October 20, 2022, 3:55 am | Read time: 2 minutes
A fresh cappuccino, latte macchiato, or maybe a hot chocolate? Coffee machines can often prepare numerous drinks–giving you the feeling of being in a small café right at home. And according to Stiftung Warentest, you don’t have to dig deep into your pockets for that.
Good news for all coffee lovers: If you want to bring the coffee enjoyment of a machine home, you don’t have to spend a fortune. Stiftung Warentest closely examined eleven coffee machines, eight of which have an additional milk frothing function. In the current test (magazine “test”, issue 11/2022), they concluded that even affordable machines make good coffee. Here’s how the coffee machines performed in the test:
From Affordable to Expensive: Coffee Machines Perform Well in Test
All devices received a “good” rating in the test–both the most expensive device at 2,130 euros and the cheapest model at 345 euros from Philips (EP2231/40), which the testers also named the “price winner.”
While the latter can only prepare four different coffee creations, the test winner at 910 euros from De’Longhi (Eletta Explore) offers a range of 24 different hot and cold drinks. Classics like latte macchiato were available in all but one of the tested devices, even those with fewer options but with a milk frothing function.
Descaling Can Take Longer
According to the testers, drink strength and quantity, grind size, and temperature could usually be adjusted to taste preferences–and the models were easy and intuitive to operate and practically clean. Differences were mainly found in design and the layout of control elements like touchscreens or sensor buttons.
If you’re in a hurry in the morning, you should also pay attention to preparation time when choosing. While the fastest machine in the test from Krups (Evidence Eco design EA89) can prepare an espresso in 45 seconds, other devices require up to one and a half minutes. The time required for the regularly necessary descaling of the devices also varies between 14 minutes and almost an hour.
Also interesting: It’s better not to brew coffee with water directly from the tap
An environmental tip from the testers: Use the devices without a water filter. This works with all tested models, saves material for cartridges–and up to 89 euros a year. Depending on water hardness, the devices may need to be descaled more often.
With material from dpa