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About this item
- 12 HOT & ICED COFFEES: Espresso. Coffee. Cappuccino. Latte macchiato. Iced coffee. Americano. Caffè crema. Latte. Ristretto. Coffee with milk. Iced americano. Iced espresso… With 12 recipes to choose from. you’ll find all your café favorites and more!
- SILENT BREW TECHNOLOGY: Enjoy the sounds of coffee being brewed just the way you like it thanks to our noise-reducing technology. It makes 40% less noise than earlier models.
- LATTEGO MILK SYSTEM: Create silky smooth milk froth at the touch of a button. even with plant-based milk alternatives.
- AQUACLEAN FILTER: Purify your water for more flavorsome coffee using the AquaClean filter. You can brew up to 5000 cups without having to descale.
- WASH LATTEGO IN 10 SECS: With just two parts. our milk system is easy to pull apart and rinse in under 10 seconds.
After using this machine for about a month, I am happy to say that the water tank issue is no longer a thing. Not sure if it just needed a couple weeks for the filter to completely soak in the water but now I am able to make about 5 to 6 cups of coffee before I have to fill it up. before only half of the water would be used in the tank and I would be having to fill it and now it is almost empty as it should be when I need to fill it. Very happy that that has changed so if you were having this issue and you just bought it, just give it a little bit of time and it should work itself out.
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I’m going to start with the positive on this machine.
First off I bought this machine as a present for my fiancé for Christmas. We were using a Keurig k pod system for years and wanted something to upgrade to. I will start by saying the look of this espresso machine is beautiful. No complaints on all the way it looks so sleek and modern and the touchscreen makes it even better. Love the design. When it comes to the espresso. I think it tastes fabulous. I am definitely not a coffee connoisseur so there might be espresso snobs that may say the opposite because they may be used to having a top-of-the-line cup of espresso, but I am very happy with the taste.
Now for the negative..
I’d probably say the most annoying thing about this machine would be how often you have to fill the water container. I did see this issue in the reviews when I was looking to purchase it, but didn’t quite get exactly how often you have to do it. You have to fill the water tank every 3 cups that you make which I think is a bit over the top. The second issue I have with this machine is that yes it has profiles, which is great, but they are not the kind of profiles that will save your coffee by just a touch of the button. You have to actually go to each individual coffee drink that you want and the adjustments will be saved from the last time you did it. That isn’t as big of a deal to me as the water is. Other than those two things, this is a great machine and a hell of an upgrade from our Keurig coffee drip machine. Overall, I am happy with this machine, but like I said, there are a couple of things to consider when buying it.
I decided to look into a fully automatic espresso machine. After much research I decided on this Philips 4400 series machine. The features looked good and seemed to do every type of coffee me and my wife like. It also seemed to be easy to use and would not have to do much clean up after making my coffee. My only concern was if it was going to be able to make a strong enough espresso or coffee Latte.
Once I received the machine I set it up by following the instructions on both paper and on the screen. It was very easy to setup. I put some of my favorite coffee beans and started making espressos as that is the basis for just about all the other drinks you make. At first the espressos came out watered down. I made some changes to the settings and adjusted the grinding from 6 to 2. That made a huge difference. By the way, when adjusting the grinder, you have to do it while you're making an espresso and only turn the nob once at a time. After getting the espresso to the right strength, I saved it to my profile. From there I tried ice coffee Latte and a hot coffee Latte. They both came out perfect and the frothy milk is fantastic. If you look at my photos. You can see how good the coffees came out with the frothy milk on top. Cleaning was a breeze too. I have the machine set to clean and warm at the beginning when I turn it on. It will drop some water when it does that, so I put a cup so that it doesn't fill the tray as quickly. When shutting off the machine, it will clean its self and will drop some water as well, so I leave a cup after as well. This really is an impressive machine with easy clean up. If you're able to get it on prime day or other time that has a discount, it becomes even more worth it.
The only thing, I can think of that would make this machine even better, is if the outside was made completely of steel. I think it would give it that prime look and feel. On the other hand, the way it looks now, still looks nice and it's very light to move around.
If you're considering a fully automatic espresso machine, I highly recommend this one.
