Great machine, honest value, and I'd give one to my grandmother if she wanted to make her own Gourmet coffee drinks.
Positive Product Points
I actually have the newer Premium model of ECM Giotto. This machine produces a great espresso, Latte or Capp in 2 minutes MAX. I can make an Americano in one minute, two in two minutes, and I'm talking doubles. This machine stays HOT. The thermostat kicks on and off every 30 seconds or less when it's "Resting." Steam and hot water, it has it! A GREAT value.
Negative Product Points
I can usually find fault with almost everything, so I'll try. The drip pan holder needed washers placed between the main housing of the machine and itself to ease in thepans removal. It took 2 washers and a wrench and about one minute total. The machine is not completely automatic, darn, I like to make it myself. I'm stumped. I've read a few negatives, nothins perfect, but this machine is close.
Detailed Commentary
This machine is the latest version,of Giottoand I'm sure there are some improvements over the last model. The steam wand and the HOT water blaster are more mobile. The two control knobs for the steam and HOT water wand protrude out farther also. I tried a Gaggia Classic just prior to purchasing Giotto and I made a big mistake. Not only with the machine but also with WLL. The customer service is lacking when I had warranty issues, a two year warranty, two breakdowns in 3 weeks, 2 weeks for parts,and no refund on postage when I returned the machine. The refund took 2 months to make it to my VISA account. ECM Giotto is the way to go. Read the other detailed reviews and just believe, because we're not all distributors, were owners! Save yourself the hassle of returning a product, and begging for a refund. You can spend more on a prosumer machine, but chances are its alot bigger and will cost $500.00 more.
Buying Experience
1st-Line Equiptment tells how it is, and they ship anywhere in the lower 48 in 2 days, not 7 or 8 to the west coast. Read their reviews.
