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Siemens EQ.300 review

The Siemens EQ.300 is the smallest and also the cheapest bean to cup coffee machine in the current series. With a width of 25 cm and a height of 37 cm, it is not larger than a normal filter coffee maker. The casing is mainly made of plastic and only a little stainless steel, but the bean to cup coffee machine still looks very high-quality. You can find out how good the quality of the individual parts is in our test report.

The milk system

Let’s move on to the special feature of the Siemens EQ.300 – the milk system. The milk foam is prepared automatically – so you don’t have to froth it yourself. That is already an exception in this price range. Simply pour the desired amount of milk into the cup, slide the milk frothing nozzle down and select your favorite drink. The rest is done by the bean to cup coffee machine. The froth duration is automatically adjusted to the selected beverage (cappuccino or latte macchiato).

Since the milk frothing nozzle is directly in the center by the coffee spout, you don’t need to move the cup. So you get your cappuccino with just one push of a button. If you don’t want to measure the milk yourself, you can also take a look at the Siemens EQ.500 with fully automatic milk system.

The milk frothing nozzle is also very quiet compared to other bean to cup coffee machines. On average, we only measured 58.1 dB during frothing. So the EQ.300 is worth considering if you find the typical bean to cup coffee machine too noisy. And the low volume also indicates good workmanship. You can clean the milk frother including the cover in the dishwasher.

The bean compartment

On the top right of the bean to cup coffee machine is the bean compartment. It holds up to 250 grams of beans. The beans are easy to refill, as the opening is sufficiently large. What we like is the clear rectangular shape – so the beans slide ideally in the direction of the grinder. So you don’t have to help it by hand like with some other models.

Around the bean compartment runs a rubber seal. As a result, the lid fits snugly and seals airtight. This is important to preserve the flavor of the beans. Because air, light and heat damage the aroma in the long run. A plus point would therefore be a darkened lid. This is made of a bright, transparent plastic. But since the beans are usually consumed quickly (at least with us) this is not quite so bad. Overall, the bean compartment is very well thought out and of high quality.

The grinder

At the bottom of the bean compartment, you can already see the grinder. The EQ.300 is equipped with a high-quality ceramic grinder. Ceramic has the reputation of grinding particularly quietly. In our experience, that’s not always true, but it’s definitely the case here. With an average of only 65 dB, it is one of the quietest grinders we know. Other test devices are often 70-72 dB loud on average.

You can adjust the grinder setting via a rotary switch directly in the bean compartment. Unfortunately, there are only 3 levels to choose from. In our case, the switch also jammed a little. The coffee powder was uniformly fine. As with many bean to cup coffee machines, however, the grinder setting doesn’t quite come close to that of an espresso grinder. The espresso still convinced us, but more on that later.

The water tank

With a volume of 1.4 liters, the water tank is somewhat smaller than in other bean to cup coffee machines. But the fresher your water, the better for taste. From there, the size is sufficient in our opinion. You will find the tank at the back left of the device. A built-in handle makes it easy to lift the tank and remove it along the left side. So a little space is needed, but not much. You hardly need any air at the top, because the tank can be moved freely after only about 5 cm of lifting. Nevertheless, it is not ideally accessible, which is why we had to deduct a few points in our test.

The water tank is made of a transparent, high-quality plastic. The opening is large and the tank is easy to fill directly under the tap. At the bottom of the tank you will also find the connection for a water filter. With a water filter you have to descale the bean to cup coffee machine much less often. It will also improve the taste of your coffee.

However, you have to buy a water filter separately, it is not included. The official filter is the
Brita Intenza*
. But there are also no-name alternatives. However, you should first read the reviews of other users, because the filters do not always fit as specified.

The coffee spout

The Siemens EQ.300 has two coffee spouts – so you can prepare two espressos or caffe crema at the same time. The coffee spout can be adjusted from 8.5 to 12.5 cm. Ideal here would be 7 to 14 cm. The distance to the espresso cup is quite large, a few splashes missed in our test. But well, that’s not too bad.

It’s a little more awkward with tall latte macchiato glasses. We had to tilt them slightly so that they fit under the coffee spout. But even that was less dramatic than it sounds. For this, there were a few small deductions in the bean to cup coffee machine test. Plus point: the coffee spout is very stable, does not wobble and is easy to adjust. The overall workmanship is very high quality. We have seen other things …

Drip tray & coffee grounds container

You can reach the drip tray and the coffee grounds tray via the service flap. You can open the flap via a handle on the right side. The front door swings to the left and engages with a small “click”. Now we have a clear view of the interior and can pull both out to the front.

