KRUPS XP618050 Full Stainless Steel Twin Thermo Block Espresso Machine, Silver

This machine is amazing, milk micro foam is an easy task with the 6bar steamer and the pressure gage is very helpful in determining the right dosage and grind size to pull the perfect shot. This machine doesn't steam and make espresso in the same time, don't know why Krups chosen not to enable that feature.

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Breville BCG800XL Smart Grinder

This was my husband's "BIG" gift for the holiday (2010), and he hasn't liked a gift this much in a very long time! He likes to think he is a coffee buff, but never had a burr coffee grinder before, and after comparing model after model, name brand after name brand, I chose the Breville BCG800XL Smart Grinder for his gift.

We used to have a nice $50 Cuisinart grinder for years, and it still works well, but the noise it produced was horrifying (and I am NOT exaggerating, the NEIGHBORS even knew we were up when they heard the grinder, we live in a 2 story single family home), and the coffee grounds my husband left all around the machine when he removed the grounds bin was a daily annoyance. That coffee grinder has been cleaned & now happily residing at his office, where they can enjoy the mess and the noise, and a pretty good cup of coffee.

Now you wouldn't think that switching grinders would have an overall impact in the coffee quality, but did it ever! The coffee tastes so much richer, fuller and more aromatic than before! Even our 23 year old son said "Wow mom, this coffee is good, did you switch beans?" Was he surprised to find out all we did was switch grinders!

NOISE: Minimal, I can't even hear it when I'm sleeping. Our old grinder running used to be my wake up call upstairs, on the second floor, in the opposite corner of the house! The Breville's noise is semi~pleasant, like another reviewer stated, and not annoying at all, almost comforting. Happily, the noise just stays in the kitchen now, so only the smell of great coffee wakes me up on the opposite end of the house, YUM!

MESS: Zip, ziltch, nada. I am very pleased that the coffee grounds are housed safely & neatly in the attractive container. No issues with grind mess everywhere.

COST: OK.. can't find it anywhere below $199. I compared a lot of models out there, the two I ALMOST went with were the Kitchenaid $160~ish dollar model (Kitchenaid reviews weren't as good, and there was mention all over the internet about bulk and footprint of the machine), and the cheaper Breville around $95 or so, but the grindings all over the place by a couple of reviewers was enough to turn me off of that model. I opted for spending a more, and got a great machine my husband absolutely loves.

SIZE: Smaller than I thought it was going to be, packs a big BIG tower of conical burrs for massive grinding power. Just takes up the same small footprint of our old Cuisinart model, but a bit taller, so no issues there.

LOOKS: Stylish and elegant. It looks like a sophisticated appliance that can take a lot of wear & built to last. We display it proudly next to our old faithful "BUNN" coffee maker.

QUALITY: No flimsy hardware here, it all performs & appears like it will last for years. Backlit display seems very durable as well, and is very nice to aide pinpointing the perfect grind. The conical burrs are super sharp, super tough, and plentiful. My husband was impressed.

CLEANUP: Not difficult. They provide a nice brush that does a good job, esp since we enjoy a dark french roast with some beans being quite oily. Have to clean it more often with those types of beans anyway. No issues here.

GRIND CHOICES: OK.. WOW is all I can say. The description says it all, pick your grind, pick the strength, pick the amounts, whatever. Tons of ways to tweak the grind out to your liking.

HOPPER: (Amended 1/5/2011) Know now, that this hopper is NOT completely 100% AIRTIGHT. Our old Cuisinart hopper lid was very loose, just sat there and if bumped could fall off, but Breville's hopper lid is tight, and holds a whole 1 pound bag of beans with ease. No need to constantly refill! As per a commentor's statement, this is NOT airtight, and they were disappointed. It has a tight lid on top, but the bottom I did not take into consideration (as the bottom of the hopper is open to the bur wheels and exit, thus not 100% airtight. Even though it can hold up to 1 pound of beans, the guide states it does not recommend storing the beans in the hopper. I must mention that since we've been using this for over a year now, & we go through a full hopper of beans about every 4 5 days, we've detected no loss in coffee quality as per our tastes. Even though we keep the beans in the hopper, and we use it 1 2 times per day, the coffee still tastes phenomenal in our opinion, from day #1 to day #5. I also agree that finding a completely sealed air tight bean storage on a grinder will probably be next to impossible to find.

