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The quality of espresso deteriorated quickly. I bought this machine because of its low price, and I got what I paid for. This thing lasted about five months before it ceased to work altogether. It started out good, although I had to add quite a bit of coffee for a decent cup. I liked the convenience of the measure and tamp combination and the easy storage (although the tamp was weak and I never did get a truly strong cup).I am very disappointed.
Pros, the price and quality of the espresso beverage. It lasted over two years with at least one latte being made everyday. We received this as a Christmas party prize in 2006, and it has been a terrific and hard working little machine. Cons, the frother leaks water after use, and the clean up is a bit messy, but minor stuff really. Not bad for $60-$90 bucks. The frother finally died so we will be getting the exact same model as we are very happy with it. Also, please grind your beans fresh with every use. Buy it now.
For the price of this machine it is not bad at all. I had so far about one year. There are many factors involved in making the ultimate espresso. Another factor is the quality of coffee. I prefer my coffee medium roasted, others like dark roasted. Not much space under the nozzle so you have to be tricky in choosing other than espresso cups. It has a plastic water tank and a short steam wand.
The steam works fine if you know how to use but it is not easy, it comes with experience. I am not satisfied with quality of its espresso making but cappuccino is adequate because you do not need the ultimate espresso to have good cappuccino, in a way it is a cheating process. Well built nice looking machine with a lot of options. Choose a pump espresso machine with 15-19 bar. This one has 15 bar but so are many very expensive machines. For espresso use ONLY 100% arabica coffee and nothing else. At last the ultimate espresso got to have a rich crema and a refreshing feeling when you finish your shot. I kept this machine as a backup for ground 100% arabica coffee or beans.
You can use it as ese pods machine or ground coffee making espresso. After purchasing many machines from this low end to over a thousand dollar one I settled on the Francis X8 with iperespresso capsules from Illy. The machine is only one of them. Espresso coffee needs colder temp than steam so if you want your espresso hotter warm up your cup in the microwave with some water in it, circulate hot water in the machine before making your espresso. They cost a lot but it is easy to make equal or better espresso than many top of the line coffee shop. If the latter is missing do not be sure you had the best.
I tried this machine out for a couple of weeks and thought the removable water tank was a nice feature however it never sealed properly and would leave a big puddle of water on the counter top if you didn't dump out the water immediately. Despite this, it did make fairly good espresso, but you have to have tiny espresso cups for it to catch because a regular coffee cup is too big to fit under so I had to use a bowl to catch the espresso. I was also not crazy about the fact that it doesn't turn itself off when done pumping the espresso, but that's just a preference of mine.Anyway, for the price it may be worth trying just remember there is a good chance it will leak like a sieve.
I've had 3 bitter shots, and 3 sour shots, all due to the temperature issues on this unit. However the model currently displayed here at Amazon is the fixed version.Here are my observations on the negative reviewers vs the positive reviewers of this product:1: Machine makes weak espresso. There was a defective model of this espresso machine that leaked water everywhere. Sure this machine looks like a piece of crap, and it's built out of cheap plastic that sucks, but it makes great espresso for around 85$. Home barista forums are full of people trying to learn "temperature surfing" techniques to hit the temperature 'sweet spot'. To know that I would have had the same issues with a 600$ Rancilio Silvia, or even a 1200$ HX machine makes me laugh.
There's a reviewer here who says he's had good results with a blade mill, but I think he's extremely lucky. You will need to buy a burr grinder that WILL cost more than this espresso machine. I myself am using a 'modified' Breville Bar Aroma grinder set to the finest setting. The tamping required at that level of grind is around the 30lb mark which is easy to attain with even the included plastic tamper (which is quite terrible). I've read most of the negative reviews for this product. Temperature problems. This and most thermoblock/single boiler/HX consumer/prosumer machines suffer from temperature stability issues.
Even if you spent 1200$ on a mid/high range espresso machine and grinder, you'd have these issues. Some people have modified their espresso machine (yes even the expensive ones) with a PID temperature controller in order to achieve a measure of temp stability.I've pulled over 20 double shots on this unit in the last 3 days. 75-80% reddish brown crema with a delicious strong taste.Basically, if you aren't prepared to learn to be a barista, DO NOT buy this machine, and save your money for a super-automatic. This is a 'real' espresso machine. But I've learned that if you heat the boiler to steaming temperatures and then turn off the steam, and run water through group until is stops flash boiling, then quickly load the filter in and brew, I've got a good shot almost 100% of the time.
Espresso with a semi-automatic machine requires practice and skill to use properly, I read numerous home barista forums to learn proper technique and had great success within the first two pulls of this machine. Though with practice and fresh beans you will make better espresso with this machine.2. Always loads of reddish brown crema that lasts for over 2 minutes. For me the total cost of my coffee obsession is as follows:Modified Popcorn popper to roast beans: 58$Modified Breville Bar Aroma Grinder: 120$Hamilton Beach Espresso Maker: 85$That's some pretty cheap prices to be drinking great espresso at home.If this thing craps out in a year, I can buy another one and still save money.
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