Subscription coffee machines- worth it?

For most of last year, Matt & I were eyeing up coffee machines. Drooling over the brewing gadgets that were way out of our price range. In the end we were gifted a wonderful M&S percolator that ground from the bean, could be set by alarm and kept it hot for hours. A lovely, well thought out gift for two coffee lovers, but Matt still pines for an espresso every once in a while and I’d love to make a latte at home.

The outlay for a decent coffee machine is pretty huge, we couldn’t justify it coming out of one months wage. This is where a company called Hope & Glory stepped in and offered us a trial of their subscription service ‘Coffee Club‘.

For £45 a month you get the use of coffee machine worth £349 in your choice of colour, a milk jug and thermometer and coffee supplies (detailed below). I played it safe and went for a silver machine but the bright yellow, blue and red are real head turners.

The coffee machine tempers the espresso from a pod rather than loose grounds, a feature I particularly like. It means there are no sneaky coffee grinds to clean out of every nook and cranny – it’s simple.

The water tank is surprisingly generous for a home use machine (2 litres) – it wouldn’t be out of its depth in an office and the steam nozzle ensures that it caters for most coffee styles. So far I’ve tried a cappuccino, latte, espresso,  flat white and an americano.

There are 8 different ESE pods available from Hope & Glory, each suited to particular drinks and these are included in the subscription. You can choose 8 packs (25 pods in each) every 2 months. Doing the maths, that’s 100 cups of coffee a month at 45p a cup (inc machine).

For £45 a month this could be a bargain to the right person. What do I mean by “the right person”? Well if you’re happy with a cup of instant coffee, this machine probably isn’t for you. You really have to appreciate Barista coffee to get the most out of this machine and if that’s you, it might be perfect. Let’s say you pick up a Medium Latte at Starbucks on the way to work every morning, you’re paying £2.50 a cup rather than 45p a cup with the Hope & Glory – you’d make pretty significant savings by making the switch.

If your Dad sounds like that kind of man, this could make a pretty awesome Fathers day gift ( Sunday 16th June UK ) for those with a little extra cash or those that can club together. It’s one of those presents that everyone in the house would enjoy – the best kind right?

I’ve really enjoyed testing out this machine so as you can imagine, going back to a french press will be less than thrilling. Would you ever subscribe to a service like this? If you’d like to know more, there’s lots of information and coffee making guides on the Hope & Glory website. They’re a relatively new company but their colourful coffee machines are really taking off.

P.S – There’s more coffee related excitement to come in the next few weeks but that’s top-secret for now. Keep an eye out, I’ll be revealing all soon! Oh, and I’ve finally joined Instagram if you want to join me over there too.