For anyone who has ever stood in a café queue before 9am wondering why they can’t just replicate this at home — Philips has an answer. The Baristina, the brand’s latest espresso machine, made its Southeast Asian debut in Singapore earlier this month, and it’s making a fairly compelling case for itself.
The pitch is simple: freshly ground, bean-to-cup espresso in under 60 seconds, with a single swipe. No fussing with settings, no barista training required, no pile of components to wash up afterwards. The machine grinds, tamps and brews in one automated sequence, which puts it in a different category from both your standard pod machine and the kind of traditional espresso setup that requires a small counter renovation to accommodate.
Capsule machines are genuinely easy to use, but you’re locked into pre-portioned pods, the flavour has a ceiling, and you’re generating a lot of plastic waste. Bean-to-cup machines, on the other hand, deliver the real thing — but they tend to be bulky, complicated, and involve more daily maintenance than most people want to commit to on a weekday morning.
Baristina is trying to thread that needle. It uses actual beans (your beans, whichever roast you prefer), grinds them fresh with a ceramic grinder that automatically calibrates to different bean types, then brews at 16-bar pressure to get the crema and body you’d expect from a proper espresso. The cleanup is minimal — rinse or wipe the portafilter and you’re done. The machine itself is compact enough to sit comfortably on most kitchen counters without staging a hostile takeover.
For those who like milk-based drinks, there’s a separate frother available that handles both hot and cold milk for lattes and cappuccinos. It’s sold separately, but then again, not everyone needs it.
A Local Collaboration to Mark the Launch
To launch in Singapore, Philips Baristina partnered with Tiong Hoe Specialty Coffee — a well-regarded local roaster with roots going back decades in the city’s coffee scene. Together they developed the limited-edition Baristina Blend, a specialty roast designed specifically to work with the machine’s brewing format and highlight what fresh-ground coffee at home can actually taste like when everything is dialled in.
It’s a smart pairing. Tiong Hoe brings the craft credibility; Baristina brings the accessibility. The collaboration puts a local stamp on what could otherwise feel like just another international product launch, and it underlines the machine’s core argument — that the quality of your beans matters, and you should have the freedom to choose them.
The Design Details
The machine comes in two colourways — black and milky white — and one of its more quietly clever features is the interchangeable portafilter handles. You can swap between milky white, mango yellow, black, and wood finishes, which sounds minor but actually makes a difference when the machine is sitting out on your counter every day. It’s a small customisation that skews more lifestyle accessory than kitchen appliance, which is clearly the intention.
There’s also a sustainability angle worth noting. Because Baristina uses real beans rather than single-use pods, it cuts out the plastic waste that capsule machines accumulate. The used coffee grounds eject cleanly and can go straight into a compost bin — a detail that’s easy to overlook but adds up over time.
The Philips Baristina is available in Singapore exclusively at Harvey Norman in stores, and online via Shopee. The launch collaboration with Tiong Hoe Specialty Coffee also comes with gift-with-purchase items — the limited-edition Baristina Blend and double-walled glass cups — while stocks last.
The Philips Baristina is available now at Harvey Norman and on Shopee Singapore. For more information, visit philips.com.sg.
