Miele CM5300 Countertop Coffee System Review

We purchased the Miele CM5300 Countertop Coffee System so our reviewer could put it to the test in her home. Keep reading for our full product review.

At-home coffee makers and espresso machines are more advanced than ever. If you're not one for the hands-on, manual experience, the Miele CM5300 Countertop Coffee System, a fully automatic espresso and coffee machine combo, is a good option. For several weeks, I tested this espresso/cappuccino machine and evaluated its design, espresso and coffee quality, setup, cleanup, and price. Read on to see what I found. 

Setup Process: Potential learning curve

Pulling this machine out of the box for the first time was quite intimidating. There are many parts and a thick instruction manual that makes this machine seem a lot more challenging than it actually is. Before the first use, I needed to spend a fair bit of time going through the instruction manual. This took about 15 to 20 minutes to get familiar with all of the compartments on the machine and its pieces. After I figured out how this machine worked, I made a drink in under three minutes. 

To set it up for the first time, there are detailed instructions for priming the device included in the manual. This process probably took about 10 to 15 minutes. After I primed the coffee maker, it was ready for regular usage. I plugged the machine in and turned the machine on. I added water to the removable water tank and whole coffee beans to the hopper. The LED will light up and offer a prompt to select a drink. What happens next depends on the selected drink. 

For drinks with milk, the included milk pipe must connect to the main dispenser on one end and to a carton of cold milk on the other end. The user then selects the desired drink, such as a cappuccino or macchiato latte, and the machine proceeds to froth the milk and pull the espresso into the same cup. For drinks without milk, the user just presses the button for coffee, espresso, or ristretto, and there is no need to use the milk pipe. 

Design: Minimalist aesthetic with a few design flaws 

The Miele CM5300 Countertop Coffee System is simple in design with a nearly all-black exterior. I have the black variant (also available in graphite gray), and I found that the minimalist design was very appealing. In terms of size, this machine is quite large, but I wasn’t surprised by this considering it’s an automatic machine. 

The removable water tank lives on the back left of the machine, and the hopper is located on the top right. As a coffee maker with a grinder, there’s a compartment on its right side that provides access to the grinder adjuster, milk pipework, and the brew unit. The control panel is on the front with an easy-to-read LED. The main dispenser is found underneath the control panel, and below that is the removable drip tray.

Despite its nice sleek design, there are a few major design flaws I noticed with this machine. The drip tray, for instance, leaked all over my floor every time I attempted to dump out the excess water into my sink. There's also the issue of the very small water tank. The capacity of 44 ounces required me to refill it at least once every time I used the machine due to all of the self-cleaning it goes through. 

Performance: Quality espresso drinks, one touch away

The Miele CM5300 Countertop Coffee System can automatically brew quality café-style espresso essentially at the touch of a button. This machine can brew single or double servings of coffee, long coffees, espresso, cappuccinos, ristrettos, latté macchiatos, cafe lattés, hot milk, and milk froth. To top it off, it also can brew an 8-cup batch of coffee.

The user has little to do on their end, as the machine grinds the beans with the integrated burr grinder, tamps and pulls the espresso, and prepares the milk froth if necessary. The milk frothing component was one of my favorite aspects of this machine because it was so simple. All I had to do was connect the milk pipe to my milk carton and the main dispenser—no technique needed! This process seemed involved at first, but I found it to be most convenient. By putting the pipe directly in my milk carton instead of another cup, it reduced the cleanup (one less cup to clean). 

I also found that the drinks I made with this machine were high-quality. This likely has to do with the fact that it grinds fresh whole beans with its burr grinder right before pulling the espresso. While I can’t say the drinks I made were just as good as what one would get with a manual espresso machine, I will say that it was very close in comparison. It’s definitely an espresso and coffee maker combo worth investing in if you want to forgo learning how to make coffee yourself.

There are also some settings to customize the temperature and coffee dose further and an option for pre-brewing. I did notice that the brewing temperature was quite hot, so I brought it down and increased the grams of coffee per cup. I appreciated being able to customize these things because they play an important part in the resulting coffee and espresso. 

Ease of Cleaning: Involved, but there is a self-cleaning function

This Miele CM5300 Countertop Coffee System is quite incredible in that it has a self-cleaning function. This aspect was another one of my favorite things about this machine. After I finished making my drink and pressed the button to turn it off, the coffee maker would first clean itself by rinsing out the main dispenser. If the milk pipework had been used, the machine would also prompt me to place the pipework into the drip tray so it could clean the milk area. 

In addition to this cleaning function, several parts must be washed regularly, including the drip tray, drip tray cover, coffee grounds container, and water container (all dishwasher-safe). Be sure that you wash the brew unit, drip tray cover, bean container lid, and the lower panel by hand.  

The instruction manual also recommends cleaning out the brew unit and the main dispenser about once a week. Several cleaning tablets are included to clean out the brew unit, which is a bit more involved. There are detailed instructions included in the manual for this process. 

In the end, despite the self-cleaning convenience, I found that the extra weekly cleaning processes made this machine pretty high-maintenance. 

Price: Expensive

In terms of price, the Miele CM5300 Countertop Coffee System is rather expensive, retailing for around $1,500. This price accounts for all of the automation that this machine offers to users. Ultimately, you are paying for the convenience of doctoring up coffee recipes with little work on your end. 

Miele CM5300 Countertop Coffee System vs. Nespresso Vertuo Next by Breville 

The Nespresso Vertuo Next is an espresso and coffee combo machine that offers incredible convenience to its users but for a considerably lower price. This espresso and coffee maker combo may not be fully automatic, but it offers users a wide range of drink options. This machine is also available as a bundle with an Aeroccino to froth milk for even more espresso drink options. It retails for around $211 with the milk frother. 

The other difference between the two lies in the quality of the coffee. The Nespresso Vertuo Next relies on Vertuo capsules, whereas the Miele M5300 Countertop Coffee System uses real coffee beans. Users will find that Nespresso capsules consistently have a bold, distinctive taste, whereas the Miele can provide options for more taste variety since it grinds and brews whole coffee beans of your choice. 

Ultimately, it comes down to what kind of coffee you enjoy and how much automation you require to make your espresso drinks at home.