Jura makes beautiful machines, but I"m not going to buy another one. The company doesn't care about its customers once they get your money.
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Bought this capuccino maker about 7 months ago, so we know it well. The initial rationale was that we would save 8 dollars a day and countless wait time both of us stopping at starbucks every day. That has happened. I have been to starbucks twice since I bought this. It makes a pretty good cappuccino, I would say is on par with starbucks, my gold standard. The coffee setting tastes different, since it is really a cup of watered down espresso, but you aren't buying this to brew coffee.In spite of having the tallest spout on the market (at least at the time of my purchase), I still cannot fit my travel mug under it. You know the stainless steel, 16 oz mug you would want to fill up giving you a vente latte on the way out the door. Maybe they dont use these travel mugs in Switzerland, but we all do here... (In fact, I had to build my own wooden holder that holds a tilted travel mug under the spout.)
Well not only does the standard version of such mug not actually fit, (most are about .5 to 1 cm off), it brings up my second point, its almost hot enough. Well if you have prewarmed your cup in the microwave, and sat down to sip you cappuccino right then, the temperature will be a barely "ok". But if you are used to ordering your starbucks extra hot, your definately going to be found wanting. And if you have to dispense your drink into a cup, and then transfer your drink to your tall travel mug because it wont fit, your really going to be dissapointed in the temperature.
A few other gripes: the thing will only stay on 2 hours, IE it will always turn off, kudos to their green power saving. Problem is, it takes a solid 3 minutes or so to warm up. Then each type of drink you make only contains one shot of espresso. If you want 8 oz of milk with three shots of espresso, you have to turn it on, stand there for 3 minutes for it warm up, then push a button to put an 8 oz cappuccino in, wait another 2 or 3 minutes, then push the button for another shot of espresso, another 1-2 min, then push for another shot of espresso in, another 1-2 moinutes. Does that sound "one touch" to you? For me, it is stading next to a machine for 10 minutes, which is exactly what I am supposed to not have to do. (Not to mention, in the middle of all this you might run out of water, need to empty the tray, or add beans. The chances of one of these lottery wins in your 3 button oddessey are probably 25%)
What this machine needs are:
Taller spout
The milk needs a temperature setting, its not hot enough for me.
The machine needs a timer, so it can turn on in the morning and warm up.
Programmable drinks with multiple shots.
Larger bean bin, it probly cooks up only a dozen shots or so per bin.
For three grand, these things should be a given!
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Jura Impressa Z7 One-Touch Automatic Coffee CenterThis machine is pretty amazing! Very nicely designed, feels sturdy and with aluminum front it most definitely does not feel cheap.
I got it as a b-day present for my hubby who WAS a daily coffee shop visitor, but no more! He only goes there to purchase coffee beans, though we are exploring various other freshly-roasted varieties...
I have to say, as intimidating as it was the first day we got it, in a matter of hours I already felt like a pro. Seriously, the coffee that comes out of Jura Z7 is superb! Latte and Cappuccino options a numerous, you can have it any way you like, hotter, or extra strong...more or less froth, longer or shorter on both milk and coffee! It is all very intuitive, though I advise to watch the DVD, it is very (hands on) informational.
Perhaps the only one drawback, or we just haven't discovered a better way to do it -making the foam for esspresso machiato (foam only). Remember, this is a fully automatic machine, so frothing milk is not conventional, here, the milk needs to go from the container through this separate frothing attachment, so you end up using quite a bit of milk to be able to collect just the foam! Well, even with the conventional one, for the foam only, you still need a bunch of milk in the frother... With Cappuccino setting this is not an issue, as it all goes automatic and produces a really perfect deal!
Hope this helps.
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There are so many problems with this product I scarcely know where to start. The first sign of trouble is the manual: it is all but incomprehensible and only describes some of the maintenance required to keep the unit functioning. In other words, after diligently completing all the maintenance requested by the manual, the unit would still break down every couple of months; when I'd call customer service, I'd learn that far more maintenance is needed if you want to keep the unit functioning for long. Unfortunately, experience has taught me that even the most extensive maintenance will only delay but not prevent the unit from breaking down.The need for endless maintenance is annoying since the main advantage of the unit is its ostensible convenience: in other words, it is true that you can make a cappuccino with one touch -but what they don't tell you is that after that one touch you'll need to complete half a dozen or a dozen steps before making another one. This obviously isn't very convenient, nor is it inexpensive: I've spent countless hours and hundreds of dollars on cleaning fluids, cleaning tablets, filters, and decalcifying tablets in an attempt to keep it functioning, but all this has only delayed the inevitable breakdown.
And this is where things get ugly: after the unit failed completely recently, I contacted Capresso and was told I could get the unit repaired for a $300 fee. I sent the unit in, and to their credit, it was returned promptly; unfortunately, I could see no evidence that the unit had actually been repaired: when I started it up and filled it with water, the unit proceeded to dump the water all over the counter. I thus contacted Capresso and asked them to send out shipping labels so I could return the unit and have them correct the repair. I received no response. After waiting three business days, I asked again; still no response. After waiting three more days, I let them know that I had contacted my credit card and would be refusing the charges until such time as the unit was actually repaired; within the hour I received an email apologizing and letting me know that the customer service manager was out of the office and would return the next day. I thus waited three more days but never heard anything from the customer service manager. I then wrote to the company president asking him to intercede and address the problem: after a month, I still haven't heard anything from him.
But the extraordinary inability to provide even the most basic level of customer service isn't my main complaint with the product: my main complaint is that it doesn't make very good espresso. I say this, not because I consider myself an expert when it comes to evaluating espresso, but because the unit simply does not work with pre-ground espresso. In other words, I've tried pre-ground espresso from each and every brand I can find; they all cause the unit to clog and thus leak. Worse, when I called to ask about this, I was told it was "normal" and that I would need to use the grinder instead. At that time, I didn't realize that if the unit couldn't process pre-ground espresso, then it presumably wasn't grinding the beans to the same level of fineness as pre-ground espresso. As a result, what Capresso calls espresso is quite different from what I'm used to: its quite thin and watery and I've never found a way to make it any thicker. If you're a fan of espresso, I'd encourage you to find the unit in a store and see if their version of espresso is to your liking. Of course, this may prove hard to do: Williams-Sonoma no longer carries Capresso products, and I'm not sure if you'll be able to find anyone who still does. Given my experience with both their customer service and the quality of the products offered by Capresso, I'm sorry to say I simply don't find this surprising.
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