Our family consumes a lot of coffee and this machine is basically in the center of our household. LOL
I watched and read a lot of reviews before deciding to buy a machine. We bought our Miele from a local coffee machine store because we wanted to try them out, test coffee in person, etc. that was our first super automated machine so was important to do an in person visit. Now that we have a general idea of what to expect I felt better about buying online. AND that same local store, Seattle Coffee Gear, did a review of their top 3 super automated machines recently and this was #2! So that was enough for me to trust it based on that alone. (#1 was the Jura10 which is like $4,000-no thanks, #3 was the 3200 Phillips so they rate these machines highly - they had a bonus option of the Saeco Xelsis which is an upper end Phillips model for $2,000 didn't see enough difference to spend $1,000 more than the 4300)
This machine was $1,700 less than the Miele and really does just about everything it did for much less. biggest comparisons:
1. You can't do a one touch double drink if its milk based on the 4300. The Miele would allow you to do two milk drinks with a button touch. Not a huge deal but something different. You can do one touch double "coffee only" drinks on the 4300, so espresso shots, coffee or americano. Would be great if they added the option to do a double on milk based drinks., like cappuccino or Cafe au Lait.
2. I love the milk container and frothing on the 4300. No tubes to deal with, super easy to just pop on and off and makes great hot milk and nice thick foam. Easy to take apart and clean too. Miele had a tube you had to insert into a wand and container that was a separate piece. The tube would do a cleaning cycle but was always a little grossed out that you couldn't get in there and clean it...things tend to grow in warm wet situations. This one has a much more simple design that's easy to use and clean.
3. Love the front loading water tank and fact you can filter the water directly from the tank. The Miele had a side loading water tank so always had to pull the machine out from under the cabinet to remove and replace. I would say size of the tank, with the filter, is maybe a little less volume but most of these have about the same size tank on them, makes both of our morning coffees just fine without refilling. Our Miele didn't have a filter so would have to descale often. This claims with the filter you can make 5,000 shots before descaling is needed so that's a bonus - and filtered water always makes coffee taste better so think this is pretty cool feature.
4. I love having a more user friendly screen and button process with the 4300. I know Miele's thing is not to worry so much about the technology interface and more on the quality of the machine/coffee. Which don't get me wrong that machine, when new, made an amazing espresso shot, which is ultimately why we chose it over a machine that had better screen and easy programming. Miele takes some knowledge to use, not as user friendly. But very happy with the screen, preprogrammed drink options and ease of use on the 4300. I know a guest could basically walk up to this machine with minimal help and make whatever they want. On the Miele we would just do it as it was too hard to explain the process.
5. 4300 doesn't alert you when the drip tray is full, you have to watch the manual red float to pop up. Miele would prompt you to empty the drip tray and waste container. Again, not a huge deal. It doesn't seem to waste as much water into the drip tray as the Miele so seems we need to empty that less anyway.
6. The Miele was a substantial machine, heavy weight, metal parts, felt well made-and is. The 4300 is lighter and pretty much all of it is made of plastic. Which is fine, it still looks really nice but can certainly feel the difference in materials. That said the 4300 seems to work great, so as long as it lasts and makes good coffee I could care less. Its also not as deep as our Miele so fits really nice tucked back under the cabinets. I really prefer the overall look of the 4300 its a very nice looking machine in our kitchen. Miele is pretty plain, not a lot of bells and whistles as far as the look goes.
After doing research on the 4300 made me realize that a big downside to Miele machine is the lack of instruction you get. I think our machine would have lasted a lot longer had we known a few things, big one being to use beans made for a super automated machine - aka non oily! I always thought oily beans were the best, signifying freshness, but that's not the case. In these types of machines you want a dry bean so the oils don't gum up in the grinder-I am sure now that's why we had so many problems with our grinder over time. Also learned in my recent research that Arabica beans tend to be more oily so having a Robusta bean(or combo) is better for the machine as they are less oily and also less bitter. Robusta bean makes a smooth yummy crema shot. I started buying Lavazza beans for this machine, which are said to be made for a super automated machine, and they are yummy! Miele instruction manual is very simple and vague. We literally had to call them to try and learn how to operate the machine as the buttons and touch screen aren't exactly easy and user friendly(and even they couldn't help us!) - once you get the hang of it was fine, but zero instructions on profiles, saving drinks, etc. The 4300 has tons of online videos to show you how to use it. there are a lot of moving parts in these machines so if I could say anything - LEARN all the best practices to protect your investment, clean it, maintain it and use the correct products in it. We hope to get many years of use out of this machine and learning from some mistakes with the Miele we hope to not repeat with this one.
