Bialetti Replacement Gasket & Filter for 9 Cup Espresso Maker

The gasket for the 9-cup moka maker is TOO small. I bought this same exact filter/gasket set at another store and found that the gasket was too small (3 3/16" outer ring, 2 1/2" inner ring) to create a proper seal for my Bialetti. Reading another post, I found that Espresso Zone sells a proper gasket. It is the GAS-310. I even measured my moka maker to be sure 3 3/8" outer ring, 2 3/4" inner ring. Good luck finding the correct one!

The Bialetti replaceent Gasket was very easy to install and bought new life back into my stovetop espresso pot. The pack of 3 gaskets with filter is an amazing deal.

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Fits my esspresso maker well and certainly saved me money. Otherwise, I would have to buy a new appliance.

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We need a new gasket for our Bialetti Venus espresso maker. To buy a replacement, I had to go to one site to find out many cups our espresso maker makes (based on the measurement of the coffee basket); then go to another cite and purchase a gasket for that size espresso maker. Long story short, the gasket is too small, I'm out $8.00 and back to square one. Don't know WHY the pictured gaskets can't mention what size they are... I suppose Bialetti wants you to keep purchasing gaskets until you accidentally get the correct size for the model you own.

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I've been replacing the gasket for my stove-top espresso maker for a while and this makes it a perfect one.

Worth noting that my particular brand is no Bialetti but Pezetti. Same shape and size, so if you have a 9 cup Pezetti this is the right item for you.

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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DeLonghi ECAM23210B Compact Magnifica S Beverage Center, Black

Machine worked fantastic for about 8 months until the frother would no longer work. A call to Delonghi support (Oct '11) resulted in a seven day wait for box to ship the unit to a repair facility (Nov '11). That facility determined within a week it needed a new frother, but Delonghi took two months and never supplied the part the repairer. After 2.5 months (Jan '12) of waiting I again called Delonghi and asked that they just send me a replacement unit so that I didn't have to keep waiting. Ten days later, a replacement (refirb) unit showed up only to arrive broken (this time leaking water into the grounds tray). Initial calls to Delonghi were met with scripted "you'll need to send us the unit and wait for our evaluation..." rather than them just shipping me out a replacement immediately and my returning the defective one. Sigh. Such an excellent product when it is working. Customer service just doesn't think a $800+ product deserves better care. Delonghi should study Apple to learn how good customer service builds a strong brand.

I spent a LOT of time looking at the different sites for expresso machines. Most suggested staying away from the super automatics. I dont doubt that you can make an even finer cup of coffee if you have full control and spend the time to do it, but for those of us that want to grab a cup in the AM before heading out the door, this machine does a really nice job. I had a manual machine once in the past but never spent the time with it, plus it took 5 mins of prep work and cleanup was drag, I ended up giving it away. Yes it made great coffee, but it ended up sitting on a shelf next to the ice cream maker (never buy one of those :-)). This is a much better device for me.

The Compact Magnifica (23210) works great out of the box. The machine comes with a coupon for a tap water filter, but they really should have included it for those that want to use tap water and live in hard water cities. If you have filtered water at your place (or use a brita etc) this will not affect you. Within a half hour you will be churning out really nice drinks. The frother works well with 1% milk. Consider grabbing this:Krups XS5020 20-Ounce Stainless-Steel Milk Frothing Pitcher. It works nicely in concert. After running perhaps 3-4 cups through the 23210, the quality of the coffee levels off and is excellent (dont panic the first cup might be weak or bitter as the beans cycle through). Assuming you buy decent coffee (I used HEBs brand), you will have relatively quick cuppuccino, easy coffee and strong and tasty expresso in a few minutes. I find the cup warmer to be useless and I did need to ramp up to the hottest setting for the coffee to be the right temp, but otherwise the 23210 was tuned perfectly with preset factory settings. Cleanup is a breeze the frother is insulated in plastic so the wand is MUCH easier to clean than the non insulated wands on many machines. The tank is plenty big enough for AT LEAST 10 drinks (even if you use some steamed milk a few times). The footprint of the unit is nice and it wont hog space.

