Overall this is a very good machine, easy to use and produces a great cup of coffee.
Positive Product Points
- ease of use - puts out a great cup of coffee - removeable/cleanable brew group - consistent product
Negative Product Points
- price is pretty high - steam wand is tight to machine but useable - manual is really sparse
Detailed Commentary
This is my first foray into any coffee machine beyond a drip type. I researched a lot of them online but found very few locally to try. And those that I did find were priced at about 75% above the price I'd pay online. I gave a US$ price on the review but paid $1995 Cdn including shipping. It was the best price I found in Canada and I couldn't buy from the U.S. for the $1500 price I see everywhere.
It's pretty easy to use out of the box. I ran some water through it first as is recommended. The manual sucks. It covers most topics & tells you what to do but with very little detail. It also doesn't go into the "why" of some of the things you're doing. Once I got it all unpacked & running I killed the first cup as it looked weak. Every cup thereafter has been great. I don't do espresso, mainly coffee americano and latte/capuccino. It does a great job on these. My wife was unsure to begin with but now she's come around to the ease of use & quality taste. The frother wand sucks, I'd rather have it on a cord so I could swirl it in the cup but it gets the job done. The frother attachment is overpriced at $99 but it allows you to suck a cup of milk through the unit and froth it out into another cup. Works great if you're making a number of milk based drinks. It's also great for hot chocolate.
I really like this machine. The messages are informative & the solutions obvious. There is some leakage as others have noted but it's never been an issue. I've removed & cleaned the brew group a few times and it's very easy. When I empty the dreg bin I dump the leaked water and give the brew group a rinse. It takes a couple minutes at the most. There are tons of things that you can do to modify the quality/taste of the coffee and I'm still experimenting. No matter what I've tried I haven't produced a lousy cup of coffee so I'm happy. I have nothing to compare with but I wouldn't hesitate to buy this machine again if the need arose.
Buying Experience
I got this machine online from Creative Cookware. They're a Canadian outfit. They shipped it immediately and the few followup questions I've had have been responded to very quickly.
