Choosing a bean coffee machine: 9 criteria to pay attention to + rating of the best models of 2021

Coffee accompanies us at home, at work and at play, in the corridors of government institutions and large supermarkets, and catering establishments. Fans of hot drinks often prefer preparing them with a coffee machine. The devices are differentiated into grain, geyser, drip, capsule, carob and combined. The priority of the first type is explained by the scope of application, from home conditions to the premium segment, and the variety of prepared coffee. Advice from coffee lovers will help you choose a reliable assistant from a huge range of bean coffee machines.

Ceramic millstones

Advantages

operate almost silently;
do not oxidize or burn grains during long-term operation;
provide a finer and more uniform grind (especially important for making espresso);
are not afraid of rust.

Flaws

easily crack when hit by any foreign object (for example, a pebble in grains);
need adjustment after every 2000 grinding cycles.

Saeco, Gaggia and Bosch coffee machines are often brought to our service center with a jammed or cracked ceramic coffee grinder due to a foreign object getting into it. As a result, repairing a coffee machine costs from 2000 rubles.

If your coffee machine has a built-in coffee grinder with ceramic millstones, then do not buy cheap beans with garbage!

How to choose a bean coffee machine

When choosing a bean coffee machine, you will have to familiarize yourself with many of its characteristics. The main one is functionality.

Functional

The most interesting question is what can a grain coffee machine do? Each such device must be able to grind coffee beans and brew espresso. However, these features are too few to make the machine an attractive machine for coffee lovers, so manufacturers add one or more of the following:

prepare cappuccino or latte using the built-in cappuccino maker. The milk frother can be manual (with a Panarello nozzle) or automatic. The first option assumes that the user will froth the milk independently using a jet of hot steam supplied through the panarello. Automatic means the installation of a special compartment, assembled and filled. The machine performs the rest of the process itself. The cappuccino maker in a coffee machine is a rather important and useful function. Therefore, if you often drink lattes or cappuccinos, choose models with a milk frother;

An automatic cappuccino maker, of course, is more expensive, but the user can practically not participate in the preparation of coffee
grinding degree adjustment. Now all good coffee machines have this function, and it is difficult to find a model in stores without it. Traditionally, the degree of grinding is divided into five categories, so coffee machines with five grinding modes are the most common and optimal. It is not profitable to buy a car with fewer modes. But a larger number of them may be useful for experienced coffee lovers who are well aware of the difference between drinks with different degrees of grinding;
cooking for two cups at once. This saves not only time, but also electricity. Therefore, if you usually make coffee not only for yourself, choose models with this additional function;

A coffee machine for two cups is a good choice for family use, when household members like to greet the morning together
the ability to use already ground coffee. A situation can always happen when coffee beans are not available in the nearest store. Or, for example, relatives brought foreign coffee of an interesting variety, but, alas, it was already ground. It is for such cases that manufacturers add the function of using ground coffee. In this mode, the machine skips the grinding stage and immediately starts with tamping. Choose models with this function if there is a possibility that you will not always have access to bean coffee, and sometimes you will have to use ground coffee;
temperature adjustment. The taste of the resulting drink depends on the temperature of the water used for preparation. Not to mention the fact that some people prefer scalding hot coffee, while others, on the contrary, do not like to wait for their cup to cool down. Most coffee machines now have this feature;
warming cups. Among coffee lovers, it is customary to drink espresso from a heated container so that the drink’s heat remains longer. It is for such connoisseurs that some manufacturers add the function of pre-heating cups to their equipment;
self-cleaning from scale. This is a very important feature, so you should pay special attention to it when purchasing. The coffee machine is susceptible to limescale deposits and requires regular cleaning. Without such maintenance, the device will quickly fail. Self-cleaning saves you time and removes limescale at the touch of a button.

Be sure to select only those features that are important to you. Don't overpay for a more expensive and bulky device because of functionality that you don't plan to use.

Other parameters

In addition to functionality, you should pay attention to the following parameters:

volume of tanks for coffee and water. For the home, it is optimal to have a coffee machine with a container for water with a volume of 1.5–2 liters, and for coffee beans - 150–250 g. A smaller volume will force you to frequently refill the machine, a larger one will take up too much space;
coffee grinder blade material. Nowadays there are coffee machines with ceramic and steel blades. The former are more durable, break less often and are quieter. The latter are cheaper;
noisiness. A bean coffee maker produces quite a lot of noise, especially during the grinding stage. Therefore, it is worth paying attention to its noise level. As a rule, manufacturers do not indicate this parameter on the packaging, so you will have to ask the seller for help. A good consultant will definitely connect the coffee machine for you and demonstrate its noise level;
body material. The cheapest coffee machines have a plastic body. It is lightweight, but breaks and cracks when impacted. In addition, such a device looks quite cheap. In the middle price segment, models with a metal body are more common. It looks more reliable, does not crack and is almost scratched.

Which coffee grinder is better to choose, ceramic or steel?

Your choice is a steel coffee grinder if:

you plan to prepare more than 300 servings of coffee per month;
The silence of the coffee machine is not important to you;
You are not always buying the highest quality beans and there is a high chance of foreign objects getting into the grinder along with the beans.

You should choose a coffee grinder with ceramic burrs if:

You are buying a coffee machine for your home or small office;
You will be able to buy clean coffee beans without dirt and debris.

