With its CEG7348X Caffe Experto, Beko wants convince versatile and connected coffee lovers, those in a hurry, fans of iced lattes, and even those who want to control everything directly from their smartphone. The promise is great, almost as much as the machine, which takes up a significant amount of space on the work surface.
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Design and functionality: imposing and comprehensive
Table of Contents
This is the first thing that jumps out at you when unpacking the machine: the CEG7348X is imposingto the point of having difficulty sliding onto certain work surfaces that are too narrow. As long as you have the space, however, the object makes a good impression: the plastic and brushed stainless steel design plays the sobriety card, with careful finishes, and a large 2.4-inch color touch screen dedicated to the machine controls. On top, we find a stainless steel cup warming tray, a 250 gram bean container, and even a container designed to accommodate ground coffee. The whole thing is imposing, with almost 10 kg on the scale, but it is also complete. We find his 2 liter water tank at the rearas well as a removable milk carafe for milk drinks.
First downside on the machine, its screen, although it allows quick and rather clever access to all the drinks offered, would have deserved to be tiltable. Depending on your size and the height of your work surface, it is not always ideally positioned, which is a shame, but not prohibitive.
All the cafes in the world
From the interface, we find the 18 pre-established programs of the machine, with the essentials like: expresso, Ristretto, Americano, Lungo, Double, Cappuccino, Latte Macchiato, Café au Laitand even a Cold Brew mode at 40°C for lovers of smoothies. The menu is full of options, but it is relatively simple to learn. We simply regret that the touch controls are sometimes capricious, with responsiveness at half mast.
Nice point: for each drink, it is possible to adjust the intensity level, length, infusion temperature and even the quantity of milk. These settings can then be saved as default. It’s all the more practical since you can also define up to four profiles, to please the whole family, and even passing guests.
In addition to offering a cold brew that is particularly enjoyable in summer, the CEG7348X Caffe Experto also allows you to prepare many milk drinks. Its Creamy Pro milk carafe clips onto the front of the device, and allows you to create creamy, airy foams on your favorite drinks. When not in use, simply place it in the refrigerator. Latte lovers will appreciate it, but we have to admit, we would have liked a second carafe: for a machine that advocates excessive customization, the CEG7348X doesn’t really allow you to navigate between the different types of milk. As long as you and your partner do not have the same tastes, you will have to constantly empty and refill the tank. On this point, we much prefer the system of its direct competitor, the Krups Evidence Hot & Cold.
Performance and Usage
The integrated grinder offers 13 grinding levels. It’s respectable without being revolutionary. Premium machines generally offer more, but it’s more than enough for everyday coffee lovers. The pressure of 19 bars remains within the norm for its category. It allows suitable extraction of aromas, essential for obtaining a visible and appreciable crema. In terms of sound volume, count 63 dB for an espresso. This is completely fine, especially since the extraction usually only lasts a few seconds.
Being big fans of milk drinks, it was on this point that we were waiting for the machine. The integrated 0.6 liter milk carafe offers satisfactory, but nuanced, results with a airy texture, but closer to coffee with milk only real latte machiato. If your daily life revolves around the perfect cappuccino, you will need to consider a more high-end model.
Maintenance: the key asset
The 2 liter water tank means you don’t have to constantly refill, even if the automatic rinse cycle is far too frequent for our liking, which has the effect of wasting a significant amount of water. The Beko machine does not skimp on hygiene, that’s for sure. All the elements can also be put in the dishwasher, which saves a lot of time. To do this, you will need to open the front of the appliance and remove the drip tray for easier maintenance. The grounds container (which collects coffee residue) can hold up to 10 cakes before being emptied. We particularly appreciate the fact of having slipped a second ground coffee containerwhich stands out as a very practical additional solution in case of need.
One app to control everything
This is one of the great advantages announced by the brand: the CEG7348X connects to Wi-Fi and communicates directly with the HomeWhiz application, available on iOS and Android. We will go over it very quickly, because let’s be honest, the functionality is very dispensable, even frankly gadget. However, some features prove practical, such as the possibility of schedule your coffee when you get out of bedor save your favorite configuration. Too bad, everything doesn’t always work optimally. During our test, we noted several connection jumps, which quickly led us to more traditional use. This is not our case, but on sales sites and the PlayStore, several users also point out a bug making the machine unusable after connecting to the application.
Price and availability
Proposed to 600€Beko’s versatile coffee machine stands out in an interesting segment, halfway between a basic semi-automatic machine and a truly premium model. An intelligent compromise for those looking for good value for money, with a few concessions.
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