Overall, Im quite happy with the quality and build while plasticy, it doesnt seem cheap, it has a more euro look to it than the picture indicates I feel. If you are looking for a nice automatic and you are willing to make the trade off to spend quite a bit more, and perhaps lose a bit of artisinal control, youll definitely be rewarded by purchasing this. I was worried the coffee would taste like Keurig or the other quick makers this is MATERIALLY better coffee. If you can afford it, treat yourself, this maker wont disappoint. I especially recommend for parents who have little free time and busy professionals who dont want to spend time cleaning. This is a good machine. I have no idea what MORE Id want from a machine, assuming it continues to work, I dont see why a person would need a larger machine.

Update: I've had it a few months now and I've got a routine I now use so I thought I'd share. I set the bean strength to the highest setting and the water to the middle size and I make a double shot each time. That seems to be the flavor/size balance that works best for me. The reviews that suggest using a dry, European roast like illy over an oily dark roast like Starbucks are probably correct. I've been using lavazza which is well priced via amazon. Illy is fantastic but very $$$ and frankly I don't notice the difference. Anyways after 5 months I'm still really digging this machine.Lavazza Super Crema Espresso Whole Bean Coffee, 2.2-Pound Bag

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One thing about this machine is that it makes great coffee. Great design that will fit most kitchen areas. Just decalcified the machine for the first time, also my first and it took about 40 min.. The directions in the manual were slightly different than how the machine prompted me but I followed the machines direction and all went well. I highly recommend this type of coffee maker, because of verity of coffee making choices, ease of use, and of course taste. I drink at least 4 cups a day.

I would buy this type of machine again.

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I studied different machines until I was dizzy. The only requirement: It was important to me to have a machine that loaded water from front. When you look at the dimensions, it is not much smaller than others. The product weighs a ton already, and I am happy it is not stainless.. It is reasonably as quiet as a coffee grinder could be and makes beautiful espresso consistently.. The DVD instructions are... well.. instructive.

To decide, ask yourself this question: If you were a smoker would you roll your own cigarettes, or buy a pack to smoke. That is the difference between a manual/semi automatic vs a superautomatic like this one.

You add one feature and the other and then you say do I really need all this?

Set expectations. It comes down to budget, ease of use, and space requirements.

The fact is that it was cyber Monday, I was going to buy a perfecta at a bargain price, the seller ran out, and gave me the compact which was more expensive for half the price. There is concern out there that super automatics in general break easily if you use hard water and don't change the filter. If it works for two years for me, I will be happy. If it breaks, we will be coffee addicts and buy a semi automatic to experiment with our addictive urges.

My smart busy wife pushes one button. She is happy, the whole family is happy.

The product came with a year of free coffee from Illy that was not posted on the merchant's web site ($140 value) :)

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I've had the compact Magnifica S for about a week now and have a good sense of what the machine delivers.

Pros:

Literal push-button automation/automagical coffee. Spend 15 minutes watching the video and reading the manual and you will have complete control of the machine.

Lovely frothing. As a cappuccino lover, good foam was at the top of my wish list. I won't be making latte art any time soon, so I can't speak to "pourability" of the foam. But for my milk-first, then espresso builds, it is ideal.

Really compact footprint. The unit takes up half the space of my old Krups duo.

Access to moving parts. It's very easy to get to the bean hopper, water tank, bypass chute, etc.

Cons:

General superauto price point. I love the indulgence of the machine and got it as a Gold Box deal. It will take 100s of cups before I hit my value/price happy place.

Non-oily beans. I have to step away from my beloved dark-roast Peet's in search of non-oily beans that won't clog up the hopper. It takes away a bit from the flavor profile I love. But I'm experimenting with medium roast beans on the strongest setting and adjusting the grind.

Bypass chute. It only accepts one serving's worth of ground beans at a time. Just a little extra effort to make a couple of cups of evening decaf.

Overall, "Maggi" and I have a good working relationship and I'm really enjoying the quality and ease of the coffee she produces. Sometimes I miss the more manual experience, but overall, this machine gives you the ease of a Keurig-style push-button set-up, but delivers a really good cuppa.

