Making Coffee with the SMEG Bean-To-Coffee Automatic Coffee Machine BCC12 – My Short Review

[Jurong640]

My friend reco me Philips baristina around rmb 2k+ ..

Can buy ?

Anyone using ?

I lim Americano hot only

I got phobia of the brand Philips. Their air fryer gave me lots of issues last time. I won't want to go into their other products.

 

[ricohflex]

Mai arni Mah Farn why buy a machine?

Just buy coffee 3in 1.

I avoid hawker centre and cofffee shop coffee now. If want to know why see *

I packet got 12 sachets. Nowdays got many good brands.

Even Starbucks also into this. Killiney Cafe, Nescafe.
I ever bought Davidoff coffee sachets (no 3in1) just the coffee. Very good.

The lousier brands - Super, Old Town, Ah Huat. etc....

I also like Chek Hup (Rich) rock sugar 3in1 coffee.

Avoid Vietnamese coffee of any type or brand.

* this is why



Straits Times report

 

[tellim]

Once you go fresh, you can never go back to capsules.

Coffee from beans give me fuller body coffee and mouth feels.

I worked in pod company for eight yrs,I didn't buy my own bean machine cos I get free capsules every mth...so now that I quit, I feel liberated that I can use any beans from any roasters I want.

The notion that cleaning is a hassle to me is not a hassle. It takes less than 1 min to clean the portafilter, rinse the shower head and once a while, vaccum the grinder clean

 

[CCCustom]

I find that I don’t know how to control my frother … I always start from half the jug, and I end up with either to-the-brim full jug, or when the frother stops it’d still half the jug … there’s never anything in between … can never get latte art consistency

 

[randyap]

I find that I don’t know how to control my frother … I always start from half the jug, and I end up with either to-the-brim full jug, or when the frother stops it’d still half the jug … there’s never anything in between … can never get latte art consistency

Need practice for the perfect angle for the swirl so you can get it right every time. every wand the angle and placement is different depends on the design.

Next is the amount of air to introduce into the milk, by controlling height of tip of the wand into the milk. introduce lots of air for like 3 secs when milk is cold, then lower the wand to swirl the air pockets into the milk. If you introduce air after milk starts to warm, it will be too chalky.

 

[randyap]

I got phobia of the brand Philips. Their air fryer gave me lots of issues last time. I won't want to go into their other products.

My cousin bought philips semi auto coffee machine, spoil after one year.

 

[Jurong640]

My cousin bought philips semi auto coffee machine, spoil after one year.

Haha. that is why i won't go into any Philips things from then on, not even rice cooker or coffee machine.

 

[qhong61]

Can we add soy milk to coffee?

 

[randyap]

Can we add soy milk to coffee?

Can. But faster drink. Because it will curdle up into soya solids.

 

[qhong61]

Can. But faster drink. Because it will curdle up into soya solids.

So become coffee bean curd?

 

[randyap]

So become coffee bean curd?

Yes. If you put a cheese cloth and filter out the solids and press into cubes.

 

[8-lane]

Just received and an intro to the machine first for my coffee beans will arrive next week. More pictures then.
The SMEG automatic coffee machine's working is very simple. Just imagine it is a vending machine for different coffee types.

It is not exactly fully automatic for making milk coffee is manual. This is not a new released machine. Many YT videos available to watch

Bought directly from SMEG Singapore for $1088 with free delivery. First time owning a coffee machine. Lazy to manual brew and would like to try out different types of coffee. Also, to save costs, no need to go to coffee shops, StarBucks or other coffee outlets to drink

NOTE – Beans roasted with butter/oil (like local beans bought from coffee provision shops) can cause the machine to clog, jam and damage the grinder. This is a typical problem of coffee machines grinding such beans. Avoid dark roast beans for they are typically oily

