Morphy Richards Zino review: fresh filter coffee without the fuss

You can't beat the taste of fresh, filter coffee. And filter coffee machines have been a mainstay of any discerning coffee-lover's kitchen for a long time.

Some of us are even becoming full-on baristas these days, learning about steam pressure, weighing out precise measurements, and investing in a knock box.

Thankfully, for every gadget that comes out to make the process of brewing a coffee more difficult, there's usually one waiting in the wings to simplify it again.

And that's where the Morphy Richards Zino comes in. It's a traditional filter coffee machine in that you pour in some water, press a few buttons, and gradually the carafe fills with coffee.

But there's another stage it takes on that turns this into a much more useful machine - it's got a grinder.

This new machine, which comes in two colours and costs £159.99, is a true bean-to-cup filter coffee machine. That matters because freshly ground coffee is always better, but now you don't have to have a grinder to hand - it's all done in one process. You might be able to catch one for £149.99 if you’re in time for this deal on Amazon.

Just pour some beans in the top, fill a chamber with water, press a few buttons, and minutes later you have up to 12 cups of delicious coffee.

What I liked about the Morphy Richards Zino

The most appealing thing about the Zino is that it makes sense for the way plenty of people actually drink coffee. If your morning involves a large mug rather than a tiny espresso, making a jug can be considerably more convenient than preparing individual drinks.

Of course, it's also ideal if you've got guests over. Making a large quantity will see off the first sips for a group of people, and it's a doddle to make another pot, too.

The bean-to-cup aspect of the Zino really is the headline here, though, and the grinder has options for fine and coarse grinding, and it's nice and quiet in operation. The hopper is a decent size, and it doesn't race through huge quantities of beans like some machines I've tested.

You can also use pre-ground coffee if you prefer, just in case you're wondering. But where's the fun in that?

There are other clever touches too. There are three water temperature settings for the terminally fussy, and the glass jug holds 1.5 litres. That's certainly not 12 cups in my house, but it's how it's described by Morphy Richards, and it's plenty for a busy morning.

There's a reusable, washable filter, it's all easy to clean, the touch-panel is bright and easy to use, and I even like the fact there are two colours to choose from. Grey isn't my cup of... er, tea. But the "olivine" is very attractive.

What I didn’t like about the Morphy Richards Zino

Overall, the Zino is very well designed. However, I'm not keen on the water tank filler being at the back, with quite a small lid. You end up having to contort your arm at a weird angle to get a jug to line up properly without spilling anything.

A spout on the side, or even a retractable tank would have made life easier.

It has a "keep warm" setting, which is a welcome thing to see, and it'll keep the jug warm for up to two hours, but you can't restart that two-hour timer.

In other Morphy Richards coffee machines I've used, you can keep the jug warm indefinitely, which is handy if only one person is working their way through the jug for a day. With the Zino, you'll need to microwave the cup if you fancied finishing the jug in the afternoon.

You also need to bear in mind that this is a simple, perhaps even old-fashioned coffee machine. We're now used to machines being able to froth milk for us, and prepare everything from a latte to a ristretto at the touch of a button. The Zino just makes a coffee. You can alter the strength, and the coarseness of the grind, but that's it.

Personally, I find that quite refreshing, but if you like a variety of different styles of coffee, this will only provide the foundation. Not the finesse.

Overall verdict - should you buy the Morphy Richards Zino?

The Morphy Richards Zino has an appealingly straightforward purpose: grind the beans and make a jug of coffee without requiring a collection of separate equipment.

I like the overwhelming simplicity of just having one machine doing everything that's required to make a jug of coffee with minimal human input.

There's absolutely still a place for a filter coffee machine like this, even if it does share counterspace in my kitchen with a digital machine that will make 26 types of coffee - at least 24 of which we almost never drink.

So its appeal depends heavily on your drinking habits. For a household that regularly gets through several mugs of filter coffee, the convenience makes sense, and adding a grinder to make it a true bean-to-cup machine makes this one of the best on the market.

If you're one of those people my wife refers to as a "coffee snob", and you care enough about your lungo to tell it apart from your doppio, it's probably not for you.

The Zino’s strongest argument is that good coffee needn’t become another hobby. Sometimes you just want enough of it to get through the morning.