The best inexpensive coffee makers with a built-in grinder

The Krups brand coffee machine represents the junior Essential line. The characteristic features of the model include a stylish black front panel and compact dimensions. In the entry-level price segment, the main competitors cannot offer similar parameters in all three sizes: most often they are smaller in only one of the indicators, for example, in width or height.

For the compactness of the Krups Essential EA 8170, you don’t have to pay for a smaller water tank or hopper. They are respectively designed for 1.7 liters and 260 grams of grains. Probably the reason for the small dimensions lies in the non-removable brewing group. Here you don’t have to wash it manually, but you need to clean it in a timely manner (from coffee oils and scale) in accordance with the requirements of the instructions.

The coffee machine brews espresso by default. For the drink, you can change the strength and temperature (3 settings each), as well as the volume. The last variable is set in the range from 20 to 180 ml, which in fact allows you to prepare also ristretto and lungo. The user can also brew double espresso, as well as save two of their drinks in memory (in fact, user settings for existing recipes).

Fans of coffee and milk drinks are offered a manual cappuccino maker with a steam wand for whipping foam. Making a cappuccino or latte will require practice to master the basic skills of a barista. This cappuccino maker also has a minus - for some reason it does not dispense hot water, which almost all competitors can do. This means, for example, the model will not provide boiling water for Americano or brewing tea.

The push-button control panel is complemented by a display. It helps change settings for drinks and gives hints on the necessary user actions.

The disadvantage of the coffee machine is the small range of grinding degree adjustments (but for most people, 3 values are actually quite enough). The downside is the inability to work with ground coffee (there is no special shaft for it). But if you prefer drinks made from freshly ground grain, then Krups Essential EA 8170 is definitely worth a closer look.

This compact and stylish Italian coffee machine from the world-famous brand De'Longhi immediately attracts the eye with its laconic design, which hides a variety of features for preparing aromatic coffee of various volumes and strengths. In total, users have 4 default programs at their disposal - espresso, lungo and their double portions: for each recipe there is a separate button on the control panel.

The control of the device is simple and clear, implemented using buttons and a toggle switch, with which you can: select the desired grinding degree from the 13 presented, adjust the volume of the drink, water temperature, set a special program or start the self-cleaning process. And the top display panel displays all the necessary information about the cooking process.

An indicator located at the bottom of the end panel will indicate calcification and that it is time to clean the machine. But, in case of careful operation, namely the use of filtered or bottled water, additional cleaning will not be needed soon. A nice detail is the presence of a built-in filter in the water tank, so if you do not have the opportunity to fill only purified water, the coffee machine will independently carry out the main stages of cleaning. By the way, De'Longhi ECAM 22.110 is incredibly clean, so after preparation it drains the water on its own so that your next cup of aromatic drink is brewed exclusively from fresh coffee. True, such “cleanliness” significantly increases water consumption.

As for the raw materials used, you decide for yourself whether to choose coffee beans or already ground coffee. The coffee grinder container holds 250 g of beans and approximately the same amount of ground coffee. But, it is worth considering that the ground product must be loaded after cleaning, since the pre-filled coffee will be washed into the waste container. The container itself is quite spacious - 14 servings, with a fullness indicator.

For ease of use, height adjustment is provided for cups of various sizes from 86 to 142 mm. Latte and cappuccino lovers will have to whip up the foam themselves, since the cappuccino machine is manual, but experienced baristas assure that hand-made foam has a special airiness. Moreover, the built-in cappuccino maker tube extends completely beyond the dimensions of the device, which allows you to place containers of different heights.

If you are not a supporter of experiments, but are accustomed to drinking a coffee drink with the same taste characteristics every morning, then automatically saving volume settings for selected recipes will come in handy.

The representative of one of the basic lines of Philips coffee machines - Series 2200 - is distinguished by the presence of an AquaClean filter in the delivery set. It is placed in a 1.8-liter water tank and should protect the “insides” of the device from hardness salts. The working life of this “consumable” is stated at 5,000 cups, which should be enough for a family of two for at least several years.

Ease of use Philips Series 2200 EP2020 provides a self-cleaning program(also used to combat scale) and the ability to easily care for removable components. The manual cappuccino maker (tube), drip tray and grounds container can be cleaned in the dishwasher.

