As a coffee-lover, the Breville Barista Touch was the obvious choice when compared to the Philips 3200 Lattego. While the 3200 LatteGo is a convenient option, the stainless steel construction, customized coffee profiles, and coffee quality of the Barista Touch is hard to overlook. So, when comparing Breville Barista Touch vs Philips 3200 LatteGo, I found that the Breville Barista Touch was the much better option as it allowed for more customization and control over your coffee.
With that said, the Philips 3200 LatteGo came with some great features as well. For starters, the machine comes with a flat burr grinder, bean-to-cup coffee, and a simple design and layout that makes it very easy to use. If convenience is what you need, you might find it in the Philips 3200 LatteGo. This machine also has the LatteGo system found in other Philips models, which mixes hot air with your milk very quickly without a splash!
Breville Barista Touch vs Philips 3200 LatteGo: Specs & Features Comparison Chart
Last update on 2024-04-14 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Breville Barista Touch vs Philips 3200 LatteGo: Differences
When testing both machines, I found a couple of differences and determined that the Breville Barista Touch beat out the Philips model 3-1, but it was a pretty close fight, especially since both of these machines brew great coffee without any hassle or fuss!
1. Flavor
The Winner: Breville Barista Touch
While the Philips 3200 LatteGo has the better grinder, the brew functions of the Breville Barista Touch allows it to make much better coffee overall.
Grinder
Between the two, I found that the Philips 3200 LatteGo had the better grinder, which actually came as a surprise. One of the premier features of the Philips 3200 LatteGo is the ceramic flat burr grinder. Flat burr grinders are considered the better option for coffee as it makes for a more even grind, allowing the machine to extract a more accurate flavor. With that said, this flat burr grinder can be a bit noisy, which can be a problem for some coffee-lovers, especially in the morning.
The Breville Barista Touch also has a built-in grinder, but this one is a conical burr grinder. The conical burr grinder helps keep down the price of the machine, but it results in a less consistent grind. However, one advantage that the Barista Touch grinder has over the Philips option is grind settings. The Barista Touch uses a stepless grinder, so you can fine-tune and adjust the grind settings as needed. On the flip side, the Philips 3200 LatteGo has a 5-step grinder, which you can adjust as well, just not as precise as the Barista Touch.
Both machines use ceramic grinders, which are great for automatic machines. Stainless steel grinders work best for manual machines, but if you want a high-quality espresso without any hassle, then you’re better off with ceramic models.
Heating System
Between these two machines, the Breville Barista Touch has the better heating system, but that honestly isn’t saying much. Both of the machines use a type of thermoblock heating system. The advantage with thermoblocks is that they heat the water much faster than traditional boilers. However, you have to sacrifice a significant amount of temperature consistency when you’re dealing with thermoblocks.
While both machines use a thermoblock heating system, the Barista Touch’s system is slightly different. The reason for this is that it actually uses thermocoils. While it uses the same philosophy of thermoblocks, this system allows for a much more even and consistent temperature. Additionally, the Barista Touch is equipped with digital temperature control (PID), which allows for even more precision.
The Philips 3200 LatteGo doesn’t have PID, but it does have 3-step adjustment for the temperature. Precise temperatures are very important in pulling a quality espresso shot, and since the Barista Touch offers more control and consistency, you can use this machine to make better coffee than the 3200 LatteGo.
Brew Function & Pre-Infusion
The brew functions of these two machines are pretty similar, but they have a fair amount of difference. For starters, they both have a pressure pump that produces 15-bars of pressure, which is pushed through the coffee grounds with hot water. Pressure between 9-15 bars is considered optimal for a great espresso shot, so you can rest assured that both machines can do that.
However, the differences arise when it comes to the pre-infusion stage. When using the Barista Touch, I had no problems with pre-infusion and my coffee always came out great. But on the Philips 3200 LatteGo, I saw that there was a small leak during the pre-infusion phase which was kind of a letdown.
2. Milk System
The Winner: Breville Barista Touch
The Philips 3200 LatteGo comes with the LatteGo milk system. This is a fully automatic milk system, which is a testament to Philips’ innovation. The LatteGo milk system steams your milk without tubes, which can create softer milk froth than other machines. However, many coffee drinkers find the LatteGo system lackluster. The reason for this is that you can’t adjust any of the settings, and since the jar for this system is small, it can only make one or two milk drinks at a time. Customers also complained that the LatteGo system can be a bit noisy, which many people think is an unnecessary hassle.
