The app-controlled coffee maker that makes a perfect cup every time

Coffee maker is our favourite product in all the TVs, phones, tablets and other gadgets at IFA 2014 in
Berlin, However, the Saeco GranBaristo Avanti is no mere Nespresso or Tassimo style machine. It’s not even a normal bean-to-cup brewer. It
can make coffee expresso, Americano and cappuccino style, and it works
directly with a tablet application.

Designed for the home, the Avanti will be released in Russia and
Benelux regions first with a wider rollout expected later (most likely
next year). It links with a tablet through Bluetooth and the app, while
simple, offers the ability to create the perfect cup of coffee suited to
you.

It features a selection screen for each of the types of coffee and
different suggested options. You scroll through and choose the one you
most fancy. But the clever bit is that it then gives you the option to
change multiple parameters: temperature, amount of coffee per cup and
taste.

You set these on sliders and once you’ve found the balance that suits
you the most, you can save the settings as a profile. This allows the
entire family or your friends to have their own perfect cup of coffee
stored for repeat use. And they all appear on the app homepage, ready to
be scrolled through.

We had a go at an espresso and a cappuccino and were very pleased
with the results. The espresso was just right; smoky and bitter, just as
we like it. And with the milk frother available as part of the package,
it made the perfect cappuccino too.

The machine has “next generation” thermo-speed technology, so makes
the coffee as quick as you like. We do recommend setting the temperature
low on the app though as even at its lowest setting, we still had to
wait a while to be able to drink the espresso.

Only 500 Saeco GranBaristo Avanti machines have been built to date,
and those will be the ones sold initially. From the attention it was
getting at IFA, we fully expect the Philips-owned brand to bring it into
mass production though.

We’re not sure about the price at the moment, but considering the
conventional Saeco GranBaristo without the Bluetooth and app
connectivity is over £1,000, you can expect there to be a premium on top
of that.