Bean to cup coffee machines are a relatively recent addition to the coffee machines market. The principle is to more or less emulate the quality drinks of traditional espresso machines at the touch of a button. A bean to cup machine grinds the coffee beans to make espresso coffee on demand. These systems also have built in automatic milk foamers that are able to produce steam and foamed milk for producing lattes, cappuccinos and other milk based drinks simultaneously. The process of producing coffee from a bean to cup machine differs from a traditional espresso machine. The brewer in a bean to cup coffee machine works similarly to a cafétiere. The coffee is pre ground into a brewing chamber and then a ram forces the hot water through the coffee extracting the espresso coffee. A traditional espresso machine forces water through pressure through a group head to produce the espresso coffee.

The software in a bean to cup machine allows for various types of drinks to be produced. These vary depending on the type of machine chosen. Basic bean to cup machines have a separate steam arm which means that the milk for cappuccinos and lattes has to foamed separately. Some basic systems have integral milk foamers that only produce foamed milk not steamed and foamed milk. These machines are ideal for domestic use or small offices were less than twenty drinks are required in any one day. Some of the better known small bean to cup coffee machines includes Jura coffee machines manufactured in Switzerland. This range of bean to cup machines is ideal for the small to medium drink requirement. Other manufacturers includes have introduced small to medium use bean to cup machines including WMF who are world renowned for the commercial bean top cup systems. Gaggia coffee machines have their own range of bean to cup machines solely produced for the domestic market.

Commercial bean to cup machines are becoming more and more popular. Most machines have two separate boilers one for producing steam and the other for hot water. Most of these systems can produce two milk drinks at time and are capable of providing up to 360 cups of coffee per hour. Recent additions to this market sector include the new WMF presto coffee machines. This bean to cup machine has many new features including the unique barista button allows each drink strength to be stronger or weaker. Other features include a pre heater function which allows the brewer to be heated even if the machine has been ideal for a period of time. Whilst being in the commercial sector this bean to cup machine has a small foot print ideal for where space is of a premium. High volume systems include the WMF bistro bean to cup machine. This automatic coffee machine can produce a drink range including espresso, cappuccino, café crème, white coffee and latte macchiato and has an hourly output of around 140 cups per hour. The Etna Santos bean to cup machine can produce up to twelve different coffee specialties in a variety of sizes and strengths. It has a decaffeinated coffee chute and hot water function. This high volume bean to cup machine can produce up to 200 hundred cups per hour. Higher volume machines include the Macco mega and Macco Micra bean to cup machines which have five single drink options and five double drink options with a drink production capability of over 400 cups per hour.