The Barista Touch sports a more classic milk system. The automatic steam wand allows you to really steam milk to just the right temperature. This is an adjustable wand with an automatic purge feature, which makes frothing milk much more convenient. Since the Barista Touch offers much more control than the Philips 3200 LatteGo, you can adjust the milk texture and milk temperature on the machine, giving you full control over your drinks. In fact, if you wanted to create microfoam milk for your latte art, you can do it by adjusting the settings on the Barista Touch’s milk system!
3. Utilities
The Winner: Phillips 3200 LatteGo
When it comes to utilities, the 3200 LatteGo is the winner. Since it’s the more convenient option between the two, it’s much easier to use when making coffee. However, one of the advantages that the Barista Touch has over the 3200 LatteGo is that you can create 8 customized coffee profiles. You can adjust a bunch of different parameters like temperature, flow rate, and dosage, which allows you to make specialty coffee at the touch of the button.
However, that’s the only area where the Barista Touch has better utilities than the 3200 LatteGo. Both machines offer 5-pre programmed drinks that you can select and brew with one touch. And while they both have great touchscreens, the user-interface of the 3200 LatteGo is much more intuitive, which is why it’s the better option in terms of utilities.
4. Cleaning & Maintenance
The Winner: Breville Barista Touch
One of the main reasons that it’s easier to clean the Barista Touch is because of its construction. Since the whole case is made of stainless steel, any spills and drips can easily be wiped off. You can also do this with the 3200 LatteGo, but since it’s made of plastic it’s significantly harder to remove stains and spills.
On top of that, there are barely any spills when making coffee with the Barista Touch because of its great design. Admittedly, both of these machines are fairly easy to clean, since both have removable drip trays. In fact, everything that needs to be removed for cleaning can be removed on the machines, including the water tank, which is a great feature for home espresso makers.
Since both machines have a decent water-filter built-in, you won’t have to descale as often. And when you do, they both have automatic descaling functions. However, after testing both out, I found that the Breville Barista Touch has a more robust descaling system that makes it much easier to clean and maintain in the long run.
Breville Barista Touch vs Philips 3200 LatteGo: Similarities
Since these are two automatic espresso machines, they did come with a fair amount of similarities as well, which is very important when comparing two models. The most significant similarity is the heating system. While the thermocoil heating system on the Breville Barista Touch is slightly different from the thermoblock, they function in relatively the same way.
With that said, it’s kind of a let down that these machines use Thermoblock systems, since they don’t provide accurate and consistent temperatures.
Another similarity between these two machines is the coffee input. On either of these models, you can only use whole beans that you place in the bean hopper that are ground by the built-in grinders. Neither of these machines allow for pre-ground coffee or pods, which is a slight let down, since it would have been nice to have the added convenience and versatility.
Quick Rundown Of Breville Barista Touch BES880
- Item Package Dimension: 17.39L x 16.19W x 16.19H inches
- Item Package Weight - 28.25 Pounds
- Item Package Quantity - 1
- Product Type - COFFEE MAKER
Last update on 2024-04-14 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Quick Rundown Of Philips 3200 LatteGo
- With Philips 3200 Series enjoy the delicious taste and aroma of coffee from fresh beans at the perfect temperature
- LatteGo Milk System: Top your coffee off with a silky-smooth layer of milk froth
- Intuitive Touch Display: Select the perfect coffee for your mood with just one touch
- My Coffee Choice Menu: Adjust the strength and quantity of your beverage and choose from three different settings to suit your preferences. The Aroma Extract system intelligently strikes the optimum balance between brewing temperature and aroma extraction
- Powerful Filter and Easy Maintenance: Thanks to the AquaClean, enjoy clear and purified water - by changing the filter after being prompted by the machine, you will not need to descale your machine for up to 5000 cups
Last update on 2024-04-14 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
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References
- Breville Barista Touch BES880 from Breville https://www.breville.com/us/en/products/espresso/bes880.html
- Philips 3200 LatteGo EP3241/54 from Philips https://www.usa.philips.com/ce/ho/coffee/espresso/philips-automatic-espresso-machine.html
Felix Hendricks is a skilled barista with over 12 years of experience. He excels in crafting coffee and has a strong foundation in coffee machine mechanics. Felix holds a Coffee Machine Maintenance Certification from the Coffee Equipment Technical Institute, showcasing his ability to diagnose and repair coffee machines. He’s also worked as a quality control specialist, selecting premium coffee beans for optimal flavor. Felix has a diverse work history, including stints at renowned coffee spots like Café Euphoria & Starbucks. His expertise in both brewing and machine maintenance makes him a respected figure in the coffee industry.