Philips 3100 series fully automatic espresso machine makes a mean cup of joe

Philips 3100 series (EP3360/14) fully automatic espresso machine.Supplied

I like espresso drinks but I don’t generally have the patience to make them at home. If I need a quick caffeine fix, I brew a cup of regular coffee with my Keurig machine but it would be nice to have other options.

And so enters the Philips 3100 series fully automatic espresso machine. Unlike most of its competitors, it can make both drip coffee and espresso drinks (including milk-based ones) at the press of a button.

It can use both coffee grounds and whole beans and has a built-in grinder and a bean hopper hidden under the lid.

Th Philips 3100 series machines are larger and considerably more expensive than the typical automatic coffeemaker or espresso machine. (The EP 3360 model I tested is currently on sale at a variety of retailers, including for around $750.) But it is a far superior product.

Now obviously the quality of the coffee is largely dependent on the beans used but the EP 3360 brewed a mean cup of joe and even better espresso. To some, the coffee might seem a little watery as even when using a dark roast, there was little to no aftertaste but I believe it more to do with the brewing process. The coffee pours out of the machine from the same nozzles as the espresso – except instead of two shots, you get a small cup. So it’s a faster, more voluminous pour, making it more akin to a pour-over coffee, which has a cleaner taste than a traditional drip brew. Generally, I drink my coffee with milk but with the EP 3360, the coffee was smooth enough to drink on its own. But I would recommend using a dark roast. (The machine uses an AquaClean filter in the water tank, which arguably gives it a slightly more sterile taste.)

For quick brewing, the EP 3360 model has buttons for espresso, coffee, cappuccino and latte macchiato (which just means a latte with foam on top). You can adjust the volume of the drink by holding down on the button — or just brew it again. Pressing the coffee button a second time, for example, was usually enough to fill up a mug.

Of course, you can get more creative as well. Through a separate menu, you can choose steamed milk or hot water. (The milk carafe can be swapped out for a hot water spout). So you can make americanos or, if you have the other ingredients, tea, hot chocolate, mochas and so on.

Since you can use both pre-ground coffee and whole beans, you can also make a red eye by brewing a coffee with the grounds and then espresso with the beans. (You add coffee grounds into a separate compartment on the top of the machine on a cup-by-cup basis.)

For the most part, it worked well but I did encounter a couple of issues.

The EP 3360 wasn’t as friendly when using grounds. In fact, it was kind of angry. For some reason, the machine made more noise when I tried to brew coffee that way even though it didn’t need to grind any beans. I usually could get one cup of coffee fine but if I added more grounds for a second cup, the brew group (where the coffee filters through) started acting up and it often refused to spew out any liquid. Sometimes, I had to run it a third time with no grounds just to flush it out. It’s possible, it didn’t find the grind fine enough or perhaps it’s just a glitch with the brew group in the test model. Admittedly, it could be my fault and the brew group needs a better cleaning than I’ve given it so far. Of course, if you don’t plan on switching back and forth between beans, it’s not that big of a deal. I mean, you can make drip coffee with espresso beans or an “espresso”-like drink with a different roast.

The only other major complaint I had with the machine was the milk temperature. The EP 3360 does an impressive job at frothing the milk in the carafe. I tried skim milk which, because of its low fat content is usually harder to froth, and an almond-coconut milk substitute, and both offer a good deal of foam. The manual says to use cold milk from the fridge to avoid splashing.(It’s not the type of product you’d want to leave lying out on a counter anyway.) But the end result is that, while not cold, your drink might cool down before you finish it. You can increase the water temperature for the espresso but the milk steams as it pours. So the only way to increase the milk’s temperature is to continue to pour it, which is fine if you have a large enough cup. Otherwise, you may need to heat your drink up in the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds.

Still, the Philips 3100 series EP3360 is the best automatic cappuccino maker I have ever used and if you have the counter space and cash in your bank account, it’s worth the investment.

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