This is a great machine.  With a good grind, it pulls excellent shots.  Frothing >4 oz of milk works best.  Very fast recovery between shots/steaming.

Frothing small volumes is tough to get great (Chris has a new tip to fix this).  It is an investment.

This machine is tremendous.  I stepped up from a Krups Il Novo I had for 8 years.  That made ok lattes/caps but was poor on straight shots and could only steam 4 oz without needing time to recover.  The Tea excels at all.  You can make drinks (shots/froth) as fast as you can work.  It spoils you quickly.  I once thought Starbucks was good - no more. You can make a shot within 3-5 minutes of turning it on, but it is even better after the E61 head has fully heated for 30 minutes or more. The dual pressure gauges are useful - one for the boiler and the other tells pressure while brewing.  This is great to let you know if the grind/tamp are right and beats timing the shots.   Now I'm searching for the perfect bean to get the optimal flavor.  I considered a Silvia but am glad I went the extra distance on this.  No regrets.  Even my non-coffee drinking wife enjoys the hot water wand for cocoa and oatmeal.

Excellent.  2 weeks after receiving it the heating element gave out.  I emailed Chris on a Saturday morning and he literally phoned me 5 minutes later.  I tested a couple of components and he overnighted a new element that arrived Tuesday.  You can't beat service like that.