De'Longhi Perfecta ESAM5400

The basics

A bean-to-cup machine from coffee aficionados De'Longhi, the Perfecta delivers fresh coffee straight from the bean straight to the cup – as the name suggests.

The built-in burr grinder and array of controls so that your cuppa can be tailored to your exact specifications and temperature.

The good

The Perfecta delivers coffees that would be the pride of any barista without any of the fuss.

The design and controls are beautifully simple - pop fresh beans in one end, tweak the controls - strength, temperature, ground size and type of coffee can all be controlled with simple button presses or dial turn – and in a matter of seconds your perfectly customised cuppa is ready.

A twin boiler system and professional 15-bar pressure means that temperature is always correct and there's no wait for hot, frothy milk.

The milk frother itself is a patented slot-in, one-touch system, so the final faff of getting the milk right is also eliminated.

The bad

The machine itself may be simple to use, but the instruction booklet is a little more impenetrable. Set aside half an hour to get through it.

Despite its quality and price, a few of the pieces of build on the Perfecta feel quite plasticky – we would have liked to have seen more metal.

Also – and this may be an odd complaint – the Perfecta somehow makes coffee-making a little too easy. By simplifying such a complex and delicate task into simple button-presses, some coffee fans may feel deprived of the pride of process.

The bottom line

That said, if you're looking for a machine capable of creating artisan coffee in the home, then the Perfecta is a good, solid and relatively cost-effective option that will guarantee you splendid coffee with minimum fuss.