The Philips Café Aromis is one of the most exciting new coffee makers I've seen this year, thanks to its 'conversational' assistant that guides you through making the perfect brew. It's impressive stuff, but after using it for a few days, what really impressed me was its ability to handle plant milks, producing the creamiest oat latte I've ever had.
The Café Aromis is a premium coffee maker, and it certainly looks the part with its brushed steel case with a tasteful touch of wood on top of the dispenser, and a screen so large and bright, it's a shame you can't use it to watch YouTube videos while enjoying your morning espresso.
After using the water-testing strip included in the box to determine the hardness of your water, you will be prompted to install the water filter in the tank, run a quick rinse, and then load up your beans. The Café Aromis has a large hopper on top, with an extra chute for adding a scoop of ground coffee when you want to try something different, please a particularly picky guest, or switch to decaf in the afternoon.
That done, the coffee maker will quiz you about your beans and set its own brew settings accordingly, making a pleasing soft mechanical sound as it does so. This is the 'conversational' part of the experience, and you can complete it on the huge screen or using the Philips HomeID app. You can also tweak the grind size yourself using a dial inside the hopper to get the extraction rate just right.
Once the chit-chat is over, it's time to brew. Take your pick from the vast array of drinks, and pour your preferred milk into either the hot or cold carafe. I enjoy the taste of dairy and oat equally, but automatic coffee makers are usually optimized for dairy, so that's become my go-to.
I picked my usual morning brew — a latte macchiato — and watched as the Café Aromis steamed the appropriate portion of milk, then poured a double shot of espresso through the foam. It looked perfect, with clearly defined layers of milk, coffee, and foam, but when I tasted it I was shocked to realise I'd accidentally grabbed the wrong bottle from the fridge. The Aromis had done such a superb job with the oat milk I'd accidentally used, I couldn't tell the difference. The foam was thick, creamy, and stable — an impressive achievement.
I'll be putting the Philips Café Aromis through my usual battery of tests over the coming days, and will bring you a full review very soon, but my first impressions are definitely positive. If it can handle different coffee beans and roasts as easily as it does different milks, it might just earn a coveted place in our roundup of the best espresso machines.
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