LatteGo 5500 EP5547/90

TLDR: 1. Water to grind ratio needs to be fixed. 2. Frothing system is a downgrade from the Luxe Pro. I also have this machine and what I’ve found and confirmed with Ninja support over a video call is that this does not produce a two to one ratio shot of espresso no matter what settings you choose. It’s supposed to do two to one at strength setting 5. It does not. The smallest volume it produces is about 1.7 to 2.2 ounces and 50+ (usually exactly 52 grams). That’s with the machine set to single shot and max strength (which the documentation states is a two to one ratio). It produces essentially the same volume regardless of the strength settings chosen. The espresso quality is weak. The Ninja tech confirmed these findings on the call on two different “lab devices”. Post call I received an email from a customer experience advocate asking to send my machine to Ninja instead of returning it to Best Buy. I chose not to bother since they confirmed these findings behavior on two machines in house. The frother is inferior to the Luxe Pro. I have both on my counter at the moment. I tried 3 beans, Lavazza Super Crema, Illy Intenso, and a local roaster (decaf). The results were consistent across the board. I tried every setting imaginable. And I did at minimum two full calibrations in each set of beans. I really wanted to love this machine as it sounds promising but I find the espresso quality to be poor and the frothing system has taken a hit vs the Luxe Pro which is fairly decent IMO. That’s the experience I’ve had over 6-8 hours working with the new model. I’m impatiently waiting for some of our well known coffee influencers to start posting their detailed findings to see how it compares to my experience. From what I’ve seen the best ratio this machine will produce at any setting is about three to one. At a thousand dollar price point my expectation is that the machine will perform as per the documented specifications. Assuming a single shot is using between 7 grams of beans on the low side, and 11 grams on the high side, there’s no way a 52 gram or 2 oz shot should be produced. That clearly explains the weak espresso (and fairly poor crema) results I see. Ninja needs to go back to the drawing board on this one. Either the software is failing, or the software and or hardware isn’t consistent among the units they’ve produced. I do give them kudos for the great customer service though. As a side note the tech did tell me not to expect the ratios they document to be realistic (I’m paraphrasing but that’s what he expressed). He couldn’t explain why single and double shots produced the same volume. Maybe the techs two lab units and mine have the same problem and not all the units are performing this poorly.

Crema looks good 👍🏼 I find all my pours to be lacking richness. Very Phillips 5500 quality. I’m going to go broke buying beans at this point 😊

Ok I have to take this back. It’s light years better than the Phillips. I was in a pissy mood. My single, real gripe is the water ratio issue, especially at single shot. I like to have a strong 20-30ml single and I’m unable to produce that with this machine. Otherwise it’s pretty solid. I do prefer it over my Luxe Pro for the ease of use. The Luxe produces a bit higher quality when it’s dialed in correctly, but it’s not a huge difference outside of the singles. For me, GrindIQ is superior to Luxe’s auto barista tech, and it’s definitely more consistent. I’m hoping Ninja can fix the ratio issue and do warranty replacements or parts replacement for folks that want the better single shot ratio. I get very consistent shots from the auto vs the Luxe. On average the auto is better but a perfect shot from the Luxe is better. With both machines I doubt I’ll go back to the Luxe Pro often so it’ll likely become a gift to a friend if I can get over the single shot ratio thing. I have no idea when I became so invested in espresso and coffee, hehe.

Unfortunately I’m out of pre ground beans so I can’t do this until a make a run to the roaster which I’ll likely do later today. I have a really cheap grinder at home which won’t get a good result. It doesn’t grind fine enough for a super automatic. I tried to measure how many grams the machine is using for single and double shots by stopping the cycle after the grind process. But the unit locks the brew group into place during the cycle even after stopping it post grind, so I’m unable to remove the brew group to weigh the output. I’m not smart enough to figure out how to accomplish this, yet. The weight of a double is definitely closer to two to one as you mentioned. For me, I’m still finding the taste of a double sub par to my Luxe Pro. It’s like something between coffee and espresso. I’ll likely try some nee beans today.

