There are two spouts on the coffee dispenser which means you can make two coffees at once. We found the machine sturdy enough to prevent the espresso cups from sliding around on the drip tray and the adjustable height of the dispenser meant it was very easy to fit a variety of cup sizes beneath it.

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. Once you add hot water or hot frothy milk to the Evo One Touch’s espressos, however, you’re unlikely to care: the result is a very drinkable cup of coffee. Any issues with bitterness are masked with the sweetness of the hot milk, or diluted by the hot water enough to make the flavour more appealing. Controlling the Magnifica Evo is simple due to a touchscreen that has a symbol for each of the functions and an option to make two coffees at once. The steam arm can also be used to dispense hot water if you want to top up your coffee or even make tea instead. This machine doesn’t come with a milk jug which was disappointing considering its price. Because of the design, we found a deep milk jug wasn’t suitable for use with the steam wand because it wasn’t long enough to reach into the cold milk. 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. One of its best features is that it removes the faff of having to steam your own milk. Its innovative LatteGo technology consistently froths both normal and plant-based milks to the right temperature and makes the perfect micro-foam. However, you can’t move the spout, which meant our testers experienced a few spills when the milk was being dispensed into the cup.The steam arm doesn’t come with a compatible milk jug as standard so when we used a steaming jug we already owned, the wand wasn’t long enough to reach into the milk. This, of course, is easily fixed with a smaller milk jug but do bear in mind that you won’t be able to froth as much milk in one go. It was also a little disappointing not to have a milk jug included, despite the price of this machine. When we did make a cappuccino, the steam arm did a great job of frothing and adequately heating the milk within 20 seconds. The milk was silky and well-frothed and held its shape well when mixed with the espresso. 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.

A steam wand is the preferred method used in coffee shops. This is a long, thin pipe attached to the side of a coffee machine that uses steam pressure to froth milk. It's controlled with a dial that opens or closes the steam release valve. 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. No one enjoys cleaning out a coffee machine; it’s a bit messy and there are a lot of parts that need to be disassembled. Plus, it’s difficult to manually clean the internal parts. An automatic cleaning function will cleanse your coffee machine in less than 20 minutes, with some getting the job done in under half this time. 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. 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. In most other regards, the Magnifica Evo One Touch’s design is entirely run of the mill. There’s a bean hopper positioned on top with a 250g capacity and a small dial for adjusting the grind size from coarse to fine. There’s also a ground coffee chute nestled alongside the hopper for making single servings of coffee if and when you run out of beans. A cup warming tray sits at the front.

This coffee machine was super easy to use and impressed across the board in our lab tests. Everything from set-up to selecting your preferred beverage is simple and efficient. And if you do struggle to adjust the settings, the handy manual is easy to follow. The milk carafe has helpful indicators showing how much milk is required for either one or two cappuccinos or latte macchiatos but if you’re using the My Latte selection, it will steam as much milk as you put into the carafe. This is handy for filling a specific cup or mug, as you can just pour in the amount of milk you want, and a sensor behind the milk carafe stops the steaming process once the carafe is empty. The automatic sensor is a welcome new addition, as most of De’Longhi’s older (and often dramatically pricier) machines used to just carry on squirting out clouds of steam after the carafe was empty, leaving you to prod furiously at the cancel button. 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. 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 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.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!