Pot function

The thermal carafe helps keep coffee at serving temperature without relying on a hot plate, and the machine also offers a keep warm timer around an hour, though some wish the warming window lasted longer.

The independent hotplate automatically adjusts its holding temperature based on the amount brewed, offers high and low settings, and shuts off after about 100 minutes, and owners say it keeps coffee very hot for the full hold time and still pleasantly warm for some time afterwards without excessively stewing the flavor.

Owners like having a bulk brewing or pot function for times when company is over and they need to prepare more than a single espresso shot at once, and appreciate that it can brew into either Miele’s optional insulated pot or a compatible carafe they already own, though the matching insulated pot is pricey so this mode feels more like a nice to have than an essential feature.

The warming plate is programmable and precise, with keep-warm duration adjustable up to four hours; daily use is straightforward, with a reminder to let the plate cool before cleaning around it.

The pot function is treated as a nice-to-have rather than a highlight in this review: it appears in the drink menu and can be used with an optional purchased pot, but availability varies by region and the reviewer does not position it as a core reason to buy the machine.

The programmable timer reliably has a pot ready when you wake up and the warming plate keeps coffee warm for roughly 40 minutes, which some see as an acceptable compromise for drip coffee, but many users still find the pot only moderately hot after a short time, note that the keep warm function does not run when you brew less than a full or 4 cup carafe, and often decant into another vessel or reheat in the microwave while wishing Smeg offered a true thermal carafe.

As an espresso based machine the Barista Touch does not offer a traditional pot or carafe mode, so users who need multiple coffees must repeat the single serve brew cycle when preparing drinks for several people.

The warming plate keeps the pot hot for a fixed two hours, which many find adequate but some wish were more adjustable like on competing brewers.

Pot mode can brew multiple cups, but it tends to taste weak and watery due to a high water-to-coffee ratio, making it a poor substitute for drip coffee.