Is Haier’s multi-beverage machine as multi-talented as it seems?

Michelle Brändle

26.11.2024

Translation: Katherine Martin

So long, coffee machine! Cheerio, kettle! Sayonara, milk frother! For the last two weeks, I’ve been making hot drinks with the Haier multi-beverage maker. But it’s not a worthy replacement for all of my kitchen gadgets.

The multi-beverage maker looks like a kettle and works in a similar way. Only, instead of just bringing water to the boil, it makes a variety of drinks. It also froths milk at the touch of a button.

To get milk froth, I follow the instructions and tap on the relevant button. At first glance, it all looks straightforward and clearly laid out, and I’m keen to taste my way through the drink selection.

Ready to use in a flash

The multi-beverage’s design and accessories are simple and practical. There’s a black jug with a non-stick coating and a removable wheel that stirs or froths the liquid inside. The jug slots into a little unit with touch buttons for each drink.

There’s also a delicate metal strainer, which, thanks to its conical shape, you can either pop into the jug or a cup. Last but not least, you get a measuring spoon and a cleaning brush. Both tools have a built-in magnet so you can stick them to the side of your multi-beverage maker.

Overall, the device measures just 25 × 15 × 20 centimetres (H×W×D). In other words, it’s roughly the same size as a standard kettle. Fitting easily into my small kitchen, it’ll replace my tea maker, teapot and coffee machine (with built-in milk frother) for the next couple of weeks.

Right from the get-go, there’s a fly in the ointment. Namely, that the multi-beverage only has space for one drink. A 350-millilitre one, to be precise. This is displayed as a line inside the jug. As a result, the device is only suited to one-person households or small kitchens. The thing is, it’s also too small for me. In winter, I like making myself a whole pot of tea. With the multi-beverage, however, this is firmly off the table.

Tea and hot chocolate taste good

When it comes to tea, the multi-beverage maker works similarly to a kettle. You fill the jug with water and a portion of loose tea, then tap the tea button. The machine beeps and starts to stir. During this 90-second procedure, the water is heated to 85 degrees Celsius. Once the tea’s ready, you’ll hear two beeps. After leaving the drink to brew for another two minutes (longer depending on what you’re making), you pour it into a cup using the metal sieve included with the machine. Job done. You can also boil water without loose tea, then simply pour it over a tea bag.

You follow the same principle for hot chocolate: pour milk and cocoa powder into the jug, press the relevant button, wait just under two minutes and your cocoa’s ready to pour. When I tried it, however, the cocoa powder settled at the bottom of the jug and burned. Fortunately, I managed to easily clean it off with the included brush – and my cocoa didn’t taste burnt. Even so, I’d recommend stirring your cocoa-milk mixture in advance with the brush or a wooden spoon to prevent this from happening.

Next level: coffee and milk froth

Making coffee is an art in itself. When it comes to a cup of joe, everybody has their own unique preferences. With the multi-beverage, you’ve got two options. The first is to use instant coffee powder, which you can add to water and bring to the boil. Alternatively, you can fill the jug with ground coffee and water.

So, how does the multi-beverage’s coffee taste compared to coffee prepared in other ways? To conduct my taste test, I prepare the same type of coffee in four different ways: in my Delonghi Dedica portafilter machine , in an original Bialetti, as filter coffee by using a metal sieve and, of course, in the Haier machine.

As far as taste is concerned, the portafilter and Bialetti are clearly ahead of the Haier multi-beverage. Their flavour is more intense, but not bitter. The coffee produced by Haier’s machine is too watery. However, if I try making it with more powder, it’s bitter.

Wondering if a bit of milk will help matters, I turn my coffee into a cappuccino by adding foam made by the machine. Unfortunately, since the foam is too dense, I can’t use my previously acquired, barista-level milk-frothing skills. The cappuccino’s flavour isn’t intense enough for my taste, but it’s drinkable.

Easy cleaning

Since the jug has an electrical connector for the machine built into its base, it’s neither water-resistant nor dishwasher-safe. However, it’s very easy to rinse and wipe out with a sponge after you’ve finished preparing your drinks. Tea or coffee residue does build up on the little wheel, but you can easily get rid of it with the cleaning brush supplied with the machine.

Thanks to the no-fuss clean-up, you can prepare different drinks quickly and easily without much effort.

In a nutshell

Get a kettle instead

The multi-beverage maker could replace a tea machine and a milk frother. Since it allows you to prepare all your drinks right there in the jug at the touch of a button, it keeps your drink-making efforts to a minimum and makes cleaning up quick and easy. You also get all the tools you need with the machine, including a sieve, a measuring spoon and a cleaning brush. All these components look well made.

However, no matter how many new preparation methods I experiment with, the coffee is always either too bitter or too watery for me. Plus, you can only ever make one drink at a time, so the device isn’t suitable for home get-togethers or families.

I’d only recommend the multi-beverage maker if you like your kitchen to be as simple as possible or if you have limited space. Mind you, if that were the case, I’d make filter coffee instead of pouring the powder into the jug.

For just under 100 francs or euros, you could go for a combination of a Bialetti and a kettle. Yes, they take up slightly more space and don’t make milk froth. But the coffee tastes much better – and you can make more than one drink at once.

Pro

• Compact
• Allows you to easily make a variety of drinks
• Inexpensive

Contra

• Coffee doesn’t taste particularly good
• Produces very dense milk froth
• Can only prepare one drink at a time

Milk frothers

CHF140.–

Haier Multibeverage Series 5

35 cl

5

Michelle Brändle

Editor

Michelle.Braendle@digitecgalaxus.ch

In my world, Super Mario chases Stormtroopers with a unicorn and Harley Quinn mixes cocktails for Eddie and Peter at the beach bar. Wherever I can live out my creativity, my fingers tingle. Or maybe it's because nothing flows through my veins but chocolate, glitter and coffee. more

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