Hello,
I need to buy a coffee machine for a (very) small office. It is important that it can serve cappuccinos. What matter is: reliability, easy of operation, quick (i.e. not requiring an employee to waste much time). Thus, an espresso machine + grinder is not an option. I have read through dozens of topics on this forum, but none of them has really addressed my questions.
What options do I have and what are their pros and cons?
The following are my thoughts. Do you agree?
(1) All-in automated bean-to-cup machine
The easiest solution, but also the most expensive and most fault-prone.
The best machine in this category, from what I have read, seems to be Melitta Caffeo Barista TSP, TS, or T. Other options are Jura Impressa, Sage Oracle and De'Longhi PrimaDonna.
(2) Bean-to-cup machine + external milk frothing machine
This allows to bring the price down considerably. Also, less likely to break down, as it is less complex (?). The end result shouldn't be much worse than that with an automated all-in machine (?).
Bean-to-cup machine
Plenty of options here, but Jura, Gaggia, De'Longhi seem to be the most popular.
Milk Frother
KRUPS XL200044 and Severin SM 9688 seem to be the main contenders here. Which one is better? Krups seems to have two different options (for latte and cappuccino), but Severin has adjustable temperature.
(3) Pod machine + external milk frothing machine
Will it be better than B2C? Will it be much more expensive on "per coffee cup" basis than B2C?
(4) Automated pod machine
The only option here is De'Longhi Lattissima. Any clue about the quality of cappuccino produced by it, vs. by pod machine + external milk frothing machine?
I do appreciate that this website focuses on more... traditional coffee preparation methods. But I hope that some of you might have heard of these heretic solutions :-).
Thank you for help!
