As a huge coffee lover I’m always interested to hear about the latest coffee gadgets hitting the market but I was particularly excited to have a go at Melitta’s revamped bean to cup coffee machine ‘Latte Select’. The new and improved coffee machine is described as a ‘must have’ for all coffee lovers who enjoy a barista style experience at home so I was eager to try out all those shiny new updates that have since been added. Read on for our full Melitta coffee machine review and overall score…
Appearance
The first thing you notice about the Latte Select is its sleek, high-end design. We went for all frosted black which seamlessly fitted in with the aesthetic of our modern kitchen but there’s also a silver option if you wanted more of a traditional coffee machine look. Compared to our current Sage machine, it was quite long but it slid perfectly under our standard sized cabinet. The simple design and colourway makes for a really chic overall look and it definitely wouldn’t look out of place in a high end restaurant or café.
Performance
Considering its small footprint, the Latte Select actually has a lot of functionality whilst managing not to be overengineered at the same time. It was also incredibly user-friendly and uncomplicated to operate. There are colour pictures of each kind of drink the machine makes – espresso, café crème, cappuccino and latte macchiato – so you can just press the button next to the drink you want and the machine will do all the work for you.
The variety of drinks it makes is also pretty impressive as there are eight additional coffee variations on top of the four classics, such as flat white, lungo, long black, espresso macchiato and americano.
Overall we found it really easy to operate and loved that you can make two drinks at the same time. There’s nothing worse than having a big family get together and one of you ends up stuck in the kitchen making coffee order after coffee order!
Features
There’s lots of features of the Latte Select which really made it live up to its name, for example the fact the coffee bean hopper has two sections in it so you can put two different types of coffee beans in. There’s also a ‘My Coffee Memory’ function which saves up to six people’s favourite drinks recipes, buttons for hot milk, milk froth and hot water and even options to choose the brewing strength and grinding fineness you’d like!
The separate milk container looks nice and sleek and once you’ve finished with it you can disconnect the container and put it in your fridge to keep it fresh. We liked that every time you use a milk function the machine cleans the little tube for you; all you need to do take the tube out and pop it into the drip tray which has a designated hole for it (and makes a satisfying click!) so you never have to worry about stagnant milk.
We found it super handy that the spent coffee grounds are deposited into the coffee grounds container so that when the drip tray is pulled out there’s coffee grounds in one section which can be removed for easy bin disposal, and waste water in another with a spout so you can tip it straight into the sink. We also liked how the machine has an adjustable outlet on the front of it so you can move it up and down to accommodate different sized cups.
Coffee taste
The espresso was excellent and the machine had really brought out the flavours of the beans. The cappucino and latte macciato were also super tasty and creamy and the milk was really well textured which is no easy feat! We found it does a better job of producing the coffees at perfect temperature than our own Sage machine does and that’s because it has three default settings – 85°C, 90°C and 95°C. These are also ideal brewing temperatures for white, green, black and fruit teas which is really handy for our household who like a wide range of hot drinks.
Melitta Coffee Machine Review: Overall thoughts
In terms of ease, this machine really ticks all the boxes. If you’re someone who wants to press a button in the morning and have your coffee made for you whilst you’re getting ready for work then this is ideal. It has some really well thought out features and there’s no denying it looks great – we’ve had lots of admirers since it arrived! What we really loved about the Latte Select though are the endless options to personalise your coffee however you want it, completely taking the guesswork out of coffee making for you and resulting in a perfect cup every time that’s tailored just to your tastes.
Score – 9/10. For us, the Melitta Latte Select is a stand out in the bean to cup coffee machine market.
Claire is a Cheshire girl, mum to one and wife to one. She’s also creator of the blog KoKo & Cub which houses tried and tested how to’s (and some how not to’s) as well as general thoughts and musings on everything from OOTD’s to planning a last minute wedding.