A big advantage is that the drip tray, coffee grounds tray and also the drip tray and grid can be put in the dishwasher. There is probably an error in the instructions here. According to the instructions, the drip tray must not be put in the dishwasher. However, on the bowl itself there is a dishwasher symbol and the note “max. 60°C” as with the other dishwasher-safe parts. We tried it – nothing happened to the drip tray.

The cup tray is of particularly high quality. With many other bean to cup coffee machines, it is quickly scratched – not so with the EQ.300. The cleverly placed plastic grid protects the sheet itself and looks beautiful for a long time. This shows that Siemens has a lot of experience with bean to cup coffee machines. The EQ.300 is very well thought-out in many places.

When the tray for coffee pucks is full, the message “Empty trays” appears in the display. A clear announcement. Here you don’t have to muddle through the manual to find out what a certain symbol or flashing means, as you do with other bean to cup coffee machines. Very nice.

When you empty the coffee grounds tray, it is best to also empty the water collection tray directly. If it is full first, you will see a small blue float looking up through the cup tray.

The brewing unit

Also in the interior is the brewing unit. This can be removed quite easily. To do this, we push up the dark red lever and can pull out the brewing unit to the front. A hand symbol indicates where it is best to touch.

Once in the hand, we immediately notice the quite high weight. The brewing unit looks sturdy and is mainly made of thick plastic. Some elements that are subjected to heavy stress, such as the inner surface of the punch or sealing clamps, are made of steel. The workmanship is very convincing overall.

The display

One of the highlights of the Siemens EQ.300 is the display. It is slightly slanted and therefore very easy to read even from above. Due to the clear arrangement and labeling, everything is immediately understandable. It doesn’t get any better than this. The touch buttons are quite large and respond flawlessly – even with wet fingers.

On the left side you can see the settings that you can make directly. Use the bean symbol to set the desired coffee strength in 5 levels. Fromvery mild to very strong. You can activate the double cup option with the two cups icon. However, this only works for espresso and Caffe Crema. You can only prepare drinks with milk foam one after the other, since the EQ.300 only has one milk nozzle.

For further settings you need (as a rule) the
operating instructions
. This is simply written and also illustrated. You can enter the main menu by pressing and holding the “Calc’n Clean” and “Coffee Beans” buttons for 3 seconds. There you can set the standby time, the water hardness, the language or the sound.

We like the display and the menu navigation very much. That there is a menu with plain text is definitely very helpful. Here you always know exactly what you have set or what the machine is doing. With many other models (in this price range), you first have to press various key combinations to set something. Actually, you always need instructions for this. Here you can find everything about the main menu and see exactly what you can set – really easy.

After you have switched on the EQ.300, it only needs 40 seconds until it is ready to start. Meanwhile, the device performs a rinsing process and heats up. You can then start purchasing drinks. As soon as the device switches off automatically, it carries out another rinsing process. This happens after 30 minutes Non-use.

In our test, coffee crema and espresso already have the right temperature at the first draw. For beverages with milk foam (cappuccino and latte macchiato), the temperature is usually lukewarm when first drawn. This is because the machine does not preheat the milk nozzle.

We can do that manually. To do this, we put a glass of water under the milk nozzle and press the button for milk. Now the milk nozzle heats the water and heats up at the same time. Alternatively, you can increase the temperature of the milk foam. You can find out how this works under Drinks Settings.

Mild espresso

The first thing we prepare is a mild espresso. To do this, we first select coffee strength 2. It is very good that the bean to cup coffee machine indicates by the word “mild” exactly what strength it is here. Then we press the button for espresso. The machine immediately starts the grinding process. You have no possibility to set the beverage quantity. In the factory settings, we get 40 mlfor espresso.

After 56 seconds, our espresso is ready – that’s fine so far. Other devices are faster (40 seconds). However, quality is of course much more important than speed. Our thermometer proves: our espresso has the perfect temperature of 70 °C. For espresso, we always measured a temperature between 67°C and 71°C. The crema is nice and light brown and has no bubbles.

Strong espresso

Next, we try a very strong espresso (level 5) off. We want to find out if there is a difference with mild espresso. If you want an even stronger espresso, you can set the grinder finer. We have chosen the finest level here.

Alternatively, you can also reduce the amount of water, e.g. to 30 ml. This will make your espresso more concentrated. To do this, we need to reprogram the machine – we’ll show you how to do this later.

