PHILIPS4400 Series Fully Automatic Espresso Machine – 12 Hot & Iced Coffees, Quick-to-Clean LatteGo Milk System, SilentBrew, QuickStart, Ceramic Grinder, Black Chrome (EP4444/90)

6 Month Edit: Still going strong! I love this thing. I can't remember the last time I bought a latte from a store (except maybe during travel). It's definitely going to pay for itself in the next couple months. This thing sparks so much joy in my life! My only small complaint is that the milk froth option only goes up to making a 12 oz latte. The carafe holds enough to make a 16 oz, but you have to run 2 separate milk froths to get there. It's a very small thing but for the future it would be nice. Also for some reason it doesn't "remember" that I usually do 2 espresso shots, so I have to select that each time. Basically my biggest complaints are software complaints ha. The machine itself works so well. It is easy to clean, easy to maintain, and our water is fairly hard but I haven't had to change the water filter yet even though I use it everyday.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!

It took a 10 or so drinks before I got down how I like the coffee I was using. I use Amazon fresh Colombian medium roast. It’s so easy to use. So many different drink choices that taste great. The aroma that comes from the machine when it grinds the coffee is fantastic, it makes my kitchen smell like a coffee shop. The build quality is good, some parts seem a little flimsy but it’s ok. It’ll take time to find your right grind size, strength of espresso, and how much water goes through it, but it’ll be worth it

Watery espresso shots. No matter the combination of different grind size or less water amount still pulled a nasty shot. Pucks were supper soggy and thin. I purchased this machine to replace a Saeco odea giro go that I’ve had for over 10 years. This item doesn’t even come close to the way the Odea pulls a shot. From the first time I used it excellent pulls no need to “learn” or adjust itself. No watery pucks and thick pucks in comparison to this new machine. Made an iced latte like I usually do on my old machine, NO flavor what so ever. All I tasted was the oat milk and I only use 1/4 cup and 1 tablespoon of sweet cream creamerBLAND!!! Added a second shot no help at all. It actually made it taste bitter. Mind you this is the way I’ve made my lattes for the past 10 years so I’m not doing anything different other than using this new machine. I tried making a honey nut latte which I’ve made over the past two years exact measurements of honey and peanut butter powder and oat milk like I’ve always used with the old machine and it doesn’t even come close! I’m not gonna lie Bustelos instant espresso tastes 1000 times better than what this machine makes. I really wanted to like the machine but it makes horrible espresso. I ran about 3lbs of coffee through it hoping it would get better. It in fact did not! Don’t waste your money! As soon as I saw the quality of the shot I knew the rest of the drinks this machine is capable of making would not be up to my standard. Such a shame,for the amount of money people are willing to invest in an espresso maker it should at the least make a descent shot.