PHILIPS L'OR Barista Sublime Coffee Machine Capsule, Double Shot, 1 or 2 Cups, Full Coffee Menu, 19 Bar Pressure, Automatic Shut Off, Black (LM9012/60)

Product Information

For noise, we measured the L’OR Barista Sublime at 52dB on our noise meter, which is somewhere between moderate rainfall and normal conversation. It wasn't loud, but you will hear it in operation, especially if there aren’t any other appliances running.

I really like using it, and guests have used it with zero instruction from me. Also, the early morning stupor-induced errors I've submitted it to prove it's pretty fool-proof. I've turned it on without putting a mug underneath the spouts, and I've turned it on without a pod in it. All that happened was the drip tray filled with coffee and I ended up with a mug of coffee-flavoured water, inadvertently giving the interior a clean.As you may have read in my guide to the Best Coffee Pod System, my issue with standard Nespresso pods is that they’re too small – just 5g of coffee per pod as opposed to, say, the Lavazza A Modo Mio which has around 7g per capsule. This means I’ve sometimes felt the need to extract two pods one after the other just to get a proper barista-style hit. The L'OR Barista Sublime, however, has been manufactured by Philips to accept two sizes of coffee capsule – and only L'OR makes them. This is music to my ears – or rather palette – because it means I can get a double-shot espresso with just one tap of a button. The pod bin holds about 10 used pods and is easy to remove. It's available in three colours, Piano Noir, Sunset Rubis and Satin Blanc. The water capacity is 0.8L which is enough for 3-4 long coffees. If you've got cash to splash, you may want something with a more traditional design, for example, Dualit or Grind pod coffee machines are stunning in shiny stainless steel and bring more of a classic charm to your kitchen worktops. Capsule recognition: The system identifies the size of the capsules used to ensure the correct dosage of water and offer you an optimal coffee experience.

The L'OR Barista Sublime has three different extraction buttons – Ristretto (or short espresso), standard Espresso and Lungo. Basically, you choose a pod – standard or large – load it into the machine and press a button of choice. For instance, if you select a standard pod and tap the espresso button, it will dispense enough coffee to fill three quarters of a standard espresso cup. But if you put in a large capsule and tap the same espresso button it will dispense almost double the volume.How long does it take? I timed it, and it takes 1 minute, 28 seconds to make a coffee, including the time it takes to rinse and fill the water tank, find a mug etc. Most Nespresso machine capsule chambers use a simple lever that you pull up, put the pod into its recess and slam the lever down to engage it with the hidden group head. This machine has a much more complex pod-loading system and I love the way it works. You basically lift the top handle and the pod orifice articulates upwards. Now pop in either a small or large pod and close the handle – the machine can detect which sized pod is being used. It’s a lovely action but I do hope it’s never capable of jamming if, for instance, you load in a pod while the used-capsule drawer is full to capacity. This is because it ejects the previous pod when you lift the lever and, if there’s a used capsule in the way of the mechanism, it could feasibly jam. I should add that I haven’t had any issues in this regard. Removing the drip tray provides access to the bin in which used capsules drop. We found this bin could comfortably hold around a dozen capsules, so depending on how many cups of coffee you drink, it will need emptying every, or every other, day. Both the removable drip tray and 27.05 fl.oz/ 0.8-litre water tank are dishwasher-safe; however, they’re just as easily cleaned under running water.