Some coffee machines can be controlled via an app on your phone. You will need to make sure you're prepared, though, by having enough beans in the container, water in the tank and a mug ready under the spout. If it’s all set, you’ll be able to make a coffee without having to get out of bed – a dreamy way to wake up!

Most bean-to-cup coffee machines allow you to adjust the drink size, coffee strength and sometimes the strength of the aroma, too. On some models, you can save these settings, so you can repeat your favourite combinations. A steam wand is the preferred method used in coffee shops. This is a long, thin pipe attached to the side of a coffee machine that uses steam pressure to froth milk. It's controlled with a dial that opens or closes the steam release valve. Controlling the Magnifica Evo is simple due to a touchscreen that has a symbol for each of the functions and an option to make two coffees at once. The steam arm can also be used to dispense hot water if you want to top up your coffee or even make tea instead. This machine doesn’t come with a milk jug which was disappointing considering its price. Because of the design, we found a deep milk jug wasn’t suitable for use with the steam wand because it wasn’t long enough to reach into the cold milk. One final minor quibble is that it’s not possible to adjust the milk temperature at all. I suspect that many people prefer their coffee steaming hot, but the De’Longhi is a tad too hot in my opinion. In my direct comparisons, steamed milk from the De’Longhi didn’t taste as sweet and creamy as when I manually frothed it on a manual espresso machine, and this suggests the milk is being overheated enough to change its flavour. There are two spouts on the coffee dispenser which means you can make two coffees at once. We found the machine sturdy enough to prevent the espresso cups from sliding around on the drip tray and the adjustable height of the dispenser meant it was very easy to fit a variety of cup sizes beneath it.Once you add hot water or hot frothy milk to the Evo One Touch’s espressos, however, you’re unlikely to care: the result is a very drinkable cup of coffee. Any issues with bitterness are masked with the sweetness of the hot milk, or diluted by the hot water enough to make the flavour more appealing.

Spend a little time optimising the grind size, coffee temperature and the amount of espresso and milk used for each drink, and you can get better results but you can also make things worse, so there’s no harm in just leaving it at the default settings. Whereas the Magnifica S Smart needed tweaking from the off, I’d be happy to just leave the Evo One Touch alone. You’ll have to wait for it to power up after extracting an espresso, and it only moves from side to side, but if it’s lattes or flat whites you like to start your day with, it will definitely please.This coffee machine was super easy to use and impressed across the board in our lab tests. Everything from set-up to selecting your preferred beverage is simple and efficient. And if you do struggle to adjust the settings, the handy manual is easy to follow.