This machine makes a good cup of espresso, particularly from the Illy ground coffee (not the pods, in my opinion). But I have had inconsistent performance from the machine itself. It is temperamental, and after about five months of average use, it began to take 40 seconds to make a cup of espresso instead of 20-25, as it did in the beginning. The non ESE handle also got a little warped (no clue why; I did not drop it). And, and this is perhaps a big one, that cheap crappy clock on the front that looks so cool fell out. Kept falling out. There is nothing that secures that clock in there, and it is horribly made. I really wish they had left that thing out.
So it was under warranty and I sent it back to Francis Francis. 3 weeks later, I got it back and it doesn't appear that they changed ANYTHING about my machine. The work order claims they fixed gaskets, but I don't see a difference. They didn't even unpack the handles that they requested I send (they were still taped as I had taped them), and even though I wrote (and phoned in) a detailed description of the things I needed fixed (the clock; the warped handle; and whatever was causing the machine to take so long), they did not replace the handle OR the clock.
I called FF and they initially claimed that they DID fix these things. I insisted they did not. Then they told me that the clock and handle were "on backorder." I have been waiting over a month for them to go off of backorder, but I do not quite understand how such a widely-produced machine could have basic parts on backorder. I have been trying to reach them by phone for the last three days, and their message consistently says "due to unusual high call volume, we cannot answer your call. Please leave a message and we will get back to you." No one gets back to me.
Horrible customer service. Some very major problems with the machine itself. Nice design, decent coffee, good frothing. I probably would choose a different brand if I were to purchase again.
Update: FF did, eventually, send me my new handle and clock. The clock they sent was ALSO broken (sigh), so I just gave up on that issue. I taped the old one in there, so there wasn't a huge hole in the front of the machine. Performance, 2 years after purchase, is about the same as it was a couple months after: inconsistent, but I can still get a great cup of espresso. I just wish it were consistent.
I was initially reluctant to get this model (through Illy's offer), and thought I had just been seduced by it's cool looks. I've had it for 4 years now, and I'm only now finally happy with it because I've finally learned that the mixed quality shots was my own fault, not the machine's.
It's a steep learning curve to make a good espresso, and I'm probably the worst espresso snob you can imagine. I wouldn't dream of drinking the stuff from the big well known chain. But once you've learned the tricks, this machine does a good job. I strongly recommend that you read up on wholelattelove's website and elsewhere for tips.
Here are some of mine:
-use bottled water!
-get your own burr grinder! It makes a world of a difference. I got the Baratza Maestro Plus. My shots were hit or miss for the longest time, but since I got my own grinder they are consitantly great. And grind just before each shot. I put it at the finest setting.
-experiment with the beans. I've finally settled on Barrington Gold Reserve from barringtoncoffee, which makes a really thick crema and tastes almost like chocolate. I found the espresso grind from illy not fine enough for this machine, and coffee goes stale so quickly, that I wouldn't recommend the automatic delivery from them, except for the pods that are OK if you are in a hurry or making for many people at a time. My favorite coffee shop is Joe's Art of Coffee in NYC, and I bought the beans from them the first time, now I order directly from Barrington.
A couple of tips related to this particular machine:
-take the filter basket out of the portafilter and rinse it every day.
-run an empty shot of just hot water through the machine to warm up both the filter and the cup.
-learn how to tamper correctly, with 30 pounds pressure, and give the tamper a little twist to smoothen the surface. Remove the tamper handle from the disk (I like this disk, how it helps prevent sneeze and also makes it easier to see if you have the right amount of grinds in the filter)
-Turn the handle as tight as possible. The tricky thing is to get just the right amount of grinds in. If too little, the water flows through too quickly and the espresso gets watery. If too much, you have a hard time attaching the handle without extreme force. Also, if you put too much in and your grind is fine, it might leak out of the top of the filter.
-When the lights show the temperature is ready, I give it another 10-15 sec boost by pressing the steam button. Not more, or it will burn the coffee and possibly damage the machine.
-I'm saving the best for last:
Once you press the start button, wait exactly 3 seconds and then turn the handle even further to the right. I assure you, if you follow these tips and use the above combination of equipment and supplies, you'll never want to drink espresso again from anywhere else than your home, or perhaps in Sicily, and Joe's Art of Coffee shop in NYC.
(oh, one little gripe I have about this model is that the water reservoir warps if put in the dishwasher, but I still wash it every time or every other time it's empty, because slime builds up if standing too long. Now the reservoir has found it's final warped shape and is still useable)
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I am extremely pleased with this machine thus far. It came with the illy E.S.E. pods, as well as illy ground espresso and a different filter kit to use with ground coffee. I found the instructions easy to understand; set-up was very easy and quick. I had never made a cup of espresso in my life, and within 15 minutes I had a cup of espresso normal and had even steamed some milk to make a fabulous latte. I have the red machine, and it looks so sharp on my kitchen counter. The machine feels very solid, very well-made, and is designed to look good and work well (how Italian!). I read up a lot on this machine at wholelattelove.com, before choosing this particular one. Slate.com also gave it an excellent review.
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I bought this machine not even two years ago through the Illy a Casa program for my husband's 40th birthday. For about a year and a half, it worked well (and looked great too, except for the clock, which popped off and broke almost immediately). My husband loved it and I congratulated myself on getting him such a great gift. But one day the boiler overheated and that was it for the machine. When I tried to contact Francis Francis, I was only able to reach Illy. The machine was out of warranty, so it cost $10 for them to ship a box to me to have it FedEx'd to the service center. Before sending it in, I tried to find out how much I would be charged for the repair, but Illy could not provide an estimate; they did say it could be as much as $150. Not only that, they couldn't give me a number for Francis Francis customer service at all. So after just two years I am stuck with a very expensive and very broken machine. : (
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I absolutely love this machine! I upgraded my previous espresso machine, an overpriced model unwisely purchased from THE largest coffee retailer in the United States (if you don't have one in your neighborhood yet, look out it won't be long), and was that ever a huge waste of money totally kaput after only three years. I've since stopped buying their products and learned a great deal more about coffee. I was NEVER able to get such good results from that machine as I get from the solid high-performance Italian dream that is the X5. Beautifully designed by Luca Trazzi, the gorgeous sleek eye-popping yellow was the one for me; it really warms up all the cold stainless-steel in my kitchen. The unit's inner workings are most definitely top quality! Believe the other comments about the post-shot drip -it's only a minor annoyance, but very noticeable. It certainly doesn't interfere with the quality of the espresso you'll produce with the X5, though what a perfect shot of espresso all three layers plainly visible, and the Supercrema system definitely delivers! The steaming wand fits comfortably into my tilted larger milk-steaming pitcher, and produces fluffy, dense foam like I've only had in restaurants before. If daily espresso intake is vital to your happiness, like it is to mine, do yourself a favor and take the plunge -it's most definitely not the cadillac of machines when compared to those automated jobs that do everything but wipe your ... nose for you and take all the fun and romance out of pulling your own espresso shots, but it delivers superior and as close as you can get to professional quality espresso and steamed milk as possible without the hefty price tag attached to machines of that calibur. Thank you, FrancisFrancis!!
PS spring for the Illy coffee, too it's simply the best!
This is not meant to be a complete review of this espresso maker. If you see my "So you'd like to make great espresso at home" guide, you'll find that I argue that Gaggia's are best espresso machines in the $100-$400 range, always besting anything made by Krups or other non-Italian manufacturers. In other words, this is a great espresso machine.
