For the niche that it was designed to fill, it is really hard to find a better machine than the X3. If you want designer styling, top notch build quality, a good boiler, and good coffee all out of a small machine that actually fits on a counter, then the X3 is about the only choice. If you want a machine that will serve a dinner party, or that will froth a liter of milk, you want a different machine.
I've owned 2 of these, a standard steel model and a stainless model, both of the classic design and not the new 'Trio' model which uses only the crap pods. The first one I bought (well) used, and it lasted almost 2 more years of daily use before the boiler element developed a short.
Other users have complained about the limited water capacity, but the tank is as large as possible for such a small machine. Since this machine is not suitable for serving many people at once, you probably will only be filling the tank once or twice a week anyhow. With a larger tank you would just get biofilm issues.
Another common complaint is the consistency of the espresso. Without a high quality burr mill, you have no hope of getting good results from the X3. It took me quite a while to tune the grind on my machine, but once I found the right grind for the 2 or 3 roasts I use, the results are bang-on every time. If you have quality issues, either you got a faulty unit, or its a matter of 'garbage in, garbage out'.
Finally, steaming with the X3 is a challenge. Getting froth is easy. Getting decent foam takes a lot of practice. The steam wand has a special aerator tip threaded on to the end which is designed to compensate for the relatively low steam output. If used properly, it works fine. The trick is positioning the intake hole at exactly the right level, and keeping it there for the entire steaming process. I found the steaming temperature (and thus pressure) to be quite different in the newer stainless model, and I had to relearn how to steam with it. In the end, I found that the hysteresis in the steam temperature thermostat is too large, so if you wait for the 'steam ready' indication you will not be able to produce microfoam. Starting the steaming process about 30 seconds before the boiler light would normally turn off, allows the element to stay on throughout the steaming, and the steam pressure remains perfect for microfoam. Some complain about the short wand, but in reality having a big pitcher is useless with this machine, since you will be making at most 2 drinks at a time. Having the wand come out the side of the machine would probably make it easier to use, but would affect the looks.
There are a few tricks to using this machine, apart from the frothing:
1) Steaming order - I normally pull first and froth second, even though the manual suggests that the machine was designed to handle the reverse order. In theory, the incoming cold water cools the internals down to the proper brewing temperature from the steaming temperature, but I'm sure using this method the first few seconds are superheated steam, instead of hot water. Also, steaming last drives the remaining water out of the grounds, leaving a dry puck behind which is much cleaner.
2) Overflow tray - The tray is small and not that convenient, but if you don't dump too much water in it, it works fine. I remove the cup as soon as the shot is done, and catch the last dribbles with another small cup. Steaming will result in some more water being forced through the grounds, so the cup catches these too. This way, you only need to clean the tray occasionally.
3) Cleanup - I use a paper towel moistened with water from purging the steam wand to clean the tip after steaming, and also to clean the grouphead of the remnants of (now dry) grounds.
My main complaint is that FrancisFrancis! has a really bad policy for replacement parts. The parts are cheap, which is good, but they are only available to authorized repair shops with the condition that they install the parts, which is stupid. You would think that a relatively small, progressive company would realize the importance of keeping their machines running and users happy, instead of milking them on repair costs. |
