10 of the best bean-to-cup coffee machines

There's also the considerable plus of not having to buy new pods for it every few days – a costly and non-eco-friendly endeavour that more and more coffee drinkers are keen to avoid.

We've tested a range of bean-to-cup machines against strict criteria, including design, functionality and ease of cleaning, to find the cream (or should we say crema) of the crop.

Best bean-to-cup coffee machines at a glance

• Best semi-automatic bean-to-cup coffee machine: Sage Barista Touch Impress, £1,199.95
• Best bean-to-cup coffee machine for cold brew: De'Longhi Eletta Explore, £899.99
• Best bean-to-cup coffee machine under £500: De'Longhi Magnifica S Smart, £319.99
• Most versatile bean-to-cup coffee machine: Jura Z10, £2,450
• Best designed bean-to-cup coffee machine: Smeg BCC02, £699.95
• Best premium bean-to-cup espresso machine: Sage the Oracle Touch, £2,099.95
• Best mid-range bean-to-cup coffee machine: De'Longhi Rivelia, £749.99
• Best bean-to-cup coffee machine for easy cleaning: Miele CM 5510 Silence, £1,049
• Best manual espresso bean-to-cup coffee machine: Breville Barista Max, £449
• Best budget bean-to-cup coffee machine: Beko BioCoffee CEG5311, £419

Jump to:

• Best bean-to-cup coffee machines to buy in 2024
• Other bean-to-cup coffee machines tried and tested
• How to choose the best bean-to-cup coffee machine
• What to look for in a bean-to-cup coffee machine
• How to make the perfect bean-to-cup coffee
• How we tested bean-to-cup coffee machines

Best bean-to-cup coffee machines to buy in 2024

Sage Barista Touch Impress

Best semi-automatic bean-to-cup coffee machine

Pros:

• Customisable presets
• Easy-to-use touchscreen
• Digital step-by-step guidance
• Auto-cleaning functions
• Adjustable froth settings for soy, almond and oat milk

Cons:

• Requires some trial-and-error
• Grinder is slow and noisy

Star rating: 5/5

Wattage: 1430-1700 W

New to Sage's roster of bean-to-cup machines, the Barista Touch Impress is a sleek, sophisticated piece of kit that delivers more of a hands-off approach versus some of the brand's other models.

As with the Oracle Touch, the intuitive digital display offers the user step-by-step guidance and feedback on each part of the process – from grinding and tamping, to extraction and texturing milk. There are also prompts to tweak the grind size if extraction is too fast or slow, plus tips to help you make the best possible cup of coffee.

One feature that sets this model apart is the steam wand, which can be customised depending on which milk you're using. There are options for dairy, soy, almond and oat milk, with a sliding scale on the touchscreen that allows you to adjust the froth level to your liking.

Much like Sage's other bean-to-cup machines, the Barista Touch Impress is a chunky appliance that takes up a lot of room, and its hefty price tag will be a turn-off for some. Dialling it in also took longer than expected and had us wasting quite a lot of beans, but as long as you're prepared to go through some trial-and-error in the beginning, the results you get in return feel worth it.

Cost to pull one double espresso each day for one week: 1.1p

Available from:

• Sage (£1,199.95)
• Amazon (£1,199.95)
• John Lewis (£1,199.95)

Trying to choose between Sage coffee machines? Our friends at olive magazine have tried and tested the entire range to help you find the best Sage coffee machine.

De'Longhi Eletta Explore

Best bean-to-cup coffee machine for cold brew

Pros:

• Intuitive digital display
• Versatile, with 33 drink options on offer
• Good-looking
• Quality espresso
• Lots of accessories included

Cons:

• Large footprint
• Higher price tag
• Excessive non-recyclable packaging
• More expensive to run than other models

Star rating: 5/5

Wattage: 1450W

While many bean-to-cup machines come with iced drink options, only a handful have explored the art of cold brew coffee. That's what makes this new De'Longhi machine (featuring Cold Brew technology) stand out from the off, and the results were equally impressive. Our cold brew cappuccinos were creamy and refreshing, and exactly what you'd want to cool you down on a hot day.

The Eletta Explore handles the basics well too, producing dark, rich espresso with silky crema and some acidity. Features like temperature, grind settings, and auto switch-off can be adjusted to your liking, and there's a self-cleaning setting that rinses the spout each time you use the machine.

It has a large footprint, so better suited to those with bigger countertop space – and is built with a wide digital display that clearly communicates each step of the brewing process. The downside for us was that it came packaged in a lot of plastic, which couldn't be recycled, but there is lots of advice on how to clean and prolong the life of your machine, which is a plus on the sustainability front.

