‘I got a luxury coffee machine at home and one thing really surprised me’

I’ve always wanted to be a fancy coffee guy but the admin involved isn’t for me. Cafetiere coffee is brilliant but it’s too time-consuming when I’m in a rush and an all-singing, all-dancing bean-to-cup machine has always filled me with terror.

So many buttons, so many different modes and too much hassle. Or so I thought.

I was lucky enough to get hold of the Melitta Barista SE, which usually retails at around £700 but is currently on sale for £429.95 at Harts of Stur, and I am astounded by just how simple it is and how much of the fiddly work is taken out of your hands.

One elephant in the room to address early on; it’s a big old piece of kit. I had to do some kitchen feng shui when it arrived to make it fit easily enough, and even then it’s tucked into a corner on an angle.

My Barista SE model is almost 47cm deep and more than 37cm tall, something you’ll need to consider if you want to take the plunge.

But, I must admit, it earns every centimetre with the range of features you have available.

Everything is personalisable, from the size of the cup (with installments of every 5ml), to the strength and the ability to save four of your favourites at the press of a button. Alongside that are 18 different pre-set options and the ability to switch between two different varieties of bean.

That last feature really is a game-changer, giving you the choice to load up both caffeinated and decaf beans, or switch between light and dark-roasted.

But where it really excels, for this lazy author at least, is that it rinses itself before and after every cup, collects up all the used coffee pucks into a removable tub and tells you when it’s full and ready to be disposed of.

The only slight drawback is the size of the driptray, which needs emptying on a fairly regular basis given the amount of rinsing the machine does.

That said, the entire process is simple, seamless and swift, all the while saving a load of money that you (me) would otherwise be spending on expensive flat whites from chain stores.

The Melitta Barista SE isn’t cheap, but it’ll instantly become a part of your daily routine and potentially the most-used item in your entire kitchen - well worth the initial investment. I’m now about two months in and my initial trepidation is a thing of the past.

It has genuinely changed my coffee habits forever. I can’t imagine ever going back to using Tassimo pods or making regular trips to Costa or Starbucks again.

If you’re after a cheaper bean-to-cup option, you could try the Philips Series 2200, retailing at £269 on John Lewis or if you really want to push the boat out, the Sage Oracle Touch is also available at John Lewis for £2,099.