Beko Bean to Cup Coffee Machine CEG5301X Stainless Steel, 19 Bar Pressure, Includes Easy to use One Touch LCD Control, Pre-Brewing System & Removable 1.5L Water Tank

So this was ordered as an emergency stop-gap after our venerable 11 year old Delonghi bean to cup machine blew up. Suspecting that this might be terminal, and because early morning coffee is pretty much the one vice I cant function without, I immediately looked to see what cheapish replacement machines were available. My old unit was pretty much a top of the range model, and just right now I cant run to that many hundreds of pounds, so this Beko, with it's elegant minimalist looks, and budget price got the gig.To be honest I wasnt expecting the moon, and overall I've been very pleasantly surprised by what I got.So good points, 1. If you spend a bit of time fiddling with the grinder control, and programming the quantity of water dispensed, you can eventually get a fairly reasonable cup of medium strength coffee from it. 2. Its compact and super easy to use. 3. It looks the bit!Not so good. 1. The instructions are very minimalist, which perhaps explains why one reviewer on here, who only gave it one star, spectacularly missed the fact that the quantity button is PROGRAMMABLE - so NO YOU DO NOT have to stand there and keep pressing the button, as she quite erroneously stated!The instructions are terse and brief - but with this machine YOU really DO need to read them guys! It's very minimalist in it's approach and so to get the best out of it one has to use the programming ability to get a decent result. Anyone skipping the manual will get very mediocre results, and will miss the best that this little beastie can achieve.What you have to do is, on the first dispense, press and HOLD the button untill you have the quantity of liquid you want in the cup. Then release the button - the machine bleeps - and after that the machine will always dispense that amount of coffee on that button. There are two buttons and both can be programmed independently, but of course the strength may well be completely rubbish at the point...2. My old machine had a control which allowed some degree of adjustement to the extraction time and quantity of ground coffee used - this one doesnt - so if you want stronger coffee, the only way is to adjust the grind to a finer level. Similarly if you want it weaker then make it more coarse. This can be a bit fiddly, but it does work. After a couple of goes I managed to get about the right strength and quantity.So overall this is a basic budget machine, which can take a bit of skill to set up properly, but then produces pretty reasonable results. No it's not going to stun you if you are a coffee perfectionist, but its a deal better than the pod machines. So bearing in mind the price - which is half what you would pay for a more sophisticated bean to cup device - this does merit the full five stars as a VALUE for money BUDGET option.In the end it turned out my old Delonghi is repairable, so this BEKO will now eventually become the ultimate luxury of bedside machine - where it's super compact size will be put to even better effect.So yes - if you need a decent budget solution to a coffee supply problem, I can entirely recommend it.*UPDATE 03/03/2024*My original review was now written several years ago, since when this machine has worked pretty well earning it a good reliability rating. However in recent months I have begun to have problems with mould build up around the brewer and the delivery tube where the brewed coffee is expelled into the mug.The delivery tube connects to the brewer high up in the front of the machine and due to the compact machine size it is very difficult to access for a proper thorough cleaning. For several years this hasn't really been an issue - but recently old spent coffee grounds have begun to accumulate and stick around the top rubber seal - causing the brewed coffee to be contaminated by a mouldy taste.I have now sadly taken the decision to retire this machine. It still qualifies as a good purchase as the price was good and after around four years service it has done its work. However it may be of use to prospective purchasers to know of the need to be extra fastidious in cleaning not just the removable part of the brewer but also the parts with which they dock which are high up inside the very front of the machine.I would hope that if Beko decide to update this model they might give consideration to providing a better access hatch for cleaning the non removable parts of the brew chain. Had I been aware of these limitations before purchase I might possibly have opted to pay a little more to get a machine with slightly easier access for cleaning. However this Beko machine is still worthy of consideration.

A very good unit for the money, easy to clean and produces a great coffee

Seems all my issues have already been echoed in many of the 1 star reviews here, which shows me this Beko machine is a problem waiting to happen.1) there is a water leak making the internals mouldy (yes i clean regularly!) but there should not be that much water in the drip tray2) every month the machine will resort to basically grinding the entire contents of the hopper resulting in lots of wastage of beans - if you don't notice this, press and button and walk away your entire machine fills up with ground coffee and is a nightmare to clean. A full machine reset is needed (not explained properly in the manual but luckil someone pointed it out to me online to reset the grinder)3) pucks come out wet and squishy, despite lots of different grind settings making no difference whatsoever4) so hard to clean inside the machine, even with the brewer out, you have to leave it balanced over the sink and basically try and rinse the thing out5) the memory cup size function sometimes works, sometimes doesn't work6) top is easy to scratch, and only one physical button on it, rest are haptic sense buttonsI'm sure there are more negatives, it makes an ok cup of coffee i guess, but i do feel it takes a little more beans to achieve this, so what you think you are saving on a very 'budget' machine you will be overspending on overgrinding the beans with under extrusion.I really really wish i'd just spend £100 more, or even bought a bean to drip machine for less money.

I can only recommend this product. I have been using it for about six months. No issues so far. Easy to clean, easy to maintain come up perfect for a nice fresh, bean to cup coffee. Is this particular model does not come with milk warming facilities which I deliberately choose to reduce chances of failure. Are use a separate milk warmer. Great value for money, saves you in the price of coffee and the machine doesn’t cost much either.

This was my second Beko bean-to-cup machine. The first one (with the milk frothing wand) developed a problem after a couple of weeks where the “empty coffee grounds” sensor was stuck on and stopped the machine working.I replaced with this one, without the frothing wand as a direct replacement was not available, and I hadn’t found the wand that easy to use.This replacement machine is working fine so I am hoping its reliability is not a problem.Assuming it continues to work well, it is doing a great job and is almost as easy to use as a pod machine.The coffee grounds hopper requires emptying every 6-8 runs, but it is very easy to do.It is a compact and attractive kitchen appliance, and I am pleased with the purchase at about half the price of the similar Neff machine.My 4 star rating is due to the fact the first one was a problem and it is too early to tell if the replacement will be reliable.Fingers crossed.

I have had many different machines varying from 300-1000 pounds and this is just as good as any. very small and very clean. easy to clean and maintain. espresso is top notch. it pre heats the grind after is has pressed which swells the puck and adds flavor. also the build quality is excellent, clever water tank and lids and compartments are well thought out

Thoroughly impressed so far. The machine is extremely simple and I love the self cleaning function. The only downside is that the water tray gets filled up quickly but we have a small glass underneath to pick up the self clean residue.We have around 6 espressos per day and the coffee is consistent and at a high grind setting has a really good flavour. Yes this doesn’t have all the bells and whistles, but it makes a brilliant cup, which you can add hot water to. At this price, it’s brilliant value!