There are a lot of other attachments & things to do with this, but I hit the highlights for what we use it for. Our morning cup of YUM, and boy did this ever deliver.

CONS: Haven't found any yet, other than the $199 cost. Only time will tell if this machine is as durable as we think it can be. But since it only had a few reviews, and I always go to Amazon first, I needed to write this to add it to the happy family of 5 star ratings for this grinder.

Hopefully, this will be the last grinder we will ever need for quite a L O N G time. We are amazed at everything about this machine & the coffee it makes.

Thanks Amazon members for putting the reviews out there, this helped us make a great decision.

UPDATE: (03/20/2012): I must also state that finding a similar priced grinder that matches this one, (in finished grind, features, performance and taste of the coffee), will be difficult to duplicate. We have had no disappointments in regards to this grinder.

I owned a coffee house in the mountains above Santa Cruz California and we tested and sold a number of different grinders over the years. When I sold that shop, I continued to buy and sell espresso equipment on Craigslist and eBay, mostly higher-end and commercial units. Many purchases were to test and evaluate, then sell, the equipment I bought.

Until recently, I was using a Pasquini Livia espresso machine paired with a Nemox Lux doserless grinder. The Lux was OK but it was a mess to use. Coffee grounds all over the place. I have since replaced the Livia with a commercial Nuevo Simonelli Mac Digit.

When I came accross the new Breville and read that it had an insert for a 58mm commercial portafilter, I was very interested. I had been looking at more expensive commercial grinders in the $400-$600 range but just wasn't ready to spend that kind of money so I bought the Breville.

This is simply one amazing grinder. Evenly ground beans with no clumping, a fine enough grind to use with my commercial Nuevo Simonelli rotary-vane pump machine and not one stray coffee ground after grinding directly into the portafilter. Another nice feature is being able to remove the bean hopper without having to empty the beans. This way I can have another hopper filled with decaf and can switch from regular to decaf beans in a few seconds. No more having to empty a bean hopper and replacing the regular beans with decaf beans. Very nice!!

I would recommend this grinder for the most hard-core coffee afficianados out there. You will not be dissappointed!

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This is my 2nd conical burr grinder. I used the earlier Breville grinder BCG450XL for a year, and while it gave me reliable daily service, it sure made a mess when removing the grinds container. Breville appears to have listened to its customers and totally redesigned this grinder. The grinds container is a sturdier translucent plastic with a stainless steel lid that seems to have solved the grinds sticking to the lid. There is absolutely no grinds scattering! The bean hopper holds 1 pound which is the size of freshly roasted beans I purchase at the local coffee shop. The ability to choose the size grinds and the amount is just outstanding. As you adjust the grind size to the finer grind, it asks you how many shots? As you adjust to medium or more coarse grinds, it asks you for how many cups? In addition to grinding into the well-designed grinds container, it claims it will also grind directly into your coffee filter. So I put that to the test using my Technivorm mochamaster cone filter holder, but that cone filter holder was too large. However, my Swiss Gold cone filter I use with it fit perfectly by itself, and the grinds poured nicely in it without grind scatter. It also comes with several size portafilter cradle holders to grind directly into your portafilter for espresso drinkers, but I don't have an espresso machine to test it out.

Breville includes a special brush to easily brush clean the conical burrs every now and then, with easy instructions.

Without need to measure out the coffee beans or the coffee grinds, I no longer need to have coffee scoops laying around. The grinder looks very attractive on my kitchen counter, better looking than the tiny picture reveals. And the grinds themselves? Even, consistent-sized grounds, just what you'd expect from a well made conical burr grinder. All in all, it was well worth the extra expense.

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> UPDATE == I was lucky enough to get a Baratza Vario as a gift, and have posted my impressions in a review of the Vario. While I still love the Breville and it scores much higher in terms of ease/convenience of use, the Vario does produce a more consistent grind. Best value = Breville. Best grind = Vario

>>Original review

I've spent the last three months looking for a decent burr grinder that didn't break the bank in terms of cost. To jump to the end of the story for those who want the bottom line, the Breville wins out as providing the best mix of convenience features and performance of any of the several I've tried (both less and more expensive). Highly, highly recommend.

I started out by going cheap the Cuisinart DBM-8. This packs a lot for the price, especially if you can find one for about 20 bucks at a warehouse club. Even at the regular price (under $50) it gives you a lot for your money. It worked very well for the medium-fine grind I need for my Senseo, and was passable for other tasks (espresso and a french press). But, it's also loud, messy and does not give a consistent grind you get a fair amount of dust. But, for the price, I have no qualms about recommending it for a drip application, and will be keeping the one I bought.

