Primula Stove-Top Espresso Maker, Aluminum, 9-Cup

We fell in love with the coffee we hd in Rome, so we learned to make it there and then looked all over for an Expresso make here at home. After much searching we found one on Amazon. We ordered it and it arrrived in two days. We had an unfortunate experience with Williams-Sonoma and their wait list.

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Nespresso C90 Essenza Manual Espresso and Coffeemaker, Slate

I loved my Slate Essenza C90 manual machine for the 1st month. It was so easy and the espresso was delicious. Then one morning as I pulled my espresso, water started leaking out all over! The whole bottom tray completely filled with water and a lot overflowed. It had some kind of stoppage that forced the water to leak out.

It was literally on the 31st day of ownership b/c I checked my receipt and almost returned it to amazon. But the book it came with said to call Nespresso, that they would pick them machine up and even give a loaner until they could replace it with a new one, so I called them instead. The customer service rep told me they would email me a shipping label, so I could send it back and that they would send a new machine within 2 3 days. No pickup like the book said, but ok fine. Then they never send the shipping label. So I had to call back a couple days later. Now they finally send it.

So I send back the machine and two WEEKS later I finally get my machine but it is an ugly weird green color and REFURBISHED. It definitely does not work as well as the machine I bought did for the first 30 days the water drips out strangely and it is kind of leaky. I know it is refurbished because it said so right on the label but even if it didn't it just is obviously not a new machine in appearance and function.

Needless to say I am very unhappy with this experience. "Nespresso Lifestyle" my foot.

Not only that, but the customer service rep told me to send back the nice book my machine originally came with. The refurbished machine did not come with a book. All it came with was a paper pamphlet for the C100 not even the same model. So now I'm out that too.

UPDATE 4/27/09: I'm happy to report that I got a telephone call from a Nespresso Customer Service rep on Sat. 4/18. She said it was just a courtesy call and asked how I liked the machine so I told her the story as described above. She said that I should have gotten a new machine and that she would look into it. Sure enough, by Fri. 4/24 a brand new machinein the right slate color, with a new book and even new pods had arrived on my doorstep! I enjoyed coffee from it all weekend. They also let me keep the refurbished machine until the new one arrived this time, so I did not have to go without coffee. I sent it back in the mail today.

So, I'm a lot happier now with customer service, and would move it up to 3 stars. I will update this review again after 30 days hopefully the new machine will still be working!

Update 7/18/09: Well it is a few months later and I continue to be very pleased with my Nespresso machine. It is still working great and I absolutely love it. Just made my third coffee order, and worked out the cost. On average I am spending about $17 a month to drink my espresso every morning. That is about $50 less per month than the $2.25 I was previously spending at the coffee shop every day! It is also so easy to order them online, and they arrive within a few days. Overall, I am very happy with this purchase.

I experienced the perfect espresso produced by these machines because they were in every hotel room I inhabited in Europe. It was so easy and delicious, I ordered one the day after I arrived back in the states. I chose this machine rather than the C100 because I wanted control over how much espresso was pulled. This was a good choice, but you might want to purchase a couple of cups that will give you a good idea of just how many ounces you have while you are making it.

The machine heats up quickly, in under a minute. The first time you use it, make sure you fully charge the water pump which is super easy (instructions for this are with the manual).

I went to the Nespresso club online and ordered the welcome kit which offers 200 capsules at a fair price and includes a free wooden box. It was worth it...and they include the 3 brand new lines of espresso they have developed recently.

I strongly recommend this product to anyone who is disappointed at the occasional lack of quality in espresso products they receive outside the home, the tedious ritual of making espresso from coffee grounds, or people like me who are disappointed in the quality of my brewed coffee at home in the morning.

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KitchenAid Blade Coffee Grinder

This is the best coffee grinder I have ever owned. It is powerful...which makes the grinding go quickly. I have always had a mess with grinders as you transfer the grounds to the lid to then put in the coffeemaker. Then, when you put the lid back on, big mess! This one, the grinding "cup" just lifts out...the lid never gets grounds in it. Fantastic! It's also large enough to grind enough beans for a full 12-cup batch of coffee...and I drink strong coffee so I use a lot of beans. Seriously, best ever.

This is the best dry grinder that I've ever owned. It is very attractive, compact, well designed & does the job. The cup can be removed to empty the ground item, and can be put in the dishwasher. This is a big plus. Also, the cup is much larger than the other spice mills that I've had.

I use this grinder to grind spices, flax and black sesame, and it does a great job with each and every one of these. The plastic grinders are unsafe, since over time the plastic is damaged (gets cloudy) by the hard coffee bean and spices, and particles of plastic is getting in your food.

I searched for a stainless steel grinding bowl for safety reasons, and found this. This is a little gem. I only wish that kitchenaid sells extra cups.

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Let me begin with a confession: I'm not a coffee goar-may. I don't ask much of my coffeemaker and grinder beyond a good cuppa in the morning.

Having said that, I do grind my own beans daily. I've owned the Krups unit for several years. It was reliable and easy to use. I was happy with it. It was happy with me. We raised our cups of coffee together. But as we advanced together beyond what could be comfortably called middle age, I got an itch for a nice little grinder with more pizazz. My relationship with the reliable little Krups got stale.

I picked up this little KitchenAid unit up on a website. KitchenAid looked hot, in tune with the times, and built like she could deliver. And boy, can she deliver. One of the things I like about her is she's quiet. If you have company sleeping in, there's no racket to embarrass you and rouse the guests sleepy-eyed and groggy out of the guest bedroom wondering if someone is getting killed. Krups was a screamer.

And trust me, KitchenAid has all the moves down. If you push the right button, she'll grind your beans to a state of perfection.

No, Krups and I are finished. It is so over. She gave me the best years of her life, but all good things must end. I hope she can find a new home. I don't have a single pang of regret that KitchenAid has moved in, and my beans have never been in better shape.

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This grinder had some great features like being able to remve the cup for washing, but I have a laundry list of issues with it. First, the floor model I tinkered with came apart easily and came back together smoothly. Not so with the one that came out of our box. We had to man handle the cup out and the "pegs" didn't line up quite right without some fiddling. Our biggest problem is we need a fine grind, but this grinder did a superficial grind before heaping it all to the edge where the blade would no longer do anything. Even after shaking the grounds back down twice, the grind we were left with had chunks in it. Very disappointing for a KitchenAid product.

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I bought this grinder because I thought it was a worthy successor to the KitchenAid BCG100OB Blade Coffee Grinder. The latter product was outstanding in all respects, except that after five years the coupling gave out and KitchenAid didn't stock replacement parts for it.

This grinder, however, is simply terrible. It performs worse than the cheap Krups Fast Touch Coffee Grinder which can often be found under $15 on sale. The problem is that the blade is simply too high and can't catch items low in the grinding chamber. Consequently, even large spices such as pepper, coriander seeds, allspice, cloves, etc., simply are whipped around without grinding them. Smaller spices such as mustard seeds are left in an even more unchanged state.

This grinder also cannot grind coffee very fine, unlike most other blade grinders.

What is worse, grinding dust enters the cap between the plastic housing and the stainless steel chamber, much like the Cuisinart SG-10 Electric Spice-and-Nut Grinder. (The Cuisinart also cannot grind finely enough.) This makes it hard to clean and is just a pain, period.

It's unfortunate, since the motor is very heavy and the unit appears well built otherwise.

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