PHILIPS 3200 Series Fully Automatic Espresso Machine, Classic Milk Frother, 4 Coffee Varieties, Intuitive Touch Display, 100% Ceramic Grinder, AquaClean Filter, Aroma Seal, Black (EP3221/44)

Mini-Miele
I bought the Philips 3221/44, without the LatteGo feature because I don’t like milk in my coffee. Also I’m a bit noise sensitive and the LatteGo has been compared in some reviews to the sound of an airplane taking off. I previously owned a pricey built-in Miele coffee machine that came with our house. The Miele worked fine for about ten years before becoming increasingly cantankerous with age (like many of us). It was a marvel of 2000s technology that would have felt right at home on the International Space Station, except it was probably too heavy to ever reach orbit. It cost almost as much to fix as I paid for the new Philips.
The 3221 appears functionally identical to the Miele except in a smaller, lighter, and much cheaper box. I shall call it ‘Mini-Miele.’ Mini-Miele has a similar brewing unit, which is called a “brew group” even though there’s only one of them. Mini-Miele also makes similar noises. According to my iPhone it puts out around 60 dB while brewing and 70 dB while grinding. The former is a steady 60-Hz electric hum, whereas the latter sounds more like a racoon trapped in a recycling bin. Overall noise levels are somewhere between normal conversation and a vacuum cleaner. Not bad really. The Miele also made a series of loud “thunks” that Mini-Miele thankfully does not reproduce.
The Miele was made primarily of steel and lots of it; Mini-Miele is all plastic with pseudo-chrome trim. Sounds cheap I know but this seems to be the norm for most such machines, including some in the $2000-range. Materials, fit, and finish are all on par with a new Toyota, which is to say quite good. The control buttons worked easily once I overcame the desire to press them. It just takes a light touch. The buttons are logical and marked both with text and little pictures, helpful in case I forget how to read English. The water container is smaller than in the Miele but adequate, and features a cute little water softener/filter that lives inside. It has to be replaced at some interval but you don’t have to call the Culligan Man.
On startup, Mini-Miele entertains with a robotic dance of flashing lights, groaning sounds, and waterworks. Once it settles down from that (about one minute) it’s really easy to operate. It does doubles if you want, but with a caveat: you have to wait for the grinding and brewing routine to complete itself twice. A double Americano takes about two and a half minutes. The first cups from Mini-Miele tasted, well…bad actually. Like coffee laced with aspirin. The machine apparently makes its own adjustments during this time, but not enough to help. What did help was using different beans and adjusting the grind a few clicks finer. The coffee tastes much better now, quite similar to what the 5x more expensive Miele could produce during its prime. Not on par with a good café in Florence, but good enough to avoid driving to the local Starbucks.
Cleanup of Mini-Miele supposedly requires only a weekly rinse of the brew unit. Apparently nobody told the coffee grounds however, which may be found freely sprinkled about the machine’s interior. Still, it’s easier to clean than the Miele due to fewer dark corners and crevasses. A quick wipe of the interior surfaces gets the job done. The Miele did have a larger used coffee bin, which meant less frequent emptying but also more mold. True espresso afficionados inspect the used ‘pucks’ the way a big-game hunter might inspect scat, in their search for the perfect ‘pull.’ Mini-Miele’s droppings appear drier and more puck-shaped than the Miele, which I think is a good thing.
I’m still in the honeymoon phase with Mini-Miele but am optimistic about its future. It produces push-button coffee at a fraction of the cost of the showier but often troublesome Miele, with no noticeable difference in taste. I don’t yet know about its long term durability, but so far Mini-Miele looks like a winner.

Solid automatic espresso machine
I have had this automatic espresso machine for almost 3 years now. I use it every day, making 3-5 espressos per day. I could not be happier with it! I liked it so much I bought one to keep at the cabin.
When I got the new one, I tested it to see how it compared to the ~3 year old one and was a little disappointed at first. I ran 15 cups or so of espresso through it to see how it performed. It was not nearly as strong and the discarded coffee grounds came out more like soup. My old one comes out in hard pucks and makes great coffee. I compared the two settings and the new one had the grinder setting in the middle, where the old one was on 2 (nearly the finest grind). I set the new one to the same grind setting and temperature setting (hottest) and it works great! I could not be happier with the ease of use everyday with this.
I also use RO water exclusively, and have never had to descale the machine; it still works great after nearly 3 years! I only do the standard cleaning of the brew unit every 4 months or so, and it is still running strong.

I love to drink my coffee without problems, it is fast and easy to understand its use, I recommend it if you want to enjoy a morning coffee.

Great machine for home use. I’ve been using daily for 3months now and works so well. Best investment you can do if you drink coffee daily. Won’t regret buying.

Excelente cafetera