Best Budget Coffee Makers with Built-in Grinder

The coffee machine from the Krups brand represents the younger Essential lineup. The distinctive features of the model include a stylish black front panel and compact dimensions. In the initial price segment, main competitors cannot offer similar parameters for all three sizes: they tend to be smaller in only one aspect, such as width or height.

With the Krups Essential EA 8170, you won't have to compromise with a smaller water tank or hopper. They are respectively designed for 1.7 liters and 260 grams of beans. Probably, the reason for the small dimensions lies in the non-removable brewing unit. It won't need to be washed manually but should be cleaned in a timely manner (of coffee oils and scale) according to the instructions.

The coffee machine brews espresso by default. You can change the strength and temperature of the drink (with 3 settings each), and also adjust the volume. The latter variable can be set in the range from 20 to 180 ml, which effectively allows you to also brew a ristretto and lungo. Double espresso brewing is also available to the user, as well as storing two custom drinks in the memory (in effect, user settings for the available recipes).

For fans of coffee-milk drinks, a manual frother with a steam tube for frothing milk is offered. To make cappuccino or latte, you will need to practice to master basic barista skills. A downside of this frother is that it does not provide hot water, unlike almost all of its competitors. This means that the model cannot provide boiling water for an Americano or brewing tea, for example.

The button control panel is complemented by a display. It helps change drink settings and provides prompt actions for users.

A drawback of the coffee machine is the small range of grind settings (but for most, 3 settings are quite sufficient). A disadvantage is the inability to use ground coffee (no specific chute for it). However, if you prefer drinks made from freshly ground beans, the Krups Essential EA 8170 is definitely worth considering.

A representative of the basic EQ.3 lineup, this is one of the most affordable coffee machines from Siemens. This status did not prevent the device from being equipped with a practical touch control panel. With just one touch, it allows you to start preparing popular drinks, easily change coffee strength, or use self-cleaning cycles.

The Siemens EQ.300 TF301E09 provides a proprietary ceramDrive grinder with ceramic burrs. The other "components" are also top-notch — including a removable brewing unit and a 15-bar pump, the same as in the higher-end EQ.500 series, plus a 1300-watt heating element.

On the "side" of the coffee machine, there are 5 programs available, namely, espresso, cream, cappuccino, latte macchiato, and milk foam preparation. In the latter three modes, the proprietary frother is invariably activated. It is effectively a semi-automatic system where the steam tube is combined with a coffee dispenser. To obtain a ready espresso-milk drink, minimal manipulation is required — you just need to immerse the frother nozzle into the cup. This special feature also allows you to easily implement different personal recipes, such as a carafe coffee or regular cocoa.

The device comes with an average size (25x38x43 cm) case and is equipped with a 250-gram bean tank and a 1.4-liter water tank. Other options include passive cup warming, easy access to the brewing block and all containers, and an adjustable nozzle height — from 8.5 to 13 cm.

Disadvantages of the coffee machine are the lack of temperature regulation, common for most analogs, and a bypass chute for adding ground coffee (meaning the model works only with grains). In any case, for its price, the Siemens EQ.300 TF301E09 is a good choice for lovers of both black coffee and milk beverages.

A representative of one of Philips' basic coffee machine lineups — Series 2200 — is distinguished by the inclusion of the AquaClean filter in the package. It is placed in a 1.8-liter water tank and is supposed to protect the machine's "insides" from water hardness salts. The operational life of this "consumable" is stated to be 5000 cups, which should be enough for a family of two for at least several years.

The Philips Series 2200 EP2020's convenience in operation is provided by the presence of a self-cleaning program (also serving to deal with scale) and the possibility of easy maintenance of removable components. The manual frother (tube), drip tray, and grounds container can be cleaned in a dishwasher.

The coffee machine "knows" how to make espresso and coffee recipe (effectively this is a lungo). With one additional press, you can also brew double portions of these drinks. Along with this, a convenient touch panel is offered for interacting with the model. One of its main features can be considered the My Coffee Choice menu, with which drink strength and volume are easily and intuitively adjustable, almost like in some flagship coffee machines.

