This machine will put the local coffee shops out of business.
Positive Product Points
Great steamer; great shots
Negative Product Points
it takes a bit too long to warm up
Detailed Commentary
We love the machine. It takes a bit of practice for those like us who are not experts in making shots. Once you get the right coffee and the righ grind, the machine does everything else. If you like milk based coffee, then this is the best. The steam is easy to control . Please make sure that you do not turn the steam to much because the milk can splash on you. For good shots you need to find the right grind for the machine. Once you have it, the machine produces a wonderful crema. Just make sure that you use a good coffee because otherwise the crema won't come out very well. Regarding the temperature of the machine, we like to warm it up at 96. This temperature seems to work best. You can adjust the temperature very easy. All the instruction on how to set it up and program it are in the manual that come with the machine. Everything is pretty straight forward. If you have any problems, you can call Chris Coffee ( if you bought it from him). They will help you right away.
Buying Experience
We bought it from Chriss Coffee and we are very happy that we did. They answered any question that we had; even advice on how to get good shots. Great experience!
Three Month Followup
We still love it. We did not have any problems with it and it does the same great job as it did at the beginning. We would not change it with any other machine. Anyone who had and an espresso from us, keeps on asking for another:)
One Year Followup
After a year the machine performs just as well as it did in the first day. By now we've had a lot of practice pulling espressos so we can asses how well it does. We won't blame the machine when we don't get a great espresso:) We bought a new steam tip (.9mm). The original one was 1.3mm. This one is better for steaming the milk. Since the holes are not that large, it allows for the milk to get nicely steamed and not splashed all over. However, if you want to steam milk for two large lattes/mochas, it may take a while to get it done. The steamer seems to loose its power when using the small tip for a lot of milk. We really have nothing to complain about this machine. We do think that it is the best in its class and worth the money. We are glad we got it. (warning: once you offer a coffee to a guest, you may have guests more often than you wish:))
