Philips Baristina Automatic Espresso Machine - Black

The Philips Baristina espresso machine is the ideal espresso machine for the regular coffee drinker. My daughter is a college student and has minimal room in her college house for appliances, so this is the ideal size machine for her. We also think it looks very nice sitting in her kitchen, the design is simple but stylish. There is a QR code on the box to scan for instructions, which are straightforward and very easy to follow. So far we have brewed espresso shots and lungo shots with whole beans, and we have also brewed coffee with ground coffee. With whole beans, you simply press the espresso (or lungo) button, and move the portafilter to the right. The beans are ground directly into the portafilter, and then it automatically slides back to the left and brews your shot of espresso. You just have to dump out and rinse the portafilter before you brew another shot. To brew decaf coffee with ground coffee, you put a tablespoon into the portafilter, insert it, and use the intensity button. The first espresso shot we made was a little light, but every shot we’ve brewed since has been perfect. We’ve made a few lattes so far and they’ve been delicious. It is really handy to be able to just fill the water canister, add whole beans and have fresh brewed coffee/espresso for each and every cup. Cleaning is simple by popping out the used puck from the portafilter and then rinsing it out.

Very nice espresso machine. I love how compact it is and its so easy to use and clean afterwards. It has a nice coffee beans grinder on top. I love this as its the best way to get fresh coffee. I normally use light beans as they tend to have more caffeine and are less oily. Using the machine is super easy and I low how quiet it is. I had other machines in the past and they were so noise that I could not make my morning coffee without waking up everybody at home! Its very simple to use and it automatically grinds and tampers your grounded coffee inside the portafilter, no need to press and tamp your grounded coffee. I can choose between an espresso and a lungo (when I need a little bit more). I did notice that the first brews (around 5 or 6 for me) they were kind of watery and felt run down. But after that, they became better tasting and more strong. I guess it needs kind of a "break in" period to reach its maximum potential. After using it, it was super easy to clean, you just pop out the grinded coffee, it drops out of the portafilter, almost like on a cake shape. I've drop a few of these on my plants (used coffee grounds are a great fertilizer, and the size is super convenient for potted plants!!!). After popping it out, cleaning the portafilter was as easy as a simple rinse under running water, very convenient, especially if you are short of time in the morning before work!!! Highly recommend it, just remember to "break it in" for a bit!

I had an espresso maker at home but the wife would never really use it as she preferred a quick and easy brewing process you see with most pod based brewers, so we switched back to one of those but I missed the selection and tastes you get out of the different roasters out there. This machine is fairly simple, you have the machine itself, hopper for the beans, water tank and portafilter for the brewing process. Setting it up you're guided to fill the water tank to run some cycles of water through, I then brewed 5 cups for the machine to get dialed in with the beans it's grinding and get a proper portion to brew. Over these brews you see the puck being tossed because more dense and pretty much coming out in one piece. It has become consistent and the espresso button on the left is 1.35oz and the lungo button on the right is 4oz, the button in the center is labeled as "extra strong" and gives the brew an intensity boost. You would simply press this after selecting the brewing option. Brewing is neat, the hopper grinds into the right side of the machine, you insert the portafilter and slide it over to the right, when done dosing the beans for the brew it slides back to the left to begin. Once done, simply remove the portafilter and press the button on the bottom side of the portafilter to eject the grounds. The brewer has a nice overall design and is very simple to use that this has replaced the pod based system we had been using and gets used daily. I am curious to see how a change in beans would go, at this time I have been buying the same bag, but curious to see if you will need to do a few brew cycles to tune in the dose once again. If you're keeping a similar roast in bean, it might not be too dramatic, but a medium to a dark I would be curious to see. My next bag may need to be a different roast. I am glad not to have limitations, and have a few roasters locally which I can buy beans from and enjoy at home, this also opens the option to buy beans from other while travelling and have that taste at home!