Many reviews and videos stated you need to run many shots through this machine for it to acclimate to a proper tasting shot. Seemed a tad odd but I took that advice. I did adjust the grinder right off the bat vs waiting as Phillips instructed, found quite a few people that did this to avoid weaker coffee with a larger grind and having to reacclimate all over again. My grinder is set to 3. I spent $7 on some coffee beans from the grocery store to essentially waste in the machine to run multiple shots through it. I got some from the self dispensing things so I could see that they were dry. This allowed me to run probably 40+ shots through it first night we got it. I have read it takes 150, but doing that the first night allowed our morning coffee the next day to taste great. I have read complaints about it making weak coffee, but you have to follow the recommendations. Again, I would immediately adjust grinder down to between 2-4 (only move one spot at a time when its running, don't adjust grinder when its stopped can damage it)(didn't know this on our Miele as they never told us that) why wait to acclimate to the factory grinder setting then have to do it again 150 shots later, just do that to start so you get a smaller grind more appropriate for an espresso shot. And I highly recommend buying a bag of DRY beans to just pull shots to waste as soon as you get it. I could definitely tell from shot #1 to shot #40 that the color, thickness and crema all got better. So be patient and do this to help your first actual drinking cup of coffee turn out good. You can't plug it in run a weak coffee and then blame the machine, do what is recommended.(and then leave a bad review because you didn't follow the process) I am sure as we continue to use this that the shots will get better and better. We have had it a few days now and can tell its acclimating and getting better. Wasting a pound+ of beans is worth it. I now have our good Lavazza beans in it and the coffee is delicious! This machine makes a great coffee!
Only cons so far...it has given prompts to fill water when its still full, or almost full - so we pull out push back in and its fine. Also same thing for emptying the grounds container. Has prompted me to empty with 2 pucks in it. Again, I pull out the tray and push back and continue on. Minor annoyance and its only happened a couple times, not like every use.
Other than that I give this machine 5 stars, it makes great coffee! It's not loud (despite many saying it is) yes its louder than running coffee pot, but you are talking about a machine that is grinding beans, making milk froth, lots moving parts inside, etc...its going to make noise, but quieter than the Miele. The display is great, profile settings are super easy to navigate. 8 preset coffee drinks to choose from which is more than enough to cover what we need and you of course can do milk and shots separate if you want to make something not pre programmed. Love the milk container, makes great thick foam, love how easy it is to attach and fill and clean. So far, absolutely love it, very happy with our purchase and that it was only $900 compared to $2,600 for basically same features was a huge win!
I did buy a separate grinder, sitting to the right of the machine in the photo to have fresh ground Lavazza decaf to use in the bypass port. Again we do a combo of regular coffee and decaf so this is a perfect set up to have everything we need. Maybe next super automated we will get one that has more than one bean hopper so regular and decaf all in the one machine...but this current set up works perfect.
Anyway, for the price point and what you get compared to machine we paid 2x more for, I highly recommend the 4300. Works great, looks great and lots of nice features at a reasonable price point for a super automated machine. If anything changes I will update my review, but for now not missing the Miele and loving this new machine!
I did a ton of research and almost bought another brand a few times while trying to decide. Ultimately, this PHILIPS machine had the right features for me. And cleaning it is pretty simple (very important for daily use).
It's certainly an investment, but I drink coffee every day and my wife and I love being able to easily add frothed milk to chai or hot chocolate as well.
Initial Set-up:
It was a breeze. You're prompted through each step on the screen. You do a water hardness test with a paper strip held under your faucet a few seconds and then set that based on the result. You install the water filter. The machine calibrates and rinses itself out. Brew some initially weak espresso (yeah, I know - just dump it). That's about it. Oh, on recommendation I also bumped the temperature up to high.
How's the coffee and features?
While you do have the pre-programmed buttons for all the usual drinks from Coffee and Espresso to Lattes and Cappuccinos (and they all work great), you really could dial in your preferences and make almost any style espresso drink and even do the shots and froth separately - so keep that in mind if you're real particular.
I was warned (and please keep in mind) that the system calibrates and starts to make better coffee over time. For me, it's been over a week and leaving the grind setting at the factory default (as recommended at first), I'm just now starting to get the espresso pucks instead of a more watery coffee ground consistency in the grounds container. So, I believe patience is key here - leave the grind setting alone for a bit (I know, I know). Maybe stick to the milk-based drinks that can be more forgiving until things start balancing out.
