One of its best features is that it removes the faff of having to steam your own milk. Its innovative LatteGo technology consistently froths both normal and plant-based milks to the right temperature and makes the perfect micro-foam. However, you can’t move the spout, which meant our testers experienced a few spills when the milk was being dispensed into the cup. The spout at the front slides up and down to allow for mugs of up to 12.7cm tall, which covers larger mugs with ease. Often working at the touch of a button, a bean-to-cup machine will grind the perfect amount of coffee for a well-extracted shot and then create the ideal level of pressure to prevent too much acidity or bitterness in your final drink. Some even come with automatic milk dispensers to make fine and frothy foam without any hands-on steaming.

The first shot of espresso made will likely be a little watery. The second shot onwards, once the beans are in the grinder, delivers the right amount of coffee. What’s important here is the length of time the coffee takes to pour and the colour of it as it comes out. You’re after a rich honey look to the stream and the slowest pour. For me, I had to tighten the grind up to get the desired result. Quality drinks and espresso mixed with a small body and low price make this a great budget choice. Design and features

One Touch Single or Double Espresso

Our Sage Barista Touch Impress review has the full details. How we test the best bean-to-cup coffee machines

In line with Ideal Home's testing protocol, we've extensively tested every single machine in this lineup for at least two weeks and in most cases a few months. From getting to grips with the controls and finding the perfect grind settings, we know exactly what it's like to use these machines day in, and day out. And we're big fans of the 8 ones we've chosen above. When you do, it’s possible to get a nice foam on the milk, and warm it through – although it’s hard to get a swirling vortex going. Once I’d finished, I had to tap the jug to get rid of bigger bubbles and gave it a good swirl to mix. Once a month you’ll receive a notification that it’s time to clean the machine using the powder that’s supplied in the box – you get three sachets to get you started. It’s worth doing this when prompted to keep the Beko Bean To Cup Coffee Machine CEG5301 in the best shape. Most bean-to-cup coffee machines allow you to adjust the drink size, coffee strength and sometimes the strength of the aroma, too. On some models, you can save these settings, so you can repeat your favourite combinations.We found that the machine needed adjusting before we got that perfect espresso. It required grind adjustments, which can be done at the top of the machine where you keep your coffee beans. The milk wand can be inserted into the side container via a rubber tube, and this makes fully adjustable lattes or cappuccinos completely hands-free. You can even choose your froth level and the temperature of your drink. If you don’t want to spend a fortune, or take up too much worktop space, you should buy this Beko machine. With a narrow footprint (at 24cm wide) and a 19-bar pressure pump to make deep, full-bodied coffee, it's a perfect machine to opt for if your budget is smaller. You use touch controls to operate it, with icons running along the exterior of this machine. While most bean-to-cup machines tend to be fairly large, the Beko Bean To Cup Coffee Machine with Steam Wand CEG5311 keeps its size down at 380 x 236 x 436mm. That’s similar to a large capsule machine, such as the Nespresso Vertuo Next. Impressively, this machine is no bigger than its expresso-only stablemate, the Beko CEG5301.

We've already crowned this as our favourite coffee machine overall in our all-encompassing guide, but it would be remiss not to call it the best bean-to-cup coffee machine on the market too. Our reviewer rated the coffee from this machine an easy 10/10. Though it took a little getting used to at first, once set up with the perfect grind size and pressure level, the espressos that were made were perfectly well-balanced and creamy.This makes this the easiest bean-to-cup coffee machine to use; the controls are very similar to those on the Nespresso CitiZ machine. No one enjoys cleaning out a coffee machine; it’s a bit messy and there are a lot of parts that need to be disassembled. Plus, it’s difficult to manually clean the internal parts. An automatic cleaning function will cleanse your coffee machine in less than 20 minutes, with some getting the job done in under half this time. We want to know whether you can rely on these machines to deliver you the coffee you like, every time. To do this, our experts at the GHI make a series of single and double espressos, using the same coffee beans for every machine. We look for the presence of a crema and measure the volume of liquid produced to analyse how consistent the machine is, working within a small margin of variation. This coffee machine was super easy to use and impressed across the board in our lab tests. Everything from set-up to selecting your preferred beverage is simple and efficient. And if you do struggle to adjust the settings, the handy manual is easy to follow. After being impressed by the simple Beko CEG5301 for making espresso, I now have the Beko Bean To Cup Coffee Machine with Steam Wand CEG5311 in for review. Effectively the same machine, this one adds a steam wand into the mix for frothing milk.