The machine also needs just under a minute for the strong espresso. As you can see, the crema is much darker than the mild espresso. Taste-wise, the espresso is good, but could be more intense and full-bodied for our taste. A look into the coffee grounds tray shows: the grinder could be a bit finer.

Caffe Crema

Next, we brew two coffees crema. To do this, we place the cups under each of the two coffee spouts. Then we press the double cups icon. The vending machine confirms our selection by displaying “Double key on”. Now we select the coffee strength again. By tapping the coffee bean, we select level 3 “normal”. We confirm our selection with the Coffee Crema button. The grinding process then begins.

Again, we cannot select a beverage quantity (large/small cup). However, we have the possibility to reprogram the quantity in general. For coffee crema can be between 80 – 200 ml.

Due to the fact that we brew 2 cups at the same time, the reference takes twice as long. The machine performs a 2nd grind and presses a new coffee puck. After about 2:30 minutes, the 2 cups are ready. The EQ.300 needs about 80 seconds for a cup of coffee. During brewing, we measured a temperature of up to 78°C – that’s pretty hot. The coffee has a fine, light brown crema that forms only small bubbles. In terms of taste, the coffee is definitely far ahead, compared to other bean to cup coffee machines. It tastes strong but not bitter and the grinder setting is ideal for coffee.

Drinks with milk foam

We have to measure the milk for cappuccino and co. ourselves in the Siemens EQ.300. According to the instructions, we need 100 ml of milk for a cappuccino and 150 ml for a latte macchiato. Be sure to keep in mind that the volume of the milk doubles when frothing. Therefore, make sure to use sufficiently large glasses.

For our tests, we always use organic milk with 3.8% fat – this ensures plenty of creamy foam. Of course, you can also use plant-based alternatives such as soy milk. Make sure that this has at least 1.5% egg white, so that your foam is also creamy. Special barista versions are best suited.

Cappuccino

For our cappuccino, we measure 100 ml of milk directly in the glass. This corresponds to 103 g on our scales. Then we place the glass under the coffee spout. Now we press the milk nozzle down so that it hangs about 1 cm above the bottom of the glass. The nozzle should be centered in the glass. Make sure that the coffee spout is also above the glass.

On the display, we first select the coffee strength “strong” (level 4). Then we tap the Cappuccino button. The machine starts immediately by grinding the beans. The milk is then frothed. We watch how the milk grows in the glass. You don’t need to do anything else here – the machine stops frothing automatically.

Then the coffee flows into the glass – ready. That took 1:56 minutes. Now push the milk nozzle back up. Almost never touch the metallic part of the nozzle, because it becomes very hot. By the way, a real cappuccino should have the coffee first and then the milk foam. As with many bean to cup coffee machines, it’s the other way around with Siemens. Since the milk is foamed directly in the glass, there is no other way.

The cappuccino reached a decent temperature of 66°C in the test (67°C is optimal). This is because we have preheated the milk nozzle. Our tests have shown that without preheating we end up with 62-65°C. If you wish, you can also extend the duration of frothing and thus increase the temperature. We will explain how this works in the section “Settings”.

The consistency of the milk foam is first class. The foam is very fine-pored and adheres well to the spoon. Here, the EQ.300 is definitely far ahead. Coarser bubbles can only be found at the “immersion point” of the milk nozzle, so there are a few deductions.

The taste of the cappuccino is also convincing with its creaminess. But here, too, we notice: the espresso could be stronger, because it goes down a bit in terms of taste.

Latte Macchiato

For our latte macchiato, we take a large 350 ml glass and measure out 150 ml of milk (154.5 g). Keep in mind that the volume of the milk doubles when frothing. With the espresso (40 ml), we therefore already end up with 340 ml. Accordingly, the glass should be well full.

Now we put the glass under the spout. This time we push the milk nozzle all the way down without adjusting the coffee spout. As a result, the milk nozzle is located rather centrally in the glass. In this way, we ensure that the milk circulates well and heats evenly.

As coffee strength we select again “strong”, but that is of course a matter of taste. You can experiment, of course. Then we press the latte macchiato button and off we go. The device needs a good 2 minutes for the latte macchiato. We measure a temperature of 59 °C. This is lukewarm. Perfect are between 60 – 65 °C. Those who like it hotter can also extend the duration of frothing here.

The individual layers of the latte macchiato settle nicely. The foam is again very fine-pored and sticks to the spoon. This is what perfect milk foam looks like. The creaminess of the latte macchiato convinced our testers.

