In a Nutshell:
The Saeco Xelsis SM7684 Super-Automatic Espresso Machine is an amazing, top-of-the-line Italian import, offered by one of the most respected companies in the business.
Recommended for: Anyone with a serious coffee habit, looking for a convenient at-home fix – IF you can afford it.
Brew Quality
Reservoir Size
Customization options
Ease of Use
Overall Rating
4.9/5
Benefits
Drawbacks
Do you need a great cup of coffee to help jumpstart your day? Has that fact sent you on a quest to find an awesome, easy-to-use super-automatic espresso machine so you and the other members of your household can enjoy a wide range of decadent coffee drinks any time you like?
If you answered yes to those questions, then you’re going to love what you read in this – our Saeco Xelsis review.
Saeco, a brand offered by Philips, is one of the most respected names in the home coffee machine industry. And by any reckoning, the Xelsis is a marvel of engineering.
As you’ll see in the sections that follow, this machine can do almost everything, and it has very few weak points in its design.
Is it the right machine for you? It’s pricey, but it might be. Ultimately, the answer to that question is “it depends.” But if you read this review to the end, we promise that we’ll give you all the information you need to make that decision for yourself. If that sounds good to you, read on, and let’s take a closer look.
An Overview of the Saeco Xelsis Superautomatic Espresso Machine
Form Factor, Footprint & Aesthetic
Let’s face it, what most people want out of an espresso machine is a fantastic cup of coffee. The simple truth is, though, that aesthetics matter.
True, looks aren’t as important as the quality of the output you get. But since this appliance is designed to sit on your kitchen counter in full view, most people are reluctant to completely discount aesthetics.
The good news is that the Philips Saeco Xelsis is a sharp-looking machine. If you decide you want one of these, you can order yours in titanium or black. Whichever option you choose, it will look great sitting on your kitchen counter. Unlike some other kitchen appliances, this one was meant to be displayed with pride because it was meant to be used every day.
The one thing to be aware of is that this is a fairly sizeable unit. The Saeco Xelsis dimensions are 19” D (counting the drip tray) x 111.14” w x 15.5” tall, and the unit weighs in at 25.8 pounds. If you’re considering putting this unit underneath your cabinets, be aware that you’ll also need 3-5” of clearance on the top in order to remove the lid to the bean hopper.
For most folks, that’s going to make storing it under cabinetry a non-starter. But if you happen to be in the process of remodeling your kitchen, you’ll have a rare opportunity to design your cabinets in such a way as to create sufficient space.
Barring that, you’ll either have to live with pulling the unit out to refill the bean hopper or perhaps displaying the unit on an island or a dedicated coffee bar where you won’t have to contend with the cabinetry. If you opt for periodically pulling the unit out, keep the weight of the machine in mind.
While it’s not impossibly heavy, it’s got enough heft to it that pulling the unit out on a regular basis might get to be a bit of a chore.
Reservoir Size
Where coffee is concerned, we’re power drinkers, so the very first question we like to ask when looking at a new machine is: “Can you connect it to a dedicated water line?”
Unfortunately, in this case, the answer is no. That’s a bit of a disappointment. But the truth is that only a handful of models can support a dedicated water line, so we can’t very well hold it against the Xelsis SM7684.
The second question we tend to ask is: “If you can’t connect a dedicated water line to the unit, how big is the water tank?”
In this case, there’s good news all around. The water tank holds a generous 57.5 ounces and is accessible from the front of the unit.
Additionally, if you decide to buy one of these, it will come with a variety of accessories including a water filter.
Some people prefer units that don’t include water filters, mostly because buying replacement filters is expensive. And over time, the periodic purchases will increase your total cost of ownership by a hefty amount.
On the other hand, one of the Saeco Xelsis SM’s many selling points is the fact that you don’t have to descale it very often, and a big part of that is the presence of the filter – so we recommend using it. The AquaClean filter is rated for up to 5000 cups of your favorite coffee drinks before you’ll have to worry about descaling.
Integrated Grinder & a Generously Sized Bean Hopper
The top-loading bean hopper has a 16-ounce capacity. If you’re a power drinker, a bigger hopper is almost always better. But remember, you don’t want to just pour beans into the hopper and let them sit for days on end because you want to maximize freshness.
Of interest, the bean hopper of the Saeco Xelsis by Philips has a tight seal that helps keep the beans loaded in the unit fresh for longer, but you still don’t want to just leave them there for days on end.
