Verdict

Costing far less than most of its rivals, the Beko CaffeExperto Bean To Cup Coffee Machine Steam Wand is an easy-to-use bean-to-cup machine. Its espresso was a little cool but generally good quality. Milk frothing doesn’t give you a lot of control over the steam, but with a little practice you can get decent results. If you want quality coffee the easy way then this is a good entry-level machine.

Introduction

Beko has impressed me in the past with its line of budget bean-to-cup machines, which focus on getting the basics right. With the Beko CaffeExperto Bean To Cup Coffee Machine Steam Wand, the company is back but with a machine that has a slightly nicer interface.

With its integrated steam wand and generally good results, this is a neat entry-level bean-to-cup machine for those who don’t want to spend a fortune.

Design and features

• Touch screen interface
• Cup warmer
• Programmable volumes

Many bean-to-cup coffee machines can be very large and take up a lot of counter space, but the Beko CaffeExperto Bean To Cup Coffee Machine Steam Wand is relatively compact, given the features on offer.

Beko’s last machine, the Beko Bean To Cup Coffee Machine with Steam Wand, was a little basic, with tiny touch buttons to pour drinks, this new machine has a large and bold touchscreen interface.

On this display, the coffee machine shows pictorially the drinks that it can make: espresso, double espresso, Americano, ristretto and lungo. It’s handy to quickly see the type of drinks available.

Drinks are dispensed at default volumes, but by pressing and holding down a button, you can override these to get coffee at the volume you desire. As a cheaper coffee machine, no profiles are available on this machine, and any setting change is for everyone.

In addition, as the coffee machine has two spouts, there’s a button to make two of the same drink at the same time, which can be a useful timesaver. Finally, there are controls to dispense hot water or steam.

A 250-gram bean hopper sits on top of the coffee machine, with a grind control dial poking up from the top. Adjusting this to suit the coffee you’re using can help get better results.

There’s a large 2-litre water tank that pulls out of the rear. That’s enough water to make multiple long drinks, so I didn’t find that I had to fill this too often.

Coffee quality

• A little cool
• Needs adjustment to get the best results
• Good quality espresso

Starting out, I found that my first shot or two of espresso weren’t quite right: they looked a little watery. I found that I had to switch to a finer grind and use the intense flavour setting to get the right shot of coffee.

Pouring slowly, the final shot had a nice crema on top, although not quite the molten honey look that you get with the best manual machines. Still, given that this machine is an entry-level one, the final shot looks pretty good.

I would have liked my coffee to be a bit warmer. I measured my shot at 57°C, whereas an espresso should ideally be over 60°C and closer to 65°C.

That meant that my Fairtrade Peruvian coffee beans weren’t quite as well developed in the shot of coffee. The bold acidity was apparent, but the more subtle flavours weren’t quite there. Again, I do have to consider the price, and the CaffeExperto Bean To Cup Coffee Machine Steam Wand delivers good results within its bracket.

Milk frothing

• Pauses after heating up to prevent water
• No fine control over steam
• Good final foam

Next, I made a flat white, starting by heating up the machine by hitting the steam button on the front. It takes the machine a little while to heat up, but it doesn’t immediately start steaming, so you can wait until it’s at temperature and avoid injecting hot water into your milk.

I found that there was enough room to get a jug under the steam wand, but there’s no control over the steam flow. Overall, I found that the CaffeExperto Bean To Cup Coffee Machine Steam Wand tended to deliver quite foamy results, without the tightly-packed microfoam you’ll get from more expensive machines.

A few taps and a swirl at the end, gives good results, but if you’re keen to start pouring latte art, then you’ll want a more expensive machine with a steam tap.

Maintenance

• Easy to maintain with automatic rinising
• Descale programme
• Brew unit is easy to remove

The good thing about this coffee machine is that there’s not a lot of maintenance. It rinses when turned on, so that’s one job done. The main daily jobs are rinsing out the drip tray, and emptying the used coffee bin, which pulls out from the front.

Interestingly, the brew unit is also accessed from the front of the coffee machine rather than the side. It’s a change that I approve of, as the CaffeExperto Bean To Cup Coffee Machine Steam Wand can be thoroughly cleaned out without ever having to turn it around.

Finally, when prompted (based on the water hardness level you set) the CaffeExperto Bean To Cup Coffee Machine Steam Wand will tell you when it’s time to descale, with the manual clearly explaining how to do this.

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