Hot milk (for cocoa)

With the Siemens EQ.300, you can also prepare hot milk at the touch of a button. With other devices, this is often not possible at all or only in a roundabout way.

To do this, simply put 100 ml in a jar and place it under the spout. Press the milk nozzle down until it is 1 cm above the bottom of the cup. Now select the “Milk” button. The machine now starts frothing. You can cancel the process at any time by pressing “Milk” again”. Again, you can extend the duration of froth if you want to heat more than 100 ml of milk.

Adjust beverage quantity

As already mentioned, you cannot set different quantities in the beverage selection. Other vending machines offer at least 3 levels for small, medium and large cups here. This option is not available in the Siemens EQ.300. However, you can reprogram the amount for each drink. Then the device always outputs exactly this amount as soon as you select the respective beverage again. We will show you how this works with an espresso.

Espresso

To do this, we press and hold the Espresso button for 3 seconds until it starts flashing. Now we are in the programming mode. Immediately, the vending machine begins to prepare. You can program the espresso between 25 – 60 ml. Unfortunately, we can not accurately set the milliliters.

It is only possible to cancel the preparation by pressing the Espresso button again. Otherwise, the machine will dispense a maximum of 60 ml of espresso. So here you have to rely on your sense of proportion. You can observe the progress in the display. For our test, we place the espresso on a scale during preparation. We try to obtain exactly 50 ml (or g). We finally obtain 54 g. As you can see, it is not that easy to achieve a precision landing. The machine saves exactly these settings and dispenses the same amount as soon as we prepare another espresso.

Caffe Crema

Now we want to reprogram the machine so that our Caffe Crema cupis completely full. To do this, we select “very strong” as the coffee strength and pressand hold the Coffee Crema button for 3 secondsuntil the lamp flashes. The bean to cup coffee machine starts grinding immediately. We choose a very strong coffee strength so that the machine uses more coffee powder. Otherwise, the same amount of coffee would be used on more water. This is because the device does not perform a second grinding process here. In our tests, the coffee then became too thin.

Once we are satisfied with the amount, we tap the Coffee Crema button again and the brewing process stops. You can set the coffee crema between 80 – 200 ml. The vending machine stores again exactly this beverage quantity and saves it for the next coffee Crema.

Adjust temperature

In our test, the Caffe Crema is very hot at 83°C. Unfortunately, the temperature cannot be changed. This is only possible with higher models from Siemens. For drinks with milk foam, you can adjust the temperature indirectly by changing the duration of froth.

To do this, we press and hold the Cappuccino (or Latte Macchiato) button for 3 seconds. The milk is now heated until we press the Cappuccino button again. Then the device immediately interrupts the process. As you can see, the principle is the same as for setting the amount of beverages for espresso or coffee crema.

We press the Cappuccino button as soon as our thermometer indicates 60 °C. Nevertheless, the temperature still jumps up to 66°C – that was close. Then the machine dispenses the espresso – done. Our finished beverage measures 68°C.

For long-lasting aromatic beverages and a fine milk foam, regular cleaning is crucial. The milk frothing nozzle, the brewing unit and the drip trays should be cleaned particularly thoroughly. Overall, cleaning the Siemens EQ.300 is very easy compared to other bean to cup coffee machines. You can allow about 15-20 minutes per week if you want to prepare 20 drinks.

Furthermore, you should descale the Siemens EQ.300 every 1-3 months. How often you need to descale depends on the water hardness and the use of a water filter. With this model the
program for descaling is
is combined with cleaning of the brewing unit and is called “calc’nClean”. It takes about 40 minutes and the effective effort for you is 10 minutes.

By the way, we have you each the
original care products
and a cheaper alternative.

Milk frothing nozzle

The design of the milk system is really simple. It consists of only two parts – the actual milk frothing nozzle and a steel cover. The nozzle can be easily tilted forward and removed by simply pulling it. You can clean them under running water or in the dishwasher.

Simple assembly from only 2 parts

You should always clean the milk frothing nozzle thoroughly after each froth. Of course, if you prepare several drinks with milk, it is enough to clean them at the end.

According to the instructions, proceed as follows: Immerse the milk nozzle in a cup of clean water and press the button for milk (“Milk”). Now the nozzle foams up the water, so to speak. In the process, the smaller openings on the nozzle are cleaned with hot steam. Then let cool briefly, then rinse and dry – done.

you can rinse the milk nozzle with hot water

There is no cleaning reminder or automatic program for the milk nozzle.

