Philips HD 7810/60/61/69 Senseo Black

I love coffee. I own a lovely coffee maker that makes filter coffee. Over the weekend, we can make several pots of coffee and find that it's not enough for us. We also go through jars and jars of instant coffee (we buy Nescafe's, Taster's Choice). When my sister-in-law realized this and wanted to buy us a 25th wedding anniversary present, she decided that it was time we got a "real" coffee machine. That is why she bought us a Senseo coffee/tea maker by Philips, and we love it. Here is why.

First of all, this is as simple as can be to use. You simply fill it up with water reserve (if it isn't already full), and press the on button. When the light stops flashing, put a coffee (or tea) pod into the filter area, close the lid and then press either the one cup or the two cup button, depending on how many cups you want to make (or if you want to make one weaker cup, you can put one pod in and press the two cup button). When the on button stops flashing again, your coffee (or tea) is ready! I should mention that if the on-off button flashes really quickly, that means that it's out of water and you have to refill the reserve tank. It is that simple.

Just looking at this machine on my counter-top is a pleasure. As you can see from the picture, it's very compact and sleek looking. Mine is this pretty blue one and it really looks lovely in my all blue and wood kitchen. The main part looks like a pillar that's melted over a bit. The top of the pillar lifts up, and inside there is where you put the coffee or tea pods. Below that are the spouts where the coffee or tea comes out. Underneath all this is a plate for putting your coffee cup or teacup onto. Just under the plate, on the front are three buttons. The middle one is the on-off switch and the left is the one-cup button, and the right is the two-cup button. At the back is the water reserve tank that leans out for filling and leans in when in place. By the way, when you want to make two cups, you'll need to put two pods into the machine, and there's a special holder for this. Really, that is all there is to this machine.

Well, almost. The plate for putting your cups on comes off for cleaning, and you'll notice a well underneath this. This is to catch any spills, and the well bit is actual a plastic bowl type thing inside a well. This plastic bit comes out as well also for cleaning. The filter holders that go into the top of the machine go in and come out very easily for emptying out the pods without burning your fingers. There's a special filter holder for the tea pods, as well, and all the moveable parts seem to be dishwasher safe, but if you rinse them after use each time, I can't see how you'd need to put them into the dishwasher.

So simple, isn't it? And the coffee really is lovely. Of course, the taste of the coffee is depends highly on what type of coffee or tea you buy and what you personally like. But on the whole, I have found that the coffee from this machine has a slightly less acidic aftertaste to it than instant, and a touch stronger in general than filter coffee from my other machine. What's really nice is that every cup of coffee has that professional creamy foam on the top, which makes you feel like you've just gotten your cup from a fancy boutique coffee shop. How cool is that?

The question now is, are there any drawbacks with this machine. First of all, this machine isn't sold where I live (in Israel) which means I'm going to be dependant on my sister-in-law for supplying me with pods. Of course, I can always buy them through Amazon.co.uk's marketplace. But even there, I've found that the pods themselves aren't at all inexpensive - in fact, I'd say they're pretty expensive as compared to buying either instant or ground coffee to use in a drip machine. Still, using these pods is far cheaper than buying a cup in your local fancy coffee shop, so that's at least something.

But I've found a way to get around this. Through Amazon.com in the USA I found a reusable, refillable filter pod. Despite some of the drawbacks (like you have to be careful to use finer ground coffee and make sure you don't have any grounds on the edges of the filter so that it closes completely), I think this will keep me going when I run out of the pods.

I do hope you understand that this is not an espresso machine. It is a coffee machine that makes less strong coffee than espresso - more like for cappuccino or for making a latte. So, if you're looking for an espresso machine, this isn't the one to get. Also, the tea is okay, but personally I think it comes out a touch too weak for my taste.

My overall impression of this machine is that it makes very nice coffee and tea - if a bit on the expensive side. It's easy to use, easy to clean and very easy on the eye. Of course, it's Philips and that's a very well known and trusted name, so I'm sure it will last me for many years. All in all, a solid four stars and recommended for anyone who likes to make a single or two single cups of non-instant coffee without going to all the trouble of using your big filter coffee maker or your messy café press.

Thanks for reading.

Davida Chazan @ May, 2006

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Technical Stuff:

You can buy this through Amazon.co.uk for £35.99. Also, I noticed that ElectricShopping.com sells this for £35.98, but I bet that you can get it cheaper off-line at somewhere like Curry's.

The official web site for this can be found at http://www.senseo.com/uk/Senseo/. Since my machine was bought in the Netherlands, I ended up downloading the instruction manual from the Philips site, which is at http://www.philips.co.uk/. And the full information about this product can be found at http://tinyurl.com/fp8k6
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