Stiftung Warentest: Good coffee machines for pads and capsules

Coffee pads or capsules - Stiftung Warentest tested over 50 coffee machines. Well-known brands such as "Tassimo" and the market leader "Senseo" were there. We have summarized the test results for you

Coffee machines with pads - the test winners

The winner among the pads is the "Senseo HD 7863" from Phillips. For 13 cents per pad you get a delicious coffee prepared almost silently.

• Overall, the test winner only manages one GOOD (grade 2.3): there were deductions for the rather complicated water tank and the long heating-up time. Brewing also takes significantly longer than with the capsule competition.
• Price for the test winner: around 100 euros.

Stiftung Warentest: Coffee machine with pads in second place

The second place at Warentest also goes to a Senseo machine: With an overall grade of 2.4, the Philips Senseo HD 7825 also received the rating "good". The testers' verdict: good coffee at an affordable price.

• In the test, however, the foundation had to find out that the Senso HD 7825 has an extremely high power consumption and the coffee machine was only partially convincing in terms of "safety".
• The price for the runner-up: around 75 euros.

Two test winners in the capsule machines

Nespresso U EN 110 from De´Longhi and Nespresso XN 250 from Krups shared first place in the new 2015 test with an overall rating of 2.0 (good).

• The coffee from the two machines tasted excellent, the espresso was also impressive, the testers praise. Only the temperature when brewing the espresso should be more.
• The individual capsules can be easily inserted and removed on both machines. Both machines can also be cleaned and descaled easily.

Capsule machines: Good alternative from the test

• The competitor "Nespresso Pixie EN125" from De'Longhi prepares you an espresso with a lot of crema. For this, Stiftung Warentest even gave it a rating of 1.6 for the brew.
• The mini coffee machine with its small water tank and the loud creaking and croaking of the preparation was less exciting. For this, the capsule machine takes 45 seconds longer than some capsule rivals.

In the last places: watery coffee and lack of security

With the worst result overall and in the last place of the pad machines "Inventum HK 11" landed. The Stiftung Warentest thinks you could scald yourself easily here.

• Even when it comes to power consumption and background noise, the machine is far from convincing, for example when it comes to the taste of the brewed coffee.

The capsule coffee machines tested, however, all occupied the front or middle positions. No capsule machine was rated worse than 2.7. The four last places with an overall grade of 2.7 at a glance:

• "Favola Cappuccino LM5400" from AEG
• "Y1.1 Touch" by FrancisFrancis for illy
• Starbucks "Verismo TM System-580"
• "Cafissimo Compact" from Tchibo

Capsules or pads - the differences

In the goods test check, there were similarly good judgments for capsule and pad coffee machines. But what are the advantages and disadvantages of the test winner types? A brief overview:

• The 1-2-3 principle applies to capsule machines: 1. Select the taste, 2. Insert the capsule, 3. Enjoy coffee. But compared to filter coffee and pods, you usually pay more than twice as much per coffee. Further information on capsule machines can be found here.
• Thanks to their filter paper, coffee pods or "pillows" are not only much more environmentally friendly than the aluminum capsules, but also cheaper. However, many cheap machines only have a low brewing pressure and can no longer convince with an Expresso. We have summarized what you should pay attention to when buying a pad machine here.

Conclusion of the goods test: Good coffee machines at a good price

Whether pad or capsule: the price of the coffee machine says nothing about the quality of the machine. The test winners were all in the middle price segment. The pad and capsule machines in the last places were usually somewhat more expensive.

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• Coffee machines with pods are a little cheaper in terms of purchase and cost per coffee than the capsule competition, but there is often not enough pressure for good espresso.
• All details of the Stiftung Warentest test can be found for a fee at test.de.

Surf tip: Wirecutter test French Press - These are the best coffee makers

An alternative to pad and capsule coffee machines is preparation with the French Press. Our CHIP partner Wirecutter put a selection of them through their paces in a detailed comparison test to find the best one.

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You can find out which coffee machine is most suitable for you on CHIP in our type advice for coffee lovers.

Tip: We took a close look at the largest manufacturers of capsule machines with their top products. You can find the result here. Another quick test can also be found in our comparison of the best pad coffee machines. By the way: You can find further useful advice about your own home at heim.chip.de.