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Gaggia 90950 Platinum Vision Espresso Machine w/Milk Island - Platinum

I purchased this from Amazon warehouse at a huge discount because the box and packaging was opened. At least I think that was the reason, because so far it has worked PERFECTLY. It also has no visible marks and was absolutely clean. My brother and my sister each have the same automatic espresso maker and we love it.

The coffee is just so much better, it is beyond comparison. Consistent and oh, so good. We are spoiled now, but also happy about it.

Bodum Bistro Electric Burr Coffee Grinder

I've been drinking coffee for years now and know a good cup from bad. I bought this unit after doing lots of research online and going to local stores and inspecting the grinders up close. I found that most machines in this price range are using ABS plastic where the burrs are located. This to me is a big NO NO and a huge red flag. The ABS will break. This unit uses nylon or UHMW plastic at first glance. These plastics are more ductile and will last. Being a machinist, i am very picky with build quality. The burr set is conical and looks to be Stainless Steel or somesort of hardened steel. Nonetheless, both good options and the burrs look very nicely built. They have been machined and ground and look a lot like burr sets you'd see in units that are 2-3 times the price. The outside of the machine is wrapped in rubber and looks nice. The top hopper is a clear plastic, but seems strong, especially where it matters (the point where it meets the machine). The container receiving the grind is GLASS wrapped in rubber. This is great!! No static, which means, NO MESS! My first attempt at a burr grinder was poor. I just bought something from the local superstore without any research. It had flat burrs and rotated at the speed of sound, or so it seemed. Everything was plastic and grinds flew everywhere. Hated that thing!

I'd say the only thing that may bother some, is that the timer goes 20 secs. Now for me this is more than enough, but for others its not nearly the time they would need. Bodum recommends after 1 20sec run to leave the machine idle for 5 mins to prevent the motor from overheating(i read the manual). I thought this would be an issue for me, but my daily use only requires a 10 sec run at a time which delivers about 1/2 the jar or enough grind to yield about 3-5 cups(my small french press is 3cup capacity, which is really 1 mug). I am not grinding for espresso and have not tried the finest setting yet, but intend to and wish i had to make this review more complete, but my results so far are very consistent and from what i can see im sure itll do a fine enough grind for espresso and if not, im sure it can be modded easily enough to provide. I plan to start into the world of home espresso extractions, but not at this time as im still experimenting with other methods.

Also if you were to use for espresso, it looks to me that you could easily remove the bottom jar, pop the portafilter in place(obviously holding it) and run the machine. The grind should fall nicely into the portafilter.

UPDATE (JAN 10/2011): I'm still using my grinder after 2-3 months and I still love it! I've started grinding for espresso with great results. Glad to see that most everyone is as content as I am with this little guy! Clean up is a breeze, and its never once clogged up on me personally, although i read one review where someone said theirs did. Happy Grinding!

UPDATE (April 2012): Grinder is still working great. I have some concerns. The glass jar has a very thin bottom and if your using anything other than a softer utensil, will break. I found a small hole in mine after a lot of use with a spoon. I've since been using a wooden spoon. My fix for this hole was tape.

My espresso 'machine' up to this point has been a Presso. The bodum at its finest setting works great with the Presso. Any finer and you'd never be able to pull a shot without breaking the Presso (which i've done). I've since bought a machine and with the pressurized basket the grind is consistent enough and fine enough to yield good results. Since I enjoy tweaking equipment to some degree, my next step is a single walled basket and bottomless portafilter. The bodum will in my opinion not grind fine enough for this set up. I have a hario mini for now, but looking to buy a more expensive grinder for espresso. The bodum will be for drip and french press which I believe it does a great job at. One thing about the bodum as compared to more expensive units is the bodum is quite light in comparison. I feel if the bodum was a heavier machine with more use of metals rather than plastics, it could probably be set up to grind finer and be a wonderful machine overall. But at this price point this is what you get, and for the money, it does a nice job.

