Unbeatable machine and performance for a great price
Positive Product Points
The Nemox Caffe Fenice has professional internal components. It has a large brass boiler with a water capacity of 200 cc or 6.8 OZ. The machine has a three way steam wand; this is particularly useful for large frothing pitchers which can be difficult to position while steaming. In addition, it has a large capacity for dry, forceful steam. The Nemox Caffe Fenice has a chrome plated brass group head. Moreover, the portafilter is also contructed from brass; the weight is impressive. It also boasts a 3-way solenoid valve. The Fenice is able to pull consecutive shots flawlessly. Despite the opinions of others, the steam wand is very efficient at creating microfroth. Lastly, it has a cup warmer. The finish is in Stainless steel and weighs seventeen pounds.
By the way the picture above this posting is not the Nemox Caffe Fenice but its little brother the Nemox Junior. Do not confuse these two.
Negative Product Points
There are a couple of obvious design flaws including the drip tray and backsplash. The drip tray has a cube, lattice like design. As a result, when you purge the steam wand of water the water ricochets off the drip tray into the stainless steel body.
Detailed Commentary
If you are looking to upgrade from an inferior machine, I would recommend purchasing the Nemox Caffe Fenice. Everyone likes to compare their machine with a Rancilio Silvia. Well, the Fenice is built very close to a Lelit PL041 which is nearly identical to an Rancilio Silvia. Not to mention it is more forgiving than the Silvia. I mean pulling shots with the Fenice is much easier. The silvia is finicky with grind whereas the Fenice is not as picky. The interal componenets are durable and of professional standards; in addition, the stainless steel body is impressive. The quality of shots is much better than a machine half the price because of the brass boiler. This type of boiler allows for more temperature stability; as a result, the taste of your shots will improve dramatically. The boiler produces dry steam for an extended amount of time because of its contruction.
Buying Experience
This machine was purchased from WWW.1-800-ESPRESSO.COM . The customer service was descent. However, they were very lax with shipping the product. But, the technical support person Dominique was extremely kind, helpful and knowledgable. The main reason I purchased the product from this company was the price. There is a large deviation in the price of this product on the major retailers websites; it varies from 480 dollars to 299 dollars.
Three Month Followup
Let me start off with an old axiom; "a fine wine only gets better with age". This is what the Nemox Caffe Fenice does. After three months of owning this fine piece of equipment, I am still impressed. There are a couple of nuances I mentioned in the original review. I still find these disappointing design features. The design on the stainless steel drip tray creates splatter. In addition, purging the steam wand forces water to ricochet off the stainless steel body. The fine points are, the quality of espresso is exceptional as well as the microfoam. Others have claimed this machine cannot create microfroth. But, experience as we all know is key. The Nemox Caffe Fenice creates incredibly dense, thick microfroam. If you know how to create microfroam and are considering upgrading to this machine, DO IT!