What is a bean coffee machine

A bean coffee machine is a device that allows you to get high-quality coffee by literally pressing a couple of buttons. This machine is distinguished by its complexity, rather high price compared to other home coffee making devices, and large dimensions.

The main difference between this coffee machine and the rest of the range is the built-in coffee grinder. It allows you to use bean coffee, adjust the degree of grinding and get an aromatic drink.

Principle of operation

A bean coffee machine combines two devices - a coffee grinder and the coffee machine itself. The user loads the beans into the coffee grinder, pours water into a special container and selects a program on the control panel.

Coffee machine control panels are always simple and accessible to any user

Expensive coffee machines often have the ability to create custom programs. This means that you can set your favorite grind size, temperature and richness, and the machine will remember these settings and use them in the future at the touch of a button.

The machine first grinds the coffee beans, then compacts them into a kind of “tablet” and passes hot steam or water through it under high pressure. Passing through ground grains, water or steam absorbs their aroma, richness, color and taste. Thus, the coffee drink itself appears, which is then poured into cups.

Do steel grinders really impart an off-flavor to coffee?

The rumor about burning grains with steel millstones, according to experts, was spread by manufacturers of ceramic millstones. At home, it is almost impossible to overheat coffee beans with steel millstones, preparing 3-4 servings per day.

Capsule coffee machines for home

These models prepare coffee from capsules - plastic containers, hermetically sealed with foil, with ground beans inside. Some models can also make cocoa or tea.

The main advantage of a capsule coffee machine is its ease of operation. There is no need to pour in coffee or select the grind level - just insert the capsule and press the button to get a cup of aromatic drink in a minute.

Capsule coffee machine Nespresso Essenza Mini C30 Black

Compact and easy to use - this is what users say about this model. Prepares espresso, lungo and cappuccino using Nespresso capsules. There is an adjustment of the water portion, descaling and energy saving modes. The machine will automatically turn off when the drink is ready. The set includes 14 coffee capsules. The volume of the water tank is 0.6 l. The length of the power cord is 1 m.

Price: 5,790 rubles.

Buy

Capsule coffee machine DeLonghi Lattissima Pro EN750 MB

This model also uses Nespresso capsules. You can prepare aromatic cappuccino at the touch of a button. There is a self-cleaning system, and the machine itself gives a signal when it’s time to start the process.

Advantages: text display, water level indicator, portion control, automatic shutdown and energy-saving mode. The volume of the water tank is 1.3 l, the length of the power cord is 1 m.

Price: 24,190 rubles.

Buy

Capsule coffee machine KRUPS PICCOLO KP100B10

The coffee machine uses Nescafe Dolce Gusto capsules, which produce aromatic espresso, lungo, cappuccino, hot chocolate and even tea. The cup stand is height adjustable. The volume of the water tank is 0.6 l. A convenient option for those who make coffee for one or two people. Reviews note the high speed of work. The length of the power cord is 0.9 m.

Price: 3,990 rubles.

Buy

Are ceramic coffee grinders really quieter than steel ones?

Let's start with the fact that the noise during operation of the coffee machine depends not only on the material of the coffee grinder, but also on the level of sound insulation of the device and the speed of rotation of the millstones. All coffee machines make noise when grinding coffee beans: some more, others less. But the material of the millstones is not important here. For example, Jura's steel conical burr grinders are significantly quieter than previous generation burrs. So the difference in noise between steel and ceramic millstones is so small that it is not a key selection criterion!

Operating principle of coffee preparation

The device consists of standard elements:

liquid reservoir;
electric heater;
container for ground powder with filter;
pressure gauge for measuring pressure inside equipment;
container where the finished product arrives;
additions for preparing other drinks - cappuccino, latte.

To prepare aromatic, invigorating coffee in a grain machine, just pour the beans into a special compartment, select the grind and cup size. Then the beans are ground, passed through a filter, and the resulting product is delicious.

Healthy! It is not necessary to pour in a fresh portion of coffee beans before each preparation. They can be stored in a sealed capsule, directly in the device itself, and used as needed. This will preserve the indescribable aroma and rich taste for several days.

Additional functions

Before buying a bean coffee machine, you should familiarize yourself with all the additional functions offered by the manufacturer and select from the list those that will definitely be useful in your case. There is no point in overpaying for unused “chips”.

Bean grinding function. To implement this program, the equipment is equipped with special millstones. They are made from metal or ceramics. The former are reliable and durable, but during operation they make a lot of noise and can burn the beans. The latter are more careful with grains, do not make loud sounds and do not oxidize. On the other hand, they are less durable than metal ones;
Strength dosage. This option will allow you to prepare coffee of different strengths - from weak to rich. On the dashboard you can choose how much ground powder to add per glass. The indicator varies from 6 to 16 grams;
Warming cups. The function is available on the most advanced models. It is believed that it is needed to obtain high-quality espresso, but in fact the option does not affect the taste and smell of the drink;
Temperature adjustment. Allows you to select the desired liquid temperature range to create the desired coffee drink according to all the rules.

Healthy! In addition, many modern models have additional programs for preparing various drinks based on coffee beans with the addition of milk, cream, chocolate, and liqueur. Among them, cappuccino, latte, mochaccino and others are especially popular.