I have been using my Siemens EQ.300 automatic coffee machine for more than 3 year with pleasure. My wife made a great surprise and she bought a new coffee machine, as a gift: Melitta Caffeo Solo & Milk. Actually I’m very surprised, but new is new 🙂 In this Melitta Solo review, I’ll introduce it and made a comparison with Siemens EQ3.
By Metin KARAL – Review Editor
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First Impression
If you have ever used a bean-to-cup coffee maker before, your first impression about Melitta Caffeo Solo might be “Its too tiny!”. Actually, mine was this. It is really small automatic coffee machine (especially compared to my Siemens EQ3). It is extremely minimalist! If I describe it just for one word, it would be: it is very Simple. No complex buttons, no complex adjustment knobs or other shiny features. Its aimed to make one thing prefect: Great Espresso!
Melitta Caffeo Solo Design
Melitta Caffeo Solo has a attractive metallic front view. Rest is almost completely black colored plastic. It has two knob, one for coffee strength and the other for milk froth. In the middle, there are 3 buttons to operate coffee maker. Left one is to make one or two cup coffee, which can make 2 cup of coffee simultaneously. Middle button to adjust hardness of coffee. And the right button is to operate milk froth. That’s all!
At the left side of Melitta Solo, there is a 1.2L capacity water tank. This capacity is a bit small, but it is proportional to overall coffee machine size. In theory, this 1.2L is enough for around 10 cups of espresso, if you make it continually, without closing. It will consume extra water for cleaning at the beginning and closing.
At the top right side, there is a 125 gr capacity bean container. This capacity is actually small, of you have big family! +200 gr capacity might be better.
It has two spouts and you can make two cups of espresso coffee at the same time. This good, when you need to make it. In many similar bean to cup coffee machines, two cup function is available, but not simultaneously.
Specs
| Melitta Caffeo Solo | |
|---|---|
| Display | No Screen |
| Bean Container | 125 gr |
| Weight (kg) | 8.1 Kg |
| Water Reservoir | 1.2 Liters |
| Pressure | 15 Bar |
| Noise | Moderate |
| Cup Warmer | Yes |
| Operation | Automatic |
| Milk Frothing | Steam Wand |
| Grinder | Steel |
| Wattage | 1.400 W |
| Size | 45.5D x 20W x 32.5H |
Customizations
Grinding
Melitta Solo has 3 level of grinding settings (finer, medium, coarser) , which is lesser than similar automatic coffee machines. Actually, it not a big problem. Usually, you will not use it much. If you want more intense taste, you should set it to finer (or coarser for lighter taste).
Melitta Solo Drink Quantity
What I most liked with Melitta Solo is Drink Quantity knob. It is located at left front of machine and it is extremely easy to operate. This option is available at similar machines, but not in this much big range. You can change the quantity of coffee from 30ml to 200ml! Actually this is very convenient. Torn it to the left for intense espresso or turn it to the right for Americano! Or between them for your preference. I liked it most!
Brewing Temperature
In contrast to similar automatic coffee machines, you can adjust brewing temperature of you coffee. It is a bit tricky to adjust but available at user manual. If you like hotter coffee (like me!) this option is extremely valuable. I need to notice that, default coffee temperature is also higher than my old Siemens EQ3. This feature is also very good, if you are living in a cold environment.
Milk Frothing Nozzle
The Caffeo Solo and Milk has a milk frothing nozzle which is controlled by a simple dial. It is used to prepare cappuccino or latte. It is not perfect, but works. Better than simple espresso coffee machine 🙂 You can get better results as you get practice.
One of the Best Budget Automatic Espresso Machine
Melitta Caffeo Solo Review Summary – Worth Buying?
Melitta Solo bean-to-cup automatic coffee machine is a really compact coffee machine. It is really compact! Actually, I think, this is the biggest problem. Its 125 gr bean container and 1.2L water reservoir is fairly small. If you are making a few cups of coffee daily or living alone, it is not a problem. But if you are doing more than that, you might be bored after a while! This capacities are really small. Thats why I returned it 🙁
On the other hand, espresso taste is really good. You get superb tasty coffee. Customization features are also fair, for this kind of entry level automatic coffee machines. Drink quantity selector is great and I loved it very much. It is very simple to use and very useful.
It does not have a LCD screen for operation, but this is not a big problem. You can do all operations with clever knobs and buttons.
Another advantage of Melitta Solo is its price. Its price is (usually) very attractive compared to its features. In addition, its a Melitta! Melitta is a Mercedes in Coffee World 🙂 It has great coffee products.
In short, If you are planning to brew a few cups of coffee daily or looking for a small (but quality) coffee machines (due to size limitations) Melitta Solo & Milk is a good choice. Otherwise, there are similar and better automatic coffee machine alternatives.
Melitta Caffeo Solo Review
Summary
If you have ever used a bean-to-cup coffee maker before, your first impression about Melitta Caffeo Solo might be “Its too tiny!”. It is really small automatic coffee machine and it is extremely minimalist! No complex buttons, no complex adjustment knobs or other shiny features. Its aimed to make one thing prefect: Great Espresso!
Written by Metin Karal
Metin Karal is a Computer Engineer and He is interested in reviewing products that He used or liked. He also likes programming in C#. Currently, He is developing a really challenging memory game, PairMem which is available at Official Microsoft Store for free download.
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