We’re super excited to re-introduce one of our favorite superautos from recent years: the Miele CM 5500! Let’s take a refreshed look at this sweet superautomatic espresso machine.
The Outside
The CM5500 is a really great looking machine with the Bronze Pearl finish. This color matches well with a lot of aesthetics and gives it a refined, luxury look. With a slightly different case design than the higher dollar Mieles, the CM5500 is a pretty compact machine. We’d be surprised to see a kitchen it couldn’t fit in without a little finagling. The top of the unit features a passive cup warmer, which isn’t as strong as the CM 6000 series’ active warmer, but it does help bring those cups up above room temperature. The water reservoir and bean hopper are a little on the small side, coming in at 1.3 liters and 7 ounces respectively, but this does accommodate that compact footprint. We also find that a smaller bean hopper gives you lots of room for trying different beans! Paired with some good coffee storage you can keep your extra roasts free for plenty of time.The spout is adjustable and the drip tray/waste bin are easy to remove and clean. We also like the design of the interface, which combines simple touchable buttons with a screen that gives you feedback to help you walk through the brewing process and your maintenance. But what kind of drink options and features does this machine come with?
Features
As you’d expect, this machine brews some pretty good espresso. We’ve always been big fans of what Miele machines can do in this most basic, but most important, capacity, and the CM 5500 excels here like its siblings. The machine also offers solid milk frothing for cappuccinos and lattes, which we really enjoy. The siphon system is easy to use, and as long as you clean it diligently it’s reliable and simple to maintain. One bonus is that you can disconnect the milk siphon when not in use to avoid having it stick out as well! The sneaky feature that really makes the 5500 stick out is the center mounted hot water spout. Many superautos lack this feature or it’s integrated with the milk steaming wand, making it less convenient to use. The 5500 offers this spout in the same area as the coffee dispenser, giving you nice and easy Americanos. The programming here is solid as well, offering one-touch espressos, long shots (similar to a drip coffee), lattes, and cappuccinos. A dip into the menu provides options for coffee pot brewing if you want a larger volume, drink customization, and the aforementioned Americanos. All of this can be saved across different profiles as well, so everyone can recall their favorite drink quickly and easily.Finally, there’s maintenance to consider. Thanks to the Miele’s screen, you don’t have to do any guesswork with lights or icons. Instead, the machine clearly warns you in advance of cleaning cycles and walks you through descaling and cleaning processes. With Miele branded cleaning products it makes the whole process of maintaining the CM5500 really simple and convenient.Ultimately, the CM5500 is hard to argue with. This is a great machine that offers a wide range of high quality drink options, and it fits easily on any countertop. You’d be hard pressed to find a better option in this superautomatic espresso machine’s price range. Check out the Miele CM5500 in Bronze Pearl here!
