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Be your own Barista – Find out what our coffee lovin’ reviewer made of the Melitta Caffeo Solo & Perfect Milk.
Melitta’s Caffeo Solo & Perfect Milk coffee maker one of the most impressive coffee machines that I’ve been lucky enough to review. This is a proper coffee machine that allows you to grind, blend and brew your very only coffees and, as such, I really think it’s an inexpensive machine for its capabilities. It’s got the majority of features that I’d normally expect to see only in the most expensive, premium machine ranges. If you’re serious about making your own coffee but paying way less than some premium machines cost, then this Melitta is a great place to start.
Top of the features for me is the ability to load the machine up with two types of coffee beans. As an espresso-first-thing and then a mild ‘n mellow kind of gal, this is a huge boon. This Melitta has a decent capacity water tank, able to hold up to 1200ml of water. Unlike many machines, the volume of water used to make each cup of coffee is not programmed into the machine, but done by turning an analogue control. This means you’re in full control, rather than limited only to pre-set options. I have to say that being able to control both the bean grinding and water supply is impressive and it didn’t take me too long to find the grind and water temperature that was absolutely the same (if not better) than my usual high street artisan coffee. The coffee is also a good temperature (I have often found the pod coffee machines lose a lot of heat as the water is forced through the pods.)
Melitta have created an intelligent automatic grinder system for the grinding mech. A fancy title, perhaps, but a deserving one as the grinder reacts to the coffee beans as they grind. The grinding mechanism has three settings and is fed by a chamber containing the unground beans – the unground bean containers are a good size.
The Melitta Caffeo Solo & Perfect Milk is marketed primarily as an espresso and cappuccino maker and rightly so. Its capabilities don’t end there, however, and the quality of a latte is excellent. The heating action for milk is via the Auto Cappuccinatore, a steamer arm. The steam whisk, when used in conjunction with the steam nozzle, creates excellent for frothing milk – a must have for cappuccino aficionados, in particular.
Moving on past the coffee and it’s on to the dreaded clean. Well, hurray to Melitta: this machine also boasts automatic cleaning cycles. Sure, you will need to manually help with the cleaning now and then, but day-to-day cleaning is taken care of automatically. Anybody who owns a coffee machine will understand the benefit of the auto-clean function. It allows you to get on with the real business of the perfect cup of coffee.
Although solely intent on finding a coffee machine that made incredible coffee, this machine doesn’t fall short on the aesthetics front. I used the stainless steel version but the Melitta Caffeo Solo & Perfect Milk is also available in a stylish black finish, too.
Hand on heart, I absolutely loved the Melitta Caffeo Solo & Perfect Milk coffee maker; it’s a truly great all-rounder that looks “the biz”. If you love your coffee and have been hankering after a proper coffee machine, you would not be unhappy with this beauty!
You can buy online, use our Click & Collect service to collect from your local store in as little as one hour or why not ask your local store about viewing our Melitta range.
[This competition has now ended and is no longer open for entries. To find out about our latest competitions, please visit our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.]
