The Smeg EGF03 Espresso Coffee Machine is a brand new coffee machine from one of the most desirable kitchen brands around. It's pretty fancy- but comes with quite a hefty price tag. Is it worth it? Our experts put it to the test.
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Design & build
As with all of Smeg's kitchen appliances, the design is really the key selling point of the EGF03. As with their kettles and toasters, it boasts a timeless Italian-inspired design, and comes in a range of colours- black, blue, cream, green, red, and white. They match Smeg's other kitchen products.
In the past, we've found Smeg's build quality to be pretty high, and we're pleased to say that the EGF03 lives up to that. Despite the coloured casing only being plastic rather than metal, it still feels good and solid. The grinder arm fits snugly so it's not going to spill ground coffee everywhere when you take it out.
Performance
Style is one thing, but when you're spending this much on a coffee machine, then you'll naturally want it to make good coffee, too.
The Smeg EGF03 is a bean-to-cup coffee machine. As the name suggests, that means you pop whole beans in the top, and the machine will grind them. You then select whether you want one or two shots of espresso, and the machine forces water through those ground beans at high pressure, giving you a piping hot shot of coffee. If you would rather a full mug of coffee, then you top that off with boiling water.
For those who are serious about their coffee, there are a ton of customization options available. You'll need to refer to the manual for these, though, as they involve combinations of other buttons that aren't immediately obvious. There's also a built-in steam wand, so you can use it for making frothy lattes too.
We've seen a few other reviewers mention that they found the EGF03 a little messy to use. We didn't think that was the case during testing, although the fact we have a bean-to-cup coffee machine in our office may just mean we're more used to these types of machines.
Smeg EGF03 Coffee Machine: The Verdict
While the price tag will put it out of reach for a lot of people, for those who can afford it, this is a coffee machine that's well worth buying. Not only is it a fantastic-looking machine, but the variety of options mean however you take your coffee, you'll be able to get things just to your liking.