Comments on: Review – Philips Saeco Intelia

By: Kenens

Kenens — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 12:58:07 +0000

Hi Gene,

I am in the same boat as you. I like my coffee hot with a small shot of milk but when I do this I need to drink my coffee at once otherwise it’s to cold for me.

I am not going to call Philips or Saeco. I am just going to return the device and take something that actually can produce a hot coffee.

Side note: Our Saeco Taleo Ring Plus was such a device that could brew a hot coffee, so hot I sometimes burned my tongue.

By: Lau

Lau — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 00:41:21 +0000

Hi Gene, it is interesting to get your thoughts on the machine. I think it is tough for hot coffee drinkers generally, as flavour-wise, coffee is not ‘supposed’ to be consumed super hot. As such I assume an automatic machine such as the Intelia is pre-programmed to optimal heat settings.

That said I’m betting someone more tech-savvy than me could figure out a way to change the temperature beyond what the factory settings would allow, but I’m assuming that if that were possible, doing so would void your warranty.

By: Gene

Gene — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 11:51:51 +0000

Interesting machine. I have a love-hate with mine after a month of usage, about 6-10 cappuccinos per day. Coming from a Wega Mininova and Gaggia grinder, I love its size, low noise level, freedom from coffee ground mess, tamping, etc. It’s fast and convenient, and after a few cups it makes a pretty decent strong cup of espresso with nice crema.

I hate the temperature of the finished product – the best I can get for an espresso shot is about 165 F and 150 for cappuccino. I called Saeco and the customer service rep suggested the usual – the milk is too cold, the cups are cold you need to pre-heat the dispensing circuits, etc. She never acknowledged that the machine cannot produce enough heat to brew a hot cup of coffee. I like to brew coffee that is almost too hot to drink at first. I always pre-heat my espresso cups by pulling a shot of plain water.

Unless I can get some satisfaction, I may be packing up my machine and exercising the 90 day, total satisfaction, no questions asked return policy.

I think the machine is an elegant idea, but you can’t drink elegance. I just want a hot cup of coffee, and so far I have not been able to figure out how to get that out of my machine.

By: Lau

Lau — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 23:37:49 +0000

I had a similar experience myself. Are you using the beans that came with the machine? Mine were awful, stale and old. I found the coffee improved when I used freshly roasted beans…

By: Michelle

Michelle — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 14:14:17 +0000

I just got this machine a few days ago and did all the required set-up per the manual. I have the grinder on the finest setting and the menu is set on 3 beans. The first 10-15 shots I made were total garbage, they were watery and the dreg drawer was filled with watery goop, nothing close to an espresso puck formed. I called the store to ask if this was normal, and they said yes, the machine “needs time to adjust to the beans”. After going through a 1/2 bag of beans, it appears that the machine is starting to form espresso pucks, but the shots are still fairly weak with little crema produced. Sadly, my $150 Breville Cafe Roma produced better shots than this machine.

So I’m just wondering now, for anybody who has this machine, how long did it take for your machine to “adjust” and produce decent espresso shots with good crema? I’m running out of beans here and I’d prefer not to buy expensive beans if my machine is just gonna continue eating ‘em up and spitting out garbage.

Thanks!