Cost to pull one double espresso each day for one week: 12.6p

De'Longhi Magnifica S Smart Automatic bean-to-cup coffee machine

Best bean-to-cup coffee machine under £500

Pros:

• Produces quality espresso
• Stylish
• More affordable than many
• Intuitive controls
• Water tank pulls out from the front

Cons

• Fewer settings than other machines

Star rating: 5/5

Wattage: 1450W

If you simply want great espresso and you don't need all the bells and whistles of a higher-spec machine, this De'Longhi model nails the basics. With five functions on offer – lungo, espresso, flat white, hot milk, and latte – it's smooth and smart-looking, with a 1.8-litre water capacity and speedy, if a little noisy, grinder.

Its user-friendly credentials are worth applauding too. The spout is height-adjustable, so it can accommodate a range of cup sizes, and the water tank conveniently pulls out from the front, removing the need to pull out and fill the machine each time. We also liked that the steam wand manoeuvres forwards, making it easy to achieve silky microfoam or creamy cappuccino froth.

Where this machine really shone, though, was the quality of the espresso it produced: aromatic and well-rounded with glossy, caramel-coloured crema, delivered at the perfect temperature.

Cost to pull one double espresso each day for one week: 1.1p

Jura Z10

Most versatile bean-to-cup coffee machine

Pros:

• Wide range of customisable functions
• Produces quality coffee
• Attractive design
• Clear, bright display
• Features a product-recognising grinder
• WiFi-enabled

Cons:

• Large footprint
• Expensive

Star rating: 5/5

Wattage: 1450W

Specific about how you like your coffee? This sophisticated Jura model is a cut above the rest when it comes to versatility. Thirty-two drink specialities are selectable via the touchscreen, and once you choose a drink, you can adjust the brew time and strength to your liking.

Its precision recognising grinder is a clever piece of tech that can identify which coffee you've selected, and then adjusts the fineness of the grind accordingly. The aroma-locked lid, which sits on top of the hopper, is also a nice touch for keeping beans fresher for longer, and there's a spot for ground coffee as a back-up option.

The cold brew element of this machine is a real stand-out and our iced cappuccinos were creamy and flavour-packed during testing. The Jura Z10 also produced very good espresso: dark in colour with a good balance of acidity and thick crema.

Cost to pull one double espresso each day for one week: 2p

Smeg BCC02 bean-to-cup coffee machine

Best designed bean-to-cup coffee machine

Pros:

• Really compact countertop footprint
• Eight functions
• Iconic Smeg 1950s style
• Lightweight and easy to set up

Cons:

• Milk steamed separately with steam wand

Star rating: 5/5

Wattage: 1470W

The brushed aluminium finish, matte pastel shades and iconic 1950s style of Smeg's first ever bean-to-cup coffee machine aren't the only reasons we love this machine. Launched September 2021, the gadget's diminutive footprint carries all the flair of a modern, statement coffee machine without the intrusive depth, height and width of these traditionally-chunky appliances.

Eight functions are available to select through its four-button interface; espresso, ristretto, coffee, hot water, light ristretto, light espresso, long coffee and a milk steam function from its adjustable wand. The outlet is height-adjustable to accommodate a variety of cups and to protect the precious crema from dripping out. At just under £700, it's an excellent mid-range bean-to-cup we want in our own kitchens.

Read our full Smeg BCC02 bean-to-cup coffee machine review.

Sage Oracle Touch bean-to-cup espresso machine

Best premium bean-to-cup espresso machine

Pros:

• User-friendly
• Extensive adjustability
• Five presets

Cons:

• Noisy grinder
• Water tank opening placed above the touchscreen
• High price

Star rating: 5/5

Wattage: 2400W

This bean-to-cup machine by Sage is the premium offering by a brand renowned for its expert coffee appliances. The brushed-metal outer takes some effort to keep clean of finger marks, but beyond that it's hard to fault the Oracle Touch.

It combines full automation with great adjustability, meaning both beginner baristas and coffee experts have what they need to make a great coffee every time. The only irks we found were that its water-tank top-up is positioned just above the touchscreen controls, so it's easy to get drips onto the screen.

It could also do with better non-slip feet, as you twist to lock the portafilter into place. However, we're scraping the barrel here.

Read our full Sage Oracle Touch espresso machine review.

Available from:

• Sage (£2,099.95)
• Amazon (£1,849)
• John Lewis (£2,099.95)
• Currys (£1,799)
• Lakeland (£2,199.95)

De'Longhi Rivelia

Best mid-range bean-to-cup coffee machine

Pros:

• User-friendly
• Attractive design
• Seamless automatic functions
• Customisable user profiles
• Quality espresso with thick crema

Cons:

• Excessive non-recyclable packaging
• Limited information about spare parts or recycling
• Large footprint

Star rating: 4.5/5

Wattage: 1450W

This is an extremely user-friendly piece of kit from De'Longhi, and we found it a joy to use. It strikes a nice balance of automation – all the dosing, tamping and milk-steaming is done by the machine – and customisation, offering the user control over coffee intensity, frothing options and drink sizes.

