Siemens EQ900 Plus: two-minute review
The Siemens EQ900 Plus is one of the best bean-to-cup coffee machines for those who enjoy a latte, cappuccino or macchiato thanks to its excellent milk-texturizing system. It brews a very good espresso, too; but for me, the milk frothing is definitely the standout feature, and easily compares with the results an experienced user can get with a manual steam wand – with none of the effort.
Another key selling point of the EQ900 Plus that differentiates it from most of the best coffee makers is the fact that it has two hoppers, which make it easy to switch between different beans or roasts on the fly, or change to decaf in the evening. Some other bean-to-cup coffee makers I’ve tested (models from KitchenAid, for example) have a chute that you use to insert a scoop of ground coffee when you want something different to what’s in the hopper, but this system is more convenient. The only downside is that the hoppers aren’t removeable, plus the extensive set of cleaning and maintenance programs don’t include a function for emptying beans and grounds from the machine, which makes it tricky to purge the system.
The machine offers a system called “beanIdent” that lets you describe the beans you’ve loaded into each hopper (including type, roast, and blend) and then adjusts factors including water contact time and grind size to suit. It also encourages you to tinker to achieve the flavor you prefer. There are two customization modes (Comfort and Barista), with support for 10 user profiles.
You can even set your preferred drinks as “favorites”, much like the favorites list in your web browser, which is welcome and something I’d like to see in more coffee machines. I appreciate not having to browse through a menu to find my carefully created custom cappuccino setting.
The smart cleaning programs are another key selling point of the EQ900 Plus, and bring another point of difference over the standard EQ900. The Plus has a hatch above the milk tank where you insert two tablets – one for cleaning and one for descaling. You’ll be prompted to do this when setting up the machine, and it means you can run a full cleaning cycle whenever the machine needs it without having to hunt around for the necessary supplies or remove the brew unit to add a tab.
One of the biggest problems I find with bean-to-cup coffee machines is that the time you save grinding beans and adjusting brew settings is offset by the time spent maintaining the machine, so this smart cleaning is a welcome feature. However, I’m not sure it justifies the price difference between the EQ900 and EQ900 Plus. At the time of writing, the EQ900 Plus is only available for the full list price of £2,199 (about $2,800 / AU$4,300), whereas the standard EQ900 can be found for as little as £1,300 (about $1,600 / AU$2,600) on sale.
Siemens EQ900 Plus: price and availability
- List price £2,199 (about $2,800 / AU$4,300)
- Not widely available outside Europe
- Can be found more cheaply if you shop around
The Siemens EQ900 Plus launched in October 2023, and has a list price of £2,199 (about $2,800 / AU$4,300) – although note that it isn’t widely available outside Europe. That puts it firmly at the top end of the price bracket for home bean-to-cup coffee makers, at about the same price as the Breville Oracle Touch (or Sage Oracle Touch, as it’s known in the UK).
The EQ900 Plus definitely feels like a premium machine with its stainless steel build, huge color touchscreen, smart cleaning, and advanced customization options. However, for a more affordable version consider the standard Siemens EQ900 (without the automatic maintenance system), which has a list price of £1,799 (about $2,300 / AU$3,600) and can be found for as little as £1,300 (about $1,600 / AU$2,600) if you shop around.
There’s also a version of the EQ900 with a single hopper, priced at £1,599 (about $2,000 / AU$3,200), which may be preferable if you only enjoy one specific bean. Personally, I appreciate having the choice.
You’ll find all of today’s best prices for the Siemens EQ900 Plus below.
Siemens EQ900 Plus: specifications
|
Name |
Siemens EQ900 Plus Bean to Cup Coffee Machine |
|
Type |
Bean-to-cup |
|
Dimensions (W x H x D) |
15.4 x 12.4 x 18.5in / 39.2 x 31.5 x 47cm |
|
Weight |
30.4lbs / 13.8kg |
|
Water reservoir capacity |
81oz / 2.3L |
|
Milk frother |
Yes (automatic) |
|
Bars of pressure |
20 |
|
Noise level |
45dB (average) |
|
User profiles |
10 |
Siemens EQ900 Plus
- Premium brushed metal build
- Two bean hoppers
- Intensive self-cleaning system
- Cleverly designed milk system
The Siemens EQ900 Plus is a premium bean-to-cup coffee machine with a brushed stainless steel case and a huge 6.8-inch full-colour touchscreen. It’s the most impressive display I’ve seen on any coffee maker I’ve tested so far, and is even capable of displaying smooth animations (when you’re not using it to swipe through the drinks menu and tweak the various beverages to your liking).
At the top you’ll find two hoppers that you can fill with two different types of coffee beans. Some other coffee machines I’ve tested (the KitchenAid KF6 and KF8, for example) come with a chute to which you can add a scoop of pre-ground coffee if you fancy a change, but this twin-hopper system is even better. Some coffees (such as those with notes of caramel) are well suited to milk, while fruitier beans work better black – with this system you can choose the best one for your drink on the fly. You could also keep one hopper full of regular beans for the morning, and the other full of decaf for after lunch. A blue light will illuminate when one of the hoppers needs refilling.
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The EQ900 Plus’s water tank is hidden on the left of the machine, and can be lifted out for filling using the integrated handle. It has a generous 2.3-liter capacity, and can be fitted with an optional filter to reduce limescale build-up to improve the taste of your coffee. Note that there’s no transparent panel, though, so you can’t see the current water level at a glance.
