Philips 2200 Series review: a simple touch-panel machine whose frother hides a real steam tip

Philips 2200 Series at a glance

First impressions of the Philips 2200 Series

The Philips 2200 Series is one of the most popular ways into bean-to-cup coffee, and it's easy to see why.

It's compact, it's simple, and it covers the drinks most people actually make at home.

In some markets, a closely related model is sold as the 1200.

Like its siblings, it uses Philips' standard removable brew group, the same basic design you find in much more expensive machines.

What surprised me most wasn't the coffee.

It was the milk frother.

Pull off its plastic sleeve and you find a plain, single-hole steam tip, the kind you'd find on a manual espresso machine.

That one detail changes what this machine can do for milk drinks.

The machine itself looks neat in matte black, with a flat touch panel and rounded edges.

It's plastic all round, light at about 7.5 kilograms, or 16.5 pounds, and narrow enough for most kitchens.

Alex and I measured almost everything during our four weeks: doses, volumes, temperatures and rinse water.

Those numbers are the backbone of this review.

The 2200 Series is about 9.7 inches wide, so it fits in tight spots.

What the Philips 2200 Series actually is

The 2200 is a fully automatic, bean-to-cup espresso machine with a manual milk frother.

It grinds whole beans, doses them, presses them into a puck, brews under pressure and drops the used grounds in a drawer.

On the menu: espresso, coffee, hot water and steam.

Espresso and coffee can each be made as a single or a double.

Strength has three levels, and so does cup size.

What's in the box

Philips includes more than most entry machines.

There's a measuring scoop for pre-ground coffee, a tube of food-safe grease for the brew group✕Brew groupThe part inside an automatic machine that receives the ground coffee, presses it into a puck, pushes hot water through it and then ejects the used grounds., a water hardness test strip and quick-start instructions.

The AquaClean water filter is also in the box, which saves you buying one on day one.

Our tip: Keep the grease tube somewhere you will remember it, because the brew group needs a thin coat every couple of months.

Philips 2200 Series design and setup

The machine measures about 24.6 × 37.1 × 43.3 cm, or 9.7 × 14.6 × 17 inches.

The water tank slides out from the side and the drip tray and grounds drawer pull out from the front.

The spout adjusts between about 8.5 and 14.5 cm, or 3.3 to 5.7 inches, so most mugs fit.

Setting the water hardness

Do this first, before your first coffee.

Dip the test strip in tap water and count the colored squares.

Then, with the machine switched off, press and hold the strength button for about three seconds.

The panel shows the hardness levels, and you tap the one that matches your strip and press start to confirm.

Our water is very hard, so we used the highest setting.

This isn't a taste setting.

It tells the machine how often to remind you to descale, so a wrong setting means reminders that arrive too late.

Fitting the AquaClean filter

Soak and prime the filter as the instructions say, then push it into the socket at the bottom of the tank.

We primed ours before brewing anything, so the very first coffee used filtered water.

Our tip: Put a cup under the spout every time you switch on, because the start-up rinse sends hot water through the coffee outlet.

Two glasses under the spout: the double runs two full brew cycles.

Controls and drink settings, measured

The touch panel keeps things simple: espresso, coffee, hot water, steam, a strength button, a cup-size button and start.

Each strength and size has three levels, shown as small bars.

I measured what each cup size actually gives you, because the panel doesn't show volumes.

The coffee button pours a bigger drink.

On the medium size with the strongest setting, I measured about 3.9 fl oz, or 115 ml.

How the double button works

Choosing a double doesn't brew one big dose.

The machine runs the full grind-and-brew cycle twice in a row.

So a double espresso gets two separate doses, which keeps each cup from tasting watered down.

Our tip: Judge your settings by taste, not by the size of the bars: the smallest espresso setting was the most flavorful in all my tests.

The dose, the ratio and what they mean for your espresso

This is the most important section of the review if you love strong espresso.

To understand what the Philips 2200 Series is really brewing, I stopped the machine right after it ground and weighed the coffee.

A typical café espresso uses about 14 to 18 grams of coffee for a double.

So even on the strongest setting, the 2200 uses about half the coffee of a café shot.

The ratio

On medium strength and medium size, about 6.5 grams of coffee made about 40 grams of espresso.

That's a brew ratio✕Brew ratioThe weight of ground coffee compared with the weight of the drink. A café espresso is often about 1:2. A higher ratio gives a longer, lighter drink. of roughly 1:6.

A classic espresso is closer to 1:2, and a lungo✕LungoA long espresso, brewed with more water through the same coffee. It is lighter in body and slightly more bitter than a regular espresso. sits around 1:3 to 1:4.

In plain terms, the 2200 espresso button makes something closer to a lungo.

Is that a problem?

Not necessarily.

The espresso I made tasted pleasant, with dark chocolate and a little sweetness at the end.

It just isn't thick and syrupy, and you shouldn't expect it to be.

Philips 2200 Series espresso performance

With recently roasted espresso beans, the 2200 made a consistent, easy-drinking espresso.

