Advice on Bean to cup coffee machines

Posted 25th Jun 2023

I’ve recently purchased a Philips 3200 Bean to cup coffee machine (£399, Amazon U.K.) It’s a great looking machine, operation is simple to understand (good as I can get the better half to make me a coffee in the morning! ). I’m just underwhelmed by the resulting coffee. The Crema seems almost non existent, and flavour wise, it’s a disappointment.

I’ve tried a few brands of beans, set the grinder to a finer setting, and of course played with the machines strength and water levels. I’m still thinking it might need to go back for an alternative.

11 Comments

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25th Jun
I've had a few brands and they are all much the same. The only one that comes close to a proper espresso is the sage barista. I think it's all the manual processes that the automatic machines just can't replicate
25th Jun
Agree - but you need to know what you're doing with a manual. They will quickly expose any lack of training/ability and shame poor quality beans. I worked my way upwards via Gaggia Classic and ended up with a Sage Oracle which I feel gives the best of both worlds.
25th Jun
We've got a DeLonghi and are very pleased with it. Even using the cheaper beans always get a good cup of coffee, much better than our old go to Gold Blend instant. Did have a Krups Bean to cup before this but find the Delonghi better and easier to keep clean. Coffee is a personal taste thing and we prefer 100% Arabica beans to blends with Robusta beans. DeLongi sell refurbs on eBay and often participate in eBay 15% off,etc. promotions , so you can get some good deals.
25th Jun
Are you using beans bought from a supermarket or roaster?
Author
25th Jun
I’m currently trying a few different brands from the supermarket. I understand these won’t be the best quality, but I expected a better crema than my cheap pods on a £60 machine!
25th Jun
Try some fresh roasted coffee - within the last 4 weeks max. If you can't get anywhere with that then the machine starts looking suspect. Your cheap pods & machine will have an artificially produced crema btw.
Author
26th Jun
Thanks for the tip. Will give it a try ️
28th Jun
delonghi esam 4200 user here. I resonate with the others here, dont come to the bean to cup game with the intentions of saving money, cheapo 8 quid beans off amazon give crap results in my machine and I've been through many brands, using locally/recently roasted beans makes the world of difference imo. The other thing I would say (and this could very well be machine specific) is always aim for a small shot, my machine has short extraction time at all settings so never try to pull a long drink out of it, just a small shot then top up with kettle or milk depending on what type of drink you want. For clarity I use grind setting 3, water dial set to 11 oclock and does dial set to 3 oclock, this gives about 8g in 15g out on single shot, and 16g in 30g on a double, and i find is a good 'all round' setting.
26th Jun
Is it crema or Guinness?

Aldi beans, Delonghi ESAM, 2x double shot. #ratemycrema

Author
26th Jun
That’s definitely Guinness!