Also, note that there’s a secondary compartment next to the hopper for grounds. So if you don’t have beans on hand or you’d simply use pre-ground coffee, this machine gives you the option of doing that.
The grinder paired with the hopper is a wonder. Most of the espresso machines on the market today sport grinders with somewhere in the neighborhood of six different grind settings.
This one has twelve – which is superb – allowing you to exert fine-grained control over your grind, which in turn allows you an exquisite amount of control over the flavor of the drinks you make.
Even better, the ceramic burrs are very low maintenance and long-lasting and are far superior to stainless-steel grinders because metal heats up when used, which can result in burnt grounds – not good.
Please bear in mind that your machine will require a bit of a “break-in” period. The first few drinks you make at each grind setting probably won’t be ideal. Expect to make 3-5 drinks at each grind setting to start seeing consistent, high-quality results.
We mention this so it doesn’t take you by surprise. Just know that you’ll need to do some breaking in and fiddling to find the “right” grind setting for you and to get the machine to the point where it’s consistently delivering the results you’re looking for.
One final thing to bring to your attention before we leave this section is the fact that the Philips Saeco Xelsis coffee machine doesn’t do well with oily beans. That’s not something unique to this model but rather true for super-automatics in general.
If you’re a fan of oily beans, you’re inevitably going to shorten the useful life of the motor that drives your grinder. Use your favorite medium roast in this model for best results.
The Boiler System
Saeco has some superb boiler technology in the form of Thermoblock. The Xelsis coffee maker utilizes a single boiler crafted from light aluminum and a stainless steel body which heats up to the desired temperature with amazing speed. You won’t spend a lot of time twiddling your thumbs waiting for the boiler to come up to temp with this unit!
Depending on your settings and the specific drink you order, the boiler will keep the water temperature between 120 and 180 degrees. And as we’ll talk about a little later on, temperature is one of the many different variables you can precisely control when you order a drink from this unit.
Telescoping Coffee Spigot
Whether you decide on the Saeco Xelsis automatic espresso machine titanium metal SM7684/04 or the basic black model, both have a dual, height-adjustable coffee spigot you can set between 3” high at the low end to 5.8” at the high end.
It’s not the widest spigot range we’ve ever seen, but it’s sufficient to accommodate a wide range of coffee cups and should serve most users well.
Note that although there are two coffee spigots on the machine, you can only make one drink at a time, though you could make two of the same drink and have them come out simultaneously.
The Brew Unit and Control System
This is, in our view, the single best and strongest component of our Saeco Xelsis review. Saeco did a fantastic job here.
The brew unit is removable and easy to clean (we’ll talk more about that later in the section on Saeco Xelsis maintenance), and the control system is well-designed and super easy to use.
The centerpiece of the control system is an impressively sized 3.5” LCD screen that features full-color images of the various drinks this unit can make. Your options include:
That’s sixteen different drink options from one machine, which is beyond impressive. We love it, and we think you will too.
In addition to offering a wide range of drink options, the Saeco Xelsis SM7684 has six different profile slots available. So if you live in a busy, bustling household, you’ll probably have enough profile space that every coffee drinker under your roof can tweak the recipes of their favorite drinks, customizing them to taste.
If you live alone, then you can use multiple profiles to change the characteristics of your favorite drinks, creating a number of different options. Either way, you’ll be able to create a wide range of customized variants of the sixteen drinks on offer.
It takes just seconds to build a new profile and start making modifications to your favorite coffee drinks, but our recommendation is that you try the default recipes before you start making modifications. You may find that the default option suits you just fine!
When you do eventually reach the point where you want to start experimenting, you’ll find that to be a simple process as well.
Everything is touch screen controlled. You can adjust the coffee strength up or down (increasing or decreasing the number of beans ground per shot), change the amount of water per shot, tweak the temperature, the pre-infusion time, the shot time, and if it’s a milk-based drink, you can modify the amount of milk that gets added as well!
More on the Control System
Moving beyond the list of available drinks, the modifications you can make to your favorite drink, and the profile slots, there are a few more things to mention where the control system is concerned – though some of them have more to do with what’s absent than what’s present.
For example, the Saeco Xelsis espresso machine doesn’t offer Bluetooth connectivity nor is there a function on the machine to turn it on at a certain time automatically, although there is an easy way to fix that. You can buy a low-priced “smart outlet” and create a power-up schedule from whatever app you use to control it.