On high strength and medium size, the shot weighed about 1.34 ounces, or 38 grams, with a visible layer of crema✕CremaThe golden-brown foam on top of an espresso. It forms when pressure pushes gases and oils out of freshly ground coffee..

It tasted of dark chocolate, with a little sweetness toward the finish.

I measured the espresso in the cup at about 154 to 158°F, or 68 to 70°C.

That's a comfortable drinking temperature, hot without burning your lip.

Fresh beans matter

Beans roasted within the last few weeks gave noticeably more crema and aroma than an older bag.

Blends with some Robusta made a thicker-looking crema and more caffeine.

Crema isn't the same as flavor, but it's a good sign that your beans are fresh.

Our tip: Turn the grind knob inside the hopper only while the grinder is running, one click at a time, then wait two drinks before judging.

Coffee crema, hot water and doubles

The coffee button makes what many Europeans call a coffee crema✕Coffee cremaA long coffee brewed under pressure by an espresso machine. It has a crema on top and a fuller body than filter coffee, but is lighter than espresso..

It's a longer drink brewed under pressure, so it has a crema layer that drip coffee never has.

On medium size with high strength, I got about 3.9 fl oz with a nice crema and a smooth taste.

I measured it at about 162°F, or 72°C, which is hot enough for most people.

It's a good middle ground between espresso and a full mug of filter coffee.

Hot water

Hot water comes out of the frother at about 183°F, or 84°C, at the top of the cup.

That's fine for black tea and herbal tea, and a little hot for delicate green tea.

I used it constantly for Americanos and for warming cups before espresso.

Our tip: Make big black coffees as a double espresso topped up with hot water, which tastes cleaner than stretching one brew.

Milk foam: two ways to steam

This is where the Philips 2200 Series earns its place.

The steam wand comes with a Panarello✕PanarelloA sleeve that fits over a steam wand and pulls air into the milk automatically. It makes foaming easy for beginners, but the foam is coarser than what a skilled barista makes with a plain wand. sleeve, and you can use it with or without it.

The two methods give you very different milk.

Method 1: with the Panarello sleeve

For my first cappuccino, I made a double espresso on the smallest size and then switched to steam.

The sleeve pulls air in through a small hole at the top and mixes it into the milk.

You barely have to think about it.

The result was a big, light cap of foam, the traditional, foamy cappuccino style.

The bubbles were fairly large and the texture airy, a bit like the milk from an automatic milk carafe, but less refined.

Method 2: without the sleeve

Then I pulled the sleeve off.

Underneath is a simple steam tip with a single hole.

That gives you direct control over how much air goes in and how the milk moves.

I used a stainless steel milk pitcher and held the tip near the side, not in the center, to start a whirlpool.

For the first few seconds, the tip sat just below the surface to let in a little air.

Then I lowered it slightly and kept the milk spinning until the pitcher was hot.

The milk came out glossy and silky, with the foam and milk properly blended.

It was close to what you get from a conventional espresso machine steam wand, and it poured a decent heart.

What goes wrong, and why

Too much air gives you stiff, dry foam with big bubbles.

Too little air gives you hot, flat milk.

The steam is strong enough to spin the milk well, so positioning is everything.

Our tip: Keep the Panarello sleeve in a drawer and use the bare tip for flat whites, but snap it back on for guests who want a quick foamy cappuccino.

A latte glass under the spout: with the bare steam tip, silky milk is within reach.

Step by step: my flat white and cappuccino

These are the two milk drinks I made most on the Philips 2200 Series, with the exact settings that worked.

Flat white with the bare steam tip

Start with the double espresso on the strongest setting and smallest size.

Pour about 120 ml, or 4 fl oz, of cold whole milk into a small stainless pitcher.

Select steam and wait until steam is ready, then purge the tip for a second into the drip tray.

Put the tip into the milk near the side of the pitcher, just under the surface, and open the steam.

Let in air for only two or three seconds, then lower the tip slightly and let the milk spin.

Stop when the pitcher becomes too hot to keep your hand on, at around 60 to 65°C, or 140 to 150°F.

Tap the pitcher, swirl until the milk looks like wet paint, and pour from low and close for a thin, silky layer.

Classic cappuccino with the sleeve

Use the same double espresso as the base.

Fill a pitcher a third of the way with cold milk, because the sleeve roughly doubles its volume.

Dip the sleeve in, steam until hot, and spoon the thick foam on top of the poured milk.

Our tip: Fill your steaming pitcher only up to the bottom of its spout, so the milk has room to spin and expand without spilling.

Pre-ground coffee and decaf

The included scoop is for the pre-ground coffee✕Pre-ground bypassA separate chute that sends already-ground coffee straight to the brew unit, skipping the grinder. Handy for decaf without emptying the bean hopper. compartment.

It lets you brew decaf, or a different coffee, without touching the beans in the hopper.

Select your drink, choose the ground-coffee option on the strength button, add one level scoop and press start.

I kept a small bag of decaf next to the machine for evenings, and it worked every time.

Never put more than one scoop in, and never put whole beans in this compartment.

Our tip: Brush any loose powder out of the pre-ground compartment once a week, because damp coffee dust can clump and block it.

The brew group, up close

The removable brew group is one of the 2200's best features for long-term ownership.

