We’ve been spoilt for coffee machines recently, after trying out the Melitta Caffeo Solo & Perfect Milk Coffee Machine which was rather impressive. We’ve now got our hands on the Beko CEG5311 coffee machine, it’s slightly smaller, looks far more slick but can it deliver a good cup of coffee? Lets find out.

Tech Spec

– Bean to cup coffee with integrated grinder
– Bar pressure: 19bar
– Steam wand
– Removable 1.5L water tank
– LCD display & touch sensitive buttons
– 2 Levels of coffee strength
– Dimensions (H)38 x (W)23 x (D)43cm

Look & Feel

Without a doubt, Beko have done an excellent job of designing a modern, minimalist coffee machine. As a whole, the machine is mainly constructed from black plastic but has a brushed/polished chrome finish to the front. There is nothing on the front, other than the coffee outlet & steam wand, which to me looks fantastic. My only quibble is the overly large branding, which is not necessary in the slightest. The drip tray and reservoir are accessed from the front, to remove dirty water and used coffee grounds.

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To the top of the machine is a single power button to turn it on & off. The rest of the controls are touch sensitive and the buttons illuminate once the machine is switched on. Four buttons in total, including steam, hot water, single espresso & double espresso. These buttons are touch sensitive, so just put your thumb or finger over the button and it activate. Above those four buttons are a number of orange symbols that will illuminate to indicate something to you. These indicate when the water needs filling, coffee beans need filling, coffee grounds need emptying etc etc. The machine has an auto off function, if left on too long.

Also to the top of the machine is the bean hopper, which includes a rotary knob to adjust how coarse you want your grind to be. The hopper will hold around 100g of beans. Further along is the water tank, which can be removed so you can fit it up at your sink.

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Set up is very easy, simply plug the machine into your local power socket, fill up the water tank & hopper with beans and turn it on. An instruction manual is included, which details set up and how to use it for the first time. It’s worth reading before using the machine for the first time.

Performance

The machine is very easy to use and makes a great shot of espresso. The machine will produce a single or double shot of espresso as default but you can also adjust this further by pressing a button in a certain way, so the machine remembers how much coffee to produce (detailed in the instructions). This, along with the grind setting within the hopper, allows you to adjust your espresso to suit. Unlike some machines, there is just the one outlet, so you cannot produce two espressos at the same time. When your espresso is being delivered, a light near the outlet turns on, which is a nice touch. The outlet is also height adjustable, it slides up and down to suit the size of your cup or glass.

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Once you have your espresso, you can either top it up with hot water to make an americano, add a splash of milk or use the steam wand. The steam wand will warm & froth your jug of milk, so you can produce that silky latte coffee. The steam wand works very well and the best part, it’s automatic. You press the steam button to turn it on, wait for the red light to stop flashing, press the button again and steam will be produced. Leave the wand in your jug of milk until the wand turns off and you should be left with steamed milk. After several uses, I found the wand was producing steam for the perfect amount of time to give me the milk I wanted. I’m still no better with my coffee art but that’s user error, not machine.

Now if you’re in a rush, the machine has 3 different modes or speeds. Eco mode, speed mode & default. The default mode is the best of both worlds but if you wanted speed, you’d sacrifice the pre-brewing and get your coffee quicker. Eco-mode uses less lights and automatically turns the machine off sooner.

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The machine is very easy to clean, it’s easy to take most of the machine apart to clean and the indicator lights help you avoid any excess build up. As default, the machine will self clean itself to a degree, by flushing through hot water at start up.

The only negative I can find right now with the machine is the sensitivity of the buttons. I would touch a button a few times before the machine would register the command. Overtime, I learnt the sweet spot and it wasn’t an issue, but performance lacks a little at the expense of aesthetics.

Verdict

The Beko CEG5311 coffee machine makes a decent cup of coffee. The pre-brewing feature, coupled with 19bar pressure, produces a quality espresso with a silky crema. It looks good, it’s compact and easy to use.

It’s available to purchase direct from Beko for just £350.