The coffee machine “can” prepare espresso and a coffee recipe (in fact, it’s a lungo). You can also brew double portions of these drinks with one extra press. At the same time, a convenient touch panel is offered for interaction with the model. One of its main features can be considered the My Coffee Choice menu, with which the strength and volume of the drink can be adjusted easily and intuitively, almost like in some flagship coffee machines.

The Panarello tube for making milk foam has a good length and tilts well, which will simplify the whipping process, and experienced users will even be able to place the milk container on a cup stand, rather than holding it suspended.

The device is equipped with reliable ceramic millstones, which have 12 grinding settings from ultra-fine to coarse. Other internals include a 1500-watt heater, a 15-horsepower pump, and a removable infuser. This is the same detail as in older solutions, like SAECO PicoBaristo Deluxe SM5573/10.

It is also worth highlighting the high quality manufacturing and stylish design. Plus, in addition to the graphite version, there are black and gray models on sale.

Philips Series 2200 EP2020 is an interesting coffee machine with convenient controls, pleasant appearance and reliable “filling”.

Representatives of the Lirika line from the SAECO brand are old-timers and almost legends of the coffee shop. The model with the addition Plus in the name differs from the “classic” by the presence of a semi-automatic cappuccino maker.

Here the coffee machine itself whips up the milk foam, but you need to place a cup under the corresponding spout, and additional button presses will be required. Due to this, owners of SAECO Lirika Plus have more opportunities when implementing various coffee and milk recipes. So, it’s easy to make a canonical cappuccino (with milk added to espresso, and not vice versa), plus you can experiment with the sequence of serving ingredients, creating your own drinks, etc.

Note that literally in one click the device dispenses espresso, lungo and hot water.

The coffee machine, with its rather small body width (22 cm), differs from its competitors in its solid containers for “ingredients”. So, first of all, there is a really large grain bin - 500 grams. In addition, there is a fairly spacious 2.5-liter water tank, and the grounds container holds 15 used portions. Thanks to these features, the model is suitable not only as a home solution, but can also become an indispensable device in a small office (up to 10 people, but optimally smaller).

Ceramic millstones with five settings for grinding degrees are responsible for grinding the beans (the model cannot use ground coffee, which is also worth keeping in mind.) You can influence the taste of the finished drinks by changing the temperature, strength and volume of the recipes. To interact with the coffee machine, a button panel and display with hints and service notifications are provided.

Before purchasing, please note that the package does not include a water filter. It is worth purchasing it separately or using already purified liquid. Otherwise, descaling will be needed quite often.

SAECO Lirika Plus is a time-tested coffee machine representing the lower part of the middle price segment.

The Nivona brand coffee machine is one of the older models of the 5th CafeRomatica series. For example, it differs from the CafeRomatica 530 model primarily by the presence of a color TFT display (and a new approach to control in general).

The rotary switch on the left recognizes short and long presses, and both available recipes and detailed settings are displayed on the screen. The user of Nivona CafeRomatica 550 can vary the temperature and strength of drinks (in 3 degrees), and also select the required serving volume (usually in the range from 20 to 240 ml in increments of 10 milliliters). And by the way, for all default recipes you can easily (not through test preparation or wandering in the depths of the menu) set your custom settings.

There are 4 programs built into the device’s memory. These are espresso, lungo, hot water and milk foam. The latter, in tandem with a semi-automatic cappuccino maker, will not only allow you to create almost any coffee and milk drink, including latte, cappuccino, latte macchiato, but will also please, for example, cocoa lovers.

According to reviews, the model produces homogeneous, finely dispersed foam, which deserves only flattering words. And another feature of the cappuccino maker is a reminder of the need to rinse the milk circuit, which is usually typical for more expensive coffee machines, and even then not all. Such care is recommended so that milk fat and protein do not remain inside, and bacteria do not begin to multiply.

The device is equipped with steel conical millstones with 3 variations of grinding levels and a 250-gram hopper. Other components of the “filling” include a 15 bar pump, a 1455 W heater, a removable brewing group and a 2.2-liter water tank. In addition, you can highlight the presence of heated cups and a compartment for ground coffee.

Nivona CafeRomatica 550 is a worthy competitor to market leaders with the makings of more expensive coffee machines.