Review: Saeco Minuto offers tailored drinks at a touch

By Sonya Davidson

Since it's National Coffee Day, I figured it was perfect timing to review the new SAECO Minuto machine. 

When it comes to coffee and espresso machines there are no shortage of choices out there in the market these days. How do you determine what’s right for your lifestyle? It all boils down to convenience, or does it?

Our hard-core Italian friends’ house for dinner and when you wanted a cappuccino it seemed to be a real production. They are most faithful to the big machine that takes up much counterspace in their massive entertaining kitchen. 

Then the one-button capsule machines came out. We've had a Nespresso Cube machine now for over 8 years and truly love the quality of the perfectly measured out grains in pods. However, I think we’ve convinced ourselves that this one-touch convenience was good enough for our fast-paced life in our reasonably sized kitchen by city standards. We've also had other coffee machines come through our house that continued on this trend of convenience. 

When Saeco introduced their latest machine recently, I was curious. Minuto meant “in a minute,” in Italian.That is, in my mind, a little longer than a push of a button but not as time consuming as the full on espresso machine.

This is the happy medium machine that offers the convenience of almost one-touch but with a tailored experience. Here are some of the interesting features discovered on the Saeco Minuto…

Seriously fresh ground beans: This machine is impressive with its built in bean grinder done for each and every cup. The grinder can also be adjusted to your flavour preference. So, no pods, no external grinding involved, and no worry about ground coffee going stale.

Customized Drinks: At point of set up, personalize your preferences and the machine keeps it in memory. Adjust whether you want a regular or long espresso and even the strength for even the boldest taster.

Coffee or Espresso? This is the first machine that I’ve tried that can offer BOTH with ease. At a simple switch of a lever located on the front of the machine it changes the water pressure to offer the options. 

Warm up: When you first turn on the Minuto it will go through an automatic warm up to get you a great temperature on your hot drink. It’s been consistent in temperature for cup after cup brewing.

Milk Carafe is attached right onto the machine for the right amount of steamed milk to your liking. Easily removed and I was storing the carafe in the fridge for the full day since I will often have two or three cappuccinos each day and have it ready for company that may drop in.

Verdict:

While it takes a little bit of time to set up your preferences it’s definitely worth it. I like a long espresso, bold, with steamed milk while hubby likes a clean espresso straight up. Most of our guests prefer a regular coffee which meant pulling out a different machine or trying to get away with a making a long out of a short pod on our current machine. The Saeco Minuto is impressive for the options in just one machine.

Cleaning the machine takes a little getting use to as the milk carafe and dispenser should ideally be cleaned after each use – I’ve been detaching the milk carafe and sticking in the fridge for a couple of days. The machine will also remind you to clean out the used grains from the reservoir. The overall machine is straight forward cleaning and the instructions are clear. The machine has a quick built-in auto-clean mechanism that kicks in when you turn it on.

Not having used pods to toss into the garbage or recycling is a great idea for the environment. The used ground coffee ground can are released into a reserve that easily slips out and put into the compost or garden. 

Definitely a great machine to consider if you’re are true coffee/espresso lover and interested in the   convenience of a just touch machine. It’s like having a barista in your home!

It's a serious machine but doesn't take up too much counter space. Worth considering for the holidays for sure!