The beans are good. Pretty fresh. Picked up yesterday from a local roaster. The Luxe pro ground them so I assume the grind size was OK but maybe the autobarista full auto has different grind size requirements for optimal extraction. Who knows :) Any pre grind I’ve tried in the auto with the pre ground setting comes out like this. I’ve done up to four scoops. Same results. What have your pre grind espressos looked like? Yes I chose single shot.

The milk jugs are the exact same size on my auto barista and luxe cafe pro. Same height, width and volume. When you select a drink that includes milk, you input all of your settings for the espresso or coffee and the froth settings, and it will suggest based on your drink selection which froth setting to use, but you can choose anyone that you want, for example, it may choose the lightest foam setting as a suggestion, but you can select any option you prefer. It puts an underline under the suggested froth option. After you hit start, I believe the first thing it does is grind the beans, then froth the milk, then it starts to make the drink. While the drink is being made the frother turns on and off to keep the milk warm and textured while the coffee or espresso is being produced. This is nice because the foam isn’t flat or cold when the drink is ready. When everything is done the machine will beep, and then you have to pour the jug into the glass on your own. I think it would be nice if the system also poured the milk for you, but in my experience with those machines they often don’t pour the right amount of milk anyway. I’m looking at you Phillips (but others have the same issue). You select a milk volume for your drink, but it’s often incorrect, usually on the light side. So, while it is a nice feature to have, to be completely hands-free, from what I’ve seen it doesn’t always work out that great.

Here’s my best guess. I saved a bunch of pucks from yesterday and let them dry out overnight. Weighing them this morning (they seem to be completely dry AFAICT) they are between 19 and 27 grams. They are from single, double and triple shot runs. It makes large and very nice pucks. The unit is growing on me. I’m just annoyed at the inability to do single shots with a good water to bean ratio.

To be fair, I’m an alternate milk user. I have not tried dairy. I use barista almond milk. The foam is quite bubbly. Large bubbles. And the texture is thin at the highest setting. I get better results from the Luxe Pro, a lot better in my opinion. I’ve seen others comment on the frother downgrade as well (for example a YouTube post from Tom’s Coffee Corner). I also have a Dreo BaristaMaker dedicated frother and that thing is marvelous. Froths alternative milk like its dairy. Silky, smooth, thick, microfoam. The autobarista results with almond milk are not good. Even when the foam has some body to it, it quickly dissipates. Hope that helps. I can send a pic later when I make a cappuccino or latte. Let me know if that’d be helpful. Not sure if you’re a dairy person. The auto barista may handle dairy just fine.

Since I’ve been experimenting, I figured I’d try something new. I tried some Elmhurst cashew milk in the frothing system, and that came out really good. Actually, it was my first time having cashew milk in a cappuccino and I liked it a lot. So, just wanted to report the foam came out great. The creamy top layer lasted until the end of the drink. I did not use the barista version. Supposedly, combining oat and almond and cashew milks make some magical concoction. I’m gonna try a mix of barista almond and cashew next. I also read that mixing 60p dairy, with 20p each of oat and cashew (barista versions) is top notch. I’ll probably give that a shot at some point. I don’t have dairy in my coffee drinks too often but it’s worth a try at least once. If you want to try the cashew and almond milk combo I read the ratio should be 50/50 for latte and 70(cashew)/30 for cappuccino. Something like that. Apologies in advance if I got that backwards 😬 Anyways, the auto barista is growing on me a little. I’m just super annoyed when things don’t follow specs to the T. The engineer side of me doesn’t like that. If you tell me two to one ratio then dammit I expect two to one 🤣

I really can’t say why. The autobarista has a more beefy, thick wand vs the luxe pro. So I would expect similar if not better results but that’s not what I’m seeing. It’s more than a slight difference. Personally , I think it’s a poor result in the auto barista vs a decent one with barista almond milk in the luxe pro. You may have better luck with oatly. I suggest you try the machine and don’t let my thoughts discourage you. Ninja has an awesome return policy. It’s pretty much no questions asked and 60-90 days to test. I’ve done returns with them in the past and you just have to enter your order number in the portal and they immediately generate a return label for you so you don’t really have much to lose.