One other thing, I roast my own beans and when I first started roasting the bean consistency was not perfect due to the method. This resulted in the bodum actually skipping during operation. I stopped it quickly enough as to not destroy it, but was a little alarmed. Now that I've changed my methods for roasting, the beans are always consistent and the bodum grinds them no problem.

UPDATE Dec 2012: I still use the bodum daily. It is a superb grinder for the money and I am glad it has served me so well. I tested the bodum against the Hario Mini and my friends Baratza Virtuoso grinder and found that even though the Hario and Baratza will grind finer, the bodum produces the most consistent grind, hands down! Considering the Baratza is triple the price I'd say I was quite surprised. You can get finer grind from the bodum, but I don't take any responsibility for anyone modifying their machine. I took the top burr out, and found that there are two tabs (plastic section that houses the burr) that sit on the threaded section of the bottom burr which allow for the grind settings. You will notice 2 beveled edges. If you sand these down slightly the top burr will come closer to the bottom burr. I took measurements before starting with calipers and started working from there. This does work well, just be careful as moving the burrs closer could cause them to rub against each other.

Hi. I've never done a video review before, so forgive me if I ramble or go off-topic. Feel free to skip through to any parts you think are relevant. I run the grinder for the first time about halfway through the video. The first half of the video is spent explaining why I bought a new grinder, and what I hope to get out of it (less mess, less noise, consistency in the grind.) Without giving away the surprise ending (there is no surprise), I can simply say that this is the best burr grinder I have ever owned. It is also only the second burr grinder I have ever owned, so I'm no expert :) Although, I was a barista for a couple years, and I can tell a quality grinder when I see it.

Cheers, peace, etc.

*EDIT* Having used the grinder every day since I received it (and sometimes twice daily), I feel I can now comment on its practical features. Although the grinder seems to create more static/dust when set to a more coarse grind (still negligible static compared to my old burr grinder), the lid on the glass grounds container does a good job of keeping the dust inside the containernot all over my counter. I love the consistency of the grind. No matter the setting, all the grounds seem to be of equal size, which means less sediment in my French press! The machine is also noticeably more quiet than any other grinder I have encounteredburr or otherwise. The twenty second timer fills up about half the grounds container, which is perfect for a 7-8 cup setting on my drip machine. All in all, I would still give it five stars. So I got that going for me, which is nice. Bodum Bistro Electric Burr Coffee Grinder, Black

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When the magic smoke trailed out of my ancient Krups blade grinder, I knew I was going to bite the bullet and buy a burr grinder to replace it. Reviews led me to the Bodum Bistro, so now I'll share my thoughts as well.

I make coffee one cup at a time using a Melitta cone filter basket that sits on top of my coffee mug. If you have thus far avoided the hype that is single-cup coffee brewing machines, take the money you've saved and get yourself a one-cup filter and this grinder instead. A few experimental runs led me to the coarseness (just finer than drip) and time (7 seconds) required to grind exactly as much coffee as I need for a single cup. Now I leave the settings as they are and only have to push a button in the morning. I find that a pound of coffee lasts me longer now than it did when I was using the old Krups.

In a nutshell:

Pros:

Even grind with less dust and sediment around the work area

Acts as coffee bean storage

Makes more efficient use of the beans

Identical results every time

Glass catcher and plastic lid keep grounds under control

Small footprint and attractive design

Cons:

Stays on the counter all the time

Hopper doesn't quite hold a full pound of coffee

Settings are awkward to change if you need to change them often

Relatively small capacity per grind

Rubberized exterior requires frequent cleaning collects dust from the kitchen (flour, etc.)

If you make a full pot in a 12-cup drip machine every morning, this probably isn't the burr grinder for you. However, if you're a French press or one-cup drinker, I haven't seen a better grinder on the market to meet your needs.

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As others have mentioned in their four and five star reviews, this thing has a flaw. The max time in can run is 20 seconds and then you have to wait 5 minutes to run it again or risk motor burn out. Well I use a manual drip coffee cone most of the time. We also have a french press and espresso maker. I grind six scoops of beans for our carafe. It takes ~30 35 seconds to grind the six scoops so I have it set to 20 seconds. I grind for 20 sec, wait 4-5 minutes and then grind the rest. Waiting to grind is no fun. Why did they design this thing to run only 20 seconds every 5 minutes? This is annoying. Otherwise I have no complaints. I have used it twice so far. The mess is minimal and the grind is very even. It grinds so much better than the blade grinder we have been using for years.

