Tube or carafe: which suits me?
Both can be good: Stiftung Warentest had test winners with both systems, the Nivona with a tube in 2025, which is not available on amazon.co.uk at the moment, and the Eletta Explore with a carafe in 2026. The difference is in everyday use. You fill the carafe, put it in the fridge with the leftover milk afterwards and rinse it regularly. That's mainly worth it if you drink a lot of milk coffee. I've had good experiences with the De'Longhi Dynamica Plus, for example, which has a carafe. If you only have a milk coffee now and then, the tube is better: you put it into the milk carton and don't pour anything. In return, it has to be flushed after milk drinks and cleaned thoroughly on a regular basis. And with a carafe you get a good machine for a lot less.
How much do I save compared with capsules?
A branded capsule costs around 40 cents, a cup from the bean-to-cup machine with beans, water and electricity about 15 cents. If you drink two cups a day, that's around 15 euros a month less, around 10 euros after descaler and cleaner. With cheap capsules from a discount supermarket, hardly anything is left. You save the most by replacing coffee on the go: a cappuccino in a café costs almost 4 euros on average. The calculator shows what it means for you. These are German prices.
Is it worth it compared with filter coffee too?
Honestly, not in terms of money. According to Stiftung Warentest, filter coffee is the cheapest way to make coffee, partly because the machine costs little. According to Warentest, a bean-to-cup machine only pays off if a lot of coffee is drunk. In return, it grinds every cup fresh and makes you espresso and cappuccino at the push of a button.
How much work is the cleaning?
Every day you empty the coffee grounds and the drip tray; many machines tell you when it's time. After milk drinks you rinse the milk system, on many machines at the push of a button. You take the carafe apart regularly and rinse it; for the tube there is a cleaning programme. Once a week you take out the brewing unit and rinse it under running water, without washing-up liquid. That works on all the machines here. You have to descale when the machine tells you to. For descaler, cleaner and water filters, reckon with roughly 30 to 120 euros a year.
Do I have to descale?
Yes. Set the water hardness when you set it up; a test strip is usually included. Then the machine tells you in good time when it's due. With a water filter, according to the manufacturers, you have to descale less often. Use a product the manufacturer recommends for your machine. Stiftung Warentest advises descalers without sulfamic acid, because it harms aquatic life.
Which beans work?
Espresso or crema beans, whichever you like. Don't use caramelised or flavoured beans: according to De'Longhi, they can clog the grinder. Very oily beans are no good either: according to Siemens, they don't slide into the grinder properly.
Why are all the machines with a carafe from De'Longhi?
Because they did best in their price range at Stiftung Warentest: the Magnifica Start is one of the cheapest good machines, the Magnifica Evo Next came in just behind the test winners in 2025, and the Eletta Explore is the current test winner. Philips also makes a carafe, LatteGo, which you clip on and rinse quickly without any tube. But on the Philips 5500 that was tested, espresso and cappuccino only tasted average in the 2024 test.