Philips is a household name in Europe and I’m very much familiar with the brand. Philips' products are usually of good quality and durable. The Baristina is a well-made product, and the design is sleek and attractive. The machine is fairly small for an espresso maker. The grinder is made of ceramic so the machine should be durable enough to produce many many espresso shots. Instructions are clear and easy enough to follow to set up the machine for the first time. The Baristina is all about as simple as it can get for getting an espresso shot straight from coffee beans of our choosing. The machine is designed exactly for that purpose: eliminating the multiple processes involved in preparing for an espresso shot. The conventional method for making an espresso can be a bit overwhelming and this machine successfully simplifies the process. All we need to do is make sure that the portafilter is empty and clean then we just need to slide the portafilter to the right. An espresso shot will be produced accordingly to our predefined setting; it’s that simple. The machine takes care of the beans grinding and tamping, as well as the brewing process. Because there are no complicated settings involved, the result may not be perfect if you want your coffee with specific characteristics. There’s no way to control the grinding process, nor the amount of coffee on the portafilter and water characteristics but that is exactly due to the design of the machine. I’m saying this because if you are a coffee person who loves tweaking your drink, this machine is surely not for you. However, those who just want to get their quick coffee fixes in the morning and don’t want to deal with the conventional steps in making an espresso, then this is a very good machine. This machine makes espresso-making more accessible to other member of the family in my household. Aside from making an espresso, there is also the option to make a lungo and you can also control the intensity of your drink for both espresso and lungo. The machine does not come with milk frother nor does it come with the espresso glass. Coffee mug works just fine so there’s no need to get an espresso glass if you don’t have one.

Love this coffee machine. We enjoy using it daily.

So this is my FIRST expresso maker, and I'm impressed. I'm new to this, so give me a break on this review. It took me a second to learn, but I after reading the instructions I got it. You will need to run this about 4 times before it settles in with the proper settings for the best brew. After that, you should start to get some fresh flavors out of this machine. Setup was easy, and not confusing like some other machines like this. I went with this one, because I'm new to this. I wanted something that's I could just plug up and use. All I had to do was put the included handle on, and it was locked into place. Nothing to it, good for beginners like me. I like the look of this one compared to others on the market, as it looks nice and compact. On that, the size is perfect for someone with a smaller kitchen. Flavors that come out of this little guy are amazing. Be sure to get the right beans, as this could effect your outcome. Try different kinds until you get the one that you enjoy. I figure I will try a few different kinds, but I'm impressed so far. Is recommend this to a novice user, or someone afraid to get into this area. The price is good considering that these can get into the thousands quickly. So leave that to the experts, and start with this one.

I've had my share of espresso machines and they always end up getting little use. Laziness kept me from taking the time to readjust my grinder for espresso and I had to keep multiple beans since espresso amplifies some of the nasty parts of beans that I don't like. My last one was a pod type machine and I didn't like having to always fill reusable pods and buying aluminum caps for them. I also hate the idea of expensive disposable plastic pods. While the espresso was good once I found the right beans, it cut into my flow having to fill a pod when I needed a hit so I'd end up making drip or use my aeropress. Moka is actually my favorite but least used because I have to make time to prep it. So I'm back to wanting espresso and decided to give the Baristina a shot. There are no controls other than if you want more grinds or if you want lungo or a traditional shot. After a few throw away cups to let the machine calibrate itself I took my first swig. Quite bitter, but not the fault of the Baristina. Like I said, I have to get different beans for espresso because it seem to bring out the bitterness to where it's almost a metallic sting. I have more tastebuds than the average person (supertaster) so bitter is pretty extreme to me. Once the espresso is finished you drop out the puck with the ejector button and out comes a nearly dry puck of used coffee you can use for compost or toss out. The instructions are limited, but the use is simple enough there really aren't any instructions needed beyond the pictures on the box. Put the brew head in the slot and cock it by sliding it tot the right. Push your desired button(s) and wait a few minutes for your espresso. It surprises me how quiet the grinder is. It's nothing like my freight train big grinder but it's also not as fast. It's plenty fast enough to fill the brew head is a few seconds. The brewing is also pretty quite compared to other machines I've had, but it still gives enough pressure to get a nice shot. They did a terrific job of designing this machine to keep the noise down. I'm pretty impressed with the Baristina and I think it'll be sitting on the counter actually being used for a long time. A shot before a workout will give a good boost to push myself.

