Best bean-to-cup coffee machines of 2024 in the UK — reviewed and ranked by the Ideal Home team

It's no secret that the best bean-to-cup coffee machines unlock an elevated coffee experience at home. Whether you brew a fresh espresso or a tasty cappuccino, these machines ensure that your coffee straight from the bean is as freshly ground as possible. 

Often working at the touch of a button, a bean-to-cup machine will grind the perfect amount of coffee for a well-extracted shot and then create the ideal level of pressure to prevent too much acidity or bitterness in your final drink. Some even come with automatic milk dispensers to make fine and frothy foam without any hands-on work.

Although they may be the most expensive options, bean-to-cups are easily the best coffee machines on the market for those who take their coffee seriously. Their sleek and modern designs look at home in a variety of kitchens, and some more barista-style machines give you custom control of your brew or the ability to work on your art. If you want to recreate your coffee shop favourite, there simply is no competition. 

Below you'll find the best bean-to-cup coffee machines we've tested from the likes of Sage, Beko, De'Longhi and more. Everything below has been tried by a member of the Ideal Home team, with a range of products to suit every budget too.

The best bean to cup coffee machines of 2024 in the UK

Looking for the most efficient way to shop for the best bean to cup coffee machine? Introducing our quick list, which lets you see the pros and cons of these products at a glance.

The best bean to cup coffee machine

Buy it if: you're looking for the very best machine, regardless of budget

We've already crowned this as our favourite coffee machine overall in our all-encompassing guide, but it would be remiss not to call it the best bean-to-cup coffee machine on the market too. 

Yes, it's expensive, with an RRP of £729.00, but if you're looking to invest in your coffee set-up, then the investment will prove worth it even if it takes a lot of saving up. Of course, that's a big if, especially right now when you might not be in the perfect place to make this kind of investment.

Our reviewer rated the coffee from this machine an easy 10/10. Though it took a little getting used to at first, once set up with the perfect grind size and pressure level, the espressos that were made were perfectly well-balanced and creamy.

You can tell when you hit the right point by looking at the pressure dial on the front of the machine. If you are new to steaming milk, this will be a great machine to get you started on making your own lattes and cappuccinos too, thanks to the wand. 

Our Sage Barista Express Impress review has the full details.

The best value bean to cup coffee machine

Buy it if: you want a great value option.

If you don’t want to spend a fortune, or take up too much worktop space, you should buy this Beko machine. With a narrow footprint (at 24cm wide) and a 19-bar pressure pump to make deep, full-bodied coffee, it's a perfect machine to opt for if your budget is smaller. You use touch controls to operate it, with icons running along the exterior of this machine.

Out of the box, our tester found that the coffee was a little bit mild, but there is a handy dial to adjust the grinder. Once the grind was finer, coffee was tastier with a better crema. Meanwhile, the froth from the steam wand was very powerful (maybe too powerful) and quick to get going. 

You can adjust the grind and also the length of coffee shots with this machine. If you want a longer drink you can top it up with hot water from the wand or hold one of the brewing buttons down to make the shot longer or shorter. And its pre-brewing system wets the dose of coffee for a richer extraction, releasing oils to maximise aroma and depth.

We found the light-up touch controls on the top hard to see in bright sunlight from the skylight above. The steam wand also works at quite an awkward angle if you're really serious about your lattes. However, this coffee maker is hard to fault regarding bangs (beans?) for your buck.

Our Beko CEG5311X Bean to Cup Coffee Machine review has the full details.

The best easy to use bean to cup coffee machine

If you're new to grinding beans for the perfect cup of coffee, then the Breville Barista Signature Espresso machine will appeal, with features to make getting used to the process that bit easier. And if you're a dab hand, then don't look away just yet, as this machine also has plenty of customisation options if you already know exactly what you want, and want to access those settings with ease.

Our reviewer Amy had never tried a bean to cup machine before this one and found using this Breville to be the perfect introduction. She gravitated towards the default settings, but there are 30 grind settings to experiment with once you're more familiar. When Amy got to extracting, she initially found getting the portafilter into place a bit troublesome due to stiffness, but over time did find that it loosened up. 

Amy found the milk frothing up to standard too, with the wand offering good manoeuvrability and access to a good steaming angle. The auto-shut-off feature (also present in the Sage Impress Express) is fab too. 

Overall, we're big fans of the Breville Barista Signature Espresso Machine, which is so good to use and yields such great results that it's completely converted our first-time reviewer to bean-to-cup machines!

Our Breville Barista Signature Espresso machine review has the full details.

The best automatic bean to cup coffee machine

Buy it if: convenience is your priority.

The Cuisinart Veloce makes some of the more high-end bean-to-cup features relatively accessible. It's by no means cheap, but you do get all the perks of a digital display and complete coffee menu. We enjoyed saving our custom drink preferences onto the menu, which made for easy coffee rounds.

It's got a small water tank, but on the plus side it's front-facing and incredibly easy to remove and refill. The same can be said for emptying the coffee grounds, and the display comes up with instructions and prompts to stay on top of maintenance.

We found that the machine needed adjusting before we got that perfect espresso. It required grind adjustments, which can be done at the top of the machine where you keep your coffee beans. The milk wand can be inserted into the side container via a rubber tube, and this makes fully adjustable lattes or cappuccinos completely hands-free. You can even choose your froth level and the temperature of your drink.

