Having a cup of Joe at a cafe can be an expensive habit, especially if you prefer a few cups each day. But there is a way to kick the coffee-shop habit or try to bring a little barista-style magic into your kitchen: Bean-to-cup machines. Hang on, you can also extract excellent coffee using a Bialetti moka pot or a French press. If you prefer filter coffee, you know what to do.

But if you are the kind who wants to have at least two cups of cafe-style drink each day of the week and more on weekends, a bean-to-cup could be a suitable long-term option. Even though you will be paying slightly more initially, the machine pays off over a long period. That brings us to Bosch Series 6 fully-automatic coffee machine, Vero Barista 600, from BSH Home Appliances.

Bean-to-cup machines feature an integrated grinder and are meant for quick coffee extraction. You don’t need any barista skills with such machines. There can be semi-automatic and fully-automatic machines. With the former, there is a milk wand, using which you can take care of all milk-coffee needs. One-touch machines can handle milk, pouring out cups of coffee: Simply press a button. The Bosch product is fully automatic.

The machine comes with a single hopper where you can store coffee beans. Each time, I managed to stock 250-300g comfortably. Some machines come with dual hoppers to hold two different types of beans, but for most people, this one works well.

The machine grinds and brews extra-strong coffee in two steps — and as only half the water is used at each step, the coffee produced is less bitter. Picture: Mathures Paul

There is access to adjustable grind settings, but I wouldn’t suggest going all the way to fine on any bean-to-cup machine. For the two review weeks, the grind has resulted in a surprisingly good espresso. It offers bang for buck when it comes to the purity of the espresso.

Dark as espresso

If you put stale coffee beans in, the espresso that you draw will lean towards a bland cup. In other words, use a batch of good-quality beans. There is some aeration of the crema, and with the foam, it looks great. Each time I pulled an espresso, the cup looked appetising than most shots served in cafes in Calcutta.

The extraction is of relatively high quality. There is a touch of sweetness, complexity, and the acidity is balanced. It’s definitely a decent espresso.

What is impressive is how easily one can go from very mild to strong, extra strong, double shot strong and double shot strong+. Once you reach the last-mentioned setting, it’s going to grind and dose twice. It will pull a shot and then pull another shot on top. Most of the time, extra strength works wonders. With a darker roast, most mornings will turn out fine.

Fully automatic AutoMilk Clean steam-cleans the system

Going the milky way

The machine comes with a container to hold milk and a tube runs through to the front of the brew unit. It’s a machine that does milk first and then coffee. It’s easy to prepare a latte macchiato or a cappuccino. We couldn’t find a way to control the foam level, but you won’t be disappointed. There are no big bubbles in the foam.

Temperature-wise, coffee is as hot (or slightly hotter) as what’s served at most cafes. The amount of espresso in the milk drink matters. In case you go with a mild espresso, what you get is a milky drink that has a slight taste of coffee. I would suggest a strong espresso to get the day going. Flavour-wise, a decent cup of cappuccino is produced because the extraction, as we have already discussed, is good. There is no angry delivery of steam at the end of delivering the milk. The bubbles are tight and not dry, so an enjoyable cappuccino gets served.

Washing the milk-delivery tube is easy. A few presses of the touch buttons and a large amount of steam is sent through the detachable tube. By the way, you can also just ask for a cup of milk from the machine with plenty of foam on top. For children, add a couple of spoons of drinking chocolate and voila.

The metal container is also worth mentioning because it retains temperature quite well. There is also a locking mechanism to ensure easy storage in the refrigerator.

The Bosch Ceram Drive ensures your cup is brewed with evenly-ground beans every time. The high-quality ceramic grinders are long-lasting

User interface and other details

The footprint of the machine is just right for most kitchens. The screen is quite bright, and the user interface has a lot of touch buttons. The accuracy of the touch points is high, while the programming part is quite easy. It keeps the functioning aspect simple for all family members. Even a 14-year-old can use the machine without having to go through a manual.

Choosing over Nespresso

George Clooney to David Beckham prefer Nespresso, which has been around for decades. You can buy a bunch of Vertuo pods, which come in a few sizes. These are popular, and the outcome is all right. The machines don’t cost the earth and don’t take up much space. When you press go, the machine spins the capsule at a very high speed while pumping water through it. You can easily get a big cup of coffee with a thick layer of foam.

Though it doesn’t over-extract, but you won’t get as great a cup of coffee as you would with a moka pot or even a bean-to-cup machine. Further, the pods are expensive. In case you drink four-five cups of coffee each day, stick to something that’s affordable. What Nespresso does is lock you in with its pods. It makes sure you spend thousands of rupees per month on cups of reasonably fine coffee. Not the best.

Make the call

There are a couple of things that could have been better. First, the drip tray gets full easily. Here, the excess water from each pull of espresso is found, and also whatever water is used to clean the nozzle. After five-six cups, you will need to empty out the drip tray, which takes a minute.

Second, you can draw two cups of coffee simultaneously, but if the coffee cups have a bulge in the middle, it will be difficult to place the cups because of the placement of the nozzles.

Third, cold brews are very popular at the moment. Though it’s easy to extract a good shot over ice, a cold brew function would have been helpful.

The coffee pucks that are formed are around 17-18g, and that puts the machine above the rest. The 1.7 litre water tank is large enough to make five-six cups of coffee each time.

Further, it’s not a noisy machine. Yes, there are the usual noises that you hear at a cafe, but nothing that would disturb you. You won’t go wrong with the big pucks that are generated, milk coffee comes with excellent texture, and you get a stately build. It’s an easy-to-operate offering from BSH Home Appliances.

There is texture and fullness each time you pull an espresso to the point that it feels quite close to the real thing. And there is enough control over what you are preparing. Enough said, it’s time for a cup of Joe.

At a glance

Device: Bosch Series 6 fully-automatic coffee machine, Vero Barista 600

Price: ₹1,22,500 (on Bosch’s India website)

High notes

Excellent espresso extraction

Easy to operate interface

Can handle milk drinks easily

The water tank is on the larger side

Coffee grinder offers the perfect grind for espresso

Ideal for latte addicts

Muffled note

Drip tray could have been slightly larger