Home Coffee Machines: What is the best option?

There are two major coffee systems to consider when looking for a domestic coffee machine : capsule coffee machines and automatic bean to cup coffee machines.

Firstly, we would like to mention Filter coffee machines.Filter coffee machines are very popular in America however they are rare in South Africa and often find their way to the back of a cupboard after being used once or twice. We believe they become dust collectors because a filter coffee solution is just not practical in a domestic environment. Filter coffee machines are designed to brew a whole pot of coffee which often lands up getting thrown out at home because it is almost impossible to drink a whole pot of coffee in the space of a few minutes in a home environment with only a few people.

Now onto the two real contenders: Capsule and Bean Machines.

Capsule coffee machines are very popular for homes due to their ease of use and low machine cost. Capsule coffee machines use a pre-packaged espresso portion,which is often combined with a milk frother, to make everything from Americanos to Cappuccinos.

Capsule coffee machines are great if you like to stick to one brand of coffee and are happy to pay a slight premium on your coffee ( coffee capsules cost about 3 times as much as beans on a per cup basis however capsule machines are much cheaper than bean machines to acquire initially) For the most part capsule coffee is very good quality and a very good home solution. Capsule coffee machines cost between R1300 and R7000 and the capsules themselves sell between R4 and R8 per capsule.

Automatic bean to cup coffee machines are the other option to consider. Automatic coffee machines are one touch coffee machines which grind your coffee beans and make any coffee option with the touch of a button.

A nice aspect of bean machines is the fact that they are open coffee systems. This means you can use any coffee bean in your machine, of which there are 1000’s to choose from. Also because you can use any coffee beans you have access to coffee, pretty much wherever you are. All supermarkets from Woolworths to Checkers sell a large range of coffee beans these days. Then there are of course 100’s of coffee companies and coffee roasters who also roast their own coffee beans. Coffee beans work out to around R2 per cup of coffee however the upfront cost of an automatic machine is quite a bit higher than capsule coffee machines.
Bean machines for the home start at R5,500 and go up to around R20,000 depending on the features. Bean machine rentals are available for the home buy they start at around R950 per month and therefore it is often better to save up for the machine rather than paying rental every month