The Melitta Caffeo Solo is a slim, 20 cm-wide bean-to-cup machine for people who drink espresso or black coffee. It has a conical steel grinder, adjustable strength, temperature and cup volume, a two-cup spout and a removable brew unit, but no milk frother or hot water outlet. Owners praise its simple controls, easy cleaning, good coffee and value. The trade-offs are a small tank and hopper that need frequent refilling, water-hungry cleaning cycles, and occasional reports of noise or faults. It is now hard to find new in the UK: the big high-street retailers do not stock it, and new units mostly come from an Amazon marketplace seller with slow dispatch, so check the plug type and warranty before buying. No independent UK lab test of this model was found, and long-term reliability evidence is limited to a handful of owner reports.
Strengths
Very compact (200 mm wide) with a full set of brewing adjustments: 5 grind settings, 3 strengths, 3 temperatures and 30-220 ml cup volume.
Easy to use and maintain: button controls, a removable brew unit, automatic cleaning and descaling programmes.
Owners find the coffee good and the machine good value, with no unneeded extras.
Show all (4)
2-year Melitta guarantee on new units, and owners report responsive UK support.
Things to consider
No milk system and no hot water outlet; only espresso and café crème drinks.
Small water tank and bean hopper need frequent refilling, and cleaning cycles use a lot of water.
Some owners report faults (dead on arrival, brew-unit damage, standby fault) and noise.
Show all (4)
Limited UK availability: not stocked by Currys, Argos, John Lewis or AO; several retailers are sold out, and some stock comes with an EU plug and adapter.
Who is it for, and who is it not for?
Good for
One- or two-person households who drink espresso or black coffee and have limited counter space.
People moving up from instant coffee, an AeroPress or a cafetière who want simple, low-fuss operation.
May not suit
Anyone who wants lattes or cappuccinos without a separate milk frother.
Busy households that don't want to refill the tank and hopper often.
Buyers who want a UK-plug unit from a major high-street retailer with quick delivery.
The Solo is a 1400 W bean-to-cup machine with a 1.2 l removable water tank, a 125 g bean container, a conical steel grinder with 5 grind settings, 3 strength levels, 3 brewing temperatures (85/90/95 °C) and stepless cup volume from 30 to 220 ml.
There is no milk system, no hot water outlet and no chute for pre-ground coffee. One-touch drinks are limited to espresso and café crème, with a two-cup function.
The brew unit is removable for rinsing. The machine has automatic cleaning and descaling programmes, a water hardness setting, water-filter compatibility with a change indicator and Companion App guidance.
Currys, Argos and John Lewis do not list the Solo, and AO's product page is gone. Redber, Costco UK and Harts of Stur show it out of stock (Harts of Stur marks the Silver Stripes as discontinued), and Melitta UK lists only out-of-stock refurbished units. New units on Amazon.co.uk come from one marketplace seller, with dispatch in 7-8 days and a paid delivery charge.
Some UK Amazon reviewers report faults. One machine was dead on arrival with a suspected pump fault. Another broke internal cams when the brew unit was refitted (repaired under warranty). A third developed an intermittent self-standby fault after about seven years of daily use.
Which? does not list the Caffeo Solo E950 among its tested Melitta machines. Trusted Reviews tested only the Solo & Perfect Milk sibling and found its build light, with thin side panels.
There is no milk system, no hot water outlet and no chute for pre-ground coffee. One-touch drinks are limited to espresso and café crème, with a two-cup function.
The brew unit is removable for rinsing. The machine has automatic cleaning and descaling programmes, a water hardness setting, water-filter compatibility with a change indicator and Companion App guidance.
Currys, Argos and John Lewis do not list the Solo, and AO's product page is gone. Redber, Costco UK and Harts of Stur show it out of stock (Harts of Stur marks the Silver Stripes as discontinued), and Melitta UK lists only out-of-stock refurbished units. New units on Amazon.co.uk come from one marketplace seller, with dispatch in 7-8 days and a paid delivery charge.
