Bosch 300 Series Fully Automatic Espresso and Coffee Machine One Touch Milk Drinks Built-In Ceramic Grinder In-Cup Frother

I bought this machine after researching everything from half this price to 3xs the price. This one got the best reviews, and was within the price point we were aiming for. It's a big leap for us, compared to our coffee pod machine, and entry level espresso machine. After about 3 weeks of regular use, it's proven itself so far Pros: + it makes good espresso-based drinks - espresso, cappuccino, and machiatto. It's so good enough that you will taste a difference from coffee pods, or preground drip brewers. It's not "like" espresso it IS espresso with the coffee pucks, 9 bars of pressure, and everything. + it's easy to use and fairly intuitive. + you can adjust grind size, strength, amount, or even do cold brew. + it has a self cleaning function that rinses the pipes and hoses everytime it's turned on or off. + besides coffee drinks you can also froth milk. It can handle about 3ozs of milk at a time (it swells to about 7ozs). This way you can use the milk froth option to preheat and prep a larger milk drink (say 6-9ozs of milk), stir a bit, then press machiatto or cappuccino and it will add more heat and froth producing a 14-20oz drink. + the milk frothing wand is easy to clean, it's attached with magnets so it pops on and off without hassle. + you're not paying for any dumb gimmicks or wasted features like a smart phone app, spinning the coffee, or a complicated screen (ie, another thing that can break). The cost goes into making this an easy to use machine that produces great coffee. * it can spoil you if you're used to preground coffee, pods, or the labor of manual espresso machines. Coffee geeks will still want to enjoy the manual brewing process of chemex, aeropress, rok, flair, kalita, etc. But even for the enthusiasts and purists, sometimes you just want good coffee brewing for you while you're tidying the kitchen, doing the dishes, or reading the news from a cuneaform scroll (like need is supposed to be read). Cons: - you might think 20 oz hot espresso drinks are normal, so you may be disappointed when this does an ACTUAL normal portion for single-serve coffee drinks (1.5-3oz espresso, 5-7oz Americano called "coffee"). You may have to do 2 or 3 coffee cycles to fill your Stanley cup before yoga class. - it's not magic, so it doesn't do ALL it's own cleaning even if it has a pretty darn good auto-cleaning function. - it can't fit 16 oz yeti-style tall tumblers. I guess I'll just have to use short style 16oz tumblers and mugs instead. Oh well. - the water tank is in the back left. It's awkward to lift out. But this isn't a real problem since you can just lift the lid and pour directly into it from a cup or pitcher. - it's noisy, about as noisy as you would expect a coffee grinder to be. - the setup instructions aren't clear about how to set the water filter (it has 3 settings but there's no mention of what the 1,2, or 3 signify) or how to use the water softness test. By the time I figured it out, I'd ruined the one test strip that's included. - it doesn't have a "hot water" function. That's probably my only real gripe about the functionality of the machine since everything else is negligible. It would be nice to just squirt some hot water for a cup of tea, or to top off an Americano. Overall, I'm very pleased. I've used it at least once a day since we've had it. Not one bad cup of coffee yet. Read more

We took it out of the box, got it all set up on the counter and waa laa, didn’t work. Customer service at Bosch (slow help) walked us thru steps and still didn’t work. They said to return it for another. Heck with that, we returned and then bought a Gaggia super auto that works beautifully. Read more

I’ve had the machine for four months now and LOVE it; really happy with my decision. It is not perfect but it's quite close. Here are the pros and cons: PROS: + Coffee tastes great + Really easy to maintain. For example, the automatic milk wand comes off with a magnet, so after it’s done its job, you just take it off and rinse it. Super easy—no need to clean a milk tank or pipes because there aren’t any! + Water tank capacity is good. Once you fill the tank, it lasts 2–3 days—no need to add water after just a few cups. + Great value for money. No need to pay thousands. I had a fancy Italian machine before, and the coffee tastes the same, but this one is much easier to clean. + The way the milk system works (you add milk to the cup, and the wand automatically turns it into a cappuccino or latte by whipping it and then adding coffee) makes it easy to control the amount of milk, depending on whether you want a stronger or weaker coffee. No need to dig through menus to adjust settings. + It's a pretty slim, compact little machine that doesn't require a ton of counter space. + For what it is, the grinder loudness is reasonable. Still loud but not unbearable. CONS: - Need to warm up the coffee cup in the microwave first (about 30 seconds), otherwise the coffee won’t be hot enough. - Doesn’t make hot water. Read more

I would have expected more from this unit. Don’t get me wrong, it make a great cup of coffee. One simple feature it does not have it a temperature setting. The brewed coffee is ready to drink when it come out. Some reviews say the unit is noisy, yes that is true as it has a couple of weird noisy prior to grinding and brewing. Personally I am torn if I am going to return the unit. Not sure it’s worth the price. Read more

Do not buy this coffee machine for anyone who has arthritis or any kind of difficulty with their hands. This is a terrible machine the buttons often do not work, rendering the machine inoperable. The machine is very cheaply made lots of plastic parts. Also, the brew group is very difficult to take out and put back in again. It has to be inserted on an angle and it’s very awkward to get a hold of and do this. Overall, a very poor design. Taste of the coffee is OK if you can get the machine to work. Read more

Treated ourselves to this little gem for our Christmas present, so frustrated with getting a weak cup of coffee, and this little darling performs. So easy to use, I was practicing with foaming this morning, so easy and the foam lasted for ages, did a Mocha for my husband and then topped it with foam....very nice. You really get the full flavor of the coffee from the fresh grinder. Using Peteʻs French Roast beans. I am now a coffee snob. Life is too short for a bad cup of coffee. Delivered to me by Amazon, fast and efficient....happy happy happy. Two months later we still love it, but it requires a lot of cleaning, I just de scaled it a month ago and I need to do it again, because its small it need to be emptied (inside drip tray and coffee grind container) often. The one thing I donʻt like is that it cleans the nozzles every time it makes a coffee, so you have to dump out the rinse water from your cup if you put it under, of else you get a diluted coffee...Oh well...German engineering....very clean. Read more

If you can afford the d'longhi magnifica evo, buy that one instead. The overall quality of this coffee machine is considerably low. The water tank is in the back so you need to bring the machine forward to add water (which only lasts for 4 cups of coffee) but it has suction cups in the bottom so you need to constantly pull the coffee machine from the counter to be able to fill up the tank. Coffee quality is subpar. Read more