£25 coffee in a £400 machine. Or, for U.S. readers, $50 coffee in an $800 machine.
Positive Product Points
Looks great. Beautifully built.
Negative Product Points
Makes very weak espresso. Much worse than that of my Krups machine, which cost 75% less.
Detailed Commentary
The quality of the coffee is NOT GOOD. It does not make a proper espresso. The coffee is thin, lacking in "crema", and nothing changes that. I use Illy espresso, a well established premium brand. I've tried using more coffee, different coffee, and tamping it much harder.
After repeated phone calls, I was able to get the machine tested. They returned it to me saying something that sounded like the O-ring and motherboard (?) were replaced. The quality of the coffee remained the same - THIN and NOT GOOD.
After 5 more phone calls (the first 4 unreturned), they have refused to either refund my money or provide me with a new machine.
Verdict - either Francis Francis makes bad espresso machine, or I was sold a "lemon" and have no recourse.