Some UK Amazon reviewers report faults. One machine was dead on arrival with a suspected pump fault. Another broke internal cams when the brew unit was refitted (repaired under warranty). A third developed an intermittent self-standby fault after about seven years of daily use.
Which? does not list the Caffeo Solo E950 among its tested Melitta machines. Trusted Reviews tested only the Solo & Perfect Milk sibling and found its build light, with thin side panels.
Owners mostly like the Solo as a no-frills, compact bean-to-cup machine. It makes good espresso and café crème at the push of a button and is easy to keep clean thanks to the removable brew unit. Many say it is good value and are glad it has no milk wand to clean. The downsides are routine chores: the small tank and hopper need frequent refilling, the drip tray needs emptying, and cleaning cycles use a lot of water. A few mention noise (a buzzing power supply, a loud grinder) or coffee that is not quite as hot as on pricier machines. A small number report faults, from a unit dead on arrival to a brew-unit mechanism damaged on refitting and an intermittent standby fault after many years. Those who contacted Melitta praise its quick, helpful support.
What buyers like
Simple to use and easy to clean, especially the removable brew unit12 reviews
Makes good or great coffee10 reviews
Good value; no unneeded extras7 reviews
Attractive, sleek design5 reviews
Compact, small footprint4 reviews
Helpful Melitta customer service and warranty repair2 reviews
Common complaints
Machine arrived faulty or developed a fault3 reviews
Frequent refilling, emptying and water-hungry cleaning cycles3 reviews
Noise from the power supply or grinder2 reviews
Coffee not quite as hot or as good as on pricier machines2 reviews
Initial setup fiddly2 reviews
How was this summary made?
Summarised from 21 reviews. The summary is drawn from opinions that recur in the reviews read; each theme shows how many reviews mention it. These counts are not a rate and do not apply to every unit.
21 unique text reviews: 8 UK reviews on the Amazon.co.uk product page (10 blocks, 2 duplicates removed; reviews from other countries excluded) and all 13 on Redber (Judge.me, 3 pages). Deduplicated by author, date and text. Amazon's AI summary was compared with this sample but not copied. Costco and PriceSpy ratings were not read as text. ratings_total sums Amazon global, Redber and Costco counts.
Show reviews (17 of 21)Read the texts as published by the store
17 original reviews can be listed on this page. The number of reviews analysed may differ.
Filter and sort
M*** J*** M*** H***5/57 November 2025AmazonColour: Solo Black/Silver
Had this coffee machine for 18 months and love it. Makes good coffee and is very easy to maintain. The brewing unit is removable for rinsing and cleaning. In addition it is very good value. Better than much more expensive coffee makers I had in the past.
L***5/511 February 2023AmazonColour: Solo Silver Stripes
For me this replaces a Bosch Vero Cafe (2015). Silver stripe designer edition has very unique off-white front w/ vertical silver pin stripes and chrome spout. … Easy, understandable controls and black display with red indicators. Water filter sold separately screws in tight, very solid system. Sleek looking, top warming tray, clear lexan plastic beans lid. Very pleased, hope it lasts a very long time.
S***3/530 June 2021AmazonColour: Solo Black/Silver
Easy to use, slim and makes great tasting coffee. It's basic but does all I need it too at a great price. … The only 1 negative I have is that when turned on there is a buzzing electrical sound from the power supply (which once you notice it you cannot stop hearing) no problem in a busy house but if you work from home alone like I do it's properly annoying so loses a couple stars for that.
B***5/521 December 2017AmazonColour: Solo Silver/Black
Bearing in mind my the preferences above, this machine in particular is ideal. Easy to see water level. Small footprint. Looks "slick". Makes lovely expressos (which I convert to Americanos with water from the kettle). Easy to drain used water and coffee grounds. AND, really well priced compared to similar machines on the market.
J***1/514 November 2016AmazonColour: Solo Black/Silver
…We repeated the process several times, as the vent me button still remained, and no bean button lit up. MAchine made lots of noises, but water level did not move. Contacted Melitta as soon as they were available (Mon to Fri 7am to 4pm) and they said yes, it has a fault probably on pump. Sent back for refund. Most frustrating.
