TchiboAutomatic Espresso & Coffee Machine with Built-in Grinder, No Coffee Pods Needed, Black

This coffee maker combo does it (very nearly) all.Once the simple setup is done: remove packing materials, load the bean hopper with selected beans, and fill water reservoir,… it is time to select your brew.OUTPUTThe machine brews an espresso, and small coffee, or a large (nominally 8 fl oz) coffee. Or you can get hot water. But I can get that from my faucet, so NBD on that.CLEAN RINSEThe machine runs a quick clean cycle on startup resulting in a small amount of hot water which you can use to thin out the coffee or just to warm the cup (nice!).GRINDING+BREWINGWhen the coffee is size/type selected, it feeds beans from the hopper, grinds it, brews it up and dispenses through a spout that can be moved up and down for different sized cups. You can select espresso and two sizes of coffee.The coffee it produces (for me it was Kona blend) is excellent.Nominally, you can only brew up the three sizes and it has a default grind density. You can’t adjust the water/brew temperature or the bloom time.CUP SIZEIt will only make an 8oz cup at the largest setting, so requires a couple of passes if you want a bigger mug full OR, by holding down the size/type button while dispensing, it will change the output volume (Oooo…). This volume setting then becomes the default. Note that this will tend to weaken the brew a bit: more water, same amount of coffee, you know Also, it doesn’t have a milk steamer so I find I sometimes have to microwave a cup after adding my milk to the coffee—I like my coffee very milky. Since it makes really good coffee, these slight limitations are not a problem for me.GRINDThere is a grind density knob *inside* the bean hopper. This explains why I didn’t find it. Well, that and the fact that I didn’t read the instruction manual. I mean, who reads the manual?Note: you have to adjust the grind level *WHILE the grinder is actually grinding”CLEANING THE MACHINENot hard to do. Have to remove and rinse the brewing module in the side, and clear out the grounds tray at the front. It figures out that the grounds tray needs to be emptied by counting the number of brews that have occurred since the last clean out, not by any kind of sensor. So you have to clean the grounds tray *WHILE the machine is in an ON-STATE” otherwise it won’t register that the tray has been emptied. This information is also in the instruction manual. Ask me how I know…EXTRASBTW, Tchibo were kind enough to include three bags (light, medium, and dark roast) of their brand coffee beans with the machine. Haven’t tried them yet since I’m working through the Kona I got for Christmas. But it’s a really nice touch and much appreciated.SUMMARYI think this machine produces just about the best coffee I’ve ever had (excepting The Coffee Gallery in Haleiwa, HI). So take that, Starbucks!Heartily brewed and heartily recommended.

Wanted to find a bean to coffee machine. I did a bit of research and ended up with this one. It’s a slim design and looks nice on the counter. Very simple to set up. Fill the water, fill the beans and you have a fresh brew! The only issue I have is that the water canister is on the back and you bump into the cabinet when trying to remove it. I’m looking into small rollers to put on the bottom so I can swing it sideways to get to the water canister. I also got the matching milk frother which I love. I didn’t want a machine with the frother because those tend to be hard to clean and often stop working. The coffee taste great and I use the grounds in my garden. It’s a win-win!!

I am constantly on the lookout for a machine that makes amazing, delicious coffee. Coffee that is rich, bold and full of depth. When I saw this particular coffee machine, I thought it might be exactly what I was looking for. I mean, the price would imply that this is very high quality! When I got this coffee maker, I excitedly set it up and read all the accompanying literature carefully to make sure I understood everything. Setting it up was relatively easy. However, the problems started shortly after my first cup of coffee.1. It is impossible to remove the water reservoir without having to scoot the entire machine forward on your counter. This may not seem like a big problem at first, but the water reservoir is very small and so it need frequent refilling.2. The machine tells you that you are out of water halfway through a brew and comes to a full stop! Why not advise before it is completely out?? When you do fill it up, it does continue where it left off, but you lose the frothy effect due to the stall.3. The machine is constantly telling me to refill the coffee beans even though it is always full. I go in and poke around, shifting the beans and then it starts working. This makes me think that it stops when the beans get backed up or stuck or something. And this happens ALL THE TIME.Bottom line: for the price, this machine is not good. Besides being extremely pricey, it does not provide the best tasting coffee. So aside from the problems I listed above and high price tag, you don't even get amazing, delicious coffee. It is mediocre at best.