PHILIPS LM9012/60 Single Serve Machine - Review 🏆

The Philips LM9012/60 is a single serve coffee maker designed for convenience and ease of use. Part of Philips' Sublime range, this sleek and compact machine allows you to brew fresh coffee, espresso or tea pods with the touch of a button.

The LM9012/60 features intuitive controls and a slim profile, making it perfect for small kitchens or offices where counter space is limited. It can brew 6 oz and 10 oz cup sizes, so you can customize your beverage. The adjustable spout accommodates cups up to 7 inches tall.

This single serve coffee maker uses Philips' innovative extraction technology to deliver optimal aroma and taste from compatible coffee pods. It has a dedicated hot water outlet for making tea, instant soups and more. The drip tray is dishwasher-safe for easy cleaning.

With its simple operation, compact size and versatile brewing, the Philips LM9012/60 aims to provide an elegant single serve brewing solution for households and workplaces. This review will examine its key features, performance and value as a single serve coffee system.

Design

The Philips LM9012/60 Barista Sublime has an elegant and modern design perfect for any kitchen. It is made of high quality black plastic with stainless steel accents, giving it a premium look and feel.

Despite its sophisticated style, the Barista Sublime maintains a compact footprint. It measures only ‎12.1 x 25.6 x 37.4 cm, allowing it to fit well on most countertops without taking up too much space. It also weighs a relatively lightweight 5.4 kg, making it easy to move or store when not in use.

The machine comes in an attractive matte black color that will coordinate nicely with a variety of decors. No other color options are available.

Overall, the Barista Sublime combines visual appeal with convenient sizing. Its sleek black body and stainless steel touches give it an upscale appearance suitable for the most stylish kitchens. Yet its modest dimensions ensure it doesn't dominate your countertop.

Features

The Philips Barista LM9012/60 comes with a wide range of useful features that elevate the single-serve coffee experience.

• Brew Types: This machine can brew espresso, coffee, americano, cappuccino and latte with the touch of a button. It offers 5 coffee strength settings, so you can customize the intensity of your drink.

• Milk Frother: There is an adjustable milk frother that allows you to make creamy cappuccinos and lattes. You can select the froth level - minimum, medium or maximum.

• Capacity: The 60oz water tank capacity allows you to brew multiple cups before having to refill. No more constantly topping up a small reservoir.

• LED Interface: An intuitive LED interface walks you through the brew process. Buttons allow you to select your drink, size and strength preferences.

• Adjustable Drip Tray: The drip tray is adjustable to accommodate taller glass or travel mugs up to 15cm. Helpful for brewing coffee directly into your to-go cup.

• Used Capsule Container: This machine stores up to 14 used capsules before needing to be emptied. No worrying about disposing after each use.

• Descaling Function: There is an automated descaling and rinsing function to maintain the machine. It will notify you when descaling is recommended.

Overall, the Barista LM9012/60 comes equipped with a comprehensive set of features to brew cafe-style drinks at home with ease. The programmable options, milk frother and large capacity water tank offer convenience and flexibility. If you are looking for a more budget-friendly single serve coffee maker, the Bosch TASSIMO AS6502GB is a great option. It doesn't have the built-in milk frother, but can make coffee, tea, and hot chocolate from TASSIMO T-DISCs. An affordable way to enjoy single serve brewing. The TASSIMO has a 37 oz water tank, smaller than the Philips, but still good capacity for multiple servings. The interface is a series of buttons to select your drink and size. Overall, it provides delicious coffee and espresso but fewer fancy features. However, the lower price point makes it appealing for anyone not needing to make lots of milk-based drinks. Both the Philips and Bosch machines are great options that allow you to skip the coffee shop and brew barista-style drinks at home.

Ease of Use

The Philips LM9012/60 Barista Sublime is designed to be very easy and intuitive to use. The interface is straightforward with just two buttons - one for espresso and one for coffee. The buttons light up to indicate when the machine is ready.

Cleaning and maintenance are also simple. The drip tray can be removed and washed easily. Descaling is also straightforward - you just need to pour descaling solution into the water tank and run a cleaning cycle. The machine will prompt you when it needs descaling.

Changing capsules is very easy as well. You simply lift the lever, remove the old capsule and insert a new one. There's no need to handle or tamp the coffee yourself. The capsule slot also has an LED light to ensure capsules are inserted properly.

Overall, the Barista Sublime requires minimal effort to brew coffee or espresso. The interface is clear and cleaning is hassle-free. It's a very convenient single-serve coffee machine that doesn't require much work from the user.

Brew Quality

The Philips Barista Sublime coffee machine brews coffee with excellent taste, aroma and mouthfeel. The hot water is heated to the optimal temperature of 92°C, helping extract the full flavor from coffee grounds. This results in a rich, intense coffee with robust flavor notes.

The machine produces a smooth, velvety crema on top of the coffee, which is an indicator of freshness and proper extraction. The crema produced is thick and persistent.