I can honestly say things have improved quickly and a regular espresso shot is pretty good now. I stuck with Lavazza Super Crema Espresso Whole Bean Coffee - since it's widely recommended for superautomatic espresso machines (no dark roast, oily beans whatsoever - unless you want to make the machine an expensive paper weight). I'll venture out and try other brands and types of coffee soon, but just went with what I knew would work OK to get started.
Maintenance and cleaning:
Daily:
Empty drip tray of water as needed (a red indicator button will pop up when it's time to empty). I recommend keeping a cup under the spout between use to catch any water flushed during rinse cycles. The machine flushes itself once when turned on and when turned off. There's also a rinse cycle you manually run after making a milk-based drink to clear the LatteGo container (you just push a button and it does the work). You'll also be prompted to empty the coffee grounds container as that fills up - maybe every few days depending on use. Oh, and obviously wash the LatteGo container after use or refrigerate with remaining milk (I love that this milk system has no tubes to clean).
Weekly:
Take the brew group out and rinse well under warm water to clear any coffee grounds, then let air dry completely (no soap, no towels - there's water proof grease on parts that needs to stay on and fibers can be left behind). Wipe the inside compartment with a damp cloth. The PHILIPS website and YouTube videos are your friend for understanding the cleaning process - just search on the model number. Also read the short manual - understand the machine and taking care of it is pretty darn easy.
Semi-Monthly:
The machine will tell you when it's time to descale every few months - which is really just running a solution through the unit. Occasionally you'll also put some food grade lubricant on the moving parts of the brew group. Also the water filter will need periodic replacing to keep the water tasting good and the system running smooth - again, the machine will let you know when it's time.
Overall, I'm super-happy with this machine. Having lot's of fun and love the flexibility in the drinks it makes. It'll pay for itself very quickly with no over-priced coffee shop trips. So far so good. Cheers!
Several reviews mention that the manual is useless, and Phillips must have listened as I found the manual that came with my machine is very detailed and clear (see attached photo). The manual also clearly states NOT to adjust the grinder until you have brewed ~100 cups, or 1 month of use. Follow this recommendation and you won't be disappointed. I've used it about 3 weeks now and get espresso with a decent crema and great flavor using the default settings. All that said, you don't have to wait long to get a good tasting drink. The machine makes acceptable brews right from the start and they just get better as the machine beaks in. It also takes several brews to get firm pucks of grounds rather than sludge in the waste container.
It is worth noting that the manual states not to use caramelized or flavored coffee beans. I also noticed that oily beans, while they seem to work fine, don't flow as nicely into the grinder as dryer beans like Lavazza.
As other reviews mention, the machine does do automatic rinses just after turning on and again just before shutting down. Put an empty cup under the dispenser to collect these rinses and you won't have to empty the tray as often.
While pricey, it will pay for itself in less than 6 months, assuming you get a latte or other fancy drink from a coffe shop every day. Definitely worth the money for the convenience of a top quality coffee drink any time of day without leaving your home.
Still great! I'll try to update at a year 😊
Original Review:
I have spent actual years of my life trying to find the cheapest way to make espresso lattes at home. I started simple with an aeropress, a moka pot, upgraded to a cheap espresso maker, bought a grinder, etc, etc. And yet I still found myself buying coffee at coffee shops. I personally didn't have the patience to find the exact right grind and the exact right tamp to get a store quality espresso.
I finally caved and bought this 4300 series latte maker. This thing is going to save me so much money over the next year. I've only had it about a week but I've already used it every day and it's perfect.
It's SO easy to use. Set up is a breeze. It basically works right out of the box. It comes with a water filter which was nice. Once you get the beans in there, it takes 2-5 shots to "load" the mechanisms and actually put out a shot of espresso and not just water. I did need to adjust the grind to a finer grind (setting 3) to get a good crema. If you adjust it after beans are in, make sure you do it WHILE the grinder is working (you'll have to brew a shot to do this) and be ready to work quickly. I guess if you do it while it's off and there are beans in there you can damage the grinder. I would make sure to read the instructions all the way through, and get familiar with the machine. Once you do, the whole process is a breeze.