Milk is stored in a smaller tank that sits on the right, just underneath containers for descaling and cleaning tablets. It’s unusual for a coffee machine to keep descaling and cleaning tablets on-board, but it makes sense and means you don’t have to hunt around for the packet when it’s time for regular maintenance. This is the EQ900 Plus’s main point of difference with the standard EQ900.
Most fully automatic espresso machines have a separate container for milk that sits beside the machine. Here, a tank slots into the side of the chassis, delivering a much neater design. The lid means you can also keep your milk in the fridge between uses.
The drip tray slides out easily for cleaning, with a removable grille at the front and a slim section at the back that makes pouring clean and convenient. Used coffee pucks are dispensed into a bin that sits in the drip tray and can be lifted out for easy emptying.
Siemens EQ900 Plus
- Eight coffee profiles, plus two milk and two hot water
- Coffee presets are easy to customize and save to your profile
- Excellent milk frothing
- Espresso is good, but crema not as stable as some
Some automatic coffee machines present customization as an optional extra, but it’s at the heart of the experience here. There are two control options, Barista and Comfort, depending on the degree to which you want to tweak your beverages; but all users are encouraged to tinker with their drinks to create something bespoke.
Barista mode offers the most control, allowing you to choose whether beans are taken from the left or right hopper, choose the correct cup size, and tweak the strength (1-9), grinding level (1-6), contact time (for instance, how long the water is in contact with the grounds), milk ratio, and brewing temperature. Comfort mode is simpler and designed for more casual coffee fans, only letting you set the aroma (mild, balanced, or distinctive), strength (light, normal, strong, or extra strong), and cup size.
Once you’ve created a custom drink (which is easy thanks to the sensitive touchscreen), you’ll be prompted to save it to a profile (the EQ900 Plus supports up to 10, so everyone in your household and their guests can create their own) and give it a name. Typing on the EQ900 is surprisingly easy; the screen is large enough to accommodate a full QWERTY keyboard, making the whole experience much less frustrating than it could be.
You can even choose a background color, so you can see at-a-glance whether your profile is the one selected, and save your most frequently made drinks to a favorites menu, accessible via a quick tap of the star button under the screen. Preset drink options include:
- Espresso
- Espresso doppio
- Caffe crema
- Caffe grande
- Caffe XL
- Cappuccino
- Latte macchiato
- White coffee
- Foamed milk
- Warm milk
- Hot water (enough for a cup of tea)
- Coffee pot (a larger amount of hot water for pour-over)
The crema wasn’t quite as thick as that created by the KitchenAid K6, which is a cheaper machine, and it didn’t last as long either, despite being brewed using the same beans (purchased fresh that day).
However, milk texturizing was impressive, with the Siemens EQ900 quickly turning whole dairy milk into a generous layer of long-lasting foam. A powerful jet of steam creates the perfect foundation for your cappuccino or latte macchiato.
You can slide the dispenser up and down easily, and unlike many bean-to-cup coffee makers, it’s easy to remove it for cleaning – just pull it towards you to detach it, then disassemble the components and wash them all with warm water and dish soap. Once done, push it back into place.
During testing, I found the water tank a little awkward to refit when filled to the maximum mark; you have to position the bottom of the tank, then align the top while also folding the handle down. The water tank and milk container are also tricky to clean and dry inside, since there’s very little space for your hand. The machine has a cleaning setting that removes all water from the interior, but you’ll still need to thoroughly hand-dry the tanks before transporting or storing the machine.
The machine notified when the drip tray was full, but didn’t push out an alert to inform me that the used coffee grounds required emptying. Most bean-to-cup machines deliver a warning after making about four drinks, but that wasn’t the case here, and I ended up with some grounds stuck to the area above the drip tray when I pulled it out. It’s a minor flaw, but a surprising one for a premium machine.
The beanIdent system is interesting, and lets the machine adjust its own settings to suit your two different beans so it can determine the optimum setting for each one. Once you’ve loaded the two hoppers, you tell the EQ900 Plus the type of bean you’ve chosen for each one (arabica or robusta), the roast (light or dark) and the blend, and it will set factors including grind size and water temperature automatically.
Of course, your preferences may be different from those of the engineers and experts at Siemens, so you can tweak these settings to suit your tastes. Nevertheless, they provide a very useful starting point.
Should you buy the Siemens EQ900 Plus
|
Attribute |
Notes |
Score |
|---|---|---|
|
Value |
A premium machine with a price to match, but I don’t think it does enough to justify how much more expensive it is over the standard EQ900. |
3/5 |
|
Design |
Dual bean hoppers are a real selling point, and the machine is refreshingly easy to clean; but the water tank can be fiddly to wash and insert. |
4/5 |
|
Performance |
Brews a very good espresso (although I find the KitchenAid K8 slightly better), and is unbeatable when it comes to milk texturizing. |
4.5/5 |
Buy it if
Don’t buy it if
Siemens EQ900 Plus: also consider
Not totally sure that the Siemens EQ900 Plus is the right coffee maker for you? Here are two other bean-to-cup machines to consider:
How I tested the Siemens EQ900 Plus
I tested the Siemens EQ900 Plus using fresh coffee beans from local coffee shops Mokoko and Clifton Coffee (one in each hopper), and chilled whole milk. I used each of the machine’s preset drink options, experimenting with settings in Comfort and Barista mode, and creating a custom profile.
I also ran all of the machine’s basic and intensive cleaning programs, washed and dried the dispenser, milk tank and water tank, and ran the frost protection program to remove water from the machine’s internal circuits. For more details, see how we test, review, and rate on TechRadar.
First reviewed February 2025
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