Beko's budget bean-to-cup-machine won't be a fit for espresso aficionados – but here's why it might work for latte lovers at home

This Beko Caffe Experto Series CE7500+ review puts this budget bean-to-cup machine to the test to see if it makes good coffee.

While I wasn't wowed by this machine, it could be an option for those looking for one of the best bean-to-cup coffee machines on a budget.

In a nutshell

The Beko Caffe Experto Series CE7500+ costs £500, but by bean-to-cup standards it's relatively budget. It attempts to offer a rare thing – a bean-to-cup coffee machine that doesn't break the bank.

At first glance, it hits this budget price without cutting any corners, offering 18 different styles of coffee, from classic coffee like espresso to more complicated milk coffee like latte macchiato.

But if it seems to good to be true, it probably is, so I put this machine to the test for a week to see how it stacks up against the best coffee machines.

I found that if you're a coffee snob like me, this machine doesn't quite cut it. If you just want something simple the whole family can use, however, this might be the coffee maker for you.

Beko Caffe Experto Series CE7500+ product specs

• Type: bean-to-cup
• Control type: automatic
• Water tank capacity: 2 litres
• Bean hopper: 250g
• Pressure: 19 bar
• Dimensions: ‎W27.5 x H35.9 x D41.2 cm
• Weight: 9.68kg
• Colours available: black and silver
• RRP: £499

Unboxing and first impressions

I was impressed with this machine out of the box. It's a sleek appliance, and it takes up much less room than most bean-to-cup machines. In the usual black and steel of modern appliances, it's not the most stylish machine, but it looks impressive on a kitchen counter. It's the sort of thing to draw admiring comments from guests, which belies that this is remarkably inexpensive for a bean-to-cup machine.

However, I wasn't impressed for long. You only need to do it once, but setting up this machine was a pain. The manual has very little information about set up, and some of its steps contradict the steps in the separate water filter instructions. These are also contradicted by the app, and a video on YouTube, which was much easier to follow. However, some of the instructions are badly written and don't make much sense.

For example, when adding the water filter, it tells you to 'insert and push the water filter cartridge 'downwards into the bottom socket until i cannot move forward', which doesn't make any sense, because there's no way it can move 'forward' in any direction. This minor confusion happened on almost every step. While the intended method was obvious to figure out, it was still a little frustrating.

The app is straightforward but takes a while to pair to your phone. You also have to test your water hardness to calibrate the machine. After all that, I then had to download a software update. Once all of this was sorted, I could finally add some beans into the hopper.

What is it like to use?

Once everything is set up, however, it's very easy to use. You select your coffee from the touchscreen and it makes it for you.

You'll be alerted any time the water container is empty (which is handy, as it's around the back of the machine and you can't see it), and it will tell you when to empty leftover coffee grounds. The milk jug is detachable so you can keep it in the fridge, and it's all very simple to use. I got through around seven coffees before needing to refill the tank, and ten coffees before I needed to empty the coffee grounds bin.

Brewing is quiet, and while grinding is an unpleasant noise, it maxes at 65.9dBA, so it's not particularly loud.

You can change the intensity and length of your coffee, and set different modes and variations as favourites. There's a functionality for setting different user favourites too, so if your partner drinks black coffee and you prefer white coffee you can set different favourites, but it's so fast to use that you don't really need this feature.

The app is similarly easy to use, but I found that I never used it. It works well, but for most people it's pointless. You need to switch the machine on anyway and put a cup underneath, so you’re already next to the machine and might as well use the screen.

That said, the app could be great for accessibility – if you're blind and can't use the screen but can use your phone, the app is very useful.

Espresso

My first test was the most basic function of any coffee maker, an espresso. I didn't mess with the settings for my first test, because I wanted to see what the preset was like.

I have to be honest: the first coffee wasn't very good. It's not the worst coffee I've ever tried, but it was poor. It was bitter, sharp, and a little burned. There was a hint of the sort of sourness you get from over-extraction, and a thin crema. My overwhelming impression was that it tasted very thin. It felt watery and lacked the richness of a good espresso, and this was also true when I tried the Americano function.

To adjust for next time, I went for a much finer grind to increase the surface area of the coffee and stop it from being so watery. It made for a better coffee, but it wasn't a lifechanger. It was serviceable coffee, and that was true when I scaled it up to an Americano too.

Worse than either of these was the 'intense' setting, which made for a very sour over-extracted espresso, which was genuinely undrinkable.

The good news, however, is that the ground coffee mode is great. You add a scoop of beans to the ground coffee hopper, then select that mode after you've picked the coffee you want. This made for a much more balanced espresso, easily the best of the espressos I made in this machine.

