Cost: $1025.00
Major problem with this machine: doser mechanism fluctuates wildly from 6.0 to 9.0 grams; every cup is a surprise. Wait for this problem to be fixed before buying. Aside from that, easy to use and easy to clean are this machine‘s best features, along with very good cafe crema--the 5-6 oz pressure-extracted "regular" coffee. But if a good, consistent espresso shot is your goal, I would not recommend this machine. None of the espresso shots attempted with this machine were palatable. Stick with the Rancilio Sylvia for that purpose. I can‘t attest to any milk steaming features of this machine, by default. The unit I received was supposed to ship w/ the optional frothing attachment, but none was sent and after a year, still no response. I just skip the steamed milk completely, by default.
The lack of bypass doser for pre-ground coffee is a big negative, particularly if one is interested in cupping coffee samples prior to making purchasing decisions. As-is, 3-4 cups of regular coffee must be "run-through" in order to even begin tasting the new coffee of interest.
After overnight non-use, the first cup of the day is invariably bad tasting, possibly due to the residual coffee leftover in the grinder, in combination with too low water temperature (due to heat transfer to cold pump lines, etc., for 1st cup of the day). I usually dump this 1st cup of the day. Spent grounds of this 1st cup are often too water logged, and stick to the top end of the filter press, affecting all subsequent cups. I rinse off or carefully clean this off before brewing each cup--a major hassle, but necessary if you want a good, consistent cup of coffee.
Use coffees roasted medium-dark, avoiding extremes. Too light roasts often result in an overly acidic cup, while very dark roasts (are often burned organic matter anyway) produce cups with tons of grit and little flavor. If the doser worked properly, this problem might be remedied somewhat, but it‘s unclear. The problem seems to worsen as more cups are brewed: more grit, less consistent cup, etc. Stick with medium-dark ("Full City" roast) for best results.
Grind settings of 10, plus or minus 2, work best for medium-dark roasted coffee. Any extremes, viz., settings of 2 to 6 (very fine), or 14-16 (coarse) result in overextracted or underextracted cups.
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