Once the unit is on, though, there is a standby function you can set to either 30, 60, or 180 minutes depending on your preference. Depending on how you use your machine, you may want to install a smart outlet and order the unit to turn on a couple of hours before you get up.
We mention this because although we’ve seen other Saeco Xelsis espresso machine reviews online that mention a cup warming tray, the unit doesn’t actually have one – not really. That said, if the unit has been on for a while, there is enough residual heat to get the job done, so you can have a workable makeshift warming tray if you want one.
The Milk Frothing System
The Saeco Xelsis milk carafe is generously sized with a 20-ounce capacity. Other than pouring the milk into the carafe initially, this is a purely hands-free system that relies on the company’s “LattePerfecto” technology, which produces dense milk foam with fine texture.
As with just about every other aspect of the drinks you order via this machine, you can adjust the amount of foam you get in order to create your perfect coffee drink every time. We love it, and we think you will too.
Very Easy to Use and Clean
While it would be an oversimplification to say that there’s no learning curve at all where the Saeco Xelsis SM7684/04 automatic espresso machine is concerned, the learning curve is very slight.
The initial setup takes less than fifteen minutes. And it may take another 15-20 minutes to familiarize yourself with the basic controls and customization options, including the creation of your first profile.
In terms of cleaning, as with any machine of this type, there are a few periodic tasks you’ll need to keep up with.
The good news is that keeping the milk frother clean is incredibly easy because it purges itself with seam after each use as part of its HygieSteam feature, which eliminates 99.99% of milk residue.
A lot of people tend to balk at super-automatic machines out of fear that keeping the frothing system clean is going to be a time-intensive nightmare. It really isn’t here, and that is flat-out amazing.
You’ll still, of course, have to do the daily wipe down – there’s no getting around that. And we’d recommend giving the brew group a weekly rinse and more thorough wash if and as it’s needed. Note that the brew group is not dishwasher safe!
Every couple of weeks, you’ll want to check the moving parts and add lubricant to them as needed to keep everything running smoothly, and of course, a monthly grinder clean to remove any buildup of oils you might find (very much dependent on the beans you use).
The company recommends using Philips descaler CA6700.
As a rule of thumb, we recommend emptying the drip tray and emptying the spent grounds container each time you refill the water tank. The waste container holds about fourteen spent pucks – so it’s not something you’ll have to attend to on a constant basis, but the exact frequency will ultimately be determined by exactly how much coffee you drink.
Pros & Cons of Saeco Xelsis Espresso Machine
If you’ve read our Saeco Xelsis review to this point, we think you’ll agree. This is an incredibly capable, full-featured machine that has a lot to offer. In no particular order, here are the things we think you’ll like best about this model:
On the other hand, there are a few weak points to be mindful of. In our view, the most significant of these are:
Overall, we feel the numerous strengths of the Saeco Xelsis automatic espresso machine far outweigh its weaknesses. This machine belongs on your shortlist of options to consider.
Other Options to Consider
If, for any reason, the Xelsis Saeco doesn’t work for you, here are a couple of other options to consider:
ECAM 35075SI Dinamica
Recommended For: Users looking for a good-priced automatic espresso machine.
De’Longhi is another legendary company in the specialty coffee maker industry and this is a superb model, both well-priced and sporting a slightly more capable grinder with 18 different drink recipes on offer. It will also save you some money. So if you can’t afford the Xelsis, this is a fantastic alternative to consider.
Gaggia Prestige
Although this machine does cut a few corners both in production quality and materials, and it offers somewhat less in the way of customization options and total recipes available, this is a supremely capable machine that has the basics well covered. If money is somewhat tight, this is an excellent option to consider.
All three of these options, the one we just reviewed and both of these alternates, will serve you very well indeed.
Saeco Xelsis Review Conclusion
We love this machine. Although other models we’ve reviewed have earned slightly higher rankings, this one sits very near the top of the deluxe coffee machine heap.
If you love specialty coffee drinks but don’t love shelling out money day after day and week after week at the local coffee bar, and you’re looking for a way to replicate that experience at home, the Saeco Xelsis coffee machine can give you that – if you can afford it. We recommend it.
References & Resources:
- Saeco Xelsis SM7684 Espresso Machine User Manual.
- Saeco, Official Brand Website.
- 16 Creative Ways to Use Old Coffee Grounds, healthline.
- Espresso Macchiato vs. Latte Macchiato, Starbucks Stories & News.
- How to Froth Milk, a couple cooks.