Philips 5400 LatteGo: four user profiles and who needs them

Sized like the 2200, priced above it

Capacities do not grow with the price bracket. The 1.8 l tank is the one fitted to the 2200: about 15 black coffees of 120 ml, fewer once rinsing is counted. With four people at two cups a day, plan on refilling every day or two. The 275 g hopper holds roughly 27 to 34 cups at an assumed 8 to 10 g a cup, which is three or four days for the same household.

The milk container is the tight spot, at 0.26 l. Assume 100 to 120 ml of milk per cappuccino, which varies with the recipe, and one fill is about two drinks: a family round of four means topping up half-way.

The body is 24.6 cm wide, 37.1 cm high and 43.3 cm deep, and weighs 8 kg. The display costs no extra worktop: these are the 2200’s dimensions.

What the extra money buys: display, drinks, profiles

Philips lists 12 programmed drinks, shown on a TFT display. As always, that is the manufacturer’s count and each brand counts its own way.

The feature with a practical consequence is the profiles: 4, plus a guest profile. If one person likes a short, strong cappuccino and another a long, mild one, each saves their version once. The 3300 has no profiles, so it cannot keep one set of preferences per person. That single difference is the heart of our Philips 3300 vs 5400 LatteGo comparison.

There is no app: Philips answers “no” on connectivity.

Milk: LatteGo

The milk system is the same LatteGo carafe as on the 3300: two parts and no tubes, according to Philips. We have not used it and make no claim about how it froths. The numbers tell you it is small, and the design tells you there is no hose to flush. How that compares with a carafe or a hose is set out in bean-to-cup machines with a milk system.

Grinder and brew group

Philips states a ceramic grinder with 12 settings, and a removable brew group. Removable means you can rinse it under the tap; the routine is in our cleaning guide, and limescale is dealt with in the descaling guide.

The UK model, and how it compares

EP5446/70 in the UK. Our figures were read on the EP5447/90 (chrome), sold in Germany and France alongside the black EP5441/50 with the same values. Philips’s UK site lists the EP5446/70. In the data we read, its capacities are the same and its height is given one millimetre greater. That makes no practical difference, but it is why the code on a UK listing will not match the code in our sources.

Against the 5500. The Philips 5500 LatteGo has the same body and capacities with 20 programmed drinks, iced versions among them. If you never drink iced coffee, most of what the 5500 adds will go unused.

Against the 3300. Same body, same LatteGo container, fewer drinks, no profiles, a touch panel instead of a display, and a lower price bracket.

Against Siemens. The Siemens EQ.6 plus s300 is in the same bracket with a larger bean hopper and a milk hose that draws straight from a carton or jug, so there is no 0.26-litre limit; our data shows no user-profile figure for it.

The whole Philips line-up is compared in our Philips range comparison.

• Philips Series 3300 LatteGo EP3347/905
• Philips 5400 Series LatteGo EP5446/7012
• Philips 5500 Series LatteGo EP5546/7020

Not on Philips’s spec sheet

• Noise. SilentBrew appears on the spec sheet without a decibel figure. We make no claim about noise until we have measured it ourselves.
• Burr shape. Philips says “100% ceramic” and stops there: flat or conical is not stated.
• Heating system. Not published.
• Maximum cup height. Not in the data we read.

Philips’s UK product data for the EP5446/70 does give the warranty: two years.

Before you pay for profiles and programmes, it is worth two minutes with the machine finder to see whether your household needs them, and with the cost per cup calculator to see how a dearer machine spreads over the cups you will make. Other brands are in the bean-to-cup comparison.