Available in four colours and built with smooth, rounded edges, the Rivelia is easily the most aesthetically pleasing coffee machine that De'Longhi has produced. That said, it's still a very large appliance, and you need relatively deep countertops for it to fit comfortably in your kitchen.

Everything is ultra-personalised, and you can set up a maximum of four user profiles to save your favourite settings. We love that there's an extra bean hopper included, so you can switch between coffee beans to experiment with different varieties.

Available from:

• De'Longhi (£749)
• Amazon (£749)
• Currys (£749)
• Donaghy Bros (£729)
• John Lewis & Partners (£749.99)
• AO.com (£730)
• Argos (£750)

Miele CM 5510 Silence

Best bean-to-cup coffee machine for easy cleaning

Pros:

• Equipped with auto-cleaning functions
• Quality espresso
• Can produce two cups of coffee simultaneously
• Intuitive controls

Cons:

• Large footprint
• Need a separate milk container
• Small water tank capacity

Star rating: 4.5/5

Wattage: 1500W

For some, the clean-up involved with making speciality coffee at home isn't worth it versus simply sticking the kettle on. With this Miele model however, the process couldn't be easier. The pipework rinses itself clean automatically each time, prolonging the life of the machine, and all the components disassemble without a bother. The water container and waste container can also go in the dishwasher.

For us it was quite noisy during testing, particularly when steaming milk, which is ironic given its name. It's a weighty, sleek machine with an intuitive display, and there are plenty of handy features like the adjustable spout and the dual-coffee function, so you can brew two coffees at once. All the drinks we made in the Miele CM 5510 Silence were very hot, but generally pleasant-tasting and flavourful.

Cost to pull one double espresso each day for one week: 15.4p

Breville Barista Max

Best manual espresso bean-to-cup espresso machine for beginners

Pros:

• Cleaning accessories provided
• Accompanying stainless steel milk jug
• Robust and sleek design

Cons:

• Tall on countertop
• Single-height cup holder means espresso sometimes splashes

Star rating: 4.5/5

Wattage: 1300W

This sleekly designed bean-to-cup by Breville shares the same brushed-metal exterior of much more expensive counterparts and comes with most of the trimmings required for building basic barista skills. It's great value for money.

Single and double shot settings are on offer, as is a 200ml manual mode, ideal for americanos. Paired with the stainless steel milk jug, it's possible to achieve silky steamed milk using the steam wand. Single-cup programs work better than double-cup options.

Read our full Breville Barista Max coffee machine review.

Beko BioCoffee CEG5311

Best budget bean-to-cup coffee machine

Pros:

• Sleek, slimline body
• Good value
• Produced pleasant-tasting coffee
• Easy to use

Cons

• Slow to heat milk and transition between functions
• Steam wand is awkwardly positioned
• Excessive plastic packaging

Star rating: 4/5

Sporting a glossy black exterior and touchscreen display, this Beko machine offers versatility without making things too complicated – and with a value price tag to match. We liked its intuitive design and slimline body, which is perfect for those with limited counter space.

The 1.5-litre water tank offers ample capacity, though it's positioned at the back so a little awkward to reach. We also found it a little slow to move between functions, and frothing milk took longer versus the other machines we tested. That said, the espresso we brewed had a good hazelnutty crema and light body.

Read our full Beko BioCoffee CEG5311 review.

Cost to pull one double espresso each day for one week: 1.1p

Other bean-to-cup coffee machines tried and tested

• De'Longhi La Specialista Maestro review, £999
• Jura ENA 8 review, £989
• Sage Barista Express review, £549.95
• Gaggia Naviglio review, £349
• Gaggia Anima review, £499
• Melitta Caffeo Cl review, £449.99
• Gaggia Magenta Plus review, £589
• Melitta Purista review, £269.95

How to choose the best bean-to-cup coffee machine

All bean-to-cup coffee machines share the fundamental qualities of having a compartment or hopper for storing whole coffee beans and grinders for dosing them freshly for your brew.

Depending on the space you have in your kitchen, plus your budget, favourite coffee and passion for the process, there are two main types of bean-to-cup coffee machine to choose from:

Automatic bean-to-cup machine

Simply select your coffee choice and the machine does the rest. Beyond emptying the cake tray (used pucks of compressed grounds) and filling the water tank, it's a hands-off experience.

