Philips recently launched the Philips Baristina in Portugal, an automatic coffee machine that simplifies the espresso-making process as much as possible.
Rather than offering a vast array of options, it focuses on the essentials of pulling a good espresso.
Read our review and opinion of this new coffee machine with a built-in grinder for freshly ground coffee.
We tested the new Philips Baristina: A simple and fast way to have freshly ground coffee at home
Having freshly ground whole-bean coffee at home used to mean choosing between a complex professional machine or giving up on quality.
Philips wants to solve that with the Baristina, a compact machine designed to simplify the entire process without compromising what ends up in the cup.
The Philips Baristina is a bean-to-cup espresso machine with a 16-bar pump, integrated grinder, SilentBrew technology for quieter operation, a 1.2-litre water tank, and a 170-gram bean capacity.
The machine pulls two types of coffee — espresso or lungo — and also has a coffee boost mode that can be activated.
It is available in black and white for €299.99, with portafilters in seven colours and different finishes sold separately.
Design and build quality
The Philips Baristina has a very simple design that fits any décor.
Made entirely of plastic, this machine comes in black and white, with the portafilter available in one of 7 colours — though this requires a separate purchase.
On top you will find a slightly translucent compartment that lets you see the coffee beans inside. It is protected by an airtight lid that keeps the beans in good condition.
Also on top are 3 buttons that control the machine’s operation.
Just below is a smooth surface bearing the machine’s logo and model name, which houses the grinder and the entire extraction system.
At the bottom is where the portafilter slots in — it holds the ground coffee and channels the water through to the cup.
Further down is a ribbed surface that gives the machine an elegant, modern look.
At the base is a removable cup tray that makes cleaning easier.
On the rear you will find the 1.2L water tank and the power cable.
In terms of dimensions, it is not the most compact machine — it measures 34.5 × 18 × 38 cm and weighs 5 kg.
Setup
Setting up the Philips Baristina is very simple and quick.
The machine comes almost fully assembled — you just need to fill it with coffee beans and close the lid, fill the water tank, and slot the portafilter into the correct position.
Within a few minutes the machine is ready to use, with very little room for confusion during setup.
We recommend paying attention to the type of coffee you buy and always avoiding torrefacto roast. This style of roasting involves coating beans with sugar during the roasting process, creating a caramel layer that can damage the machine’s grinder.
How do you pull a coffee?
The process of pulling a coffee is also very straightforward. Simply insert the portafilter into the designated slot and give it a slight twist to the right until it locks, positioning it to receive the ground coffee.
Then choose one of the options from the buttons above (we will explore these shortly) and wait a few seconds.
The machine will grind the beans, dose the coffee, move the portafilter into the extraction position, and pull the coffee.
The entire process is fully autonomous from the moment you press the button until the coffee is ready and the grounds are ready to be discarded.
The grinder is a little noisy at around 70 dB, similar to other machines we have had the opportunity to test.
As for extraction time, from a cold start to a ready coffee takes 45 seconds — a reasonable time for the whole process.
If you want to customise the amount of water in a shot, simply hold down the button you want to customise for as long as you want to set as the default.
The 1.2L tank holds enough for several coffees, and the grounds must be emptied after each shot.
One thing I found a little unusual is the absence of a standby light. If the machine has been idle for a while and you press one of the top buttons, you find yourself waiting for the lights to start flashing to indicate it is heating up.
With the Philips Baristina, as soon as you press the button it starts pulling immediately.
If you want to use the boost option, you also need to choose the type of shot — espresso or lungo — and press the boost button straight away. Logically, it should be the other way round: select the extra coffee button and then start the extraction.
These are two small quirks you quickly get used to, but they can cause confusion during the first few shots.
Espresso or lungo?
Remember us saying the Philips Baristina is very simple and minimalist? This machine is designed to make just two types of shot: espresso (40ml) or lungo (110ml).
