Nearly five years ago we splashed out on a Melitta Varianza machine costing nearly £500 - bean-to-cup, foamed milk etc. Totally automatic.
It does all espresso-based coffees very well indeed. However, it won't be with us for much longer, I think. It went back for repair/reprogramming once under guarantee and has since developed intermittent faults, like grinding the coffee and then dumping it before use, and producing foamed milk that consists mainly of steam. Intermittent, as I say, but at the moment it's working OK. It also leaks water, so sits in a permanent puddle on the breakfast bar.
I managed to improve the wasted coffee situation a few months ago by obtaining a new brewing unit for about £60.
Considering it's made mostly two cups of coffee a day for over four years I'm not impressed with its reliability nor its value for money. I wouldn't recommend it. I shan't be getting a direct replacement and am considering separate machines: grinder, coffee maker and milk foamer/steamer (possibly combining the last two).
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