If you're in the market for a bean-to-cup coffee machine, the Philips 5400 Series is a great option. The brand's most premium coffee machine, it makes 12 drinks and allows you to edit your drink size and preferences in an easy, touch-controlled panel.
I've been testing coffee machines for five years, and while I definitely have my top picks, there is no true does-it-all best coffee machine. For some, the idea of meticulously grinding and tamping your beans before tracking the pressure of your extraction and hand-steaming your milk is the perfect ritual to start your day. For others, a coffee machine exists to streamline your morning machine while still delivering on a tasty cup of coffee, no matter your preferences.
While there are a number of expensive, barista-level machines for buyer one, the Philips 5400 Series falls firmly in the latter category, and it does so more seamlessly than many coffee machines I've tried. I put it to the test in my own kitchen for a number of weeks to see how well it slotted into my household.
Philips 5400 specifications
- RRP: £679.99
- Dimensions: H43.3 x W37.2 x D24.6 cm
- Presets: Americano, Cappuccino, Espresso, Flat White, Lungo, Macchiato, Milk Froth
- Weight: 8kg
My first impressions of the Philips 5400
The Philips 5400 comes in quite a hefty box, but I was pleased to see that the majority of the packaging was recyclable. The coffee machine sat on a piece of cardboard that had two tabs at the side. These tabs had handles, which meant I could easily hoist the machine up out of the box and onto my counters.
Setup was straightforward. The machine, once plugged in, walks you through it from start to finish. The first step is to do a hard water test which your machine will then use to tell you how often you need to clean. Limescale buildup is a serious problem for coffee machines, so it was good to see that Philips takes this into account when inputting cleaning instructions.
For such a capable machine, I was impressed at how compact it is. While it's not as small as a pod machine, it's not so imposing as your average barista-style machine which comes with different grinding and tamping capabilities.
The Philips 5400 also takes you through the process of fitting your water filter to the machine. Again, this prevents limescale buildup, and replacing it regularly is one of the annoying but necessary parts of maintaining any coffee machine.
How does the Philips 5400 perform?
Once my coffee machine had set up, I made an espresso shot to try the coffee for the first time. Choosing your setting is easy thanks to the pre-set buttons on the control panel of the machine. You can adjust both the intensity and size of your drink, or go straight to brewing using the button to the right of the control panel which looks like a play button.
The first thing that struck me was how loud this machine is. It easily surpassed 80dB, making it one of the loudest coffee machines I've tested. It wasn't that loud throughout the entire process though, just while pre-heating when I first switched the machine on. The grinding hit about 73dB, not as quiet as my go-to Sage Barista Express Impress, but not disturbingly noisy either.
The espresso had a good colour and nice, creamy top layer, but it lacked some of the richness and rigidity I'd expect from an espresso. To remedy this, I made the grind size finer to create a longer extraction time. There are 12 grind settings to choose from with this machine, which isn't a lot but will get the job done as you adjust between beans.
Once I'd adjusted my espresso I made an Americano. This is my partner's go-to drink, so we got through a lot of them in the weeks we spent testing this machine. The shot was slower and more controlled this time, and despite being watered down by the following stream of hot water it had more body and a fuller flavour, and I was struck by just how easy the process was from start to finish.
When I drank the coffee it was a little on the warm side for me, but there are three temperature settings to choose from if you prefer your coffee hotter, or drinking temperature straight from first brew. These can also be customised for each of the four colour-coded profiles available with this machine, which automatically saves your preferences to make the brewing even faster.
While my partner tends to drink long black coffee, I enjoy a latte or cappuccino in the morning, which gave me the perfect excuse to test the LatteGo steaming system. This milk container slots onto the side of the machine and features just two parts, which means you don't need to worry about flushing out tubes between making drinks. The plastic parts easily come apart and can be rinsed in the sink, and I also enjoyed taking this container to and from the fridge between uses if I had some milk left over.
A word of warning though, you need to make sure your milk container clicks into place when re-assembling your LatteGo system. I once didn't do this firmly enough and the mechanism started leaking from a hole that wasn't fully covered by the outer unit.
Once again, compared to my regular coffee machine the Philips 5400 was immensely low-maintenance, and my latte macchiato looked and tasted really good. The milk form was nice and fine, although I did find that it faded quite fast.
How does the Philips 5400 compare?
I've tried a lot of coffee machines, but my top recommendation (if you have the budget) would be a bean-to-cup machine. With that being said, I was really wowed when I wrote my Nespresso Vertuo Creatista review I was struck by the ease of use of this pod machine and particularly impressed by how well it steamed milk. If you're not committed to a bean-to-cup model, I'd highly recommend it as a luxurious but easy to use pod model.
Alternatively, the De'Longhi Rivelia is another incredibly user-friendly bean-to-cup coffee machine. It's got an extra bean hopper that you can swap out if you want to go from coffee to decaf, or simply try out a new specialty bean. The controls on this one are a little more interactive, allowing up to four user profiles with different drink preferences for different users. This is one advantage over the Philips 5400, because while it has 12 drink options, a large number of them are hidden on the 'more drinks' button which will require you to scroll through the options every time you want a flat white
Should you buy the Philips 5400?
Of all the coffee machines I've tried, the Philips 5400 may just be the most user-friendly of them all. My major gripe with bean-to-cup machines is that their automatic milk frothers can get icky if not cleaned properly, but with fiddly designs, they can be really tricky to clean after every use. The Philips 5400 solves this with its innovative LatteGo system, which can easily pop into the fridge between uses.
After adjusting to suit my specific beans, I was able to get a really well-rounded espresso from the Philips 5400. If you're someone who wants to control every minute detail of your brewing process, the Philips 5400 may fall short, but for the busy but discerning coffee drinker, it might just be your perfect choice.
About this review, and the reviewer
Millie Fender is Head of Shopping at woman&home, and has been reviewing coffee machines for five years. As part of her coffee expertise she's been to the London Coffee Festival, and even to the De'Longhi factory in Italy to see coffee machines being made.
Millie tested the Philips 5400 in her own kitchen for a number of weeks where she and her partner used it at least six times a day while working from home.