To get to it, remove the water tank, open the service flap, slide the locking control to the side and pull the group out.

Inside, you can see the shower screen, where water enters the coffee, and the small tamper with its orange gasket.

You can also see the rails and contact points that slide during every brew.

Those are the spots that need a thin layer of the included grease.

Rinsing and the cleaning button

There's also a brew group rinse function linked to the AquaClean control.

It pushes water through the group to flush loose coffee.

I measured about 8.45 fl oz, or 250 ml, of water per cycle, so put a big container under the spout.

It's a different job from the start-up rinse, which just clears the coffee path, and from taking the group out, which lets you clean it directly.

Our tip: Slide the brew group back in gently and check the locking control clicks, because a group that is not seated properly will stop the machine from brewing.

Cleaning and maintaining the Philips 2200 Series

The machine rinses itself every time you switch it on, so keep a cup under the spout.

The drip tray is marked dishwasher-safe, which made the weekly deep clean easier.

The used pucks go into the grounds drawer.

Fresh ones usually stayed intact, while older ones crumbled when I emptied the drawer, which is normal.

With the AquaClean filter replaced when the machine asks, Philips says you can go up to 5,000 cups without descaling✕DescalingRunning a mild acid solution through the machine to dissolve mineral scale left by hard water. Scale slows heating and can block pipes..

Without it, the machine prompts you based on your water hardness setting.

My estimate of hands-on cleaning time per day.

A stainless pitcher is the only extra you need for proper steaming.

What daily use is really like

My mornings with the Philips 2200 Series were quick.

Switch on, let it rinse into a cup, then espresso on the smallest size while I poured milk into the pitcher.

A flat white with the bare steam tip took about three minutes, including the wipe and purge.

The grinder is loud for ten seconds or so, and the steam hisses, but neither felt unusual for this type of machine.

The 1.8-liter tank lasted us about two days, and the grounds drawer about a dozen drinks.

In matte black, the 2200 blends into most kitchens.

Beans, water and milk

Because the dose is small, your beans do a lot of the work.

Fresh, recently roasted espresso beans made the biggest single improvement in my tests.

Medium-dark roasts with chocolate notes suited the gentle extraction best.

A blend with some Robusta gave more crema and caffeine, which helps in milk drinks.

Avoid oily, very dark and flavored beans, which can clog the grinder.

Milk

Whole milk was the easiest to steam into glossy microfoam with the bare tip.

Barista oat milk was close behind.

Skim milk made lots of foam with the sleeve on, but was hard to make silky without it.

Always start with cold milk and a cold pitcher.

Common mistakes to avoid

What I would change

A slightly bigger maximum dose would give the espresso more body.

I'd also like one more drink button, such as a one-touch Americano.

And the hot water could be a touch cooler for green tea.

Is the Philips 2200 Series worth the money?

The 2200 Series is an entry-level machine with one feature that punches above its class: the strip-down steam tip.

If you've ever wanted to learn to steam milk properly without buying a manual espresso machine and grinder, this is an easy and forgiving way to start.

For black coffee drinkers, it's a reliable, simple machine with a filter included in the box.

For fans of short, thick espresso, the small dose is the one real compromise.

Ask yourself three things before you buy.

Will you use the steam wand, or would you rather press one button for a latte?

Do you like a smooth, longer espresso, or do you need a dense ristretto?

And do you value simple controls over a long drink menu?

How it compares with other coffee setups

Here's where the Philips 2200 Series sits against the setups people usually compare it with.

A milk carafe machine is faster for lattes, but you can't control the texture.

A manual machine gives the best espresso and milk, but asks a lot of time and skill every morning.

The 2200 gives you automatic coffee with a manual milk option you can grow into.

Touch panel, adjustable spout and the frother with its removable sleeve.

Other Philips machines I tested

If you only drink black coffee, compare it with my Philips 800 Series review.

The Philips 2300 Series is the newer step up in the same family.

For one-touch milk drinks, see my Philips 3200 Series review.

If the steam tip leaves you wanting more control, my Philips Barista Brew review covers Philips' semi-automatic machine with a 58 mm portafilter.

Philips 2200 Series specifications

From manufacturer data and my own measurements.

How I tested and scored the Philips 2200 Series

For four weeks, the Philips 2200 Series was my daily machine for espresso, coffee crema, Americanos, cappuccinos, flat whites and tea.

Alex van Gog and I kept shared notes and measured as much as we could.

We weighed doses by stopping the machine after grinding, measured drink volumes and weights, and took temperatures at the top of the cup.

We also measured the water used by the brew group rinse, and steamed milk both with and without the Panarello sleeve.

Finally, I checked our numbers against Philips' specifications and user manual.

• Espresso (7.6): flavor, crema, temperature and consistency, with the small dose in mind.
• Milk drinks (7.4): foam with the sleeve, microfoam without it, and latte art potential.
• Ease of use (8.6): touch panel, settings, setup and water hardness programming.
• Cleaning (8.4): rinse cycles, brew group access, dishwasher-safe tray and maintenance prompts.

The overall score of 7.9 is an editorial rating that reflects those four areas.