

The Xelsis can’t brew more than a cup of coffee at once.īetween its good looks and user-friendly features, we highly recommend the Xelsis if you’re looking for an upscale espresso machine with numerous options to personalize and save various beverages. It would also be nice to have an auto-on function if you want to wake up to a cup of freshly brewed coffee. For starters, the water tray is quite shallow and tends to spill when it’s removed, even after a single brew. While this coffee machine has several impressive features, it’s not without a few weak spots. You can automatically clean the plastic and milk tubes with the push of a button and even perform a deeper cleaning when necessary.

This should help get rid of oils that tend to accumulate over time. Saeco recommends removing the brew group and running it under hot water once a week then allowing it to dry. The display shows the status of your filters every time the machine turns on. This machine requires AquaClean filters, which can be fairly expensive to replace. A test strip is included to check your water hardness.

This number could be less if you have hard water. They also suggest that you can brew up to 5,000 cups without descaling if the filter is replaced at regular intervals. For example, the company claims that its heavy-duty ceramic grinders will last for at least 20,000 cups. Premium espresso machines can be high-maintenance, but Saeco used several quality components to make your life easier. The machine produces an average amount of noise between the grinding, brewing and milk frothing processes. There’s a small separate slot for ground coffee if you prefer. An incorporated grinder with a manually adjustable knob provides 12 distinct settings. This super-automatic espresso machine comes with a built-in hopper that holds around one pound of coffee beans. While you can set specific temperatures for coffee beverages, this machine only has one temperature setting for the frothed milk. It’s easy to whip up specialty drinks such as lattes, cappuccinos, caffe lattes, flat whites, espresso shots and more. You can even play around with the temperature and level of foam, and choose whether you want the milk or coffee to be dispensed first. For example, the body of the coffee is fully adjustable, along with the brew temperature and strength. The display takes you through several optional steps to ensure each brew is just right. Instead of simply pushing a button for a generic beverage, you can customize each cup by swiping the indicator bars up or down as desired. You can create up to eight profiles and save specific drinks directly on the screen so that you don’t have to scroll through the menu to find your favorite drink. The colorful screen provides instant access to 15 different coffee drinks along with options for warm milk, frothed milk and hot water. One of its most valuable assets is a crisp and clear 3.5-inch touchscreen display with intuitive controls. Both machines also use the same brew unit.Īlthough it’s the first super-automatic espresso coffee machine that I’ve tested, the user-friendly Xelsis quickly put my mind at ease.
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It’s similar in size to the Philips 3200 Series Fully Automatic Espresso Machine with LatteGo, which I also reviewed. Standing 11 inches wide, 19 inches deep and 15 inches high, this is a relatively compact machine that should fit under most kitchen cabinets. This is a really nice feature to have since you’ll need to use your fingers to empty the grounds container and fill up the water tank. While the rest of the machine is mostly plastic and tends to smudge a bit, the stainless steel doesn’t seem to show fingerprints. In terms of appearance, the Xelsis looks the part of a premium home espresso machine, thanks to its sleek brushed stainless steel front. Here are my thoughts after spending a few weeks with the appliance. There are cheaper espresso machines out there, so is the Xelsis really worth it? Philips sent me a Saeco Xelsis for an in-depth review. As far as super-automatic espresso machines go, the Saeco Xelsis is a moderately priced machine and a compelling solution if you’re trying to skip the crowded and expensive coffee shops.
