Melitta LatteSelect Coffee maker
£1,000.00
www.melitta.com

I, like most people of a vaguely writerly persuasion (or, most any kind of busy adult-type person), have a fondness of coffee that borders on a reliance. I gave up dairy for lent and, until I caved and allowed myself dairy-substitutes in the meantime, the worst part of the whole thing was being without my usual coffees. Many coffee-lovers would tell me to just drink it black, but in my world, black coffee might as well be no coffee at all. So, lent over and milky coffee very much back on the menu, I was very excited to see the new Melitte LatteSelect. Latte? Yes please. All of the yes.

In actuality, the LatteSelect makes more than just super-milky coffee beverages. You can select from espresso, café crème, cappuccino or latte macchiato, or, using the menu, you can access eight other recipes. Don’t worry – these recipes don’t just select the ingredient amounts, but also make sure that everything is added in the right order depending on the drink you selected, to make sure you get that barista seal of approval. Select the recipes you want, save them and have them easily to hand the next time. The menu display even has coloured pictures to avoid any confusion, which is a nice detail in terms of this machine’s accessibility.

You can have this coffee machine loaded up with two types of beans at a time, in two separate chambers, and can select which ones you want to use for your drink. This is really handy for the more discerning coffee drinkers who might have a selection of flavours and tones in at once, or for a household where you and your significant other can’t decide on which is best. To add further to your choices, you can select from four different brewing strengths and five different grinding settings – basically, with a little experimentation, you should soon be able to make your perfect cup.

A really clever little feature in this machine is a self-cleaning function that offers to run every time you make a drink with milk, making sure those milk-specific parts are cleaned every time. I thought this was a really nice touch, and keeps your machine hygienic without you needing to wash the whole thing after every milk drink. Speaking of cleaning, another nice detail is that its PRO AQUA filter technology filters your water to prevent lime scale build-up. I love a good coffee machine, but those two elements are the ones that can creep me out me if they’re not taken care of, but you can have peace of mind with the LatteSelect.

With a price tag of £1000, this machine is no throw-away purchase. However, it’s easy, cares about taste and helps you to keep it maintained. Unless you’re getting really deeply stuck into the weeds, this is everything you could need from a coffee machine, covering all of the basics and then having some awesome elements of personalisation besides. It doesn’t take up too much space, it looks professional and attractive, and most importantly, it makes a good cup of coffee.

4/5

Pros:
Select from 12 coffee recipes
Edit your brew and grind strength
Set favourite setting to memory
Load with two bean types at once
Easy to clean
Self-cleaning elements
Makes a good cup of coffee

Cons:
Price