with Braun on the hand blender range. De ‘Longhi own Braun so it must be a company trait !

Country specific brands.

There are many more of course, in the U.S. especially…like Mr Coffee, but there is a huge market for filter type machines there and we are concentrating on our main passion of espresso based machines here.

We live it and research every day, so please add any comments as a user of any relevant coffee machine. Or use the comments also to ask any questions or even to correct or discuss anything we post. It’s useful information for all of us so please join in.