What is a fully automatic bean-to-cup coffee machine?

A fully automatic bean-to-cup coffee machine prepares your favourite coffee entirely automatically. All you need to do is make sure the bean and water reservoirs are filled. Here's how to use a fully automatic coffee machine:

1. Fill the bean hopper with coffee beans. The beans are stored in an airtight compartment to preserve their aroma as well as possible.
2. Fill the water reservoir.
3. Choose the coffee you want to prepare using the buttons or display.
4. Press the start button to begin the brewing process. The machine automatically takes the required amount of coffee beans and grinds them just before extraction using the built-in coffee grinder. This helps preserve the aroma and flavour of the coffee.
5. The water is then heated to between 90 and 96 °C and forced through the ground coffee at high pressure. This extracts the aromas, oils and flavours from the coffee.
6. If your chosen drink contains milk, the machine draws milk from a reservoir or through a milk tube. It heats and froths the milk and automatically adds it to your cup.
7. The used coffee grounds are automatically collected in the coffee grounds container, which you can easily empty afterwards.
8. All that's left to do is enjoy your coffee.

These are the main advantages and disadvantages of a fully automatic bean-to-cup coffee machine:

Advantages:

• Prepares your coffee automatically, from grinding the beans to pouring the coffee.
• Always enjoy freshly ground coffee thanks to the built-in coffee grinder, which grinds the beans just before brewing.
• Consistent coffee quality, cup after cup.
• Plenty of customisation options, such as coffee strength, water quantity, grind size and water temperature, depending on the model.
• Suitable for different coffee specialities, such as espresso, lungo, cappuccino and latte macchiato.
• Intuitive and quick to use, often with the touch of a button.
• Easy to maintain thanks to automatic rinsing and descaling programmes.

Disadvantages:

• Higher purchase price than a traditional coffee machine or capsule coffee machine.
• A machine with a milk system requires additional maintenance to keep the milk circuit clean.
• Usually takes up more space.
• The built-in coffee grinder can be relatively noisy while grinding.

For the best results, choose coffee beans that are medium-roasted and dry roasted. Medium-roasted beans offer a good balance between aroma, acidity and bitterness. They provide a rich flavour while preserving the coffee's natural characteristics. This makes them well suited to your automatic coffee machine, which is designed to extract the aromas of this type of coffee bean effectively. Dry-roasted coffee beans are also a good choice because they contain less oil. They move more easily through the coffee grinder, reducing the risk of blockages. Using drier beans can also reduce how often you need to clean the machine. By contrast, avoid dark-roasted and oily coffee beans. Their greasy surface can leave residue in the coffee grinder and brewing unit.

Regular maintenance is essential to keep your fully automatic coffee machine performing well. Empty the coffee grounds container and drip tray after each use. Then rinse the removable parts and clean them with suitable coffee machine maintenance products. If your machine has a milk system, clean it after every preparation to prevent milk residue from building up. Also clean the brewing unit regularly and fill the water reservoir with fresh water each time. Descale the machine according to the manufacturer's recommendations or when the machine indicates that it is necessary. If you use a water filter, it can help reduce limescale build-up.