Once you have your settings dialed in, making a latte is as easy as put a cup underneath, press a button, and go. It takes approximately 1-2 min for a latte. It grinds beans fresh for every shot. If you set everything to the largest settings, you get about a 12 oz latte.
Cleaning and maintinence is super easy. The machine steps you through most of it. It tells you the steps to take to install the water filter, tells you when to empty the waste grounds contatiner, gives you multiple cleaning settings. I rinse out the lattego container twice and it takes less than a minute. I feel like this machine is so well thought out and it feels pretty well put together.
Overall I have very little to complain about. Once I dialed in my settings, I found the coffee I get out is as yummy as any latte from a coffee shop. My biggest complaints are:
- You only get about a 12 oz coffee automatically, if you want a 16 oz or 20 oz, you'll have to do multiple milk froths and espresso runs
- The machine is rather loud. It's not a deal breaker for me by any means, but in the morning it can be a little jarring and it always spooks our cats.
- Adjusting the grind setting is a bit of a hastle. You have to do it while the machine is running and while it does that , the grind setter wants to move in the opposite direction of which direction you're trying to go so you have to have a pretty decent grip on it. Luckily you should only really have to do this once.
- The latteGo carafe leaves about a cm of milk on the bottom even if you've put the right amount in. If you dump and clean it out every time, you'd end up wasting a decent amount of milk.
-I've heard people have a hard time using the pre-ground coffee slot and I haven't tried it. But it does get pretty steamy each time it runs which I imagine would make it rather hard to clean.
Some tips and tricks I've learned since using this machine:
- This thing likes to rinse itself out a lot. (Which is good) but it's a little more hastle to clean out the water catcher on the bottom. I just keep an old coffee cup nearby and let it rinse into that and dump it out every time. It's a lot less cumbersome to clean out.
- If you have leftover milk in the latteGo, I do 2-3 automatic rinses to get milk out of the milk tube and then put the whole container in the fridge for the next day. It cleans out the frothing mechanism enough that milk doesn't go bad in there and you don't have to waste the little bit of milk in there.
- A lot of regular espresso beans might be too oily for super-automatic espresso machines. Apparently that oil will eventually gunk up the grinder, so it's recommended to buy medium roast beans. You can google some beans that are safe for the machine and find the best ones for you. I like the lavazza brand.
- If you're like me and enjoy a flavored latte, invest in some syrups with the pumps. It really really completes the whole "barista at home" thing I was going for. Even better if you can get a tiered holder for all of them!
- If you want to be a little extra, get yourself some disposable coffee cups with lids. They're definitely worse for the environment but if you're drinking everyday it can get a little cumbersome making sure you always have a clean travel cup. Or just invest in a bunch of dishwasher safe travel cups!
This thing is pricey for sure. But I've definitely spent a long time and a lot of money before this to try to replicate what it can do and it is so worth just spending the money on it. It sparks a little bit of joy for me every time I use it and gives me the quality coffee I want everytime. It is easy to use and maintain. It also makes making multiple lattes a breeze if you are a multi-cup household. As long as it doesn't die within a year- it'll be so so worth it!
Machine was packed up so nice. Even nice plastic around the machine, with handles, so it can be easily lifted out of the box.
Set up was as easy as can be. Take time and take off all the tape strips. Don't forget the ones behind the water container. Read the instructions as you set it up. Makes it 100 times easier.
Once turned on, it will guide you through the initial setup. It does come with a water filter that I decided to add to the water tank. I only added it because I knew I would lose that aqua filter if I didn't put it in right away. It's an option you don't have to go with. It also comes with a water testing strip so you can test your water to see how hard or soft it is. It's one of the settings on the machine. I got to that point when I started making 5 cups of coffee to get it primed and ready. I then looked at the "settings" to see what options I had there. After finishing with that, I decided to make myself a nice caramel latte. Sat with my cup of coffee while I read up on more details about the machine. Easy reading. Not really that much more to learn about it.
The latte was fantastic. Since I use a similar machine at our church to make others coffee, I already knew how much syrup to add to my cup and remembered to drizzle caramel on top for a final touch.
My fun will be to experiment with the different coffees and syrups to see if I can come up with tastes that are similar to what I used to pay big money for.
If you're going to order this machine, or one similar, remember to have the flavored syrups, whipped cream, and toppings that are needed with lattes or other fun drinks.
This machine is costly but, it will be saving me much more by me making my own fancier coffees now.
I'm going to love this latte go!