Say hello to the Miele CM 6310. Miele’s new to our product line up and we’re impressed with it's convenient and customizable features for a superautomatic machine. Compared to some long-time favorites, like the Saeco Gran Baristo, the Miele CM 6310 will give superautomatics a run for their money. The Miele CM6310 retails under competitors like the Gran Baristo without sacrificing a lot of those features necessary for early morning risers. The Miele offers four user profiles with the ability to customize every drink under that profile. The Gran Baristo offers six profiles and customization. The other noticeable difference is the Miele’s detached carafe. While not the most elegant integration, you can store the carafe in the fridge or the Miele has a second milk hose to insert into your own container. If you’re not itching for more profiles and are looking at a smaller price tag, the Miele will fit the bill.
[caption id="attachment_12937" align="alignnone" width="474"] The Miele CM 6310's streamlined design complements modern kitchens.[/caption]
Shot
The Miele CM 6310’s one-touch intuitive interface makes grabbing a quick cup of coffee or latte a snap. At first, you might be turned away from the unlabeled icons, but quickly consult the manual and it’s easy to see the function of these intuitive symbols. For instance, the “My Profile” icon is a person. Press the icon and the LCD screen displays up to four profiles and options to customize drinks. Customize the pre-infusion time, temperature or volume for each one of your favorite drinks and save it for next time under your profile. Adjust the strength of your coffee using the coffee strength icon (a bean symbol that we see used in other superautomatics) and grind setting. The grind setting is located inside the machine, so you’ll need to keep the right side clear to access. But once you’ve dialed in your grind, just simply enter your profile, choose your favorite drink and watch the Miele pour you a tall glass of goodness. Hello, convenience in a cup.
[caption id="attachment_12941" align="alignnone" width="474"] The Miele CM 6310 offers a double portion button to make two drink in one go.[/caption]
The convenience of the interface doesn’t outshine the coffee either. With all the available customization, it’s easy to perfect your cup to your taste. We left the factory settings alone and were more than impressed with our first cup. Our first espresso shot was hot, smooth and full of flavor. And when we wanted a latte, we got a latte. The carafe system directly siphons milk into the brew head where it’s frothed. Like with most superautomatics, it brews and steams one at a time and our freshly steamed milk didn’t lose temperature before our espresso made it in the cup—color us impressed.
[caption id="attachment_12938" align="alignnone" width="474"] Don't be fooled by how shallow the bean hopper appears, it holds up to a pound of beans.[/caption]
The Miele features a double portion button that brews two drinks at once. Press the double portions button and then pick your favorite drink and watch it whip up one for you…and one for you later. Unlike other superautomatics, the milk is siphoned through the brew head where it’s dispensed through the same two spouts as the espresso, which creates the two portions. Along with your lattes and cappuccinos, the Miele has a dedicated hot water spout and menu options such as hot water or hot milk. Grab a hot chocolate for the kids or make yourself a cup of tea, the Miele’s got plenty of options for the whole crew.
Steam
The Miele CM 6310’s milk frothing system won’t disappoint latte and cappuccino lovers. The stainless steel thermal carafe keeps milk cool for a long time and easily stores in the fridge when you’re finished. It attaches to a hose system that draws cool milk up to the brew head where it’s then steamed. With all superautomatics, the texture and froth are hard to come by, and we found the Miele’s performance to be right there with some of the best superautomatics. The first sip of our latte, even after waiting for the espresso, was still hot, but not hot enough to burn your tongue. Of course, with all the customization, you can adjust the milk temperature for piping hot milk. At the factory setting, we were impressed by the temperature of our latte.
Pro Tip: The Miele CM 6310 features an active cup warmer that can be turned on under the settings. Preheat your cups before brewing to maintain the best temperature from your milk and espresso.
[caption id="attachment_12943" align="alignnone" width="474"] The active cup warmer preheats cups, so your espresso doesn't lose temperature.[/caption]
One of the things we disliked about the Miele is the aesthetics of the carafe off to the side. We’ve seen this design with Jura’s superautomatics and this style has its pros and cons. Along with the carafe, the Miele includes a second hose to insert directly into containers like a milk carton. All those hoses hanging off are unsightly and if you’ve ever cleaned a straw, cleaning a rubber hose is just as difficult. Luckily, Miele has created a solution to that dilemma with the “rinse milk pipework” feature and a steel rod that’s inserted into the hoses. To clean the carafe, remove the nozzle from the carafe and insert it into the drip tray—a handy feature we definitely appreciated after steaming multiple lattes.
[caption id="attachment_12942" align="alignnone" width="474"] The stainless steel milk carafe attaches with a hose on the side of the Miele's brew head.[/caption]
Style
The Miele CM 6310’s sleek design features an intuitive LCD display that shows off its modern style. The Miele features an automatic timer that you can program to turn on in the morning and turn off when you’re headed out the door. It also includes an Eco Mode to reserve energy while it’s in use, although this does turn off some features like the cup warmer. The black and silver body, while plastic, has a beautiful sheen that’s clean and complements the streamlined, square structure. The adjustable brew head easily moves up or down for better cup clearance and the stainless steel drip tray created a sturdy platform for cups that sparkled under the built-in lights.
[caption id="attachment_12940" align="alignnone" width="474"] The Miele CM 6310 features lights underneath the brew head to make getting a morning cup easy on the eyes.[/caption]
Bonus: The brew head comes apart easily to access the spouts so you can clean them of coffee oils or milk when you need too. Of course, the cleaning system on the Miele is so thorough, that we barely need to give cleaning a second thought. Before and after brewing the Miele automatically performs a rinse in the spouts. Also, after frothing, it prompts the “rinse milk pipework” cycle. The descriptive instructions make it easy to maintain this machine, so if you’re prone to forget to clean your machine, the Miele’s got you covered.
[caption id="attachment_12939" align="alignnone" width="474"] The Miele's right side door opens up to access the second milk hose, brew group and grind setting.[/caption]
Measuring at 10 inches wide by 16.75 inches deep and 14.12 inches tall, the Miele CM 6310 large footprint makes it challenging to fit on a small countertop. We took it home and cleared the bottom of the cabinet with ease. If you want to access the grind settings, though, you’ll need to keep the right side door clear or be willing to muscle it out from the counter—the door is nearly as deep as the machine. Depending on the number of appliances on your counter, we had no problem keeping it clear in case we needed to open it up. The water tank is removed from the top of the machine, but fortunately, you need only a couple inches of clearance to remove the tank from the rails that guide it into place. We recommend measuring your cabinet clearance when you’re finding the Miele a home on your counter and if you have space, the Miele’s a perfect companion for coffee lovers.
Conclusion
With up to four profiles that can save individual’s drink preferences, the Miele CM 6310 is the perfect machine for the family or small office. It’s packed with tons of convenient features such as the double brew option that will make two portions at the touch of a button. This one-touch superautomatic does all the heavy lifting and doesn’t disappoint our taste buds. We made a handful of lattes and cappuccinos and were impressed with how hot our drinks were between brewing. Even using the double portion option, we noticed the drinks didn’t cool too much. While the Miele is loaded with tons of features, the large footprint could make it a difficult espresso machine to fit onto a counter. But if you have the counter space, the Miele CM6310’s one-touch technology and customizable features will have you enjoying lattes in no time.
