For a long time I said that the Magnifica 4200 was one of the best value simple bean to cup machines on the market, now that the 4200 has been discountinued, the slightly newer Magnifica S takes that spot.
Features and Benefits
- 1.8L front accessed water tank
- 250g bean hopper
- One touch Espresso & Lungo
- 13 grind settings
- 1450 Watt thermoblock heater
- Panarello frother
- Max cup height: 14cm
- Grinder bypass chute
Whenever someone contacts me and says they want a simple, reliable bean to cup coffee machine for as little money as possible, I used to say the older Magnifica 4200, because the slightly newer Magnifica S was a little bit more money, and I wasn't sure it was worth the extra for the slight reduction in footprint, and for the slightly easier controls.
Now the 4200 has finally been discontinued, and the Magnifica S is regularly available for under £300, this is probably the best bean to cup machine on the market (most of the time) under £300.
I say most of the time, as there are other bean to cup machines that I think are better, in a couple of areas, but they're usually quite a bit more money.
If you can find the Gaggia Brera on offer for example for a similar price, then I do prefer that machine over this as it'll do a true double shot, the same is true of the Melitta Avanza 600, for example, but purely going from RRP, I think the Magnifica S is the best bean to cup machine purely for value for money.
It's not fair to say that the long term value for money isn't as good with this machine, by the way. Sometimes going for the cheaper option is false economy, because built cheaper isn't always built to last, but that's not the case with the Magnifica S.
In my opinion, and from my experience, it'll last just as long as the more expensive machines, and there's nothing about this vs the much higher end of Delonghi's range that would make me think it'll not last as long, remember they use almost identical components.
About the double shots, if you want a "true" double shot, meaning a shot made from double the ground coffee, for example a shot made from 18g of ground coffee instead of 9, then you simply have to press the shot button twice, basically pull the shot twice into the same cup.
With Gaggia and Melitta machines for example, you can press the shot button twice in quick succession, it'll still grind and then pull two shots, but it'll do it one after the other from pressing the button twice.
So if you're not fussed about that, and you're just looking for the lowest priced reliable bean to cup machine on the market, this is probably it.
There are cheaper bean to cup machines on the market, by the way, but the majority of the cheaper options would concern me slightly where long term value for money is concerned.