PROS

1) Simple to operate and clean
2) Slimmer in width than many semi-auto and superautomatic machines
3) Making coffee is automatic at the press of a button. No need barista-style manual operation.
4) Has a steam wand for milk frothing so no need to turn on oven to microwave the milk or put the milk on the stove to heat it
5) Milk do not pass inside and then out of coffee machine making the cleaning of the removable steam wand very easy. Also, milk is consumed as needed so no balanced milk in milk container unlike in those superautomatic coffee machine otherwise the balanced milk will be spoiled if not consume.
6) Water tank of 1.4L of water capacity is just nice for 2 days fresh water and to prevent organic growth in water tank.
7) Has a built-in stainless steel burr grinder to grind whole beans. Can adjust from coarse to very fine grinding
8) Self-clean the dispenser nozzle during startup and shutdown
9) Can check and set water hardness
10) Can clean the machine internal circuits (coffee and milk) and comes with descaling capability too
11) Adjustable coffee dispenser to cater to different height of glass cup/container
12) As a nice touch, during coffee dispensing, there’s a light at the dispenser (see below picture in post #7)
13) Has alarms for empty/missing water tank, empty coffee beans container, full/missing coffee grounds drawer, control required on brewing group/chamber and descaling recommendation/descaling mandatory. High water level in the drip tray is indicated by a red float popup indicator
14) The machine allows the customization of the amount of coffee or water dispensed
15) The brewing group is removed on the left side without being obstructed by any machine part e.g. water tank. Just ensure no other obstruction is there
16) Machine auto shuts off after 30 mins of inactivity
17) No need to struggle with manual grinding, tampering, selecting right time/temp for brewing etc
18) Can use any liquid commercial descaler for coffee machine
19) Can buy the SMEG water softener filter to make the water from medium to soft
20) This machine is good enough for a single user drinking 2 - 3 cups of coffee per day with its 1.4L capacity water tank. Need to top up water and empty coffee pucks about every 2 days. A 12 oz packet of coffee beans will be consumed within a week. In short, this is a simple machine for people with simple needs

CONS

1) Noisy when grinding beans
2) Cannot use ground coffee and coffee pods. Only for whole beans
3) Cannot use filter paper
4) Only comes with one thermoblock
5) Limited customization options. No temperature control, no brewing time control, no grind size recommendation, no different froths selection, no cold brew, no cup warmer, no built-in scale to grind by weight, no different user profile settings etc
6) Cannot dispense coffee and at the same time froth the milk
7) No color digital screen for display. Use buttons only.
8) If you need to change different coffee beans (e.g. decaf beans to caffeinated beans etc) all the coffee beans in the beans hopper need to be fully used up before you can change.
9) Because the water tank is on the back putting the machine on a countertop with top cabinets may prevent the removable of the water tank
10) Cannot purge grind from previous setting like purging coarse grind out before starting the use of fine grind and vice versa
11) Cannot strip grinder for cleaning
12) Making milk coffee is manual
13) Auto shut off time cannot be customized
14) No dual bean hopper(s) for different bean types
15) Cannot use beans roasted with oil/butter (like local beans bought from coffee provision shops) and French roast/dark roast/medium dark roast/full city roast beans which are typically oily.
16) Need to pay for optional water softener filter, if needed

Amazon sg selling this at $847.49... 1 set left... is the same coffee machine?
https://www.amazon.sg/Smeg-BCC01BLMUK-Automatic-Coffee-Machine/dp/B09BQSPXC3/ref=sr_1_27?crid=2Y8PNIJVJLPPU&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.T9Qsy337jEe7aiUS1f51LrZYuem4DIo5YtsR9CxVwOzJ7S1YHH0q9fILxPRLukKPUW5637CF5wpCGBOYcOPuRIUkyMMVG5Vtgg3DyRH3BWUogkTrj_hVrSILDHnhdOwc2d3bWMU0BXHO83ovWpwHlUn_NNj51DrtvBJDu4TN7WxDrQPhB2_dVfCrU6CCT3lsE1IQm5HXbg3R3l_es_0bmubHIkrCUiNJ4Mb1Asb1mRVpIaejrW1xNu0Ek5-O-dplG5wKAwoCZFeEs1usfE8GZnwI7CSbVdbEgZ_p8KMojBM.8aVY0kcRTo2I6vmX_DzhjR4JmorLu0LyDC6erCaFi7A&dib_tag=se&keywords=smeg&qid=1748981889&sprefix=s,aps,1610&sr=8-27&th=1

 

[Apparatus]

Amazon sg selling this at $847.49... 1 set left... is the same coffee machine?
https://www.amazon.sg/Smeg-BCC01BLMUK-Automatic-Coffee-Machine/dp/B09BQSPXC3/ref=sr_1_27?crid=2Y8PNIJVJLPPU&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.T9Qsy337jEe7aiUS1f51LrZYuem4DIo5YtsR9CxVwOzJ7S1YHH0q9fILxPRLukKPUW5637CF5wpCGBOYcOPuRIUkyMMVG5Vtgg3DyRH3BWUogkTrj_hVrSILDHnhdOwc2d3bWMU0BXHO83ovWpwHlUn_NNj51DrtvBJDu4TN7WxDrQPhB2_dVfCrU6CCT3lsE1IQm5HXbg3R3l_es_0bmubHIkrCUiNJ4Mb1Asb1mRVpIaejrW1xNu0Ek5-O-dplG5wKAwoCZFeEs1usfE8GZnwI7CSbVdbEgZ_p8KMojBM.8aVY0kcRTo2I6vmX_DzhjR4JmorLu0LyDC6erCaFi7A&dib_tag=se&keywords=smeg&qid=1748981889&sprefix=s,aps,1610&sr=8-27&th=1

