Excellent machine so far. I bought it 2-3 weeks ago and I have made countless coffees. I mainly bought it because I wanted to make a decent freddo espresso at home and stop ordering from outside all the time. After some research, I ended up choosing this one (without having endless knowledge about coffee etc). At first, you need to make a few coffees to see which settings suit you and of course to find the coffee variety. With the grinder set to 1 (that is, the finest grind the grinder can do), coffee strength at max, and the amount for 2 espressos at the lowest, I achieve the perfect freddo espresso (for the first time at home), without it being watery compared to countless attempts I made in the past with capsules etc. It is much better than many coffees outside. I am still in the phase of trying different coffee varieties to find the one that suits me 100%. I haven't tried the frothing nozzle yet, maybe in the winter. If you're tired of getting freddo from outside, this machine is for you! All you have to do is add beans, put in water, and press a button.

I replaced a Delonghi Magnifica with this one, which I used intensively for about a year and a half, making an average of 5-6 coffees per day. The comparison is 100% in favor of the Philips based on first impressions (I have had it for about 20 days). Its main advantage is that it makes incomparably better crema (foam) and the body of the coffee is also noticeably better. I don't know if this is due to the fact that the integrated grinder is ceramic, but no matter how much I struggled with the settings on the Magnifica, I never managed to achieve the same result that the Philips gave me from the first moment. And I didn't even have to bring the settings to their limits (3rd position on the grinder and medium scale for intensity and quantity). Reading reviews, I expected the opposite to be true, but at least I personally find that the Philips is far better.

LATEST UPDATE: After 10 months of intensive use (4-5 coffees daily), the grinder developed a fault. It was repaired (quickly) and the diagnosis was that "coffee residues had hardened in the grinder and it was not cutting." I took meticulous care of maintenance (using a water filter, cleaning with special residue tablets, etc.), so I do not consider it normal for a fault to occur before even a year has passed.

Summary: It makes good coffee but the potential buyer should take into consideration the maintenance costs and the low build quality.

First of all, I have to say that the coffee maker makes better coffee than the Dolce Gusto capsules I had for so long. Much better? I'm not sure. I quite liked the Intenso capsules that I used to buy. They were much better than many cafes or takeaways.

As for the coffee beans, the prices are generally expensive. The average price is 25€ per kilogram. This means that an espresso costs you about 25 minutes and a freddo costs you 50 minutes. With the capsules, it took 35-40 minutes for a single and 70-80 minutes for a double. So, you save a little here.

The downside is that you have to buy quantities of 250g and above. If you don't like the coffee or you force yourself to drink it, it goes to waste. Many brands don't have packaging below 1kg.

Also, you can't make one coffee with one brand and another coffee with a different brand. Because you can't see how many beans are inside the grinder, switching from one brand to another requires 2-3 coffees. Some of them will be a mix of the two different beans.

The first coffees were disappointing, but once you find the blend you like and the right settings for that blend, then you can enjoy a nice coffee.

Overall, it is easy to use, just press 2 buttons and you have a quality coffee in the morning. However, it takes a little experimentation to find the right settings. The capsules were easier in this aspect. The daily cleaning is also very easy.

Where I was disappointed is the build quality. The grinder broke after 5 months of use (5-6 coffees per day). From what I read, it has happened to others as well. I made an investment of 300€ to drink better coffee, but it broke in 6 months. It is very likely to happen again after the warranty expires.

Because it was under warranty, they replaced the grinder for free, otherwise it would have cost 80€. The coffee maker stayed in the service center for 1 month!

It also has a quite high maintenance/cleaning cost. Compared to the capsules, which had minimal cost. The descaling liquid costs 7€ and above, and the aquafilter costs 15€! Descaling was not requested within 5 months because I was using the filter, but they asked for a filter change within 4 months. I decided not to use the filter because 45€ per year (3 x 15) is too much. Besides, I have a filter on my faucet. Also, there is a lubricant that costs 10€ and needs to be applied to the mechanism. I haven't used it yet, nor do I know how many uses one 5g tube provides.

So, if you follow the instructions, you need 2-3 filters, 2-3 descalings, and half a tube, which adds up to around 50-70€ per year for maintenance. If you don't use the filter (not required) and do 3 descalings per year + half a tube, it comes to around 25€ per year, which is more reasonable.