Philips Senseo HD7860/60

Philips Senseo HD7860/60

This latest Philips model 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.

We have reviewed the model. First impressions are ….well…. impressive. It’s described as a machine for people who prefer straight lines to curves. It does have one or two curves, as it happens, but is  a very good looking, yet compact machine (standing around 17 cm wide, 22cm deep and 25 cm high). It comes in black or white.

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.

So what is it like in day to day use?

It has two spouts, so you can make either one or two cups at any one time. And has a height adjustable base for the cups, so different cup / mug  sizes can easily be used. The height varies from 97 to 117 mm. It takes around 30 seconds to brew one cup, or 50 seconds for two.

The water tank holds 1.2 litres, enough for at least 8 cups – very generous. Each cup is 120ml.

The HD7860 has an automatic shut-off feature after 30 minutes, which is very useful.

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’ve tried both and the quality of the coffee has been superb.

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 worktops – much better, we think than the traditional, more curvy machines.