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I have researched these things for hours before deciding to buy this unit. Here are my findings:

There are three units that were in the running (ordered by price):

a. Bodum Bistro Electric Burr Coffee Grinder (the unit on this page and the one I ultimately bought and am very happy with) $89.99

b. Breville BCG800XL Smart Grinder $199.99

c. Rancilio ROCKY Rancilio Burr Grinder with Doser $359.99

Now, if price is not an issue, by all means go with the Breville BCG800XL (really can't go wrong with that one). Also, notice that all of these are burr grinders (blade grinders are NOT the way to go) and all are excellent machines; all other machines researched under $400 have serious drawbacks trust me I've done the research.

Okay, now let's take a look at each one.

--a. Bodum Bistro Electric Burr Coffee Grinder, Black this is an excellent unit all around and the one I bought:

- Grind:

Very consistent and perfect size for drip on drip setting; I have tried this with a drip coffee maker and it is excellent. Some say that it can't quite match the best machines out there for a cappuccino grind (i.e. very very very fine for very very picky machines) but I do not have a cappuccino machine and so this does not really concern me all that much.

- Mess:

Awesome, no mess at all. The glass catcher reduces the static on the grinds so that they do not jump (no idea how some complain about mess); no mess here.

After catcher is removed, no excess coffee spills out.

- Noise:

Not very loud at all; I thought it would be louder. Two scaredy cats in my house and both did not even wake up (same room as the appliance).

- Cleanup:

Super easy; just rinse the catcher and you are done.

- Features:

Timer -> 5-20 second; set it once, and it stays from grind to grind. 10 seconds was perfect for my mug (4 cups).

- Build Quality:

Excellent all around with a glass catcher and plastic hopper. The burrs are very well machined.

- Looks/Size:

The machine is on the small size but very good looking (I have a black one).

- Cons:

Motor "should" (at least that is what the manual recommends) rest for 5 minutes before every 20 second grind. Really, for me, this is not an issue as 20 seconds produces about 6-8 cups of medium strength coffee.

Bean hopper is not tinted so leaving beans in it (especially in the light) may not be a great idea but you should not leave beans in the hopper in any case as suggested by all of the other machine's manuals.

Some claim that very very fine cappuccino grinds are not acceptable for very picky cappuccino machines; go figure.

Adjusting the grind size can only be done with the motor running (or so claims the manual). Not a big deal for me since I do not plan to adjust it ... well ... ever after the initial setting (doesn't have to have beans in it but just running motor while adjusting).

--b. Breville BCG800XL Smart Grinder if money is not an issue, why not I could find really nothing wrong with it except the price.

- Grind:

From doing much research, this thing really gets it right for anything you want; even the pickiest cappuccino machines like this thing. French press is also no problem.

- Mess:

No mess; static is eliminated by their special technology that slows the coffee grinds before they get to the catcher.

- Noise:

Very quite.

- Cleanup:

Cannot comment on cleanup but people have said that it is not a problem.

- Features:

Built in doser very nice; will auto grind correct amount based on your cup and strength setting.

Nice LCD screen.

Bean hopper is tinted.

- Build Quality:

Customers claim that it is very solid and well built.

- Looks/Size:

Looks very nice.

- Cons:

Price.

--c. Rancilio ROCKY Rancilio Burr Grinder with Doser if you want the best, this is it for a reasonable price (reasonable to some, all depends).

Specs:

I am not going to go into detail about this one but needless to say that those very serious about their cappuccino grind, etc. and for whom money is no issue should probably get this machine. Frankly, for this much money, I see no reason.

Conclusion:

The Bodum Bistro Electric Burr Coffee Grinder is an excellent all around machine with very minor (at least to me) drawbacks and if one is to consider the price/performance ratio, simply cannot be beat. Best of luck and hope this review saves some hours of research.

