Choosing a bean-to-cup machine: milk system, grinder, hopper and upkeep

The milk system

Broadly, a bean-to-cup machine froths milk in one of three ways.

Philips describes LatteGo as a milk system of two parts without tubes that you rinse under the tap or put in the dishwasher. You find it on the Philips EP2339 LatteGo and the Philips 5500 LatteGo, among others. De'Longhi uses a LatteCrema milk jug; on the Magnifica Evo, according to De'Longhi, it can go into the fridge with the milk still in it. The Magnifica Evo Next has the LatteCrema Hot milk system, according to its product name. The De'Longhi Eletta Explore froths both hot and cold milk, according to its product name.

With a tube, as on the Jura E8 and the Jura ENA 8, the milk carton simply stands next to the machine. You flush the system after use with the rinse programme; Jura also sells a cleaner for it.

The grinder

The grinder decides how fine and how even the coffee is ground. Philips names a ceramic grinder in the product name of many models, such as the Philips 5400. Other makers use steel grinding discs or a steel conical burr.

What matters more is that you can set the grind. Make it finer in small steps until the espresso no longer tastes watery. Some machines want you to change the setting only while the grinder runs; the manual says how yours works.

Bean hopper and ground-coffee chute

Most bean-to-cup machines have one bean hopper. A few have two, so you can keep, say, espresso beans and a milder bean side by side. Siemens puts that in the name of the EQ900 TQ907R03; Melitta gives two bean hoppers for the Melitta Barista Smart TS.

Many machines also have a small chute for ground coffee, handy for one cup of decaf. Check the product description to see whether yours does.

Drinks, controls and profiles

Makers often put the number of drinks in the name: twenty coffee recipes on the Philips 5500, more than fifty on the Eletta Explore ECAM450.86. For most people espresso, coffee, cappuccino and latte macchiato are what count. Profiles are useful, though: each person in the house saves their own strength and volume. Saeco gives eight profiles for the Xelsis Suprema. If two of you often drink together, check whether the machine can brew two cups at once.

Water filter and descaling

Limescale builds up in the pipes and heater of a bean-to-cup machine. Every machine tells you when it needs descaling; how often depends on how hard your water is, which you usually set in the menu.

With a water filter in the tank you descale less often. Philips says that with the AquaClean filter you can make up to 5,000 cups without descaling, as long as you replace the filter on time; you find it on the Philips 2300 EP2331, among others. Siemens uses the Brita Intenza filter for its EQ series, Nivona the Claris filter NIRF700. Use the filter and descaler the manufacturer specifies. Products are under descaling and care.

Brewing unit and weekly upkeep

The brewing unit is the heart of the machine. On Philips, De'Longhi, Siemens, Melitta and Nivona machines it comes out: according to the manuals you rinse it under the tap regularly. Jura uses a fixed brewing unit that you clean with cleaning tablets through a programme on the machine.

Beyond that you empty the grounds container and the drip tray, and clean the milk system after every use. If you want to keep that short, pick a milk system with few loose parts.