- Programmable timer that allows you to wake up to a fresh coffee
Morphy Richards is a household name in the UK and has been a prominent brand for small domestic appliances for many decades having originally been founded in 1936 in Kent.
Sometimes it is good to be able to keep it British with a brand you can trust that has been around for a very long time.
You will already be familiar with and probably owned at some point one of their iron’s, kettles or toasters but what about their coffee makers?
They only do filter coffee machines and haven’t bothered with the more trendy pump espresso machines or bean to cup coffee machines so how does the Morphy Richards Accents filter coffee machine compare to the best filter machines on the market?
Let’s take a closer look
Overall Score 9.5/10
Design 8/10
This looks very different to most of the other filter coffee makers in that it’s a box design with everything neatly packed away in an oblong-shaped enclosure.
The jug sits inside an opening in the housing that is finished in a matt black all over although it is also available with either red or silver sides if you fancy something with a bit more pizazz.
The blue LCD display is large and visible on the front of the machines and the silver buttons tastefully match the silver handle on the jug to create an overall design that may actually be a bit like Marmite – you either love it or hate it.
It certainly in our opinion leans more towards a modern classic to traditional look and is a refreshing change if you are looking to get away from the modern look employed by most manufacturers today.
It measures in at 23cm x 18.8cm x 33.5cm and should be no trouble at all in any sized kitchen.
Functionality 10/10
This costs about twice as much as the cheapest filter coffee machines on the market so it needs to provide something a bit different that makes a difference to the overall coffee flavour to justify the cost and in our opinion, there are a few things that do exactly that.
First of all the shape of the filter has been designed so that it is wider at the top and narrows as it moves towards the bottom but not into a very narrow cone shape. This is more conducive to the water flowing throughout all of the coffee grounds for a more even coffee extraction.
With cone-shaped filters, the water has to pass through a very narrow area at the end and can cause the coffee to become bitter.
Cheaper machines pour the hot water straight onto the coffee grounds as soon as it’s hot enough but this Morphy Richards machine does two things to enhance the overall flavour when compared to the entry-level filter coffee machines.
Baristas call the first stage of coffee brewing “pre infusion” which means you should soak the coffee first before saturating it with water to allow the release of flavour.
This machine does exactly that. When the water reaches the correct heat it will add a small amount of water to the coffee and then pause before continuing with the water delivery – just long enough to extract the coffee flavour from the ground beans.
Secondly and brilliantly for a coffee machine at this price, there are six holes in the water delivery unit that sprays the water onto the coffee like a showerhead so that it covers all of the coffee and not just some of it like other cheaper machines.
When you combine the pre-infusion process and the showerhead water delivery you are definitely going to get a better-tasting cup of coffee compared to a cheaper budget machine.
The filter is permanent so no extra costs involved with paper filters.
A tip with all filter machines regardless of which one is to always ignore the indicator that shows how many cups or mugs of coffee it will make – it’s always wrong because everyone has different sized cups.
The best thing to do is to fill up the water container with however many cups or mugs you want straight from the cups you will be using and then add approximately 1 tablespoon of coffee for every cup – simple.
Another good feature for this price range is the coffee strength indicator that allows you to choose how strong or weak the coffee will be by changing the speed at which the water is delivered through the coffee.
It has a good sized 1.8 litre water tank that will give you around 10 cups in one brewing cycle if you want to be on a caffeine high all day!
Programming is dead simple so you can set the timer to give you a fresh pot of coffee as soon as you walk into the kitchen in the morning.
Some people may have a gripe over the hotplate that only stays on for 30 minutes before automatically switching on but we actually like this because the coffee will quickly lose its flavour after about 40 minutes so never brew more than will be drunk in that timeframe.
If you do want to keep it warmer for longer then just turn it back on and it will heat the coffee for another 30 minutes.
It also has an anti-drip function so that you can remove the jug and enjoy your first cup without coffee dripping onto the hotplate and without waiting for the whole jug to fill up.
Ease of use 10/10
Once the water and coffee are in simply turn it on and the brewing process will begin. In about 5 minutes you will have a lovely fresh pot of coffee.
Quality of coffee 10/10
The features on this machine will allow you to get the best flavour possible from the ground coffee that you add but you have to add good coffee in the first place.
Try to avoid the cheap supermarket stuff if you can as coffee is one of the commodities that you definitely get what you pay for. Pay a few pounds more and the difference in taste will certainly come through.
Value For Money 10/10
There are some really good features on this coffee maker that you will definitely not get on the budget machines (pre-infusion, shower head water delivery and coffee strength selector) and will be hard-pressed to find on more expensive machines.
If you like the design of this appliance then it’s feature-packed at a very good price making it excellent value for money.
- Programmable timer that allows you to wake up to a fresh coffee
Last update on 2024-11-21 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
