Philips 1200 Series Fully Automatic Espresso Machine, Classic Milk Frother, 2 Coffee Varieties, Intuitive Touch Display, 100% Ceramic Grinder, AquaClean Filter, Aroma Seal, Black (EP1220/04)

Four years and going
Came back to purchase another for the office so here’s a review from a longtime owner of four years. I love this machine. I have owned a couple other super autos, this is a workhorse with no issues. We drink 5-6 americanos a day, weekends sometimes more. I love the ease of being able to clean this machine, by removing all the components. I have had other machines that are temperamental or they work well but slowly fade. This is still making a consistent cup of excellent coffee. It makes Sbucks look unappealing, in fact I am disappointed at cafes now and miss my machine when I travel. Phillips bought out Saeco so that’s the quality machine you’re getting but Phillips has made it affordable.

It makes a tasty coffee
“We should get an espresso machine” said my wife. “I like espresso.”
“Me too!” I replied. “Let’s buy one!”
This seemed like an easy proposition. But down the rabbit hole I went, and I soon realized that I was on the verge of becoming a “coffee guy” – one of those people who has Very Strong Opinions about pressurized portafilters and very expensive and clever conical burr grinders. The kind of guy who speaks in hushed tones about steam pressure and cream and uses the word “extraction” a lot.
Since no one in my family want to spend every morning waiting an hour for me to tweak grind settings or calibrate the pre-infusion temperatures, and everyone agreed that I do not need another obsessive hobby, we started looking at automatic machines. We quickly decided that pod-based machines were right out for a variety of reasons, and similarly decided that one of those touch-screen possibly-self-aware machines were just going to be way way way out of our price range, we settled on the 1200. I checked reviews and videos and so forth, and we decided it was a good place to land.
We couldn’t be happier.
Okay, okay, it probably doesn’t make the absolute *best* espresso in the world. I’m sure somewhere, some geriatric italian barista is crossing himself and spitting every time I press a button on this thing. And it’s loud. When it grinds, boy howdy you hear it grinding, and when it steams, you hear steaming and clunking and all manner of mechanical noises. I expected that, but it’s still loud. The buttons lack a bit in terms of haptic feedback – until something actually happens I’m never entirely sure I’ve pressed one, so I always have that half second of “oh no, did I break it?” until i hear a pump spring to life. And it’s big – this isn’t a “stick it on the shelf and hide it away” kind of machine. It dwarfs my pressure cooker. And while the grinder does a fine job, you don’t get access to it independently – you have only limited options for dosing (the 3-setting “aroma” control) or grind size (there’s a knob inside the grinder itself) and the only time you see the grounds is in the “spent grounds” bin. I understand there’s a way to fiddle with the temperature that involves opening panels and flipping switches; I have not tried it and I probably will not.
But those minor quibbles aside, it pulls a very respectable shot of espresso; I’ve already had a better flat white after a day of randomly poking at buttons than I have at my local mermaid-themed coffee shop, and even a straight shot of espresso was pleasant, well-flavored, and full-bodied. The milk steamer is acceptable – nothing to write home about, but it gets the job done and I’ve even managed to make some incredibly rudimentary latte art. It’s easy to clean, and the AquaClean filter makes that part even nicer. Once you get the hang of it, it’s pretty easy to use too – shove a cup underneath and press play and you’re basically 80% of the way there. It’s easy enough that everyone in my family can stumble into the kitchen and spit out a cuppa without thinking about it. It even makes plain coffee, which is great for the family members who just wants a cup of something hot and black and none of this continental nonsense. (I suspect the “coffee” is more akin to an americano, but I haven’t been able to verify that.)
Time will tell if this thing holds up, but I have high hopes and good experience so far. It works better than the bargain espresso machines I see everywhere, seems to have a pretty good grind dialed in at the factory, and while it’s a bit on the pricy side it’s still a lot cheaper than the others in its category (and only marginally more expensive than a plain machine) and you don’t need to buy a fancy grinder to go with it. And shipping was ludicrously fast.

Llevo un par de meses con esta cafetera y hasta ahora todo bien. Consistente, fácil de usar, y el café sale bien. Tal vez se mejore si se ajusta el molino al gusto de cada quien, pero no me molesté en hacerlo, pues salieron bien los cafés desde que se sacó de la caja.
Había leído unos comentarios que decían que viene usada, pero en mi unidad no noté signos de ello; de hecho trae un aviso de que todas las máquinas han sido probadas con café… tal vez sea eso.
La recomiendo, especialmente si la encuentras de oferta.

Tuve una cafetera Saeco que duró muchos y felices años; ahora que tocaba renovarla, me enteré de que la marca fue adquirida por Philips así que busqué la marca. No me decepcionó, es el mismo sistema con muchas mejoras, un precio justo y lo más importante: Un mejor café.
Lo único que no me gustó tanto es la ceremonia de apretar varios botones (en los modelos anteriores sólo oprimías el de Inicio y ¡listo!). Aquí hay más pasos pero bueno… te aprendes rápido la secuencia.
Pedí la más sencilla porque no me gusta la leche y no tomo capuchinos, así que esta sólo viene con un espumador sencillo; sin embargo, tuve visitas y espumé un par. El resultado fue excelente. Estoy contento con mi compra.