The milk wand needs to be placed in a cup of water after each use, after which it will run a quick self-clean. If you plan on making long coffees and americanos though, the self-clean is fully automatic.

Our Cuisinart Veloce coffee machine review has the full details.

The best bean to cup machine for long drinks

Buy it if: you want to cut down on visits to your local coffee shop.

With modes for cappuccino, flat white, and even latte macchiato, the De’Longhi Dinamica Plus ECAM370 is a premium coffee machine that delivers on automatic systems with hands-free brewing. The menu allows you to adjust the drinks to different sizes and aromas, and you can completely customize the coffee-to-milk ratio by making a preset just for you.

The water tank sits at the front of the machine, and so does the grounds container. Both are very easy to access, and the bean dispenser sits at the top back which makes pouring easy. You'll need to clean the milk dispenser after every use, but all this requires is switching the dial to the self-clean mode.

If quality espresso is your top priority, you'll love the automatic grinding, which is sensitive for different types of beans. You can also pour grounds into a different dispenser for making decaff without emptying out the bean container. It's an expensive machine, but you'll often find it on sale, and it ticked every box in our testing.

Our De’Longhi Dinamica Plus ECAM370 review has the full details.

The best quiet bean-to-cup coffee machine

Buy it if: you need a machine that keeps the volume to a minimum.

The Melitta Latticia OT gets a solid four-star rating from us after our review process. It's priced well, and makes an impressive brew. It lacks some of the refinement you'll get with a pricier machine though, and we were disappointed it didn't come with a milk dispenser.

On the plus side, it's one of the quietest coffee machines we've ever tested, and if you're willing to do some fiddly button-pushing it's very adjustable for your specific coffee preferences. Our tester also really enjoyed being able to simply turn a dial to choose the size of the drink, which is a lot simpler than having to navigate a touch-screen design. 

Our Melitta Latticia OT Coffee Machine review has the full details.

Best bean to cup coffee machine for £500

Buy it if: you have £500 or less to spend.

It seems insane to put the Breville Barista Max Espresso Machine into the category of a 'budget buy' considering that it has an RRP of £479.00, but in the world of bean-to-cup coffee machines, it is on the more affordable side. 

It's also a very capable coffee machine, with heaps of customisable controls that will allow budding baristas to really take control of their brewing process. When reviewing the Breville Barista Max+ our tester was struck by just how stylish this machine was, with a design that would fit nicely into most kitchens. Our tester also found the set up of this machine very straightforward, making it perfect for beginners. 

After having it at home for a while, our tester did think the machine would benefit from an auto-dosing grounds feature. While it is not a cheap coffee machine by any means, we do think it is one of the more reasonably priced barista-style coffee machines on the market.

Our Breville Barista Max+ review has the full details.

The best looking bean-to-cup coffee machine

Buy it if: you're collecting Smeg appliances for your kitchen.

We think one of the main reasons to buy this coffee machine is the appearance, but it's most definitely not the only reason. Aside from the beautiful bold colours available and the style points it'll bring to your kitchen, it's also a stellar bean-to-cup coffee machine. 

Our tester thinks that once you get the settings perfected on this machine that it can produce top-quality rich espressos. Plus the integrated bean grinder is great. 

However, there is no getting away from the price - it is expensive and bulky too. But as long as you’re okay with the fact that you are paying a premium for the trendy retro style, then go for it. 

Our Smeg EGF03 Espresso Machine review has the full details.

The best luxury bean-to-cup coffee machine

Buy it if: you want a top of range machine. 

During our testers months of use, she was consistently impressed by how well this machine steamed milk in particular, with a steam wand that is unbelievably clever and compatible with plant milks too. It also turned out some seriously tasty espresso. 

If you're someone who wants the best of the best, and doesn't mind a more mindful process, you'll love how finely the Sage Barista Touch Impress adjusts depending on your specific bean and brew type. It's kitted out with a touch screen too, which recommends adjustments for different settings.

Of course, the price is astronomical. Anything over than a grand will always require a huge amount of consideration, but what you get in return is a real top-of-the-range machine. It combines everything people love about home brewing with the convenience of a smart machine that will take the guesswork out of every espresso you pull. 

Our Sage Barista Touch Impress review has the full details.

How we test the best bean-to-cup coffee machines

In line with Ideal Home's testing protocol, we've extensively tested every single machine in this lineup for at least two weeks and in most cases a few months. From getting to grips with the controls and finding the perfect grind settings, we know exactly what it's like to use these machines day in, and day out. And we're big fans of the 8 ones we've chosen above.

After thoroughly testing these models, we had just one concern: some are just too good. That sounds like a nice problem to have, but the ease with which you can make latte after latte means there is a risk of descending deeper into caffeine addiction. Proceed with caution. Or sometimes detox with decaffeinated beans.

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Who tested these bean-to-cup coffee machines?

Molly Cleary

Molly is the Ecommerce Editor covering appliances at Ideal Home, including all things coffee machine-related. She's a certified Consumer Expert when it comes to coffee machines, which means she's qualified to test coffee machines both at home and at Future's dedicated testing facility, which is a very fun job indeed. Her favourite machine ever, and the one she has at home is the Sage Barista Impress Express – at this point, she couldn't live without it.

Is there a bean-to-cup machine you'd like Ideal Home to test before you buy? Email molly.cleary@futurenet.com with your suggestions.

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