Saeco Coffee Maker Odea Giro Plus Auto Espresso

OK, so I get one of these for my birthday after years of cappuccino making with a manual stainless steel Breville espresso machine. I feel pretty useless now because this gadget does all the work for me, including grinding the beans. All I have to do is fill the water tank and pour the coffee pucks into the sink. And then simply enjoy some excellent coffee.

This particular machine is housed largely in plastic, and for that reason I would judge it to be a home kitchen, consumer grade espresso maker. After a month of use, I do have a couple of minor gripes. First, I wish the machine remembered the desired setting of the coffee strength controls on the front panel. Unfortunately, the user must remember to reset every time the machine is turned on...unless he or she prefers the weakest setting. Second, despite the adjustable cup tray height, it sometimes slides slowly downward if particularly heavy cups or mugs are placed on it, and I see no way to adjust the tension.

This machine is fully automatic and makes quick, delicious coffee. Keep in mind that such machines do require maintenance to keep them working optimally and preserve your warranty. These operations, such as descaling, cleaning and lubrication are not difficult and full instructions are included.

The warning or 'heads up' indicators on the front panel can be disconcerting at first...but I've found them to be very necessary on a fully automatic machine. They let you know when the machine needs priming, for example, or doesn't have enough water or the puck drawer needs emptying. It was hard for this southern boy, but you do have to actually read through the instructions to know what those lights mean.

The steam wand on this machine does an excellent job of frothing milk. We use almond milk no casein so very easy to clean, low calorie and for some reason doesn't taste like almonds. Properly frothing milk is something of a learned skill, but the frothing wand on this machine seems to inject the right about of air and does the whole thing for you. All you do is stick the wand straight down into the milk, then stand back and watch the microfoam rise in your pitcher like magic. That, to me, is the most amazing thing about this gadget. A touch of a button converts the frothing wand into a hot water dispenser for those Americanos.

One reservation I have about fully automatic machines is that if the grinder fails, the entire machine is rendered inoperative. So that nags me a little about this device, but if you've going to enjoy the benefits of automatic, it is simply a risk you have to take.

In summary, when you spend half a grand on a coffee maker, you do expect excellent performance and delicious coffee. So far, that's what we are getting with this machine. It's not finicky either to use or maintain. I do recommend it as a very reasonable purchase.

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