As TechRadar Australia’s resident coffee connoisseur and gatekeeper of our guide to the best coffee machines, I’m constantly on the lookout for exceptional coffee machine deals on the most talented models. This week’s search was made easy, thanks to a 26% saving on the Philips Baristina, bringing it down to AU$444.
The Baristina is my pick for the best budget coffee machine in Australia in the aforementioned guide, thanks to its ease of use, clever features, tasty espresso and, of course, its low price. Its full price of AU$599 can easily be considered affordable compared to other models that typically carry a four-figure tag, but this solid discount makes it all the more tempting.
My colleague Cat Ellis — who is also a trained barista — couldn’t have been more positive in her Philips Baristina review, loving the fact that it combines the best of bean-to-cup machines with the convenience of capsule models.
It handles all aspects of the coffee-making process — grinding, dosing, tamping and brewing — all the while putting on a show. Once you’ve inserted the portafilter into position, the Baristina will automatically move it across to the brewing position when it’s finished grinding and tamping. It’s this feature alone that makes it unlike any other coffee machine Cat or I have previously tested.
It’s not without its limitations: it can only brew a 40ml espresso or a 110ml lungo, for example — there’s no extensive menu of drink options to choose from here — and you can’t adjust the grind size. This need not be a deal breaker, however, as you may just need to conduct some trial and error with coffee bean varieties if you find your espresso tastes over- or under-extracted.
There’s also no way to steam milk, although a colour-matching Philips Baristina milk frother is available separately — or you can buy this as a complete bundle for the same cumulative price.
In my mind, these are minor niggles that are either non-issues or which can be easily resolved. The combination of good looks, intuitive features and consistently well-extracted espresso more than makes up for them. If your kitchen is crying out for an affordable coffee machine, the Philips Baristina is ideal.
Want more suggestions?
If you’re in the market for a coffee machine, but the Philips Baristina doesn’t seem like it will fill your caffeine void, Amazon AU currently has a number of other wonderful models on sale, with up to 53% off.