Latte macchiato and milky coffees

My first test of the milk foaming was a tricky one, a latte macchiato, which needs a lot of milk foam. The milk jug is very easy to use, just fill it with milk to maximum line and slot it into the machine.

It made the drink in around a minute, which is pretty good for a milky coffee like this. The foam was excellent too – not the best I've ever had but much better than you might expect at this price. The steamed milk was fairly good, and as I came to find out across all of these drinks, the espresso was just fine.

This was also true of the cappuccino, flat white, and latte I tried. I thought I'd have more to discuss with these, but was actually very little difference between these modes and the ratios of milk foam weren't quite right.

It was mostly an matter of quantity rather than style. The exception was a cortado, which was correctly much stronger than the other coffees I tried, and the best of the white coffee options.

However, it's really great with alternative milk. It made a great oat cappuccino, with perfect milk foam, even if the coffee itself wasn't amazing.

Iced americano and cold brew

Though it was my favourite of any of the drinks I tried, I was disappointed with the iced 'Americano' mode. That's because it isn't a mode at all. When you press 'iced Americano, the usual 'start' button is replaced with a button that says 'guide me'. This then tells you to place a glass with cold water and ice under the coffee outlet. If you hit start, it just pulls a shot of espresso over the ice.

This is fine – it made a nice iced Americano – but this isn't a 'mode', it's just the basics of an iced americano. There are other machines out there which at least pull through the water to top up the shot of espresso. It's the same story for the iced latte function. I think it's disingenuous to call these preset functions.

Bizarrely, it's the same for the 'cold brew' function. You have to put ice in a glass, and then it slowly drips warm coffee into the cup over two minutes. To be fair, it was one of the nicer coffees this machine makes, but don't buy it expecting true cold brew. This is an approximation made by dripping lukewarm coffee over ice.

What's it like to clean?

This machine has a thoughtful but slightly annoying auto cleaning feature. It flushes the coffee nozzle and milk jug with water when you switch it on. This is great, but if you’ve just woken up and forget to put a cup underneath it will dump a load of water onto the drip tray.

What's more frustrating is that you can't really turn this off. You can turn settings – like the sound alerts – off, but it doesn’t remember this change in between uses. You can turn it off as you use the machine, but once it goes on standby it will revert to the auto clean mode.

However, the rest of it easy to clean. The milk jug sometimes drips after you use it but it's very simple to hand wash the drip tray and coffee ground bin. The screen inevitably picks up fingerprints but it's the work of seconds to clean these off with a microfibre cloth.

How does it compare to similar models?

This model is cheaper than similar options on the market, so it can be a good option if you want to save a little money. It's usually around £250 cheaper than the De'Longhi Eletta Explore, for instance, or £150 cheaper than the Philips 5500. It's slightly easier to use than these machines, too. None of them is difficult to operate but the big, simple touchscreen on this Beko machine is really straightforward, especially if you're a little bleary-eyed in the morning.

However, the coffee simply isn't as nice as those in the De'Longhi or Philips. I've spent days wondering if it's just user error, but I always use the same coffee beans, so I think it's the machine. It makes slightly burned, slightly too acidic coffee. It's hardly undrinkable; it's perfectly fine, but for £500 it might be worth saving up a little more for a machine that makes nicer coffee.

Should you buy the Beko Caffe Experto Series CE7500+?

Coffee snobs should stay away. If you're as annoying about coffee as I am, this is not the machine for you. I've used much better bean-to-cup machines and most espresso machines are far, far better than this. After a lot of fuss I've yet to use this machine to make a really good espresso.

However, I think this could be good option for busy families who aren't too bothered about their coffee. It makes pretty good milky coffees like lattes and cappuccinos, even if there's little difference between the modes. If you're all piling out of the door in the morning it's helpful to a machine that can quickly turn out reliable lattes and cappuccinos.

I think it's great for hosting – it's helpful to be able to quickly make different coffees without any work. It's great to get a serviceable latte macchiato without faffing around with a steam wand.

Another use case might be for small businesses. If you run a small office, this is a great coffee machine to keep busy workers caffeinated. If you run an Airbnb, this is a relatively inexpensive way to make your rental feel a little more premium.

In short, if you obsess over espresso, don't buy this. If you want a decent automatic cappuccino without breaking the bank, this could be a good choice.

About this review, and the reviewer

Alex has tested coffee machines for years at a variety of publications, including Ideal Home's sister publication Homes & Gardens. Not only does he drink coffee every day, but he has tried dozens of appliances to help you find the very best.