Full-automatic coffee machine with steam wand - which one?

[Woodgnome]

I work at smaller office (usually ~8 people, but some times people come in from other departments and we'll be ~15 people). About 2/3 of those people drink coffee. We currently own a Jura Impressa J5, but it looks like it's time to replace it (only the hot water/steamer components work and it's been repaired multiple times already). I don't drink coffee myself, but I enjoy steaming milk for chai lattes and the steam wand on the J5 seems a bit lackluster.

The other guys at the office aren't exactly coffee geeks, so they don't have any specific requirements other than it tastes well and that they can regulate how strong the coffee is. On average they probably brew 10-25 cups a day, 2-5 cups back to back. Counting the days where we get people in from the other departments the weekly use is probably around 75-125 cups.


A few bullet points about what is important for us:

• Budget: I'd say up to 1600 €. Since it's for company use we can deduct the 25% VAT, which would make the budget 2000€.
• No used equipment.
• Own reservoir: The J5 has a 2L reservoir - doesn't necessarily need to be any bigger.
• 1-button coffee making: On the J5 we just hit the 1/2 cups button and maybe adjust the strength with the dial. Need something similarly automatic.
• A proper steam wand: Manual use - while I'm not a coffee drinker, I do think I have a little barista hidden inside and frankly, the steam wand on the J5 is just terrible.
• Hot water tap.
• Low/easy maintenance: One of our problems with the J5 is the descaling process, which involves a bit of keeping an eye on what's going on (emptying dirty water containers, hitting continue buttons - that kind of stuff). We'd like something that is a bit more automatic, like: Add cleaning agent, hit a button, come back 15 minutes later and empty drip tray/dirty water container.

I've had a hard time finding the combination of a full-automatic coffee machine WITH a proper steam wand (the Jura lineup doesn't do it for me), but I guess that makes sense seeing as steam wands are usually somthing manual. Either way, I hope you guys might know what to look for.

 

[Surfer]

If you have to go that route, your better off finding a coffee vendor in your area dealing with superautos vs buying directly yourself, and contract with them. That way any maintenance and repairs will be handled by them.

 

[CoffeeJunky]

If you have to go that route, your better off finding a coffee vendor in your area dealing with superautos vs buying directly yourself, and contract with them. That way any maintenance and repairs will be handled by them.

This would be my recommendation. Even the best coffee makers will be needing regular maintenance and service. If you buy a machine and there aren't any service person near by, it won't be much of use for you in long run.

 

[Woodgnome]

Maybe I should add that by maintenance I just mean "larger" cleaning processes that may need to be performed once or twice a month to keep the machine running properly. Now that you mention it though, the idea was always to buy it in a place where they would also be able to handle repairs if the machine breaks.