Fair enough. I can’t say I know enough about this stuff myself to have a strong opinion, but it does seem like he favors some brands over others. Gotta keep those sponsors happy 😊 Appreciate the explanation. You’re probably on to something there. Don’t laugh, but, for me, I’d rather stick with illy pods and get a consistent flavorful espresso vs the thin blandness coming out of this $1,000 machine.

Ha, yah I’ve seen the same posts you’re referring to. Corny, short, ads. The froth I get from almond milk (barista) isn’t thinner (not in a good way) and more bubbly and airy than the Luxe Pro. But! I used some cashew milk yesterday and that came out excellent. I use mostly alternative milks. I haven’t tried the max setting (with the plus symbol) for almond milk yet. I’ll do that today. I’ve only used the third option from the left. From what I’ve seen from cashew milk I’d guess dairy is going to do very well. Cashew did great. Almond was meh but like I said I’ll try it on max today and see how that goes. I mentioned picks in another reply that I’ll restate here. I’ve weighed cried out pucks and they range from 19 to 27 grams. The 19 was a single, the 27 was a triple, and the doubles were 22-24. That’s what my very unscientific test showed

Yes I have a luxe cafe pro and the milk jugs are the exact same size. Same height. That’s correct. I do not see a switch on the bottom of the base where the milk jug sits so I’m assuming it determines if the jug is there by the position of the wand combined with what the machine thinks it should be doing :) Ok well I just tried to start a froth only cycle. If the wand is out, it will beep and display “wand” on the screen. If the wand is seated into its frothing position, and I try to start it, the machine beeps and says stop. So somehow it knows if the jug is there 🤷🏽‍♂️ The wand tip is chunky. 4 nozzle sprayer. Much wider than the luxe pro. Could be a moisture sensor? I don’t know.

Same boat. But I’m leading towards returning it and waiting to see Ninja’s response to this. I can use my Luxe Pro in the interim. I got mine from Best Buy so I only have another 11 days or so to return it. I was in a rush and wanted to pick it up in person so I kind of regret not buying it from Ninja directly with their 60 to 90 day return policy. But then again the problems would likely be the same. I really like the unit but I don’t want to settle for a buggy first production run.

A ristretto option would be very nice. I was thinking the same. Why skip that? Ah, smart. Pulling the hopper.. I tried to do the same test by measuring the brew group empty and then after the grind, but I wasn’t able to pull it out with the ground beans in it because the group gets locked in during a cycle. No idea why I didn’t think of measuring at the hopper lol 🤦‍♀️ I’m getting 17-18 gram pucks from max strength singles, but over 50 grams and close to 2 ounces of espresso volume out of the unit. I’ve had as high as 57 grams out from a single shot. Average is 52-54. 56-57 on the high side.

🙊 maybe that's really what the acronym means. That’s all I’m going to think of now when I hear BA. Thanks for that 🤣 I’ve had some discussion with Gemini about our issues and it’s come to the conclusion that only a control chip change in future production runs or a firmware update (which unfortunately isn’t possible) can resolve the ratio issue. Why they don’t make these smart devices so updates like this can just be pushed over the air is just silly at this point. Especially on a brand new machine like this. These companies are stuck in the Stone Age apparently. A few small tweaks and they’d really have something awesome here.

