The Melitta Purista F230-102 is a slim (20 cm wide), black-coffee-only bean-to-cup machine. It makes espresso and café crème, two cups at once, with adjustable grind, strength, temperature and volume. Owners consistently praise the coffee quality, the simple controls and the small footprint. The main drawbacks are frequent refilling of the 1.2 L tank and emptying of the drip tray, because the machine rinses itself at every switch-on and switch-off. There is also no milk system and no hot water outlet. A minority of owners report faults, some fixed under Melitta's 2-year guarantee, and no independent long-term reliability data is publicly available. It suits espresso and Americano drinkers short on worktop space. People who want milk drinks, or who make many cups a day, should look elsewhere. UK prices vary widely between retailers.
Strengths
Very slim 200 mm-wide body suits small kitchens.
Owners rate the espresso and coffee quality highly.
Simple to use, with adjustable grind, strength, temperature and cup volume plus app support.
Show all (5)
Removable brewing unit and automatic cleaning/descaling make routine care straightforward.
Quiet and quick according to several owners.
Things to consider
Rinse cycles mean frequent tank refills and drip-tray emptying.
No milk system or hot water outlet; black coffee only.
Small 125 g bean hopper and 1.2 L tank with no bean-level warning.
Show all (4)
Some owners report faults; upkeep can be costly in hard-water areas.
Who is it for, and who is it not for?
Good for
Espresso and Americano drinkers with limited worktop width.
First-time bean-to-cup buyers who want simple controls.
May not suit
Anyone wanting lattes or cappuccinos without a separate frother.
Households making many cups a day who do not want frequent refills and emptying.
It makes black coffee only: one-touch espresso and café crème, with two cups at once; there is no milk system and Melitta and AO list no hot water outlet.
A recurring complaint is that rinse cycles at switch-on and switch-off use a lot of water, so the tank needs refilling and the drip tray emptying often.
A minority of reviews report faults (units not brewing properly, brewing unit not accepted, stuck cleaning cycle, failure within a week); several owners say Melitta repaired the machine under warranty.
Best suited to espresso/Americano drinkers with limited worktop width; milk drinkers would need a separate frother, and heavy users will be refilling and emptying often.
It makes black coffee only: one-touch espresso and café crème, with two cups at once; there is no milk system and Melitta and AO list no hot water outlet.
A recurring complaint is that rinse cycles at switch-on and switch-off use a lot of water, so the tank needs refilling and the drip tray emptying often.
A minority of reviews report faults (units not brewing properly, brewing unit not accepted, stuck cleaning cycle, failure within a week); several owners say Melitta repaired the machine under warranty.
Best suited to espresso/Americano drinkers with limited worktop width; milk drinkers would need a separate frother, and heavy users will be refilling and emptying often.
Buyers mostly praise the coffee itself: good espresso with crema, consistent flavour and a choice of strength, from a machine that is simple to set up and run and slim enough for small kitchens. Several call it quiet and quick, and some value that it does black coffee only. The most common complaint is water handling: the machine rinses itself at switch-on and switch-off, so the drip tray fills fast and the small tank needs frequent topping up. A minority report faults such as failure to brew, a brewing unit that would not seat or a machine stuck in cleaning; some say Melitta fixed it promptly under warranty, while one long-term owner found upkeep in a hard-water area costly. A few mention grinder noise, coffee not hot enough or cups that are too small for mugs.
What buyers like
Good or excellent espresso/coffee quality and crema44 reviews
Easy to set up, use and clean27 reviews
Compact, slim and good-looking on the worktop16 reviews
Quiet and quick to make coffee12 reviews
Common complaints
Drip tray fills fast and rinse cycles use a lot of water15 reviews
Water tank and bean hopper are small7 reviews
Faulty or failed units, sometimes repaired under warranty6 reviews
Cleaning and upkeep take effort or cost money3 reviews
Cup height too low for mugs2 reviews
Other observations
Coffee only, no milk frothing (accepted by most who mention it)2 reviews
How was this summary made?
Summarised from 57 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.
Unique texts by author+date+text: Currys 35 (Feefo s5/s6, Currys-attributed; 9 rating-only excluded), Argos 9, AO 5 (all in feed s9), Amazon.co.uk 8 UK (5 other-country excluded). ratings_total = Amazon 1,729 + Argos 9 + 110 Feefo count shown by Currys and AO, counted once. Amazon AI summary used only as a cross-check.
Show reviews (25 of 57)Read the texts as published by the store
25 original reviews can be listed on this page. The number of reviews analysed may differ.