The next stop was also a Cuisinart, their CBM-18N. A definite step up, but it had some quirks that I found really irritating, such as a display that never turned off unless you unplugged it. The grind was better than the DBM-8 in terms of consistency, but still not good enough for my needs. This went back.

I then tried a Bodum Bistro. Nice to look at, but it lacked the convenience features that I liked (such as automatic grind amount based on number of cups), plus it states you can only use it for 20 seconds before letting it rest for 5 min to cool down. To me that's a sign of an undersized motor. But it did have a glass bin to cut down on static, and the fine grind level was very nice and more consistent than the Cuisinart. The coarse grind, however, was not as coarse as I wanted for a french press. Good choice to give as a present for someone who prefers style over function and is mostly a drip brewer. For me, it was another return.

The next two were borrowed from a friend: the Baratza Vario and the Virtuoso. I absolutely loved the Vario perfect grind for everything from my espresso maker to my french press. Real workhorse, and solid construction. The catch is the price about $450. Not in my price range, but if you're willing to spend the money, it's a very nice grinder. The Virtuoso is more what I was looking to spend, and that also is a nice grinder. I had zero problems producing a grind fine enough for espresso; my french press grind was excellent as well. The burrs on the Virtuoso are not as high quality as the Vario, but certainly up to the task of a typical consumer user.

I was set on the Virtuoso until I tried out the Breville. I had no problems getting it fine enough for espresso (although I should note that I use a pressurized portafilter which is not as fussy in terms of the grind as a non-pressurized). French press grind was spot on, and everything in between came out nearly as consistent as the Vario and just as consistent as the Virtuoso.

What really sold me on the Breville was the convenience features. You can dial in the number of cups (or shots) you want, and the grinder puts out the needed amount. You can fine tune the amount up or down as well. The hopper is big, has a very nice lid, and can be removed without dumping out all of the beans. Nice looking overall, with lots of stainless and high quality plastics.

Best of all is the fact that you can grind right into a portafilter or filter basket. I do my drip brewing using a My-k cup attachment on a Cuisinart k-cup brewer. I grind right into the basket with zero and I mean ZERO over spray of ground coffee. Just hold it by hand under the spout and the coffee shoots right in nice and fluffy. It goes into sleep mode after a few minutes, and wakes up with a push of any button (retaining your last grind setting). Easy to clean the burrs. Pretty quiet.

I could go on for pages as to the positive features, but I'll save you the trouble of reading my ramblings by summing it up as thus: if you're looking to spend less than $200 on a grinder, this is the one to get.

Tips:

1. (Apologies to Amazon). You can get this at the bed bath store using their 20% coupon. You have to put in the order at the store to use the coupon, and if you ask nicely, the store manager will waive the shipping charges. That brings the price to $160 plus tax. They only seem to carry it online.

2. You can get a shim kit that will allow you to go even finer. It's free from Breville I got mine four days after emailing them about it. I haven't used it since it already goes fine enough as it is, but wanted to have it in case I upgrade to a better espresso machine down the road that needs a finer grind. There's a video on the Seattle Coffee Gear site on how to install it.

3. You can buy extra hoppers from Breville so you can keep different coffees ready to go in different hoppers. There is a small amount of beans left in the machine when you remove the hopper that you have to shake out between changes, but having multiple hoppers makes it quick to switch between types of beans.

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Had mine for almost a year now, still going strong.

Pros:

Grind size and amount adjustment range is great

Not too loud

Fast

Daily user

Cons:

Cleaning

Coarsest grinds generate a decent bit of coffee dust

Cleaning is the biggest con with this machine. The hopper will collect water internally, so you're limited to wipe-downs lest that water get loose on your beans. The O-ring part of the grinding mechanism comes out easily and is fairly easy to clean with the supplied brush and a paper towel. However, the inner conical part of the grinding mechanism is not removable, and wiping it down requires some finger dexterity. Not the end of the world, but annoying.

Additionally, one thing I did find recently was that the grinds chute internally collects a ton of grinds with static charge over time, quite deep in the recesses of the grinder on the bottom side of the grinding mechanism. Ensue pipe cleaners, etc and out poured an avalanche of musty grinds.

