Coffee machine: compare usage, cost and maintenance

1. Describe a week of use

Note the number of drinks, the usual hours and the desired recipes. Distinguish a quick cup in the morning from a service for several people. Indicate who will fill, clean and store the machine. If you want milk drinks, check the operation of the system and the cleaning steps without assuming that an automatic function removes all maintenance. This list allows you to compare machines capable of doing the same service. Distinguish the functions you will not use, then ask for a demo or notice for those that are essential.

• Drinks a week.
• Priority income.
• Cleaning accepted by users.

2. Build a consumables budget

Use the prices you raise yourself and the same amount of drinks for each solution. 600 beverages to 0,35 € consumable represent 210 EUR, against 120 € to 0,20 €. This simple calculation does not include machine, accessories, energy or maintenance, nor does it compare the quality of the drinks. Add the cartridges or products recommended by the package leaflet, the delivery costs and the tools actually required. Clearly separate the purchase cost, the repeated expenses and the assumptions to avoid a false economy.

• Common quantity.
• Prices recorded and dated.
• Maintenance added separately.

3. Checking congestion in operation

Measure the width, depth and height available, then the clearances to open, fill or extract the components. A device that enters under a shelf can be difficult to use if the tank goes up. Also compare the place of the cups, the settings and the items to clean in your sink. Look for the complete reference: two close variants can be sold with different accessories. Keep a list of what is included and what you will need to buy to prepare your first drink under the conditions provided.

• Dimensions with openings.
• Accessible tank and ferry.
• Included accessories identified.

4. Read transactions before paying

Open the package leaflet and find cleaning, rinsing, unscaling and maintenance of the parts concerned. The Philips support consulted illustrates these operations for its own models: do not automatically transpose their frequency or products to another machine. Check how your reference indicates an intervention and how to obtain the consumables. Upon receipt, check the parts, prepare the machine according to the guide and keep track of the useful operations. If a procedure seems incompatible with your daily rhythm, return to a simpler solution rather than ignoring the necessary maintenance.

• Notice consulted.
• Products and parts identified.
• Procedure adapted to the day to day.

Fictional example · No merchant prices

Bringing machine, drink and maintenance closer together

Fictitious example: A costs 60 €, consumes 0,35 € per drink and requires 20 € for other expenses over the period. B costs 120 €, consumes 0,20 € per drink and requires 35 € for other expenses. 600 beverages, totals are 290 € and 275 €. B remains cheaper from 15 €, with this interview added ; for 300 drinks, A comes back to 185 € and B to 215 €. The number of drinks therefore changes the result. No hypothesis compares here the taste or guarantees the lifetime.

• Keep the same amount of drinks for each machine.
• Add the interview over the same period.
• Reread the result if the actual pace is lower than expected.

Compare machine and consumables