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Saeco S-OG-SG Odea Giro Super-Automatic Espresso Machine

This is a great machine for the price! At first I was nervous because of the plastic feel, but it seems to be holding up really well. It is very quick to heat up. VERY quiet considering the ceramic grinder. It is given 4 stars because of how quickly the drip tray fills up (near the coffee grounds drawer) otherwise I would give this a 5 star rating. It has to be emptied once a day if you have used the machine a lot. We do because it has the awesome feature of sending out hot water with the spout just by pushing the water button and turing the knob on top. So we use this machine for hot tea too! Also the water tank is a little hard to get out. Maybe we are being too gentle with it, but you do just have to give it a little extra pull. The adjustable drip tray (in front) is great. I just make my latte to go in a travel mug. The ability to switch from frothing the milk which is very fast to immediately making the espresso it my favorite feature.

Overall this is an excellent machine, makes great espresso, easy to use, and looks great too!

OK, so I did a ton of research on this and the plethora of similar machines that are out there. I also went the route of using the 20% off coupon at Bed Bath and Beyond and I could not be happier.

Right out of the box it was very easy to follow the 4-step directions. It fired right up and made what I hope to be the first of thousands of perfect lattes. It truly is a wonderful machine!!

I love that it swivels back and forth for easy access to the water tank and the dump bin for the used grounds. I don't think I even have to wait 30 seconds for the milk frother to produce steam--it's very fast.

A few tips:

1. steam your milk first before you pull your shots as the shots will go bad after about 10 seconds (this is what I learned as an employee of one super-popular Seattle-based chains).

2. Keep a little container under the frother attachment so that when you turn it on there will be something there to collect the small amount of water that spills out.

3. Keep a supply of decaf onhand because once you start making these you won't be able to stop and you'll turn into a caffeine zombie.

All of the negative points that have been raised in the majority of reviews (on both this and other similar makes and models) are a non-issue for me. The indicator lights tell you when things need to be refilled or emptied; the machine is very solid (albeit solid plactic), and it heats up super quick.

I am a super picky coffee/latte drinker and I am in love with thing!!!

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We took a long while researching what machine to buy and was told by the espresso zealots that if you want authentic shots you have to work for them... Meaning that you need to grind separately, hand press the puck into the porta-filter and pull the perfect shot.. and so on. So, ive had espresso in several corners of the world; so for all of that non-sense, I say 'meh'. We started looking at quality super-auto's and kept coming back to Saeco. Picked the odea-giro out for its balance of features vs simplicity, cost and previous reviews, company rep, etc.

One year after buying this machine and using it every day, we are pretty sure that I can finally say that the zealots are full of steam. ;)

The Odea is a great compact machine. There is a plastic feel but it is pretty durable and we have been pretty rough with it.. Its supposed to be an appliance.. right? We use the machine once or twice a day and more on weekends. Good espresso is pretty addicitive. We use oily beans and have no issues.

So the truth to all the haters of red-blinky lights and moving parts: This not a toaster with a crumb tray. This thing needs maintenance. Some of it is obvious.. Fill me, clean me, brush me off, wipe me down. The rest is not so intuitve..

To keep this machine happy you need to clean the brew-group under the faucet once a week. Its easy, stop whining. Keep the booklet near-by so you can diagnose the red-blinkys that happen with a complicated electro-mechanical device. De-scale, grease, empty, fill, clean and you wont have trouble with this machine.

I advise that you purchase the extra filter for the water tank. Even if you feed it britta water like we do, the steam wand tip gets pretty scaly. Hard water is the enemy of a system that boils water for a living! Fill it with RO if you can.

So enough. Its a good machine, get it, love it, drink espresso and be happy.

