A lot of machine for the money. If you make coffee drinks every day, then you will want a machine of this quality and performance. You must partner with a decent grinder e.g. Mazzer mini
Positive Product Points
repeatable consistency, no surprises, no duff shots. adjustable temperature and pressure. durability and build quality. easy to clean (descaler and scum remover). heavy. large drip tray. And finally ... looks! This machine is part of our lives!
Negative Product Points
for dinner parties of 4 or more people, the steaming capacity is not quite good enough. But for the pair of us, it's fine. The time for the machine to fully warm up is about 45 mins, but this is easily managed with a simple time-switch ($9)
Detailed Commentary
After 5 years of living with a Gaggia Baby in ignorance of "what is out there", a forced lay up drove me to excessive internet browsing, and I found this site. Clearly there were better machines available, and the Zaffiro was ordered. After two weeks I wondered how we'd survived with the Gaggia, but after anoter few weeks I was taking more notice of the advice that "it's the grinder that counts". Now we are running with the Zaffiro and the Mazzer mini, I can't see any need to ever upgrade, except for frothing milk at dinner parties.
After 13 months of ownership, with between 1 and 3 uses per day, I am still over the moon with the Zaffiro, and would buy the same again tomorrow. I still look forward to making coffee every time
Buying Experience
arrived with euro plug, but replacing with UK was not the most challenging task ever!
