Everybody knows Keurig coffee is horrid but incredibly convenient for a quick cup of coffee. During the hot summer months after I finish a ride sweaty ride on my Peloton Cycle or Tread, I convert to drinking refreshing home made cold brew on the Dash Cold Brew Maker (which makes solid cold brew), but my wife still enjoys hot coffee daily, and I also enjoy one after my summer cold brew.
There are several semi- and automatic espresso makers, but cutting to the chase, this model from Philips is the best bang for the buck. This maker will make a single or double of espresso (with 3 strength/aroma levels) or coffee in super-automatic form!
There is a large sealed hopper on top that feeds the adjustable ceramic burr grinder. Water is filled from the front slide out and cleaning is a breeze! Daily just pull out the tray, dump your spent coffee pucks into the compost, and rinse everything. Weekly I remove the brew unit (from a side door just inside of where the water compartment sits) and rinse the whole thing under water to clean out any errant grinds. Let it dry until the next morning and you are back at it! Philips also sells an AquaClean Filter device that prevents the need for ANY descaling of the internals! I highly recommend this consumable filter purchase to avoid the annoying process of descaling.
This also comes with a simple yet effective steam frothing wand that will also output hot water on demand for tea or hot cocoa!
Watch this thing froth!
TechDadCO’s Take
The Philips Carina 1200 makes a solid cup of joe for about $500. Are there better espresso machines? Absolutely, but combining ease of us, fresh quality grind, and cleanup this is a top notch option for convenient coffee, espresso, or hot water on demand. Will this completely replace a large coffee maker? Not likely for large groups, but this unit turns out a cup so fast this could easily support multiple back to back brews for even a large family of coffee drinker. We loved this unit so much we put one in our vacation home in Granby Colorado, and are considering adding it to our short term rental mountain property in Granby Ranch for all our guests to enjoy!
If you have this unit or any other semi-automatic coffee maker you love, please comment below and share. Any now back to my ☕️ 😁.
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Tech Dad CO 