There is no option to adjust the grind or any other kind of fine-tuning. The machine comes calibrated from the factory and that preset is always used when pulling a coffee.
Beyond espresso and lungo, the only option if you want a slightly stronger coffee is to activate the coffee booster immediately after pressing the extraction button. This causes the machine to grind a little more coffee for a more intense shot.
Beyond that, any customisation is entirely limited to choosing a different variety of coffee bean.
There is a trick for using ground coffee
If you want to bypass the beans currently loaded and use a different type of coffee — or even decaffeinated — there is a hidden way to perform a manual shot.
Simply place the pre-ground coffee in the portafilter, tamp it with a suitable flat object, and hold down the boost button continuously until water starts falling into the cup.
This way you bypass the grinder and pull a coffee with whatever ground coffee or dose you prefer.
Shot quality
In terms of coffee quality, by my own standards it delivers good consistency and crema.
In terms of flavour, we had mixed experiences. On some shots the coffee tasted slightly watery, which led us to start using the coffee booster mode consistently.
With the booster active, we noticed a fuller-bodied coffee with quality very similar to that produced by more complete automatic machines.
Since there is no way to adjust the grind, the booster is the only option available to increase the coffee dose per shot.
The truth is that a capsule machine today also comes with its extraction parameters fully preset, leaving little room to deviate from what the brand has defined. The Philips Baristina is clearly aimed at those who want the simplicity of capsules but with freshly ground coffee.
Overall, the coffee produced by the Philips Baristina satisfies my taste. However, in an area where coffee preferences are so personal, there is always a risk with an automatic machine that offers only one grind calibration setting.
For this review we used Delta Chávena blend coffee.
Grounds and cleaning
After extraction, the grounds are compacted into a single puck and should be emptied into the bin — the residue is fully compostable.
This is a manual process and must be done after every shot pulled on this machine.
It is also important to regularly clean the rest of the machine and the grinder to ensure the equipment’s longevity.
Since this machine does not perform an automatic cleaning cycle on switch-on and switch-off as other brands do, manual cleaning becomes even more important.
Who is the Philips Baristina for?
The Philips Baristina is for those who want freshly ground whole-bean coffee at home without having to learn how to use professional equipment. It is the right choice for anyone currently using a capsule machine who wants to take a step forward in coffee quality without giving up ease of use.
It is also well suited to those who value design and the ability to customise the portafilter colour to match their kitchen décor.
It is not the most suitable choice for those who enjoy adjusting the grind, tweaking the dose, or experimenting with different extraction profiles.
Anyone with that level of demand will be frustrated by the lack of customisation options beyond the booster. Equally, those who mainly drink decaffeinated will always have to resort to the ground-coffee trick, which takes away some of the convenience.
Our verdict on the Philips Baristina
The Philips Baristina delivers on its promise: maximum simplicity with freshly ground coffee.
The three-step process works well in practice, and the 45 seconds from start to finish is a reasonable time for those in a hurry in the morning. SilentBrew technology makes the grinder quieter than usual, although 70 dB is still noticeable.
Coffee quality is a pleasant surprise when the booster mode is used consistently. Without it, the shot tends to taste slightly watery for more discerning palates. It is a limitation that is easily resolved, but it should arguably be the default rather than a secondary option.
The lack of a heating indicator light and the counter-intuitive booster logic are two small details that cause confusion during the first few uses, but you quickly get used to them.
The need to manually clean the grounds after every shot is the most demanding part of daily use, especially for a machine that positions itself on simplicity.
At €299.99, the Philips Baristina sits in a competitive segment. It is more expensive than many capsule machines but offers the real advantage of freshly ground coffee with a freedom of bean choice that capsules simply cannot match.
Techbit thanks Philips for providing the Philips Baristina for review.
- Simplicity of the process
- Freshly ground coffee
- Compostable grounds in a compact puck
- No option to adjust the grind or dose
- No automatic cleaning cycle on switch-on and switch-off
Philips Baristina FAQ
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