Each cup is brewed with consistent results, so you can expect the same great tasting coffee every time. The water pressure and flow rate are optimized to fully saturate the coffee grounds, resulting in a balanced cup that is never bitter or acidic.

The coffee comes out piping hot, around 75-80°C. The temperature is hot enough to allow full flavor extraction but won't scald your mouth. This allows you to enjoy the coffee immediately after brewing.

Overall, the Barista Sublime delivers exceptional brew quality with delicious taste, aroma and the perfect temperature. The consistent results shot-to-shot make this a reliable machine you can count on for a high-quality cup of coffee.

Capsule Compatibility

The Philips Sublime All-in-One Coffee Machine LM9012/60 is designed to brew coffee capsules from the Philips Senseo Original line. It is optimized to work with the proprietary Philips coffee pods to produce barista-style coffee drinks at home.

The machine only accepts the specially designed Philips capsules that clip into the brew head. It does not work with capsules from Nespresso, Keurig or other brands. This limits the variety and forces customers to buy Philips coffee pods. However, Philips does offer over 20 varieties of coffee and espresso to choose from.

The benefit of the proprietary system is that Philips has full control over the capsule design, size, shape and materials. This allows them to optimize the brewing parameters and coffee extraction. The uniform pods are sealed to maximize freshness and engineered to lock perfectly into place.

While the compatibility only with Philips capsules is a bit restrictive, their wide range of coffee blends and flavors allows for sufficient variety. The consistency and reliability of the Philips pods enables the machine to deliver a quality cup of coffee every time. So the capsule exclusivity, while limiting choice, provides a fool-proof brewing experience.

Pros

• One of the best features of the Philips LM9012/60 Barista Sublime single serve coffee machine is the intuitive touchscreen display. The full-color display allows you to easily select your desired coffee drink and customize the strength, size, temperature and more. This makes the brewing process incredibly simple and convenient.

• Another major pro is the speed. The Philips Barista Sublime heats up in just 10 seconds and can brew a cup of coffee in under a minute. This is much faster than your average drip coffee maker or other single serve machines. You'll be able to get your morning coffee fix quickly.

• The third standout pro is the excellent milk frother. The Barista Sublime comes with an automatic milk frother with multiple settings - from cold froth to hot froth for cappuccinos and lattes. Reviewers praise how well it froths milk and allows you to make cafe-quality specialty drinks at home with ease.

Cons

While the Philips LM9012 provides many benefits, it does have some downsides to consider:

• Small water reservoir capacity - The water reservoir only holds 0.6 liters. This is quite small compared to other single serve coffee makers that hold 1 liter or more. You'll have to refill the water tank frequently.

• No brew size customization - The machine brews coffee in one standard size. There's no way to customize the brew size for a small, medium or large cup. This limits flexibility.

• Pod availability - The machine only works with Philips branded coffee pods. These may be harder to find or more expensive than generic coffee pods that work in other machines. Pod variety could be limited.

Verdict

The Philips Sublime Barista Single Serve LM9012 is a great option for coffee lovers looking for an easy-to-use machine that brews high-quality coffee and espresso. The sleek, compact design makes it perfect for small kitchens, and the intuitive touchscreen interface allows you to quickly choose from a variety of coffee styles.

The coffee it produces is rich, aromatic, and full-bodied, rivaling specialty cafe drinks. It's compatible with Nespresso capsules for ultimate convenience and variety. The built-in milk frother whips up creamy froth for making lattes and cappuccinos.

Overall, the Barista Sublime delivers exceptional results in an elegant package that is simple for anyone to operate. If you don't require a large water reservoir or coffee strength customization, it's an excellent single-serve coffee maker.

For those wanting more size and brew customization options, the Nespresso VertuoPlus provides a 40 oz water tank and ability to adjust coffee amount. The Keurig K-Supreme Plus also allows changing brew size and strength. However, neither match the Sublime's simplicity or premium coffeehouse-style drinks.

In conclusion, the Philips Barista Sublime LM9012 is a top-tier single-serve coffee maker ideal for Nespresso devotees who prioritize convenience and quality. It delivers cafe-caliber results with absolute ease.

Summary

The Philips LM9012/60 Barista Sublime coffee machine is an innovative single serve capsule system aimed at home baristas. Its sleek stainless steel design and intuitive touchscreen interface make it easy to create coffee shop quality drinks. With 12 delicious coffee varieties and 4 aroma strength options, you have flexibility to customize each cup.

The centrifugal system adapts the brewing time, temperature, and flow to match the selected coffee or espresso blend. This results in a delicious crema layer and balanced taste for each capsule. The adjustable spout lets you brew into different cup sizes too.

While compatible with major coffee brands' capsules, it works optimally with Philips' own capsules designed for this machine. The used capsules are neatly collected so there's minimal mess after brewing. Overall, the Philips LM9012/60 Barista Sublime combines stylish design, customization, and convenience into a coffee maker suited for coffee connoisseurs.