Dreaming of a coffee machine for your home that's as capable as the one in your office at work? Then take a look at the Siemens EQ900 Plus, which I think is the closest I've found to that pinnacle. Here's how I got on when I reviewed it as part of my quest to find the best bean-to-cup coffee machine out there.
In a nutshell
This machine is sleek, capable and kitted out with plenty of features that will make your experience of a morning cup of coffee as smooth as possible. That includes a bean identification system for ease and automatic descaling and cleaning for when you're all done.
The long black drink options are great with this machine and the milk texture is impressive on lattes and cappuccinos. Those who love having multiple coffees a day will be impressed with the extensive drinks menu and this machine will be sure to impress any guests to your home, too. My favourite feature? The unbelievably kitted out full colour touchscreen, which is like watching a TV.
Though this is an undoubtedly impressive machine, I simply can't see what justifies the huge price tag (£2,199 via Amazon), especially as the standard EQ900 machine (£1,199 via Amazon) is far, far less. Plus, if I was going to spend this much on a coffee machine I'd want it to bring more worktop appeal in terms of design but that point is all down to personal preference.
Product specs
- Type: bean-to-cup
- Control type: automatic
- Water tank capacity: 2.3 litres
- Bean hopper: 1 x 280g 'fresh' hopper, 1 x additional hopper
- Pressure: 20 bar
- Dimensions: H38.5cm x W24.5cm x D43cm
- Weight: 392 x 315 x 470 mm
- RRP: £2,199.00
Design and features
The EQ900 Plus features 'baristaMode' technology, which allows you to extract a delicious coffee from this machine without needing a certification in barista skills.
Through the program on the screen, you can be assisted with changes to the grind size, strength and brewing temperature of a menu of drinks. The touch screen that goes along with this mode is so intuitive – it walks you through every step of the process, even including adding your beans. It feels pretty foolproof.
The two separate bean hoppers are a huge draw too. They can be individually controlled, which is great for making decaf coffees in between caffeinated drinks or in the afternoons. Speaking of those hoppers, there's also a 'beanIdent System' with this machine which gives you prompts to describe the kind of beans you're using and then adjusts settings for you to give you a better brew. It's the kind of tech I've loved before on machines like De'Longhi's Specialista Touch.
This is a sleek, stainless steel number which hides away the water tank in one side and includes a plastic-y milk carafe in the other. It's not a design I'd personally enjoy on my worktop, as it really does feel straight out of a corporate office, but the features certainly make extracting a good cup of coffee easy.
Drinks
The menu here is extensive with 36 beverages to choose from but if I was paying around the £2000 mark for a coffee machine, that's exactly what I'd want and more. The full list of drinks ranges from a simple Americano to Caffe Lattes and separate milk frothing modes (which surprisingly not all coffee machines like this have).
The black coffees I tried with this machine all tasted great and there's plenty to tweak if you're an at-home espresso expert. Truly, there are programs within programs to explore – when using 'baristaMode' you can get into the weeds with 'aromaBoost' and alter your espresso ratios down to the finest detail. If none of that sounds appealing to you, you can use 'comfortMode' to set up your favourites at the touch of a button instead.
You can even set up your phone in tandem with this machine and remotely control it, if that's something that takes your fancy. If not, the huge colour touch screen is quite enough to be getting on with and is by far the most impressive I've ever tested – especially when used in tandem with all of the Barista mode settings for those who love to nosey around when it comes to their coffee.
I'm more of a long coffee drinker, so I was excited to try out the vast menu of options with milk. The texture that the automatic dispenser creates is great but the process is fiddly to get the milk carafe working correctly, involving more tubes than I'd like. It's overall less straightforward than with other machines I've tried of the same calibre in terms of set-up.
The texture of the frothed milk once you get there however is absolutely top tier and for excellent cappuccinos at home, you won't be disappointed.
What's it like to clean?
This machine is a huge draw for anyone put off by a bean-to-cup machine because of the amount of cleaning that owning one takes. The automatic cleaning and descaling system will kick in regularly to keep your machine in tip-top condition.
You can also manually remove the brewing unit in order to give it a rinse in the sink to prevent blockages and the milk system benefits from a fully automatic cleaning program too so that build-up doesn't need to become a problem.
How does it compare to similar machines?
Our top-rated bean-to-cup machine at the time of writing is the De'Longhi Rivelia. As per our 5-star review, it looks great, performs excellently and has a program to help you get the best out of your coffee beans as well as one-touch settings and two bean hoppers. With an price tag of £647 at the time of writing, it's easy to see why it's such a popular choice compared to paying over £2000 for this Siemens model.
However, if you want all of the fine tuning and customisation that this Siemens model can offer as well as remote control settings and the standout cleaning settings, then I'm sure the price difference will be justifiable.
Should you buy the Siemens EQ900 Plus?
If the extras included with this machine appeal to your specific home needs in terms of coffee and cleaning, then paying the extra cash for this machine will be worth it, as it can definitely deliver high-quality coffees of all types. However, I still find the price astronomical despite of all its positives.
