Beko CEG5311X Bean to Cup Coffee Machine review The Beko CEG5311X Bean to Cup Coffee Machine is one of the most affordable bean-to-cup coffee machines on the market. With 19 bars of pressure, it grinds and brews either espressos or lungos with the touch of a button. It’s powered by touch controls at the top of the machines, and there is only one physical button, which keeps it sleek and very easy to clean. Other design features which really elevate the design include the light-up dispenser, which illuminates the glass as your coffee pours. There is also a red light that shows when your milk steaming wand is in use. I’ve reviewed dozens of coffee machines, and I’m confident that the Beko CEG5311X Bean to Cup Coffee Machine is one of best coffee machines on the market when it comes to value-for-money. Its slimline design is perfect for sitting in the corner of any kitchen, and it’s refreshingly minimalist in how it looks. It’s not perfect though. I used to work in a coffee shop and am confident in my milk steaming skills, but the steam wand with the Beko CEG5311X goes to the side and not towards you, which made it awkward to achieve the perfect micro-foam I look for when making lattes or flat whites. Ideal Home rated: 4 out of 5 stars Reasons to buy: Great value Sleek and minimalist design Very good pressure Adjustable grind settings Light-up dispenser Reasons to avoid: The milk wand could be better Coffee comes out quite hot Beko CEG5311X Bean to Cup Coffee Machine Specs: Coffee type:bean-to-cup Control type: automatic Water tank capacity: 1.6 litres Pressure: 19 bar Dimensions: H38cm x W23.6cm x D43.6cm Weight: 8.8kg Unboxing the Beko CEG5311X The Beko CEG5311X comes in a somewhat small but quite heavy box. It’s a hefty machine, at nearly 9kg, and I was disappointed as I removed it from the box to find just how much plastic and polystyrene packaging it came with. It would be really great to see some more sustainable packaging with this machine going forwards. The buttons include a physical ‘on’ button and four light-up touch buttons that power the two coffee sizes, espresso and lungo, and steam and hot water. The hot water button is great for topping up an espresso to pour an americano. You can hold down the coffee presets to customise your own ideal drink length, which is also useful for those who drink long coffee. There are also a selection of icons behind the main row that illuminate when there’s an error with your machine. It shows when you need to top up on beans, which is a really nice touch that I’ve not seen on some more expensive machines, and it means you won’t waste coffee by pouring a shot only to run out of beans halfway through grinding. The same applies to the water level sensor, and the machine will also alert you when the grounds container is full of used coffee. To get started with the Beko CEG5311X you need to plug it in using a removable power cord. It’s quite short, so you might struggle to reach if you plan on placing your machine far away from the power socket. There is also a removable drip tray which needs to slide into place. Once there it moves around quite easily because there’s nothing holding it into place. It has slats to catch any drips of coffee and a hole underneath the water dispenser which comes in useful once you flush the wand. Other bean-to-cup coffee machines come with dispensers that you can slide up and down to fit a selection of mugs, but the Beko CEG5311X’s dipenser sits quite low and can’t be moved. I didn’t find a mug that wouldn’t fit under it, but if you’re using a travel mug it could be an issue. Getting started Once plugged in I had to put beans into the machine and press the lid into place. There is a dial that you can turn to adjust theh grind level, from fine to more coarse. I went for the middle level to start, and this did a good job throughout in creating mellow coffee with low acidity and bitterness. From there I was ready to go. I did wish that I could flush out the machine more thoroughly before I started brewing, but because you can’t run the cycle without coffee beans, I let the pre-cycle run and got started with a lungo. The coffee looked promising, with a consistent foamy stream of coffee that formed a layer of crema at the top of the cup. I like that the machine only pours one stream at a time, because I rarely make two coffees at the same time, but if you want to do this then the single dispenser could be a downside. Unfortunately, as soon as I took a sip, I knew that the inner workings of the machine needed to be properly flushed out before I made a brew. It tasted very chemical and I had to pour it straight out and run the cycle a few more times (aware of the beans I was wasting) before I started drinking. Making espresso in the Beko CEG5311X Bean to Cup Coffee Machine With 19 bars of pressure, the Beko CEG5311X Bean to Cup Coffee Machine certainly isn’t lacking in power. I was keen to see how well it would make espresso. I turned the machine on and let the system flush itself out before pressing the first touch button to begin pouring my shot. The buttons work well, but be aware that you don’t need to press hard. They actually work best with a light touch. The coffee came out strong and hot. If I had one complaint, it might have been a little too hot, but not to the point of bitterness. The crema was very thick, and there were only a couple of drips once it had…

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