The "panarello" tube for making milk foam has a good length reserve and a good angle, which will simplify the frothing process, and experienced users can even place the milk container on the stand for cups instead of holding it in the air.

The device is equipped with reliable ceramic burrs with 12 grind setting options ranging from ultra-fine to coarse. Other "components" include a 1500-watt heater, a 15-bar pump, and a removable brewing unit. This is the same part as in higher-end models, like SAECO PicoBaristo Deluxe SM5573/10.

The high-quality manufacturing and stylish design are also worth highlighting. Plus, besides the graphite color version, black and gray models are also available for sale.

Philips Series 2200 EP2020 is an interesting coffee machine with convenient controls, a pleasant appearance, and reliable "internals."

The compact and stylish Italian from the world-renowned brand De'Longhi immediately attracts attention with its laconic design behind which a variety of features for preparing aromatic coffee of various volumes and strengths are hidden. Users have 4 default programs at their disposal: espresso, lungo, and their double portions — for each recipe, there is a separate button on the control panel.

Operation of the device is simple and clear, implemented using buttons and a switch, with which you can: select the required grind level from 13 available, adjust the beverage volume, water temperature, set a special program, or start the self-cleaning process. All necessary preparation information is displayed on the top indicator panel.

The lower end panel indicator will tell you about calcification and when the machine needs to be cleaned. However, with careful operation, namely the use of filtered or bottled water, additional cleaning will not be required soon. A pleasant detail is the presence of a built-in filter in the water tank, so if you don't have the opportunity to pour only purified water, the coffee machine will carry out the basic cleaning steps itself. By the way, the De'Longhi ECAM 22.110 is incredibly neat, and after preparation, it automatically drains water so that your subsequent cup of aromatic drink is brewed exclusively from fresh coffee. However, such "cleanliness" significantly increases water consumption.

As for the raw materials used, you choose whether to go for coffee beans or pre-ground. The coffee grinder's tank holds 250 g of beans and roughly the same amount of ground coffee. However, it's worth noting that ground product must be loaded after cleaning as pre-poured coffee will get washed into the waste container. The container itself is large enough — 14 servings, with a fill-level indicator.

For ease of operation, there is an adjustable height for cups of various sizes from 86 to 142 mm. Latte and cappuccino lovers will have to froth the milk themselves, as the frother is manual, but experienced baristas assure that manually prepared froth has a special fluffiness. Moreover, the built-in frother tube completely extends beyond the machine's dimensions, allowing for different height containers to be placed underneath.

If you're not a fan of experiments and prefer to consume a coffee drink with consistent taste characteristics every morning, the automatic saving of volumetric settings for selected recipes will be very helpful.

The coffee machine from the Nivona brand is one of the senior models of the 5th series CafeRomatica. For example, compared to the CafeRomatica 530 model, it mainly differs with the presence of a color TFT display (and a new approach to management in general).

The rotary switch located on the left side detects short and long presses, and the screen displays both available recipes and detailed settings. The Nivona CafeRomatica 550 user can vary the temperature and strength of the drinks (with 3 levels each) and choose the required portion volume (usually in the range of 20 to 240 ml with a 10 ml increment). By the way, for all default recipes, you can easily (not through test brewing or menu wandering) set your own user settings.

The machine's memory includes 4 programs: espresso, lungo, hot water, and milk foam. The latter, in tandem with the semi-automatic frother, will not only allow you to create practically any espresso-milk drink, including latte, cappuccino, and latte macchiato, but will also delight, for example, cocoa lovers.

According to reviews, the model produces uniform micro-foamed milk, which only deserves compliments. Another feature of the frother is the reminder to rinse the milk circuit, which is usually characteristic of more expensive automatic coffee machines, and not all. Such maintenance is recommended to ensure that milk fat and proteins do not remain inside and bacteria do not begin to multiply.

The machine is equipped with steel conical grinders with 3 grinding level variations and a 250-gram hopper. Other "components" include a 15-bar pump, a 1455-watt heater, a removable brewing group, and a 2.2-liter water tank. Additionally, there's cup warming and a compartment for ground coffee.

Nivona CafeRomatica 550 is a worthy competitor to market leaders with features typical of more expensive coffee machines.