I use dark fresh-roast coffees, I find I need to clean the grinder at least every pound. Not sure if this is typical for this range, but I at least expected disassembling the machine for cleaning to be much simpler.

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Mr. Coffee JWX3 5-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker, Black

I've had this pot for six weeks. Have had no problem with it. It keeps time well and I don't get a funny plastic taste at all. Unfortunately I broke the carafe and could not find a replacement. I combed the Internet and finally contacted Mr. Coffee with my problem. They responded with a number which in turn referred me to another number. That number is: 1-800-672-6333. It's automated but if you're looking for replacement parts, they will ask you to punch in your ZIP code and they will give you the name of a dealer near you from which you can purchase parts. This will save you an hour or so of trying to run this down. My husband picked up the new carafe for me this afternoon. I'm a happy camper again.

The features on this coffee maker are wonderful for the price. I love the fact that you can sneak a cup of coffe mid brew without it dripping all over the hot plate (and it really worked!). They did so many things right like a safety on the delay brew feature that allows you to set up your coffee beforehand, but must be programmed each time in case you forget to set up your coffee for the next brew. It even shuts the coffee maker off after one hour so you don't burn or crack the pot if you forget. I really wanted this coffee maker to be my long term brew companion, BUT I soon became disillusioned when I noticed a burnt chemical smell with each pot of coffee made. Upon opening the top to throw away the used coffee filter, I was almost overwhelmed by the smell which not only affected the taste of the coffee, but permeated the air throughout the house. It smells like burnt electrical wiring and is very strong. I hate to think what chemicals from the plastic leached into the coffee from the brewing. Needless to say, I'm ending my relationship with this Mr. Coffee.

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I, too, experienced the burning plastic smell, and so the unit will be returned. It's surprising that a flaw this noticeable makes it past the manufacturer's quality control.

Read Best Reviews of Mr. Coffee JWX3 5-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker, Black Here

I am going to assume most folks who had trouble with this coffee pot (doesn't make coffee strong enough, water run off, metal carafe not warm when removed from base, etc) have simply never owned a coffee maker before. Those are user errors rather than errors of the coffee pot.

It works well for its job--making a few cups of coffee every morning. I cleaned it through and it did not have any plastic smell after. I greatly enjoy being the brew pause feature so I can be impatient with my coffee. Have not had trouble with water run off.

If you desire a coffee maker that has an insulated carafe and does a bunch of fancy things you ought to buy one that costs more than $25. But for a $25 coffee maker, it does exactly what it's supposed to. Make a good, reliable, cup of coffee, quickly, with little to no mess.

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I have used my new coffee maker for 2 weeks now and I really like it. It's easily programmable, makes hot, good-tasting coffee, and I can get 2 pretty full oversize mugs out of one full pot. If there is a downside, it's that the unit still smells a little like burning plastic. I've read other reviews and blogs on the internet and some who claim to know about things like this, say the smell is coming from the plastic "gassing out" as new plastic will do. Sounds reasonable, and I will give it more time. It does seem to help if I keep the lid open when not in use. I also washed the filter basket with baking soda which seemed to help a lot. It certainly doesn't smell nearly as bad as it did when I first used it, so maybe in time the smell will go away. It doesn't seem to make a difference in the taste of the coffee. For the price, it's a real good deal and I am pleased.

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Cuisinart DGB-700BC Grind-and-Brew 12-Cup Automatic Coffeemaker, Brushed Chrome/Black

I purchased this coffee maker around Christmas and was a little concerned over the prior reviews that stated it uses too much coffee. The chemist in me had to do the experiment.

A standard issue coffee from Starbucks was ground to a standard medium grind for coffee makers of this type. The coffee was measured on a 1 gram precision scale according to the specification on the Starbucks coffee bag (2Tbs per 6oz cup) to make 6 cups of coffee. The coffee grinds weighed to be 54 grams. The same coffee beans from the same bag were ground in the coffee maker set to 6 cups and strong. The coffee grinds were then measured on the same scale and wouldn't you know...it was exactly 54 grams.

For my coffee beans this machine on the 6 cup setting produced the following:

Strong = 9 grams (2Tbs) of coffee per cup of water

Medium = 8 grams (about 1 3/4Tbs) of coffee per cup of water

Mild = 7 grams (about 1 1/2Tbs) of coffee per cup of water

I can't imagine that one couldn't find a setting to their liking when you consider you have increments of 2 cups with 3 settings (strong, medium and mild) each.