The SKU number is BCC02BLMUK. This is the earlier BCC02 SKU number, Black and intended for the UK market.

So far mine is working fine. I don't have such issue like coffee powder spilling inside the brew group as below. Picture taken from amazon.sg

Better to buy locally otherwise may have difficulty to contact amazon seller in case of issues

 

[Ethan_]

Erm, the cons are as long as the pros. Think will just stick to instant coffee suah. Quick and easier. Got alot of varieties some more. The money saved can drink many years of coffee still. But have to say. Not that much of a coffee person. See it as just another beverage. So, anything goes.

 

[CCCustom]

Looks the same but maybe different SKU number. FI, I don't have such issue like coffee powder spilling inside the brew group as below. Picture taken from amazon.sg

Better to buy locally otherwise may have difficulty to contact amazon seller in case of issues

This 1 is ground coffee + MOLD hor

You cannot leave your machine with the puck(s) steaming inside after making your coffee … else this is what happens.

I always clean my brewgroup and empty out + wash the drip tray & puck container after switching off the machine … just to prevent mold from forming inside … because I kenna once before already

 

[Apparatus]

Erm, the cons are as long as the pros. Think will just stick to instant coffee suah. Quick and easier. Got alot of varieties some more. The money saved can drink many years of coffee still. But have to say. Not that much of a coffee person. See it as just another beverage. So, anything goes.

All machines will have their PROS and CONS. It's what you can accept that counts

FI, I reviewed the De’longhi Rivelia Superautomatic Coffee Machine............although I don't have it now

PROS - 30

CONS - 31

 

[Apparatus]

This 1 is ground coffee + MOLD hor

You cannot leave your machine with the puck(s) steaming inside after making your coffee … else this is what happens.

I always clean my brewgroup and empty out + wash the drip tray & puck container after switching off the machine … just to prevent mold from forming inside … because I kenna once before already

If you drink 2 cups of coffee per day likely the pucks sensor will indicate full about every 2 days. You'll need to empty lor. Similarly, for the water tank empty.

I read that the De’longhi Rivelia Superautomatic Coffee Machine can hold 10 pucks ah. No need to empty pucks so often but mold growing tendency is higher

 

[Ethan_]

All machines will have their PROS and CONS. It's what you can accept that counts

FI, I reviewed the De’longhi Rivelia Superautomatic Coffee Machine............although I don't have it now

PROS - 30

CONS - 24

Find instant most convenient. Without most of the hassle. Nowadays there is a huge market for such. Even those established coffee joints also sell their coffee under instant brand also. So, cannot say don't have option.

 

[CCCustom]

If you drink 2 cups of coffee per day likely the pucks sensor will indicate full about every 2 days. You'll need to empty lor. Similarly, for the water tank empty.

I read that the De’longhi Rivelia Superautomatic Coffee Machine can hold 10 pucks ah. No need to empty pucks so often but mold growing tendency is higher

Nah bruh, sensor detect as full depends entirely on how your pucks land inside the container. There are times when just after 2 shots i.e. 2 pucks, the sensor detect the container as full, because the 1st puck landed 45degs at the side and the 2nd puck dropped on top of the 1st and didn’t slide/roll down.

There will also be some dripping inside when you do a manual rinse and/or when you switch off the machine it does the short rinse before it switches off. That water also contributes to mold.

My clean-up after making a coffee, to me is no different from using a portafilter type machine already … maybe even more. Which is why I’m toying with the idea to switch to one

 

[Apparatus]

Find instant most convenient. Without most of the hassle. Nowadays there is a huge market for such. Even those established coffee joints also sell their coffee under instant brand also. So, cannot say don't have option.

Overall brewed coffee is the healthier choice

https://theproperkitchen.com/which-is-healthier-instant-coffee-or-brewed-coffee/

and instant coffee has higher level of acrylamide.....which is bad for health

https://www.healwithfood.org/articles/coffee-acrylamide-levels.php