I tried Smeg’s new coffee machine that’s perfect for espresso experts… but it’ll cost you

Smeg has just announced the launch of its MiniPro Coffee Machine range, featuring the MiniPro Coffee Machine EMC02 and the Espresso Coffee Grinder. For those who love coffee, the new MiniPro collection is designed to offer you a barista-style set-up in the comfort of your home.

The MiniPro Coffee Machine is a stylish machine that has both manual and automatic coffee extraction. You can choose between the two, either by using the hand lever for manual or pressing a button for automatic. It also has a triple Thermoblock heating system that works to heat up rapidly, warm the frothing wand and trigger the group head to maintain an exact temperature between 90 and 100 degrees.

As coffee making and drinking is unique to each person, the MiniPro Coffee Machine comes with five pre-infusion profiles and a customisable heat range to play with. The attached steam wand also has three steam intensities for milk-based drinks. Other features of the machine include 15 bar professional pump, 1.7-litre removable tank and accompanying accessories, including a tamp, pressurised and non-pressurised filters, and a stainless steel jug. Smeg has thought of everything with this espresso coffee machine.

Best known for its colourful designs, the Smeg MiniPro Coffee Machine is part of the contemporary Smeg Collezione line. Rather than giving the entire maker a main block colour, it’s added a playful pop of colour at the back and bottom of the machine, leaving the main control centre in brushed stainless steel. The Smeg logo sits pride of place, so you still get that quintessential Smeg style.

In my opinion, Smeg is much geared towards espresso and coffee-making experts rather than beginners. I’d like to think of myself as a coffee machine whizz, having tried a fair few myself, and I found the Smeg Espresso Coffee Machine EGF03 that Smeg released last year a little hard to use at times. 

Having said that, I was invited to try the Smeg MiniPro Coffee Machine and I found it a breeze to use. I was most impressed by the LCD display at the front of the machine which explains everything to you and has a shot timer that counts down to ensure the right brewing length for the perfect beverage.

The display, timer and technical parts of the Smeg MiniPro Coffee Machine feel like they’re educating and encouraging you, so I think all types of coffee makers can use this, whether you’re barista level or not. The Smeg MiniPro Coffee Machine also comes with the MiniPro Espresso Coffee Grinder, although you’ll have to buy it separately.

The MiniPro Espresso Coffee Grinder offers customisable grinding with its 240g bean hopper and 50 mico-grinding steps. Having seen it in action, it’s a compact gadget that works superbly well, and it matches the MiniPro Coffee Machine perfectly, which is to be expected as they’re meant to be bought together.

Do you need to buy them together? No, you can buy a grinder from another brand, but I’d encourage buying them together if you want a cohesive and stylish look in your kitchen. However, the MiniPro Coffee Machine will set you back £1,399.95, and the grinder will be £249.95 so they're certainly not cheap.

The Smeg MiniPro Coffee Machine and Smeg MiniPro Espresso Grinder are available to pre-order now on the Smeg website.