Saeco Coffee Maker Vienna Plus Graphite Espresso

We purchased this expresso maker after our first one, which we owned for years and years, finally died on us. We decided to get it repaired, but give it to our son and buy a new one for ourselves. When the new expresso maker arrived, we were terribly disappointed. Compared to the first machine, the quality of workmanship is shockingly poor. The pieces fit poorly together and have play between them. Sometimes just touching them moves them out of alignment. The first machine was tight and well-constructed.

The heating element isn't as good either. My husband and I have both noticed that the water isn't as hot when it comes out of the machine. Neither does the machine dispense as much water. We've had to turn the setting to the Max to get a complete cup of coffee. This may be by design, however, and not a negative. Turning our previous coffee maker to the Max setting resulted in overfilling the cup. Larger cups that would accommodate the increased amount do not fit well and are spilled when they're tipped for removal from the machine.

As for making the coffee, expresso, etc., the machine does just fine. It's internal functions seem to work well. I suppose my real concern here is that, if the quality of the rest of the machine is any indication, this one may not last as long as the first one and we may have to send it off for repair too. If that happens, I'm not sure we'll ever replace this one with another like it. We may look at other brands, even if it means spending more money--which it will.

We purchased this a little over a year ago (late October, 2010) and have already spent money on repairs. After replacing a motor, we still have an electric burning smell every time we use it. We also have water that leaks from the bottom whenever we use the steam wand. I sent an email to Saeco regarding the issues before our year warranty was expired, and they never responded. Not the type of company I'll ever do business with again. Wish I could give zero stars.

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My main complaint is that it does not make espresso strong enough. I have consulted the manual several times to make sure I have everything set correctly, and it does not grind beans finely enough for real espresso, and it does not put enough beans into the steam.

Another complaint -the only warning you have of low water, a full cake bin, or low beans is when the unit stops and flashes a red light. Then you pretty much have to check everything to find out what's wrong, and start the whole thing over. But I wouldn't mind that if the espresso were strong enough.

On the plus side, this thing is FAST. You can be drinking coffee about thirty seconds after you turn it on. The only problem is, IT IS COFFEE with a pretty good crema, and not espresso. At least not the way I like it.

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Understand that this isn't the Rolls-Royce of super-automatic machines. My brother has that and it's awesome but I think he paid about 3,500 for it. Our previous machine was a Delonghi it worked well, and made thousands of cups before buying the farm and we couldn't find anyone to service it in Arizona. So rather than ship it out and pay the repair for a five year old machine we just bought this and we've been very pleased. It's quick, quiet and easy to use. It makes a great cup of coffee and I actually sort of appreciate frothing latte milk manually because there's more control getting it to the desired temperature and consistency. It's not as visually appealing as our previous machine but actually seems more well made.

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