My office has had a Saeco Vienna Superautomatic for which they charge $0.25/cup and provide everything but real milk. A large number of people prefer the coffee from this machine to the very weak stuff delivered in a thermos by some local shop (also $0.25/cup) or the free coffee from the industrial coffee pot available in the other lounge. However, I'm about to buy an espresso machine for home, and, after doing a few tastings from other machines, the Vienna doesn't come close to what I really want.
The best part about the machine is it's easy of use. Fill the water and beans, wait for the green light, turn the knob to select the amount of coffee you want, push the button. We actually have two, because they break from time to time and have to go out for repair. However, considering that the machines probably make 30+ cups a day, that's not bad for $300. Also, the breakage is usually due to people forgetting to empty the spent pucks and the machine getting clogged, so that's not really Saeco's fault.
The coffee isn't weak and flavorless like our alternatives, but it isn't properly extracted espresso either. On the lowest/strongest setting, I get just under an ounce in about 5 seconds with only a very small amount of crema (1/8 inch in a 1" diameter cup). It taste a bit sour, so I'm guessing it's a tamping/heat/pressure problem. Most people turn the dial way up and get much weaker coffee that takes up to 60 seconds to extract almost a full cup (i.e. 16 oz). It's drinkable with sugar and or creamer (please don't kick me off the site for saying that), but not really much better than normal coffee when you brew that much.
The machine also has a steam arm (which almost no one here uses due to lack of milk). It actually works quite well when in Coffee mode to put out hot water to heat your espresso cup or for tea. However, when I push the steam button, the light goes on in a few seconds but I don't always get steam. I usually just do an espresso, so I haven't bothered troubleshooting this. I have gotten steam from it at least once, however, so I'm guessing it's fixable. |