After considerable research for the absolute best coffee maker in the world, I decided to purchase the Cuisinart Grind and Brew DGB-700BC. It has a burr grinder. This one has the 12-cup glass carafe and it has a warming plate. Reviews on the stainless steel carafe have stated there is no warming plate. It seems the glass one does and the thermal one does not. It works perfectly and is very easy to program and use. It comes with a DVD which simplifies the process even more.

It can also brew ground coffee. Just turn off the grinder before pressing the on/off button and it's ready to go.

As for noise, I don't consider it too noisy. After all, it IS a coffee grinder and I expect to hear it when it grinds the coffee.

The hopper holds a half-pound of beans which is enough to make coffee several times (if you're using the mild setting).

The retail price is $199, but many places have it routinely for $169. I purchased mine at Kohls for $159 and they had a "scratch off" sale going on and I got an additional 15% off at the checkout.

I highly recommend this coffeemaker.

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I have owned a couple of grind and brews in the past with mixed results. Our first was a Mr Coffee back in the 1990's. It made great coffee, but was messy, and broke frequently. We also had the first Jura Capresso model about 6 years ago. I liked it, but my wife felt that no matter what the settings were, the coffee was bitter. Recenly we had been using a Krups stand alone machine, that makes good coffee, and a stand alone Krups burr grinder. Since our Krups burr grinder was getting finicky, and the coffee post was getting old, we decided to give the DGB700 Grind and Brew a try.

My initial take, is that it makes an excellent cup of coffee, better than my last Krups machine. I am still experimenting with the settings, but so far I am very pleased.

You do need to follow the directions. The key points I have found, is to make sure that the basket parts are dry. This means a quick rinse and dry between pots if you are making more than one.

I also have cleaned out the chute where the ground coffee goes into the basket. It's very easy, and although mine was not clogged after about 6 pots, I did see where the grounds were building up in there a bit. My stand alone burr grinder had the same issue, but the new Cuisinart pot is actually very easy to clean in this area. Just remove the bean hopper, open the chute, push the lever over, and push they grounds into the basket area. (put a filter in first). Actually now, I just clean the chute each time. It takes less than a minute, and I think that this is the one main issues that some people are having.

Also, I have lined up the arrows on the top of the basket. Easy to do, and it avoids some of the negative comments on other reviews. Finally, if you use paper filters, make sure that the top of the plastic basket is going INSIDE the top of the filter.

My wife likes her coffee mild and smooth, but flavorful. My settings to make 12 cups, are 6 Cups on the grind selector knob with Mild or MED on the brew strength selector. The brew has good smooth flavor, and is not bitter. I also drink a lot of iced coffee. I will simply up the strength when I make coffee for that.

Again, so far, so good. I think that following the guide and keeping the machine clean and dry should produce good results.

One last thought... other Grind and Brew brands (Jura Capresso) make a major point about NOT storing beans in the freezer. Actually, I have done this for years, but after doing a bit of Google research, I find that it's better to just keep the beans in an airtight container, and only open what you will use in a couple of weeks. We are doing that now. I do notice that this sees to make the beans less oily, so that may also be a key to why some people get clogs.

I will post a follow-up after I have had the machine for a few months.

OK.. update as of 3/12 the unit is still working well. I do clean the chute after most every pot, but this is easy, and only takes a minute. Again... I strongly suggest NOT storing your beans in the freezer. The research shows that freezing the beans can force oil to the surface of the bean, which can contribute to clogs. I will say that this pot makes excellent tasting coffee.

Read Best Reviews of Cuisinart DGB-700BC Grind-and-Brew 12-Cup Automatic Coffeemaker, Brushed Chrome/Black Here

We have had to return two of these units because the grinder stops working. The problem is that the chute beneath the grinder is horizontal so the coffee grinds have to be pushed into the filter rather than falling in. Even after cleaning, the coffee grounds get packed into the grinding mechanism causing it to break.

I do understand why people say this is a great coffee maker though. When it works, it is very convenient and grinding the beans right before the brewing makes great coffee. I want to like this product but the poor design of the grinding chute makes it unusable.

Cuisinart is a decidedly unhelpful company. If you have a defective product, you can expect long hold times and rude customer service agents. The warranty on this item is that if you pay shipping & handling both ways, they will send you a replacement. After three defective units, they will issue a credit for other cuisinart products.

Update: California law requires them to replace the product without charging for shipping & handling. So, after telling me that they wouldn't waive those charges, they had to waive them anyway due to California law.