Manual bean-to-cup machine

These require the drinker to contribute to the process with steps like loading the portafilter, tapping out used grounds or steaming the milk.

Not all bean-to-cup machines produce espresso, so look out for these words during your research:

• Bean-to-cup espresso machine: the short, dark, rich result of brewing compacted coffee grounds under pressure with hot water, characteristically topped by a velvety gloss called crema.
• Bean-to-cup coffee machine: these are most likely drip-coffee machines and will come with a glass carafe. They're great for producing black coffee for multiple drinkers in one go.

What to look for in a bean-to-cup coffee machine

Adjustable grind settings: different cups of coffee require different grind levels to achieve the right brew and intensity of flavour. For example, espressos require a fine grind while americanos do well with a coarser grind.

Milk steam wand: if milky classics like cappuccinos or lattes are your thing and you'd like to build some basic barista skills, a milk steam wand is a feature to look for.

Dual-height drip tray: not only useful for accommodating your favourite mug, but also important for preventing espresso from being brewed from too highly above the cup and splashing out.

Coffee pre-sets: whether manual, semi-automatic or fully automatic, the best bean-to-cup coffee machines will have saved (and adjustable) coffee settings to help you get the best coffee every time.

Ground-coffee option: an excellent back-up for if you run out of coffee beans.

Check out expert barista Celeste Wong's recommendations for the best moka pots, gooseneck kettles, coffee grinders and decaf coffee to buy on our sister brand, olive magazine:

• Best moka pots to buy
• Best gooseneck kettles to buy
• Best coffee grinders to buy
• Best decaf coffee to buy

How to make the perfect bean-to-cup coffee

A good bean-to-cup machine should make brewing speciality coffee at home effortless. But if you want to elevate your morning cup of java, there are a few steps you can take.

Choose the right beans: Think about the flavour profile and type of coffee you like to drink – medium-to-dark roasts tend to be better for making espresso (and therefore ideal for bean-to-cup machines), whereas lighter roasts are more suited to pour-over coffee. Read our guide to the best coffee beans and best coffee subscriptions for inspiration.

Grind settings: For optimal freshness, it's best to grind your coffee beans just before brewing. Adjust the grinder settings to achieve the desired coarseness for your brewing method – you may find you need to adopt some trial-and-error before you settle on a preference. Most bean-to-cup machines come with in-built grinders, but for those that don't, see our best coffee grinders guide for recommendations.

Use filtered water: The quality of the water you use can also affect the taste of your coffee, but filtered water will help you avoid any impurities that might impact the flavour. Some models come with a water-hardness test kit and inbuilt filters, or you can find product suggestions our guide to the best water filter jugs.

Get the ratio right: Maintain a coffee-to-water ratio that suits your taste. As a general guideline, aim for a ratio of 1:15 (1 part coffee to 15 parts water) for a medium-strength brew, then adjust accordingly to achieve your preferred strength.

Temperature and timing: Ensure that your coffee machine brews at the optimal temperature for extracting the best flavours. Follow the manufacturer's instructions for ideal temperature settings and brewing times.

Milk frothing: If your bean-to-cup machine has a steam wand, you can master the art of creating silky-smooth milk foam for lattes and cappuccinos. Experiment with different techniques to achieve the desired texture and consistency. If your machine comes without a wand, see our top picks for the best milk frothers.

How we tested bean-to-cup coffee machines

We reviewed a representative sample of bean-to-cup coffee machines and scored them on the same criteria using our testing matrix. We marked them on the following criteria. The marks out of five for the following core criteria decided each product's overall star rating:

Ease of assembly and packaging
We scored the machines on how easy they were to put together, plus considered packaging and whether there was excessive plastic.

Quality of material
The overall standard of the coffee machine material, be that metal or plastic.

Ease of use
How simple is the mechanism and how helpful is the manual?

Value for money
Does the bean-to-cup coffee machine offer a good return on investment?

Finished results
The taste and consistency of coffee, including the freshness, quality of the crema, extraction and strength of flavour.

These criteria also played into our decision making process:

Quality of the grind
Does it effectively process the whole coffee beans?

Extra functions
How many added features are included – is there a milk frother and temperature control; does the machine make different coffee types?

Water tank
Is the water chamber easy to refill and how often do you need to do it?

Kitchen footprint
How bulky is the bean-to-cup coffee machine?

Ease of cleaning
We scored both everyday wipe cleaning and more intensive deep cleaning for long term maintenance.

Ease of storage
If you want to store your coffee machine in a cupboard rather than leave it out, how easy is it to pack away.

All costs-to-run calculations were done against the variable tariff at the time of testing, which is updated regularly – read more on the current energy price guarantee rates.

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