I had a video troubleshooting call with ninja and the tech reproduced by results on two different units in their “lab”. However, they didn’t seem to see it as an issue even though their own documentation and guides highlight the expected output based on user selection. He said something like don’t expect to actually see a two to one ratio because it’s bean dependent. It didn’t make sense really. I got an email from them after asking to send the machine to them for testing vs sending it to Best Buy but for me that just complicates the refund / return process. And I explained there’s no reason to test my specific inky because the tech reproduced the issue on two units and users here are getting the same result. So this isn’t isolated to me, my machine isn’t special. The tech on the call did say he recommended returning it. Not because of the ratio issue but just because I find the espresso watery. But he didn’t say how a new machine would correct the ratio in any way. He just said your machine works like mine but if you want to swap it go ahead. 🤷🏽‍♂️

Did yours come with a cover for both hoppers? I only have one. So the hopper on the machine has the silver rimmed cover on it, and the extra hopper has the tight lid. I swap it as I swap hoppers. I wish they sent two of the tighter fitting tops. Did you receive two? Curious if it’s meant to be this way. I can imagine people having even more than 2 at some point and would want a lid for each one.

Your Philips 5500 also has the flat ceramic burr, same as the 800 . A lot of Philips machines have the ceramic flat burr. They are not special and they are quite small. The kitchenaids are quite but the whole machine is insulated for sound. My jura has flat burr ceramic discs, they are not quiet and need a thick towel to muffel them. You want a ceramic flat disc for a certain flavor profile and they tend to stay cleaner. Grinds on a super auto are not that great anyway so I think it would be difficult for anyone to pickup the nuances between a flat disc or conical grinder. The Jura z10 has a conical grinder while the Giga 10 has flat discs for example. The quietness of it is Philips marketing team getting way over their skiis.

I don't think you actually what I am saying, since you proved part of my point already. They don't know how to use the machines, they don't know the limitations or how to maximize. I owned a TK02 and it was terrible at making coffee then again espresso. Why is a coffee roaster testing their own coffee? Why would someone used to a semi auto, and hopefully have a nuanced taste for espresso blindly write a review of super autos? Conversely, why not have someone who has no experience using a espresso machine review the SanRemo YOU espresso machine? **T**he article did not mention anything about how the machines were adjusted and why are they using specialty coffee? it is awfully specific and quite odd.

You can if you tried it.  Not about being a snob as super autos a lower quality anyway but you can taste the difference in the grind and dose size after the ratios are adjusted.   The z10s are a waste but a 15g KitchenAid/Miele or 16g jura on sale is a good deal. No one should pay more than $500 for a Philips.  The new kf seem to be a bargain. 

It's not a traditional inside part like a car engine.   It makes sense when you look at the old part and realize that women take it out and wash it And used to have to live it.   Look at the handle it's now super user friendly and say I'm the handle you can grab me. They also no longer need to lube it.  They updated it to make it less technical.   Tooling wise most of the parts are the same so little cost big perceived impact.   Otherwise I'd agree with you.  Well see though. 

At first glance, autos may seem convenient. But they need a lot of maintenance. They have many moving parts and are more prone to malfunctions. You have to clean their brew assembly daily, lubricate parts, etc. As for coffee quality: With a semi auto, you have greater control over parameters, which affect coffee quality. I understand your sentiment. Single button coffee looks appearing. But just like everything it comes at a price. I have a Philips 5500 and when it's done, I'm planning to switch to a semi-auto.

I have a 5500 and honestly, I'm not very satisfied with it. Coffee is pretty weak and not satisfying. I think you may want to look elsewhere.

Hmmm..... My Philips made Saeco grinds super fine and the espresso exceeds espresso from Starbucks made on a $20,000+ Mastrena II. Many of the Delonghi machines enhance the crema (faux crema). I personally would skip the Lattego line of Philips machines because they are weaker versions of Saeco's Gran Aroma line of machines.. In order to achieve a good shot is to do a triple ristretto and use less water in the Lattego line. Good espresso is not automated..

If it's 4x the price that would mean it's over $4,000 USA dollars because the Philips 5500 is usually around $980 to $1000+ in some areas. 

I have over 3k drinks on my Phillips 5500 and love it ..but only my like 3 different drinks on it.