2 Best Coffee Machines
Manual Espresso Machines Review
1. De'Longhi Scultura Coffee Machine
Excellent coffee, simple controls and great looks make this an excellent espresso machine
With its shiny metal exterior and curved edges, the De'Longhi Scultura Coffee Machine ECZ351 has a pleasingly 50s retro look to it. It's part of set, with a toaster and kettle also available for those that want all of the kitchen equipment to look the same.
A large 1.4L water reservoir sits at the back of the machine. You can fill it with the container in place, although a plastic handle in the middle means that it's easy enough to pull out if you'd rather fill directly from a tap.
Making coffee is simple, thanks to just a few controls: an on button, a button to dispense water, a button to increase the temperature for steam and a tap to turn on hot water or steam, depending on the machine's current mode. Alongside the buttons are green indicator lights, which show you if the machine's hot enough to dispense hot water or steam. While the machine's warming up, you can use the warmer on top to pre-heat your cups so that your coffee is as hot as possible.
Most importantly, the Scultura pours great coffee. First, you need to choose which filter you want in the group handle: there are filters for a single shot of espresso, one for a double-shot (or two cups), one for a single shot and one for ESE espresso pods. We tested our machine with freshly ground coffee, using the two-cup filter and two espresso cups.
Our one minor complaint about the Scultura is that there's only space for mugs up to 77mm high, although you may be able to tilt and slide slightly bigger ones. We couldn't get our regular mug underneath, so you may need to invest in some espresso cups and pour your coffee into a mug if you want to make a longer drinks, such as an Americano.
As well as ground coffee, the Scultura can take ESE pods
As usual, you don't need a lot of pressure on your coffee grounds; just enough to compact them and level the surface off. Before you start you can use the cup warmer on the top, so that your espresso shots don't cool down too quickly.
Excellent coffee, simple controls and great looks make this an excellent espresso machine
Coffee pours at just the right speed through the group handle, creating a reddish-brown and pleasantly thick crema. When the shot had time to settle, the crema was smooth, just as it should be on a good shot of espresso. A temperature of 65C is just about perfect for an espresso shot, too.
Excellent espresso, with crema that's just right
Taste was excellent. We got the slight bitter taste that a good shot of an espresso should have, bringing out the acidity and depth of our chosen beans. We found that the espresso was rich throughout and didn't have any of the wateriness that cheaper machines often produce.
Switching to making a latte we were pleased with the results from the steam wand. With the machine up to temperature, it's a matter of using the tap on top to control the flow. Our milk jug hit temperature quickly enough, giving us enough time to control the amount of foam it produced.
Nice foam and good control let you make the type of milk drink you want
Pouring the milk into a latte glass containing an espresso shot, we got a very pleasing result, with smooth velvety milk sat nicely on top of our espresso shot. There's no doubting that in looks and taste, this is one of the best machines we've used.
Switching the steam mode off doesn't vent the hot water, so you'll need to use the tap to get rid of the steam before making another shot of espresso, otherwise you'll end up with burnt and bitter coffee. You can also use the steam wand for hot water, simply by pressing the dispense water button to engage the pump and using the tap to send out the water.
Cleaning is easy, as the large drip tray is simple to slide out and empty. The group handle can be tapped into the bin, with springs holding the filter in place; exercise some caution, as a big tap can send the filter flying into the bin.
Price wise, the Scultura is getting towards the top-end of what you'd expect to pay for a single-boiler espresso machine, but we have to say that we think it's worth it. Simple controls, great looks and superb coffee are what it delivers and that's what's important.
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2. Philips Saeco Poemia
Great coffee for the price, although the crema was a little foamy
The Saeco Poemia is one of the company's entry-level espresso machines. It's designed to look bright and lively, with a choice of red, black or silver models. All are made from plastic, although the quality is good, so the machine doesn't look too cheap. However, those looking for better looks and quality, can go for the Gaggia Gran Prestige, which is the same machine (Saeco owns Gaggia) with a metal finish.
Although the Poemia is relatively cheap, we like the way it's designed and how everything can be neatly stored away. Take off the top cover and you get access to the 1L water container, which you can refill in place or remove using the handle. Next to this is a filter holder, so you can place the ground coffee or ESE espresso pod filter out of the way, depending on which one you're currently using. There's also space for the measuring cup. It all means that you don't have any clutter, with only the group handle needing to be left on display.
Everything is tucked away neatly in the back of the machine, so there's no clutter
Using the machine is easy. All you have to do is turn it on using the switch at the back and the machine heats up the single boiler to the right temperature, turning on an indicator light when it's ready. While it's doing that you can place cups on the mug holder at the front to warm them.
We made our espresso shots using ground coffee poured into the group handle. The manual doesn't say that the coffee needs to be tamped; however, using the flat bottom of the measuring spoon to flatten the coffee into the filter is a good idea and gave us better results.
Next you need to clip the group handle into position. It's a strange design, with the handle mounted on a slight spring. When you let go of it, the handle moves to the left slightly. It makes it harder to line up the spouts if you want to fill two cups.
There's only 75mm of clearance underneath the group handle, so our test mug wouldn't fit. You may need to buy some smaller mugs or espresso cups, decanting into a larger cup if you want to make a longer drink, such as an Americano.
With everything in place, you just need to turn the dial on the front to the left and pump kicks in. The group handle has a pressurised filter in it, designed to make extra creamy crema. Indeed, our espresso glasses finished up with very thick crema on top.
The pressurised group handle gives you thick crema, but it's a little foamy
On a first glance, the cream looks pretty good, but closer inspection shows a couple of minor problems with it. First, the colour's not quite right and the foam isn't quite as dark as we'd ideally like. Secondly, it's very frothy and lacks the smooth, oily appearance we'd expect from an espresso shot.
Great coffee for the price, although the crema was a little foamy
Taste wise, the coffee was good, but not strictly the kind of taste we'd expect; the espresso shot was very smooth and lacked that hint of bitterness. We can imagine that lots of people would prefer this taste, but it's not quite what we wanted. Temperature of the final shot was 55C, which means it's drinkable immediately, although on the edge of being too cool.
Next we made a latte, turning the dial on the front to the steam position. This heats up the Poemia's further. When it's ready a light turns on and you can use the tap and steam wand to froth your milk.
The steam mode and long wand let you create tightly-packed foam
It's a decent-sized wand and having control of the steam flow meant that we managed to heat our milk quickly, with a great combination of milk and foam. The foam was tightly packed and the taste was great.
As well as using the wand for milk, you can turn the hot water pump on and use the tap to dispense hot water. The Poemia doesn't auto-vent hot water when moving from steam to hot water mode, so you'll have to do this manually before you make another espresso to avoid burnt coffee.
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