Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

update -- 12/19-2019 -- So I've used this now for a couple of months and, bottom line, am keeping the rating at four stars. I like the simplicity of the machine. It does what it does well and doesn't pretend to be high end. Sure, I'd love to try a DeLonghi Eleta, but at nearly $2k, I can wait. --I've set the "flavor" at maximum and the grind setting to finest. I've had no need or desire to change these settings. Now that I'm using very good Italian coffee beans, the pucks are well formed and fairly firm. Still, the "drip time" is about eight seconds. According to an Italian espresso website, the ideal time is between 20-25 seconds for a single shot of espresso to be "pressed" into the cup. I invited a neighbor down for his opinion. He had lived in Italy for a number of years and now uses this massive brass and copper pull down device with a temperature gauge...a lovely piece of Italian art. As soon as he saw the Philips 3200 producing a single shot in about eight seconds, he wouldn't even taste it (!!)...muttering how most Americans think Starbucks is what espresso should taste like, etc. Oh well... -- I pretty much do either a 2x Americano or 2x coffee every morning, and a cappuccino every afternoon. Sometimes I use the separate dosing chute for ground decaf. As I add milk, I've adjusted the heat from the default medium to high. It is hot enough for me. --The 2x Americano, set on medium water amount, fills an 8 oz American coffee cup to the brim. If you want room for milk, a gentle touch on the "continue" button stops the water instantly. The 2x coffee, however, fills the cup less, leaving room for milk. --I wish there were a way to program the machine to make a double cappuccino. You can increase/decrease the coffee amount, the water amount, and the steamed milk, but you cannot make a true double. I've made a regular size with extra steamed milk and then added a separate shot. Works ok, but still... --The new Lattego milk system is super easy and convenient. But make sure you snap the two halves together well. A couple of times I didn't and milk poured all over the counter. -- I've cleaned out the machine every week or so. Usually takes five minutes, but once in a while, you find ground coffee in nukes and crannies and it takes longer. -- Bottom line: so far, so good. ------ (original review below) As far as I can tell, I am the first to review Philips 3200 Series Fully Automatic Espresso Machine w/ LatteGo. I’ve had the device now for three weeks and have made every variety of drink offered. I hope to update this review as experience dictates. Bottom line: currently (10/2019) the lowest priced super-automatic makes good espresso and espresso milk based drinks, but there are trade-offs, compromises and concerns. Also, if you wish to make Latte, look elsewhere. Overview: The most novel part of this machine is its stupidly simple milk carafe. It comes in two parts that snap together. Pour in milk, select one of the two milk-based drinks and watch the machine create steamed milk and nice foam. When finished, the two parts come apart and are easily rinsed clean – no tubes, no straws, no complicated gizmos. I am praying that the plastic tabs that snap the two sections together won’t break off. That would be a real bummer. Background: I have been studying the super automatic market more obsessively than the frog did motor cars in the Wind and the Willow (if you don’t know that Disney classic, you’ve really missed out.) When I spotted this Phillips 3200 for $700, I was intrigued and saved it. The price increased to $799 the next day. A week or two later it dropped to $709 and I bought it. As of this writing in October 2019, it’s back up to $799 just about everywhere. Disclaimer: this is my first automatic espresso maker and I am not a coffee expert but a committed fan. That said, everyone who has tried the espresso, coffee, Americano, Cappuccino, and the Latte Macchiato agree they taste good and are hot enough at factory settings. I posted a video but suggest you search online for better ones from Seattle Coffee Gear and Phillips itself. (I'm not including links because I think Amazon frowns on YouTube attachments.) The machine makes espresso, coffee, and Americano in single or double sizes. To select a double size, tap the appropriate drink button so the red led moves from x1 to x2. It makes two milk-based drinks, Cappuccino and Latte Macchiato in one size only. You can choose from three factory settings for brew strength and water level for all five drinks, and three milk levels for the milk-based drinks. You can also adjust the maximum settings for water and milk – but only for x1 sizes. When making my morning Americano, I wanted a regular American-sized coffee mug, about 8-9 ounces. The x1 size was too short; the x2 size would have poured over the top had I not stopped it. It was surprising (and frustrating) to learn from customer service that you can only adjust the maximum levels of the x1 size. So now I have to keep an eye on it. There is also a way to raise the temperature. I found the default temperature plenty hot and have not played with this. I have no idea how many grams of coffee are ground or the amount of water and milk in CC or ounces are used. The water reservoir claims to hold 61 ounces. Well, on paper, maybe, and without the water filter installed. I measured six-and-a-bit 8-ounce cups – maybe 54 ounces. But the machine stops operating when the water drops below a certain level, maybe 20% from the bottom. Also, the machine uses about an ounce of water to self-clean when turned on, and a bit to self-clean when turned off. If all you drink are espresso and Cappucciano, this may be adequate. More water leaks from the inside of the machine to the drip tray, as per normal in these machines. So if you make regular coffee and Americano, especially x2 to fill a standard American mug (8-9 ounces), you’ll refill the water much more frequently than the 61-ounce spec suggests. The bean hopper claims to hold 11 ounces. I didn’t measure so I can’t confirm. It seemed at first that the beans were not sliding toward the grinder smoothly. But even as the hopper came close to empty, the beans were fed to the grinder. But best to keep an eye on it. There is also port into which you can put pre-ground coffee, like decaf. Use only one scoop. The scoop is included. I tried this twice with decaf and it seemed to work well. When you turn on the machine, the machine’s red led lights flash in sequence and the machine goes into a self-rinse, using about an espresso’s worth of hot water. I timed this process to 60 seconds. It takes perhaps another minute to make an espresso, somewhat longer for a milk-based drink but certainly not unreasonable. The machine turns itself off automatically after maybe 20 minutes or a half hour of no use. As mentioned above, it use a bit of water to self-clean the nozzle. There is no way to set a timer for auto turn on or turn off. You can place cups on top of the machine but it’s not really a cup warmer at all, just a ridged top. Having not had one of these contraptions before, I can’t comment on whether one minute is too long to heat up for the first use in the morning, or whether it is too noisy, relatively speaking. After the deafening racket from my old Nespresso grind and brew, this doesn’t seem bad at all. Others may disagree. I've cleaned it per weekly instructions now three times. Takes about five minutes to rinse everything. Overall Positives: -- The drinks are strong and tasty. Good crema on espressos, good regular coffee and smooth Americanos. Nice foam and steam from the newly designed LatteGo container. Plenty hot (for everyone who has tried it). -- The milk container/frother is stupidly simple and easy to clean, about five seconds under flowing tap water. --I’ve cleaned the brewing mechanism per instructions weekly three times so far. It takes maybe five minutes to do everything required. Simple. Overall negatives: -- Am concerned the touch buttons will become increasingly problematic. They already are not very responsive. --Fit and finish of the trip tray and metal cover are poor. It doesn’t fit well into the channel. -- Not so much a negative as a fact of life, the 1.7 liter water reservoir will need more frequent filling than you might expect. -- I hope the tabs that snap the milk container together do not snap off. If they do, this review will become a 1-star. Why the 4 star rating? Because despite some shortcomings, for me the bottom line is the ease of use and taste of the coffee. Why not 5 stars? wish they had a latte button instead of the latte Macchiato, which is very similar to Cappuccino. Also, the fit and finish ain't too great, I'm concerned about the plastic tabs on the milk container.