Filter and sort
J***1/530 April 2021AmazonBlack
We bought this machine two months ago to replace a DeLonghi Magnifica. … the small water tank constantly needs filling because the machine uses a lot of water flushing itself every time it switches on and switches off … The machine became stuck in its cleaning program and was unusable. …
M***5/517 January 2022AmazonBlack
…the one bought in May 20 decided to refuse entry for the brewing unit and no matter what we did it would not reset … I can't fault the Melitta customer service and I still like the machine's ease of use adn maintenance, not to mention the great coffee it produces.
M*** A*** J*** S***5/510 February 2022AmazonBlack
At 1 litre the water tank is quite small and needs topping up frequently. However, it's easy to see and we top it up from a bottle to save removing the tank each time. We've had the coffee maker for several months now and are really pleased with it. It's very quiet and makes great tasting coffee.
C*** R***5/511 July 2020AmazonBlack
This machine is very versatile - it can produce everything from an eye wateringly strong espresso (my favourite!) to a gentle lungo. … Cleaning and descaling are multistep processes which are made easy by the downloadable companion app which walks you through it all. I cannot recommend this machine enough!
M*** M***4/526 August 2024AmazonBlack
I bought this for my husband and he’s very pleased with it. It’s easy to use and makes great tasting coffee. It’s quite deep in size so you need space for it on the worktop.
C***5/517 January 2025AmazonBlack
For the price it’s sold at, I’d say this is an excellent choice. The quality of the coffee is impressive, and it’s easy to use. Cleaning does take a bit of effort, but that’s true for most machines in this category, and it doesn’t need to be done frequently.
s***5/522 June 2023AmazonSilver (F230-101)
It's one of the smallest automatic espresso machines on the market, but it doesn't sacrifice features or performance. … The grinder is very quiet, and the machine heats up quickly.
A***1/515 November 2020CurrysBlack
Good Points: The machine is relatively compact and looks well in the kitchen as it is a plain box. … However that drink invariably ended up as brown water in the liquid drip tray and the coffee in the waste tub.
Customer2/519 February 2025CurrysSilver (F230-101)
Broke within a week! … Constant factory resets, adjusting all the settings to no avail
P***4/58 June 2023Currys
Drip tray and coffee tray integrated. Means emptying is really messy.
Customer4/531 May 2024Currys
The machine makes a very good cup of espresso and gives good options regarding strength and cup size - although I stick to favourites. It grinds well and quite quickly. The drip tray fills up quite quickly, but it means that it is using water to clean itself.
Customer4/511 April 2025Currys
Simply to use, great coffee. It does need topping up with water regularly as it runs a clean cycle every time you switch on in the morning so you have to fill and empty the drip tray regularly
J***5/510 April 2025Currys
This was my first bean to cup machine a few years ago, when it died I tried a few others and none compared, eventually I got this one again, so glad I did, it's the best
E***5/51 October 2024Currys
Works well but over priced
B***5/512 October 2021Currys
Makes really excellent coffee, which of course is the prime reason for buying a coffee machine in the first place! … Water waste tray needs emptied quite frequently….perhaps twice a day if making more than a couple of cups.
M***1/54 January 2022Argos
I bought his machine a month ago, could not get it to work, had no luck with Melitta, had multiple chats with Argos, had problems with DPD, still not resolved, and have paid for it.
G***4/51 June 2022Argos
The coffee is great but thus machine use to much water. Daily I must clean. The water that you use for coffee The machine use to clean it. To much water
M***4/529 March 2024Argos
Have had this for a few months and the machine is really easy to use and the coffee is great, the only problem is the drip tray fills quickly and needs emptying often.
S***5/516 May 2024Argos
Had a few weeks. Easy to set up. Self clean function great. Still need to clean grind unit once weekly which is fine. Looks nice on worktop
L***5/57 March 2025Argos
So much better than the filter machine we had
G***5/524 February 2022Argos
Recently bought this as I wanted a machine that would provide me with with great coffee quickly. It does exactly that, freshly ground and how I like it, with the bonus of being able to make 2 coffees at same time!
J***5/517 September 2026ao-retail-ltd (Feefo)Black
It does require filling and emptying fairly frequently as it carries out cleaning functions. Easy to use and coffee.
B***5/59 September 2026ao-retail-ltd (Feefo)Black
Whilst not silent, it is quiet and quick in producing cups of coffee.
J***5/514 April 2026ao-retail-ltd (Feefo)Black
Only does coffee - no steaming, frothing or anythign fancy - but it does that very well.
Customer5/53 February 2026ao-retail-ltd (Feefo)Black
Does one simple thing well - makes good espresso without complex settings and buttons or anything else that gets in the way!
Read the summaries; tap a moment to watch the video from that second.
1 videos · Timestamped summary
YouTube · Other
Melitta Purista F 230-102 Fully Automatic Coffee Machine with Whisper
This video shows a demonstration of the Melitta Purista series 300 coffee machine. It shows the machine grinding and brewing a cup of coffee into a mug, finishing with a layer of crema.
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.
