Tchibo Fully Automatic Coffee & Espresso maker

Update! After 90 days of life with this machine, I absolutely love it. I’ve already saved half the cost of the new machine by not buying Nespresso capsules and the coffee is excellent. Highly recommended. Read on for my entire review and please click the “helpful” button if it helps you.

30 days of Life with a Tchibo Automatic Espresso Coffee Machine

Pros:
• Nice looking.
• Very easy to use.
• Feels and seems very well made.
• Creates excellent coffee smells when brewing.
• Has a cool light that illuminates your coffee cup while brewing.
• Makes a very flavorful espresso or cup of coffee with a nice amount of crema on top.
• The coffee is hot, hot enough for me anyway. I don’t need or like very hot coffee, and often let mine sit to cool or, if I’m in a hurry, even drop an ice cube in it to cool it off (sacrilege for many, I know). When placed in a travel mug, the coffee remains very hot for several hours.
• Bean hopper holds a large amount of beans, especially with the extension piece.
• Bean hopper is nicely sealed to keep beans fresh.
• Controls are nicely illuminated, are clear to use, and consist of a lit area to push like a touch screen phone computer screen. This makes the buttons super easy to “push.”
• Tray that holds spent grinds and excess water is easy to remove, clean, and reinstall.
• Brew unit is easily accessible from the side and easy to remove, clean, and reinstall.
• Water container is easy to remove, refill, and reinstall.
• The height adjustable brew nozzle is a nice feature that moves in its up and down travel with a feeling of high quality.

Cons:
• As many have said, water container is a bit on the small side and needs to be filled often if you are making coffee. Espresso drinkers won’t have as much of an issue, but I end up filling my water container after every use when making coffee.
• Machine is too tall to remove and refill the water container if there are cabinets above the machine. Machine must be moved forward of cabinets to remove water container, refill, and reinstall. I placed the machine on a large trivet with sliding felt pads mounted underneath it which makes things much easier to move around and I highly recommend that approach.
• The machine is a bit heavy (not a bad thing as it indicates it is well made in my book), but it makes it more difficult to slide it in and out from below cabinets.
• If water runs out during brewing or when warming up at first start, and water is re-filled, one must be ready for the machine to continue immediately…this is challenging since when I slide the machine forward to refill the machine, it is on the edge of my counter and there is not room to place a cup. A way around this is to slide the machine sideways while refilling (which is easier for me on the felt bottomed trivet I describe just above). While the instructions specifically say not to do this, another way around this problem is to refill the water container by pouring (just enough) water to finish the brewing process directly into the container without taking it out – again, not easy unless one moves the unit forward of the cabinets above.
• Crema could be a bit thicker and a little more flavorful (again, compared to the Nespresso Intenso), but this could also be a function of the beans chosen.
• Grind setting can only be adjusted when the grinder is running. This isn’t a terrible problem for me since I have set it on the finest setting and haven’t changed it since because I like a strong brew. However, if different people are using the machine in the same household and each prefers a different strength brew, it is something to keep in mind.
• Oily or flavored beans with a coating cannot be used or it will damage the grinder. I prefer non-flavored beans so this isn’t a big deal for me. I’ve also not had a problem finding “dryer” beans (the Tchibo coffees work well, and Peet’s “Major Dickason’s” is also purported to work well though I haven’t tried it yet).
• It’s not quiet. I don’t find this to be a problem, and I kind of like the sounds it makes. It crunches the beans and makes a whirring sound which is probably the brew unit moving along its track. Just keep in mind that if your significant other is sleeping, that person will likely be awakened.

Things to keep in mind:
• As I mentioned above, the buttons are super light and easy to touch. This is a nice feature, but they are easy to hit inadvertently when load the bean hopper or even if one brushes the “buttons” by accident. I have adopted the approach of turning off the machine when re-loading the hopper.
• I plan on running a descaling cycle monthly using an espresso machine specific de-scaler (as opposed to vinegar). I only say this because I think with any higher pressure machine, de-scaling is important to maintain the machine. I have run the de-scaling cycle once during this review time and it is simple to follow the directions in the manual.

My background – I’ve tried many ways to brew coffee including: drip, Nespresso, Keurig, percolated, a “true” espresso machine, stove-top espresso machine, pour-over, cold-brew, and French press. I prefer a very strong coffee, but do not like bitterness.

I used my Nespresso for more “special” occasions (mostly weekends) and liked the coffee it makes. My favorite flavor capsule was Intenso, and I also liked the Stormio and Odacio flavors but not as much. I never liked the capsule approach as think it’s wasteful and has too much of an impact on the environment. While I applaud that Nespresso minimizes the impact of the capsule approach by providing free recycling bags which saves the aluminum and composts the coffee, I think that process creates a large carbon footprint. The final straw for me though was the machines don’t last. My first one died within a year. Nespresso was great in replacing it for me. The second one died after about two years, and Nespresso repaired it for me free of charge. I don’t use the machine enough to have it die so soon – at the most 100 cycles per year. Nespresso has great customer service, but when I saw the Tchibo, I found it very appealing because it doesn’t use capsules.

My opinion on the other methods is as follows. It’s not even worth talking much about Keurig in my humble opinion. The plastic waste is inexcusable and the coffee it makes is simply not good – it’s better than instant, which isn’t saying much. I love pour-over coffee, but it’s a fair amount of work and I just don’t want to spend the time in the morning, especially during the week when running off to work. French press is a bit too much work too, and I don’t have a grinder which is needed to be able to make a course grind to effectively use a French press. Percolated coffee is too much effort too. Ditto for a true espresso machine and stove-top espresso machine. Drip coffee is a nice staple, but it’s not “special” in that it doesn’t create crema and it can be bitter depending on the beans used. I love my cold brewer for the summer (a simple filter inside of a mason jar), but when it gets cold outside, I want a hot coffee.

Beans used: Tchibo Classic Blend – using these beans, the coffee is flavorful and pleasant, but even in the finest settings with the boost function, I long for a bit more punch. My old Nespresso machine when using Intenso made a stronger cup, but it was also more bitter, so there is a trade-off. I would liken the Classic Blend in the Tchibo to the Stormio or Odacio Nespresso Capsules. I’ve also tried the Tchibo Röstmeister beans which are a dark roast and they yield a lot stronger flavor which is more akin to my preferred Intenso Nespresso brew. I also plan on trying Peet’s Major Dickason’s blend as they have confirmed for me that these are non-oily (see above, oily or flavored beans are not recommended for this machine as they gum up the grinder).

I used the machine a lot (at least once a day, sometimes more) during these first 30 days and am quite happy. The pros of the machine definitely outweigh the cons. I remain hopeful that the machine will remain reliable, and I will update this review once more time passes.

In conclusion, I do highly recommend this machine and I hope this review has been helpful! If so, please hit the thumbs up!