TechRadar Verdict
A stylish bean-to-cup coffee machine that produces strong, rich espresso alongside other coffee drinks, too. It’s easy to use and features an efficient built-in steam wand for texturising milk for longer coffee-based drinks. However, it’s expensive and doesn’t offer the level of customisation of other bean-to-cup machines.
Pros
- +
Sleek design
- +
Produces smooth coffee with a thick crema
- +
Built-in steam wand for texturising milk
Cons
- -
Expensive
- -
Takes up a lot of countertop space
- -
Lacks customisation options
Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.
One-minute review
As well as offering a manual espresso machine, the Smeg ECF01, and the Drip Filter Coffee Machine, Smeg has recently added an automatic bean-to-cup machine to its coffee maker lineup.
The Smeg Bean to Cup BCC02 comes sporting the brand’s iconic retro-inspired design but with a modern twist, in the form of a brushed aluminium front with a choice of colour accent in black, red, white or taupe. It handles every step of the coffee-making process from grinding beans and tamping the ground into a puck, to dispensing the correct volume, creating barista-quality hot drinks at the touch of a button.
The bean-to-cup coffee machine can brew espresso, americano, and ristretto coffee, as well as dispense hot water, while the professional-style built-in steam wand allows it to deliver longer milk-based hot drinks such as cappuccino and latte. The BCC02 ditches the touchscreen interface of many a bean-to-cup machine we’ve tested, in favour of a button layout. You’ll find five buttons on the top of the BCC02, from where you can select the type of hot drink, adjust the strength of the coffee, and set off the steam wand.
The machine accepts whole coffee beans that can be ground to five different levels of coarseness, while the 1.4-litre water tank will ensure you can enjoy up to six hot drinks before the BCC02 requires refilling.
On test, we found the Smeg Bean to Cup produced smooth, rich espresso with a thick crema every time. At £679, it’s one of the more expensive coffee makers we’ve tested, but for those who want barista-worthy hot drinks, without the fuss of having to mess about with ground coffee themselves, we think it's worth the investment.
Smeg Bean to Cup BCC02 price and availability
- RRP £679.00
The Smeg Bean to Cup BCC02 is currently only available in the UK, through a number of retailers including John Lewis and AO.com and will set you back £679.00.
As we’ve already mentioned, Smeg also offers the Drip Filter Coffee Machine, which is available worldwide and priced at $199.95 / £179 / AU$305.67, along with the Smeg ECF01 Espresso Maker, which costs £319 / $490 and is on sale in the UK and US.
Design
- Sleek, stylish design
- Integrated bean grinder
- Adjustable pouring spout
The Smeg Bean to Cup BCC02 brings a touch of retro style to the modern luxury that is an automatic coffee machine. Measuring 43.3 x 18 x 33.6cm (h x w x d), its brushed aluminium fascia is complemented by a matte casing, which is available in an array of colours including red, white and black.
On the top of the coffee machine, closest to the back, is a removable panel that provides access to the 1.4-litre water tank, while the middle section, which is also removable, hides the 150g-capacity coffee bean container. Four buttons on the top of the coffee machine enable you to select your desired coffee drink or dispense hot water. There’s also a coffee dispensing programme button, which sits in front of the aforementioned four buttons, allowing you to switch between standard and weaker strengths of these hot drinks. Here, you’ll also find a series of LEDs that offer alerts about when the coffee grounds container needs emptying, or the water tank or bean container requires refilling.
On the front of the machine is the spout from where coffee is dispensed. It can be adjusted to accommodate cups that range in height from 9cm to 18.5cm. However, it can only pour a single coffee at a time. A removable drip-tray sits at the bottom of the coffee machine.
The BCC02 can pour three styles of coffee: espresso, americano and ristretto coffee; as well as dispense hot water. You can choose between normal strength brews or ‘light’ options, which Smeg says are just over half the strength of the standard brew. The grind level of the beans is also adjustable, with one of five levels of coarseness selectable using the control knob in the coffee bean container.
On the right-hand side of the coffee machine is a professional-style steam wand for texturising milk to create longer coffee-based drinks.
Performance
- Produces smooth coffee with a thick crema
- Adjustable spout allows it to take a range of cup sizes
- Reduced customisation options
In use, the Smeg Bean to Cup BCC02 isn’t one of the quickest coffee machines we’ve tested, taking 45 seconds to brew a shot of espresso; but, in our opinion, it was worth the wait. Of the five espresso grind levels available for the beans, we opted for three – which resulted in a well-rounded espresso that was neither burnt nor overly bitter.
The espresso was delivered at a temperature of 68ºC and the crema was thick, reforming after adding a spoon of sugar. The default amount of coffee dispensed will vary based on the grind settings and the style of drink chosen. However, this can be customised by holding down the relevant coffee-type button for three seconds and pressing it again when the correct volume has been reached. This will then be stored in the memory until the coffee machine is reset, enabling the BCC02 to dispense the perfect volume of coffee for you every time.
The Smeg Bean to Cup lacks the level of customisation offered by some of the other models we’ve tested. While it is possible to select ‘light’ versions of drink, which are just over half the usual strength, there’s no other way of personalising a drink – other than by adjusting the default volume that’s dispensed.
While the BCC02 doesn’t have a screen, it does offer primary and secondary menus to access options. The LEDs on the top surface will illuminate white when you’re on the primary menu, which lets you select coffee type, and orange in the secondary menu, which lets you opt for lighter-strength options. Although, in the case of filter coffee, this is a longer drink. You can switch between the two by using the coffee dispensing programme button that sits below the coffee option buttons.
Grinding the beans was the loudest part of the whole coffee-making process, with our decibel meter reaching 72db – the same level of noise produced by a vacuum cleaner. However, during the brewing process this reduced to 54db, making the BCC02 one of the quieter coffee machines we’ve tested.
The steam wand can produce a jug of hot texturized milk, with a temperature of around 56 C / 133 F, in just under a minute. The bubbles were thick and velvety, remaining stable for the whole drink. Happily, we found the wand worked just as effectively with plant-based milk: we tried oat milk with great results.
The Smeg Bean to Cup Machine BCC02 also delivers plenty of handy alerts to indicate when the machine requires descaling, or the coffee grounds container needs emptying – although this should only be removed and emptied when the machine is on, to ensure the alert is removed.
Should I buy the Smeg Bean to Cup BCC02?
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
First reviewed: February 2022
- Save on today’s cheap coffee maker sales
