When WMF launched into fully-automatic machines, the German manufacturer (now owned by the SEB group) had only positioned itself in the high-end segment, notably with its Perfection 890L. Today, WMF is building its catalog by offering the mid-range Perfection 660 model, which it still markets at €1,299.
The unconditionally elitist positioning of the manufacturer offers this Perfection 660 a technical sheet worthy of high-end espresso grinders. To begin with, WMF adopts the same philosophy as all the brands of the SEB group, since it manufactures its machine in the group’s Mayenne factories. Furthermore, the manufacturer ensures that spare parts will be available for 15 years to ensure optimal repairability during this period.
A riot of means
On the design side, WMF maintains its premium positioning by taking care of the visual appearance of the product with noble materials such as stainless steel. In the middle of this machine, we still find this large touch screen which provides access to 19 coffee and milk drink recipes. This is one more than on the more high-end model, the 890L. You can enjoy classic recipes (stretto, espresso, lungo, café, americano) and other more original ones (filter coffee, café crème, latte macchiato, caffelatte, flat white, espresso macchiato, etc.).
To do this, it comes with a glass milk carafe which is connected to the dispensing nozzles using a transparent pipe. Obviously, all these drinks will be configurable down to the smallest details (intensity, quantity, foam volume, etc.) and six profiles (versus 16 for the high-end model) are designed to store the settings of eight recipes each.
Even more generous than that fitted to the Perfection 890L, the water tank of the Perfection 660 has a capacity of 3 l, which will not force the user to refill it too regularly. The capacity of the bean container remains at 250 g. The coffee is ground by a steel grinder whose grinding fineness can be adjusted to five levels. Unlike the very high-end WMF machine, this Perfection 660 is not able to adapt the fineness of the grind itself according to the chosen drink.
Maintenance and connectivity
Faithful to its principles, WMF wants to completely free the user from the painful maintenance operations of their machine. Descaling is therefore automated, as is cleaning of the various dispensing nozzles (coffee and milk). Despite this, the manufacturer does not provide access to the extraction group, a bias also taken by Krups and Jura. Note that this machine is connected, allowing the user to personalize their recipes from the application or to obtain information or advice related to use and maintenance.
The WMF Precision 660 is available at €1,299, significantly cheaper than the manufacturer’s high-end models (sold for €500 more), without really having anything to envy them.