The Philips Senseo HD7860 Coffee Machine
This latest Philips Senseo HD7860/60 is not strictly a Bean to Cup Coffee Machine, but is one of a new generation of extremely user friendly machines that provide fresh coffee at the push of a button from coffee pads.
Upon opening the box to look at your new HD7860/60, you’re likely to be very impressed by its looks. The sales blurb describes it as being designed for people who prefer cubes to spheres. And it certainly has a very modern, sleek design.It comes in either white or black, and measures approximately 25 cm high, 22 cm deep and 17 cm wide.
It’s a bit worrying when you prepare the machine for use for the first time as its very noisy whilst being flushed. However its much quieter when being used after that.
The most important considerations in reviewing the HD7860 are the ease of use and quality of the coffee it produces.
It has two spouts, so you can make either one or two cups at any one time. And, unlike some previous models, the height of the base where the cups sit can be varied, enabling larger cup or mugs to be used if you prefer.. Mugs or cups up to 115 mm high can readily be accommodated..It takes around 30 seconds to brew one cup, or 50 seconds for two.
The HD7860/60 has a particularly large capacity, holding up to 1.2 litres. This can easily make 8 cups. The output for each serving is 120ml.
The Philips HD7860/60 shuts itself off after thirty minutes - an invaluable feature I found!
The coffee pads are much better value than the coffee pods that have been traditionally used in such machines. Although the Senseo ones are about 15p each, you can get other ones much cheaper, and being pads there shouldn’t generally be a compatibility issue. You’ll need to get round ones.We have used original and substitute coffee pads and the coffee produced by each has been excellent.
This is a great coffee machine. Its unique selling point is its looks. The HD7860 will look particularly good in a modern kitchen with darker worktop - much better, we think than the traditional, more curvy machines.