Read Best Reviews of Saeco S-OG-SG Odea Giro Super-Automatic Espresso Machine Here

I did not hesitate to purchase my second Saeco after 4 years of good experience with my first one a Saeco Vienna (which is still running fine). Compared with the Vienna, the Odea Giro does almost everything a little better, despite having a smaller footprint. It is more stylish, heats up (and cools down) faster, and froths better. The espresso quality is excellent with rich crema and aroma. I am especially impressed with how fast and easy it is to switch between the modes steam and hot water/ brew, despite it having a only a single boiler. In other single-boiler models like the Vienna you would have to manually purge the water and wait as much as 30 seconds. In the Odea Giro it is done automatically within 10 seconds.

As noted in other reviews, the water tank capacity can be a problem. The bean hopper is also smaller than Vienna. However I am happy to trade off tank capacity for less counter space. My previous experience with Vienna is that you always want to dump and refill the tank with fresh water before turning on the machine. The coffee tastes much better than with day-old water.

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This is our third or fourth Saeco machine so,obviously,you know we just love them. Our first two machines were the Vienna superautomatica models and then a Villa super automatic. All of them performed nicely.

We have had the Odea Giro Super-Automatic for a couple of months now so I feel qualified enough to make comparisons. This machine is a little more stylin' than our previous ones , it isnt as boxy as the vienna's and takes up less counter than either the vienna or villa models. It is easier to work around its nice rounded shape. It does heat faster than the others and really does froth on demand. overall it does out perform our previous machines one of which still lives. The only complaint we have pertains to the water tank. I just hate running the pump dry. It just doesn't seem good for it and I hate to wait for my fix. the other machines we had had larger tanks and they were "see through" so you could anticipate refilling them. this one is smaller and could really use atleast a level window. for some reason this oversight really annoys me. otherwise, this little buddie has more style,works faster, and makes one great cup of coffee.

We like dark dark bean and would suggest Jeremiah's Pick coffee bean sold also by amazon. Our favorite is the Fogbuster,it has a nice strong flavor without the bitter bite a lot of darker roasts get. 33 bucks is a great price and if you buy one of these machines you are going to need a 5 pound bag.

Ascaso SUBBVBR Special Edition Steel Uno Espresso Machi With Frothing Aid Attachment

Edit: the machine shown is a newer and improved version of the one I reviewed, therefore my comments about temperatures probably no longer apply.

I've had this machine for a few weeks now. The Ascaso uno SE has the looks and the feel of a high quality, more expensive machine and I think it offers very good value for the money. However to brew great coffee with it is a fussy proposition for a couple of reasons:

A the temperature needs looking after or the espresso will be cold. The first cup in the morning is a throw away I just run it once without coffee and even then I always heat it a little more ( a few seconds) manually before every cup.

and

B Although it's supposed to have a pressurized portafilter it still requires the finest grind almost Turkish and heavy tamping or the water runs right through it. Forgiving it's not.

I'm ordering a non pressurized portafilter and also high quality grinder to go with it. I'm happy with it because I like the ritual tinkering and the result is worth it ... but that's just me. I'd definitely recommend it to some friends but not to people who'd prefer a semi-automatic machine.

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Ilsa - Neapolitan Coffee Maker 6 Cup Size - Stainless Steel - Made in Italy

My Ilsa 6 cup stainless pot has been used daily for about ten years. It's easy to use, no parts to replace and makes great coffee. Try boiling the water separately and pouring it into the filter basket, instead of putting the pot directly on the stove and flipping it. My Italian family has made coffee with this method for as long as I can remember. The hollow stainless handle on this pot also resists heat when warming the pot on the stove for a second cup. Find a coffee you like and enjoy!

This makes great, strong coffee. I would go as far as saying I like this better than brewed expresso. Further, it is an easier clean-up than the stove-top expresson pot. This also looks very nice sitting out. If you would like a unique coffee experience, give this a shot.

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The italian's may not know how to balance their country's budget, (neither can we), but they know how to make coffee. The flip coffee pot system makes the smoothest coffee that can be strong but not bitter. Try this pot and sit back and enjoy a cup of caffe' and life!

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I like it, although it's a little tricky getting uased to the flip-over without any spillage. It makes GREAT black coffee.

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Good regular coffee maker. At the beginning it is a little bit tricky to use it, but after 2-3 trials you are o'kay and realice that coffee is much-much better especially if you use hand grinder.