PHILIPS L'OR BARISTA Sublime Coffee Capsule Machine, for Double or Single Capsule, Volume Personalization, Adjustable Tray, 2 Cups, Compatible with Nespresso, Black (LM9012/60)

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We were pleasantly surprised to see that the L'OR Barista Sublime arrives with a taster box of nine different capsules. In our household, we have a preference for drinking caffeine-free coffee, so we were slightly disappointed that the selection included only one such pod. Nevertheless, upon tasting the different coffees over the course of testing, there wasn’t one that we disliked. We did need to refer to the manual to ensure we had the right setting, however, but once we’d mastered it the process was straightforward and the results satisfactory. Super-easy to use and the double spout is great for making more than one cup of coffee at a time. An integrated milk frother would have been useful though.

Overall, we really like the fact that you can make two espressos in one go using this machine. Placing two standard size coffee cups under the dispenser is a bit of a squeeze, however, so it’s worth investing in a pair of smaller coffee glasses or a couple of espresso cups to place underneath the dispenser. This seemed to work well for us. At 3343.7g (7lb 6oz ), this machine is lightweight enough to easily transfer from box to kitchen worktop. There aren’t a lot of parts to assemble and the water tank lifts off easily so you can fill it up at the sink ready for use. L’OR might be best known for its coffee, but the brand’s recent foray into the world of coffee machines is particularly interesting. The Philips L’OR Sublime is the first pod machine with a dual spout, allowing you to pour two cups of espresso at the same time or one double shot in a single cup using its XXL capsules. The instructions state that you can also adjust your drink volume by pressing down the ristretto button for four seconds. To be honest, this is not something we found beneficial or attempted more than once – as there is such a variety of single and double volume sizes to choose from we didn’t feel the need.As is sometimes the case with capsule machines, quite a lot of water gathers in the tray beneath the used-pod drawer. Also, the twin-spout group head drips coffee for a few seconds after extraction. I haven’t found this to be the case with my favourite Nespresso machine, the Grind One, so I guess it’s a design thing. READ NEXT: Our full roundup of the best coffee pod machines Philips L’OR Sublime pod coffee machine review: What’s good about it? With a double spout and settings to adjust coffee sizes from 25ml to 270ml, you’re spoilt for coffee size and strength here.

To see how well the Philips L’Or Barista Sublime Coffee Capsule Machine performs on a daily basis, the team here at Exceptional got to work drinking coffee – and more coffee. Most Nespresso machine capsule chambers use a simple lever that you pull up, put the pod into its recess and slam the lever down to engage it with the hidden group head. This machine has a much more complex pod-loading system and I love the way it works. You basically lift the top handle and the pod orifice articulates upwards. Now pop in either a small or large pod and close the handle – the machine can detect which sized pod is being used. It’s a lovely action but I do hope it’s never capable of jamming if, for instance, you load in a pod while the used-capsule drawer is full to capacity. This is because it ejects the previous pod when you lift the lever and, if there’s a used capsule in the way of the mechanism, it could feasibly jam. I should add that I haven’t had any issues in this regard. The Milky Plant is an all-in-one blender and strainer with one job – to make excellent plant milk– but how does it compete with cheaper alternatives? Mind, since it takes about 30 seconds to warm up, it would be good to be able to preheat the boiler with a single tap while you pre-heat the cup or make a milky cappuccino froth using the Best Milk Frother, but you can’t have everything. The only mild complaint is that the selection of XXL double-shot capsules is rather limited at the moment, but I hope that will change in the future. Ultimately, if you’re after an affordable pod coffee machine with excellent capsule compatibility, there’s nothing better you can buy right now.Although I’m not too enamoured of the styling and traditional chocolate box logo, I’ve been very impressed with this machine and, more importantly, its wherewithal to accept two different sized coffee capsules, something no other standard Nespresso machine is capable of doing.

The KitchenAid 2.1L Food Processor offers unrivalled power and sharp knife skills… here’s T3’s full review We wanted to know if its espresso crema matched anything we’d tasted previously – or was indeed superior. As you may have read in my guide to the Best Coffee Pod System, my issue with standard Nespresso pods is that they’re too small – just 5g of coffee per pod as opposed to, say, the Lavazza A Modo Mio which has around 7g per capsule. This means I’ve sometimes felt the need to extract two pods one after the other just to get a proper barista-style hit. The L'OR Barista Sublime, however, has been manufactured by Philips to accept two sizes of coffee capsule – and only L'OR makes them. This is music to my ears – or rather palette – because it means I can get a double-shot espresso with just one tap of a button.I’ve been very impressed with this machine’s performance. It extracts all makes of Nespresso capsules really well, and with excellent levels of crema to boot. Designed to work with L’Or Espresso single shot capsules and L’Or Barista double shot capsules, as well as Nespresso Original single shot capsules Automatic espresso machines that will fit the patented AquaClean water filter. The AquaClean ensures you don’t have to descale your automatic

When it comes to choosing small appliances, such as the best coffee pod machines, that are designed to be a permanent fixture on the worktop, style and functionality are key considerations. My main issue with this machine is that currently, there aren’t a huge number of double-shot XXL pods. Considering this is the stand-out feature of the machine, it would be nice to see this range extended to get the most out of it.For noise, we measured the L’OR Barista Sublime at 52dB on our noise meter, which is somewhere between moderate rainfall and normal conversation. It wasn't loud, but you will hear it in operation, especially if there aren’t any other appliances running.