I have owned a few espresso machines, including ones which automatically grind the bean. However, this is the first espresso machine I have owned which grinds the bean, tamps and brews automatically. If I have the time, I like to hand grind my coffee to ensure a perfect grind size and amount of coffee. However, at times, I am in a rush to get out the door and am unable to prepare a descent cup of espresso. I am not a fan of coffee pods since the brew normally taste stale and creates an unnecessary amount of waste. This Philips Baristina machine is a perfect balance between freshness, convenience and no added waste. I like how this machine is made out of recycled plastics and is 100% recyclable in some areas. Philips is environmentally friendly with this product. The options to operate this machine are about as simple as it gets. The only options are a standard espresso, lungo, and body (flavor) boost. After selecting the type of coffee and the optional booster, just need to move the portafilter handle right and the machine takes care of the rest. The machine took a few cycles to product a descent brew and discard puck, so be patient. The first couple cups were watered down and the puck was more mud-like and would not fall out with the press of the button on the portafilter. After the machine automatically made the necessary adjustments, the taste was pretty good. I could make a better espresso with having more control over grind size and amount, but this was definitely better than any pod coffee. It is worth mentioning that this machine does not have an on/off switch, so I would recommend unplugging it when not in use. Maybe this was Philips environmental way to get owners to unplug their appliances rather than turning off the power. Pros Environmentally friendly Great tasting brew Quick and consistent Cons No manual adjustments for grind size, or coffee quantity This machine might be able to knock the socks off a coffee connoisseur, but this machine does such a fantastic job at quickly making a much better espresso than any pod machine can do. The Baristina is a pod machine killer with respect to taste and waste.

The Philips Barastina Espresso Machine is a really impressive product that brings very good, fully-automatic espresso to a price point that I wouldn't have believed until a tried it. While I'm far from a snob (and I don't think real snobs would even consider me a connoiseur), I enjoy a cup of espresso much more than regular coffee, and definitely enjoy being able to bring the full cafe latte experience home. Previously I've used a few different types of espresso makers but have never been able to afford a fully automatic machine. The Barastina makes the whole process simple provided you have a way to steam (or worst case froth) your milk. #Unboxing, first impressions# Unboxing and setting up the Barastina was pretty simple. The unit comes fully assembled in the box, minus a separate smaller package inside for the Portafilter (which is sold with several different colors for the handle). I took the machine out, cleaned the portafilter and water tank, and then dug around trying to find a manual. This was the only real negative from the experience - there isn't a proper manual in the box. There is a small pamphlet that says Instructions but is really just a bunch of warranty information for different countries. There IS a QR code inside the packaging to get the manual online, but I don't feel like it was called out especially well. Still, the obvious thing when I couldn't find a printed manual was to find a QR code, and that worked well enough. That said, there are only 3 buttons on the machine, so it's not like it's terribly complicated to use. The main thing I was concerned about was the initial setup and running the first clean water through it, which the manual covered. Just to call it out more clearly: *If you're purchasing for an older or less tech savvy person you may want to prep them for the QR code* #Making a cup, and taste tests# The Barastina has only 3 buttons - Espresso, "Intensity boost", and Lungo. The process for making a cup of delightful espresso is SUPER EASY with this machine. Make sure the Portafilter is clean, fill the hopper with whole beans, press the button(s) for your preferred beverage, and slide the portafilter over to start the grinding process. It grinds the beans and tamps them in the Portafilter for you, then it pops back to the left and the pressurized hot water starts flowing through. I noticed immediately that it produces a wonderful crema with every pour. The fact that it does this without any hassle and at a very affordable price is remarkable to me. Another nice thing I found is that the Portafilter is designed to not let you re-lock it to the right (for the grinding phase) until you've remove it from the machine. This stops you from forgetting to clean out the filter between uses. If you're making a double espresso, you are forced to pull out the Portafilter and clean it in the sink before you make another shot. That can come in handy on a busy morning where you lose track of what you're doing in the kitchen. It certainly helped this morning when I was trying to make my wife a Latte while we were bustling about getting the kids ready for school. I went to boop it back to the right for the second shot and it wouldn't lock, reminding me that I had to clean it first. Very handy. #Final thoughts# I'm really impressed with the Barastina. It takes almost all of the hassle out of making a decent espresso. I fortunately have a separate steamer available for milk based drinks, but I've also experimented with an inexpensive frother and gotten decent results for an uncultured swine like myself. Since the steamer is the part that usually gets gross faster on an expensive machine, it may not be too bad that this doesn't have one built in. As stated in my unboxing impressions, the only negative I have for this was the lack of a printed manual + the lack of a giant sticker or something to call attention to the QR code for the online manual. I don't think this is a big deal for the average person but if you're buying it as a gift for someone less tech savvy, you might want to pre-download it and email it to them :)