Between the long menu of customizable beverages, simple controls and elegant design, the Beko CaffeExperto Bean To Cup coffee maker is a great entry-level coffee maker,
The appliance has a silver and black finish, and underneath there is enough space for two 350 ml cups side by side, so you can cook for yourself and a friend in one go.
For black coffee, you get Espresso, Americano, Lungo, Ristretto, Doppio, Iced Americano, Cold Brew, and a “Surprise Me” mode that selects a drink on your behalf.
Milk-based options include Caffe Latte, Cappuccino, Latte Macchiato, Ristretto Bianco, Flat White, Cortado and Iced Latte, bringing the total number of drinks to 18.
You can adjust each of them for the amount of water, the amount of milk and the temperature of the drink, either from the touch screen on the front of the machine or via the HomeConnect app.
The touchscreen is responsive and easy to navigate. The application shows all 18 drinks in one view, and setting up a profile with a saved drink that you are going to use makes the whole experience significantly more personal. You can make coffee from whole beans or pre-ground coffee: the container contains 200 g of beans, while the ground coffee opening takes one scoop according to the scoop included in the box. Access to both is easy, with an easy-to-open lid for refilling.
The removable 0.6 liter milk carafe sits at the front, is easy to clean and can be transferred straight to the fridge between drinks to keep milk fresh. On the back there is a 2 l water tank, which is a bit flimsy in the hand, but it slides in safely. The liquid collection container and waste container are detachable for cleaning, and a small light illuminates whenever the appliance is cooking.
CaffeExperto is a fully automatic machine that produces truly good coffee. It can also be controlled hands-free via Amazon Alexa or Google Home Assistant via the HomeConnect app, which is a nice bonus for busy mornings.
During testing, espresso cups had adequate foam and milk drinks were consistently creamy. On the other hand, the machine prompts you for something quite regularly, the water tank is too small for a machine at this level, and the coffee machine is noticeably noisy when brewing.
Those are relatively minor gripes to what is otherwise a well-rounded bean-to-cup maker. It starts at £599.99, which is excellent value for the range of features.
