PHILIPS3200 Series Fully Automatic Espresso Machine, LatteGo Milk Frother, 5 Coffee Varieties, Intuitive Touch Display, 100% Ceramic Grinder, AquaClean Filter, My Coffee Choice, Black (EP3241/54)

My wife and I bought this machine about 2 years ago, and it has held up nicely over time. It’s proven to be a simple, reliable alternative to going out to buy coffees and lattes from coffee shops, which is perfect since we work from home pretty much all the time. We’ve got 3 adults in our house and on average drink 5-6 total cups per day, and we so far haven’t run into any major problems.One issue I had at first was that the coffee wasn’t as strong as I was used to (I tend to like it pretty strong), but it’s still good coffee. You can make drinks stronger by adjusting how fine the grounds are with a little knob in the bean compartment at top, but I didn’t start messing with this until very recently. You can only adjust in small increments while the grinder is active to avoid damaging it.This machine is good for guests who want to make and customize their own individual drinks, though there is a small learning curve for first-time users. Once they know how to use it, they often comment how cool it is, and some have said they’d like to get one too (if it weren’t so expensive).Maintenance is fairly simple: You have to change the water filter every few months, rinse the easily removable “brew group” every week or two, and apply grease to it every couple months. The only problem I had was reinstalling the brew group for the first time (there’s a little yellow switch on the side that needs to be in the right position). There was also one time we didn’t change the water filter while the replacement light was flashing (it gave us plenty of notice; we just procrastinated too much), so we had to buy a special descaling fluid to clean it out before we could use it again.Yes, the machine can get loud, but I haven’t met a coffee grinder or latte maker that was quiet. This machine’s noise level seems pretty standard to me.There are a few little tricks to using and maintaining the machine so that you can get the most out of it, but so do most machines like this. Overall, I’d say it’s very easy to use and makes good drinks. The price is a bit high, and you also have to consider the added costs of buying whole-bean coffee and replacement water filters. But convenience like this often comes at a price, right? I would say it was worth it for us.

I purchased this machine in May, 2022, and thought I'd wait on submitting a review until there had been time enough to see whether it would make a reasonable return on investment. I'm pleased to share the fact that, for me, this was a great buy. My assessment is based upon the fact that 1) the machine has lasted 18 months and is still going strong; 2) it's paid for itself several times over based upon the coffee consumption habits in my household; and 3) it makes a very good mocha or latte style coffee, easily as good or better than Starbucks, as far as I and my wife are concerned.More specifically, in terms of cost/benefit, I'll share that in our household, we drink about three 16 oz mocha or latte style coffees per day, on average (excessive, I know). The cost of buying this much coffee at Starbucks or the local coffee stand would be approximately $25/day, including tip. The machine cost about $699 at time of purchase, and we've run, by this measure, about $13,500 worth of coffee through the thing. Sounds crazy, but $25 x 550 days does in fact equal a ridiculous amount of money spent on coffee.Plus, I think the frothing apparatus is ingenious: two pieces of plastic pressed together, which work quite well, certainly as well as a conventional wand frothing tool. Prior to buying the Phillips machine, we owned a Breville Oracle Touch Espresso Machine. The Breville is a large unit, fully automated, with all the bells and whistles. It costs about $3,000. We loved it for the two and a half years that it worked. Then it started leaking and we learned an important lesson about Breville products: you can't get parts to fix Breville products locally. When I contacted Breville about the issue, I was told that I could pay them $500 and ship the machine back to them for repair (on my dime). They'd repair it, return it to me and provide a six month warranty. Yeah, I got a laugh out of warranty – real vote of confidence in their work. In any event, I decided to try the Phillips as a low-cost option and have really been pleased. Definitely an interesting compare and contrast with the Breville unit (which I do not recommend).The Phillips machine does have a few quirks, and there are a couple of changes to the unit I'd love to see. For example, the water supply is limited and therefore requires frequent refills. Similarly, the drip tray is fairly small and fills up pretty quickly. Also, the machine occasionally displays a warning that the drip tray needs dumping when, in fact, it does not. In these instances, I pull the tray out and wait for the warning to switch to the 'no tray alert' warning and then reinsert the tray. This said, the Phillips unit is easy to clean and maintain, and it's relatively small and light.All in all, I highly recommend this product.