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About once every two weeks I have a "bad coffee day" in which my machine just gets persnickity. I am usually guaranteed that I will have to make at least two pots before it gets it right. OK, so I've had this machine at my vacation home for about a year now and here's what I've learned:

1. The paper filters are much more convenient than the metal basket. I just throw the paper filter (preferably the unbleached kindbetter for the environment) into my garden and then all I have to do is rinse the basket and wipe with a sponge. Saves time and my septic system from the coffee grounds.

2. Don't forget to use a filter of some sort in the basket or your counters, cabinets, floors, walls, etc. will get coffee makeover. I am talking from experience.

3. Make sure you clean most of the removable parts before each use. You only need to clean the coffee bean holder every so often (I do it when the beans start to run out). You don't need to do a soap and water cleaning on the other parts but you should wipe them down with a rag or sponge under running water. It only takes a few seconds. Once a week or so toss everything into the dishwasher.

4. Make sure you have enough beans in the holder to brew the amount of coffee you want. As I said above, when it gets low is when you want to do your thorough cleaning.

5. Make sure that you put the carafe in fully and correctly. If there is one BIG criticism I have about this machine is that it's very easy to misplace the pot and give your kitchen a nice coffee tattoo. This most often happens when I am in a hurry and really don't have time to be cleaning up a big mess.

6. Clean the chute. You have to clean the chute regularly. Here are a few tips I've learned to make it easier. First, put a filter in the basket when you do this (I like to do it after I've done the "dishwasher cleaning" of my parts, but before I brew the next pot) but don't put the lid on the basket. That way the grounds will fall directly into the lined basket and if you do this often, there's no reason why you can't just leave them in there while you brew the next pot (your coffee will be a little stronger). Cleaning the chute only take a few seconds.

This is the 3rd incarnation of a Cuisinart grind 'n brew coffee maker I've had. The first was the one with the glass carafe where you had to put the beans in each time you brewed. There were 5 different parts that needed to be soap and water cleaned after each use, and quite frankly, I didn't notice a great improvement in quality of coffee for all the extra work. The second was just like the first except it had the thermal carafe. There was a vast improvement in quality, but again, so many parts to clean made me reluctant to use it. Also, unless you know exactly how to measure unground beans, you pretty much are stuck making a full pot of coffee. This last one has been a great improvement over the other two. I can make just a cup of coffee for myself in the morning or I can make a whole pot and everything in between. Yes there is a bit of labor to it, but considering where they've come from this machine is a vast improvement over the others and I can't stress enough how good the coffee is.

I've read the other reviews and the main things I hear people complaining about are that the pot doesn't pour fast enough and that the coffee isn't hot enough. I don't have a problem with how fast the coffee comes out of the carafe. It is a little slower but the difference is from a 3 second pour to about a 12 second pour. However, if that is unbearable I don't see why you can't just take the lid off of the carafe while you pour? It will come out just as fast as the glass carafe that way.

As for the temperature of the coffee, I am not sure how to address that as I've never found that to be a problem. When I do use the timer feature, I preheat the carafe at night before I set up the coffeemaker and the residual heat still assures that you are starting with a carafe that is not cold in the morning. Generally I don't use the timer and get my coffee immediately after it's done brewing. I also don't preheat my carafe. When I get my second cup in the morning it's still plenty hot so I'm just not sure what all the fuss is about. Of course I don't really like my coffee scalding hot either so maybe it's just a matter of preference.

I would also like to point out that I have recently remodeled my winter home and put in an $1,800 Miele coffeemaker that is built in and plumbed. It can make espresso, cappucino and cofffee with the push of a button. However, that has more parts to fuss with than this Cuisinart and talk about frequent cleaning! It does make the best cup of coffee I've ever had, but it's not all that much better than this unit at a fraction of the cost.

The bottom line is this-if you want a really, really good cup of coffee you either have to go to a coffee shop and pay for it (and often I find their beans much inferior to the ones I use) or put up with the inconvenience of the home machines. As far as I know, no one has come up with the perfect machine yet, but this one does make a most excellent cup of coffee.

So when deciding whether or not you want to buy this machine I would say you would need to ask yourself what's more importantquality or convenience. If you are a coffee fanatic as I am, it will be quality and this machine does come through. If you love coffee but are time challenged and can't be bothered with all the extra steps then I would say that this machine isn't for you.

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