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Smarter coffee machine
Published: July 13, 2021 at 3:31 PM
5.0
A star rating of 5.0 out of 5.
GBP £179 RRP
Try the Good Food app - subscribe todayBehind the deceptively simple frontage of this modern coffee machine lies sophisticated connectivity features. Read on for our full Smarter coffee machine review.
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Pros
- small and lightweight, interchangeable front panel designs, scheduled wake-up and home modes, WiFi, app and voice controlled
Cons
- filter coffee only, minimum four-cup quantity, long start-up before first use
Smarter coffee machine summary
On the surface, Smarter looks like a stylish but simple filter coffee machine, but it’s far more sophisticated than that. The modern machine can be voice activated, pre-set to brew at certain times every day and controlled remotely via a smartphone app, plus it is compatible with other smart-home devices.
Read our full guide to the best bean-to-cup coffee machines
It’s a filter coffee machine, which means short coffee house classics like espresso aren’t on offer – one of its only limitations. The strongest setting produces a full-bodied cup of black coffee which resembles a strong long-black.
What is the Smarter coffee machine like to use?
The colour theme can be personalised to best suit your kitchen, thanks to three interchangeable panels in white, black or grey.
Set-up mainly consists of connecting to the Smarter 3.0 App, which explains the sparseness of the instruction manual. We rinsed the carafe ahead of use and ran three full tanks through as recommended. The 1500ml jug makes 12 cups of coffee. This took around 30 minutes, so should be done ahead of your first use.
Strong, bean and four cups are manually selectable by button if you’re not using the app. If you are, the download and connection to the machine is simple, but involves holding a smartphone up to a flashing light sequence on the machine, which comes with an important epilepsy warning.
Results
Once the beans have been added, the number of cups, coffee strength, brew time, pre-heat time and keep-warm time are all adjustable. The four-cup setting produced 500ml of coffee (two mugs worth) which was strong, dark and rich in flavour.
Whilst brewing, the machine’s digital display shows the time remaining, whilst the app shows this with a small sliding arrow.
Should you buy the Smarter coffee machine?
Before testing, part of us thought that having coffee set to brew was an unnecessary extravagance, but the Smarter has us fully converted. At under £200, filter coffee lovers get a lot for the money wrapped up into one stylish and customisable package.
Smarter coffee machine specifications:
Serial number: Smarter coffee machine (2nd Gen)
Wattage: 950-1050W
Functions: 4-12 cups, low, medium, high strength
In the box: 1.5-litre glass carafe, three interchangeable colour panels
Compatibility: iOS & Android
Wireless: 802.11 b/g/n
Security: WPA/WPA2
Coffee recipes and tips
How to make cold brew coffee
How to make iced coffee
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This product was tested in July 2021. If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews or spot anything that has changed in price or availability please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk.
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