Which Should You Buy? Bean-to-cup or Nescafe Coffee Makers?

Which Should You Buy? Bean-to-cup or Nescafe Coffee Makers?

This is a tough question! To answer it properly we first need to take a quick look at each kind of coffee machine and see what makes them different, how easy they are to use and what they cost. Despite being very two different animals they both function in a very similar way – you place a cup underneath a dispensing nozzle, press a button and wait for your drink. But this is where the similarities end and how the drink is produced is very different. Lets take a closer look…

Bean To Cup For me, these represent the dream device for most coffee lovers. They produce authentic coffees in seconds and require no skills or expertise to use. They are akin to having a mini barista in your kitchen. Typically freshly roasted coffee beans are stored in the top of the device and water and milk are stored in the left and/or right hand side of the machine. To use these devices all you need to do is place your cup under the dispensing nozzle and select the drink you would like making.

With this level of automation inevitably comes a high price tag and it is not uncommon to pay anywhere from £300 to £1000+ for one of these devices. There are some ‘middle ground’ devices which provide a very good coffee, but require you to prepare the coffee, like the Delonghi Scultura – more here – however you’ll be hard pressed to get a better coffee outside of the coffee shop if you buy a fully fledged bean to cup machine.

Nescafe Coffee Makers These represent the ultimate in convenience and are incredibly simple to use. All you need to do is place a small capsule in the top of the machine, press a button and wait for your coffee. The only exception to this is if your preparing a milky drink, like a cappuccino, in which case you’ll need to pop a milk pod in half way through preparing your drink. But this process is still very easy.

The good news is that these devices are super cheap and can often be picked up from typically from around £40 to £100. With the flagship model: the Oblo only costing around £70. You can read more info here. The only real downsides are that the pods can be quite expensive to buy if you use your device more than a few times every week and the coffee they make is quite artificial tasting – think vending machine cappuccinos, but a little nicer.

Which should you choose?

In my opinion this ultimately depends on 3 main factors: •

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Your budget. Can you really afford to spend hundreds on a coffee maker? ◦ If you can’t then Nescafe machines are best ◦ If you can then bean 2 cup machines are for you!

Convenience. Do you want a machine which is low maintenance and easy to use? ◦ Both are easy to use however: ◦ Get a Nescafe if you’d prefer to use a machine which you basically never have to clean. ◦ Pick a bean to cup if you don’t mind a little cleaning every now and then.

Finally: taste. Do you want a truly authentic coffee? ◦ If you do then you can’t beat a bean to cup machine. ◦ If not then a Nescafe machine will suit your tastes.