In total, you will need just under 10 minutes per week for cleaning if you want to prepare a drink with milk foam every day. Compared with a simple milk frothing nozzle, such as on the
DeLonghi Magnifica S
cleaning is a bit more complex here.

Coffee grounds tray & drip tray

If one of the two trays is full, you will see a message on the display. The coffee grounds tray displays the message “Empty trays” and a red symbol. When the drip tray is full, a small blue float peeks up through the cup grate.

Empty coffee grounds tray & drip tray at this indication

To remove the two containers, you have to open the service hatch via the small handle on the right side. After that you can pull out the shells to the front. It is best to always empty both trays at the same time, because when you remove them, the counter for the coffee pucks is reset. You should empty the containers every 2-3 days and rinse them thoroughly once a week.

Coffee pucks in coffee grounds tray – a little damp

The drip tray is easy to dump and wipe out because it has hardly any corners. We have seen much worse designs. The container for the coffee pucks is also easy to rinse out. Alternatively, you can put the coffee grounds tray together with the cup grid and grille in the dishwasher. According to the instructions, the drip tray must not be placed in the dishwasher. However, on the tray is a dishwasher symbol with “max. 60°C”.

Coffee grounds tray, cup grid and drip tray can be cleaned by hand or in the dishwasher

Overall, the bins are really easy to clean and you’ll need no more than 3 minutes a week to do it.

Clean brewing unit

If you want good coffee for a long time, you need to clean the brewing unit regularly. You can remove them in just a few steps. To do this, you should first switch off the bean to cup coffee machine and then open the service door. Then you can press a small red lever and pull them straight out.

The instructions do not specify an exact time for cleaning. We recommend that you rinse the brewing unit 1x per week. This is because a few coffee residues settle there with every draw, which can impair the taste in the long run.

Rinse them thoroughly with warm water or submerge them completely, for example, in a pot. After that, you should let them air dry. Please do not use dishwashing detergent under any circumstances and do not put them in the dishwasher. Because on the brewing unit is a little silicone grease applied so that everything runs like lubricated.

The brewing unit is quite heavy and bulky. Also, it has some corners and hidden places. We only found a few coffee powder residues, but the brewing unit is not quite as easy to clean as, for example, with
DeLonghi bean to cup coffee machine
. For this purpose, there is an automatic program for degreasing the brewing chamber with
special cleaning tablets
. In the Siemens EQ.300, the program is combined with descaling.

The brewing unit should be rinsed with clean water once a week.

According to the instructions, the brewing unit does not need to be greased. We also do not believe that the machine will have any problems within the first two years. However, if it gets louder or squeaks over time, some silicone grease may well help. It makes sense around the punch and on moving hinges. But please follow the motto “less is more”.

In total, you can allow about 5 minutes per week for cleaning the brewing unit.

Siemens EQ.300 descale

Descaling and degreasing the brewing chamber are done together on the EQ.300. There is an approx. 40-minute cleaning program for this purpose. But when exactly do you need to descale? It depends on the lime content of your tap water. In case of hard water (in cities) you need to descale 1x per month. With soft water, you only need to descale every 2-3 months.

If you also use a water filter, you will need to descale 2-3 months later. We have brought you the
original descaler and water filter
as well as a cheaper alternative in each case.

We will now briefly describe to you the process of the cleaning program – it is really easy.

1. Start the cleaning process – Press the Calc’n Clean key for 5 seconds.
2. Rinsing out the collection trays and brewing unit
3. Place cleaning tablet in the brewing chamber and reinsert everything
4. Remove the water filter and add the descaling tablet to the tank with 500 ml of water.
5. Insert water tank and fill vessel with min. Assume 1 liter volume
6. Start per Calc’n Clean key – wait 20 minutes
7. Empty and reinsert the vessel and collection trays
8. Rinse out the water tank, insert the filter (if present) and fill to the top.
9. Press the Calc’n Clean key and wait
10. Empty collection trays and vessel, done.
11. Tip: Do not drink the first drink.

The program takes about 40 minutes in total, while the effective effort for you is about 10 minutes.

According to Siemens, only the original cleaning and descaling tablets should be used. During the warranty period, we would also adhere to it. You can of course use alternative products, but make sure that they are suitable for Siemens. Please do not use any descaling agents based on vinegar or citric acid. This is clearly not recommended in the instructions.

You still have a question yourself or tips for other users about this device? Then feel free to leave us a comment.