In terms of noise, this De'Longhi coffee machine measured 78db when it was grinding the coffee beans (which it does for every drink) and averaged 55db when it was pouring out the espresso. For context, 55db is about the sound level you'd expect from an electronic toothbrush but 78db is more in line with a vacuum cleaner.

The final way to froth milk is with a frothing accessory. These are standalone milk frothers that aren’t controlled by the machine itself. This means you’ll need to froth milk manually. They can look a little intimidating, due to their size, shiny chrome exterior and plethora of variable options, but most are simple to use. The best feature of bean-to-cup machines is that they do almost everything for you (from grinding beans to making more complex coffees) at the touch of a button. On most models, there’s no need for tamping either. How we test coffee machines Some coffee machines can be controlled via an app on your phone. You will need to make sure you're prepared, though, by having enough beans in the container, water in the tank and a mug ready under the spout. If it’s all set, you’ll be able to make a coffee without having to get out of bed – a dreamy way to wake up!One final minor quibble is that it’s not possible to adjust the milk temperature at all. I suspect that many people prefer their coffee steaming hot, but the De’Longhi is a tad too hot in my opinion. In my direct comparisons, steamed milk from the De’Longhi didn’t taste as sweet and creamy as when I manually frothed it on a manual espresso machine, and this suggests the milk is being overheated enough to change its flavour.

The De’Longhi Magnifica Evo is one of the biggest coffee machines we’ve tested. It measures 44 x 36 x 24cm (w x d x h) which means it’s going to take up a lot of space. If you’re considering keeping this machine underneath your wall-mounted cupboards, bear in mind that you’ll still need to be able to reach the top of the coffee maker because that’s where you’ll add either coffee beans or ground coffee. Set-up proved lengthy, but there are plenty of resources online if you need additional assistance. These proved helpful, as the touch panel buttons aren't the clearest. When it came to making barista-style espressos, it didn’t drop a single mark. The extraction time was fairly average, but the shots stayed consistent and had a wonderful crema on top.If you enjoy a milk-based coffee (such as a cappuccino, latte or macchiato), then you’ll want to look for a bean-to-cup coffee machine with a milk frother. Claiming joint top spot in our best coffee machine line-up is no small feat, yet De’Longhi’s latest, innovative model deserves its place. Sporting a 3.5” full-touch colour display, 16 automatic drink settings, and a function that gives you a personalised coffee menu for particular times of the day; this coffee machine acts like your own private barista, offering a coffee experience that’s completely tailored to you. Seriously cool. We want to know whether you can rely on these machines to deliver you the coffee you like, every time. To do this, our experts at the GHI make a series of single and double espressos, using the same coffee beans for every machine. We look for the presence of a crema and measure the volume of liquid produced to analyse how consistent the machine is, working within a small margin of variation. Spend a little time optimising the grind size, coffee temperature and the amount of espresso and milk used for each drink, and you can get better results but you can also make things worse, so there’s no harm in just leaving it at the default settings. Whereas the Magnifica S Smart needed tweaking from the off, I’d be happy to just leave the Evo One Touch alone. There is a steam arm and a coffee dispenser on the front of the machine and the latter is very easy to slide up and down so that you can fit a variety of mug sizes beneath it. This is a simple but very welcomed design element as many machines require you to move the drip tray to fit a taller mug beneath the dispenser.