M*** S*** B***5/523 February 2016AmazonColour: Solo Silver/Black
UPDATE: 9/2022: after almost 7 years of daily service (5-10 cups per day), we have an intermittent fault whereby machine goes into standby on it's own. Still makes coffee but considering the replacement. … The annoyances with this machine are: constant refill of water and beans, drip tray emptying, regular cleaning.
A***4/530 November 2015AmazonColour: Solo Silver/Black
Coffee machine is now back with me - fully repaired with no hassle and very good customer service. (At no cost to me too!) I'm updating to 4 stars on the basis that although the customer service has been excellent, the product shouldn't have failed in this way in my view. … After cleaning today, I couldn't refit the brewing unit. … there was a loud bang as the motor tried to re-align itself. I now have broken gears or cams in the machine.
W*** E***5/528 March 2022redber.co.ukPure Black
The Melitta Solo Caffeo Bean to Cup Coffee machine was precisely what I wanted from a beat-to-cup machine. It has four buttons and one rotary dial. … The only hassle in the setup was configuring the hardness indicator (I presume for when to trigger the descaler indicator) and making the timeout the right length.
M*** J***5/51 September 2021redber.co.ukPure Black
So far so good, the machine has got a pretty design, is very easy to use, and we love having the bean to cup coffee. Much better compared to the instant stuff we were using before!…
A*** C***5/520 May 2021redber.co.ukPure Black
Excellent. Feels quality. Does everything it should, simply and efficiently. And half the price of our old one. Impressed.
K*** G***5/531 March 2021redber.co.ukPure Black
A replacement for an identical machine that had seen good service over a number of years. Makes great coffee every time and as a bean to cup machine there's no packaging waste to feel bad about while you're enjoying a great cup of coffee! Highly recommended.
R*** F***5/530 March 2021redber.co.ukPure Black
We love this machine. It's simple to use and maintain and the coffee is great - glad we didn't go for a more expensive one with bells and whistles, this does the job just as we like it.
J*** O***5/517 February 2021redber.co.ukPure Black
Purchased to replace a broken Delongi machine. This Melita solo machine is fantastic. There are only 2 coffee drinkers in the house so this is perfect. I live in a hard water area so also purchased filters. It makes brilliant coffee.
A*** F***5/526 January 2021redber.co.ukPure Black
The item is great. It is my second machine here and has gone in my garden bar. Interesting coffee is different from my other machine a small Jura. Perhaps not quite as good but fine none the less
M*** G***4/57 September 2020redber.co.ukPure Black
Excellent so far although it does use a lot of water on the cleaning cycles requiring frequent attention.
S*** Z***5/516 July 2020redber.co.ukPure Black
Solid coffee machine. Easy to clean. We are very happy.
R*** Y***5/528 May 2018redber.co.ukPure Black
…The machine itself is great: I wanted a straightforward espresso-only bean-to-cup machine and the Melitta Caffeo Solo fits the bill. (The only negative is that the coffee isn't QUITE as hot as it could be, compared with my last machine, a Krups: but you can't have everything!)
Read the summaries; tap a moment to watch the video from that second.
2 videos · Timestamped summary
YouTube · Review
Melitta Caffeo Solo Review
This video demonstrates the complete brewing process of a single cup of coffee using the Melitta Caffeo Solo. It details each stage in real time, from preheating and precleaning to grinding, compacting, and final dispensing. The machine takes just over a minute and a half from switch-on to complete a 180ml cup.
The Melitta Caffeo Solo is an extremely compact, fully automatic coffee machine with a width of just 20 cm, making it well-suited for smaller kitchens. It features a double cup mode for preparing two coffees simultaneously and an adjustable spout accommodating mugs up to 135 mm tall. It also includes an Aroma-Extraction-System (AES) pre-brewing function to extract optimal flavour from freshly ground coffee.
This page is compiled from manufacturer, store, review and video sources; every piece of information links to the source it was read from. Technical values are as stated by the manufacturer or store; user experiences are summarised from the reviews read and do not apply to every unit. We do not test products ourselves.