ESPRESSO MKR 4CUP SS

The company I ordered from substituted an lousy aluminum version of the machine. It is such a hassle to return it that I didn't waste my time, but it is a cautionary tale!!!

nicely styled and well made. Flat bottom makes it stable on the stove and on the table.Easy clean and the Chrome looks good, the handle is great too.... You can leave anything on the stove too long but at this price, you won't cry too long.

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Krups 203 Electric Coffee and Spice Grinder with Stainless-Steel Blades

I have had my grinder for 12 years now. It works the same today as it did new, and I use it about 10 times a week. For the money, it can't be beat. That said, this grinder is not for everybody.

This grinder is perfect for anybody with a coffee maker that uses #4 paper CONE filters (or slightly bigger or smaller). I emphasize PAPER because a permanent filter is not good for this grinder. Like any blade grinder, it will produce some dust. That creeps through the permafilter and into your pot is makes sludge. It sloppies up your coffee. Nothing gets through paper filters though.

It also grinds coffee fine. You really don't have a choice. It is ok for espresso as well if you are not a connoisseur. If you try a coarse grind with this unit, you will be out of luck. If you don't grind long enough, you will leave a few beans whole or in large pieces.

If you need anything other than a fine grind and don't mind using paper filters (I prefer them), then look no further.

I deducted a star because it has limitations, but the truth is, for probably 80% of the coffee drinkers out there, this grinder is all you need.

A little over 6 months ago we read about the benefits of grinding flaxseed and eating it with cereal, and decided to try it. So we bought the Braun KSM-2 grinder for the purpose, and it worked reasonably well.

However, while staying at a friend's house we tried the same thing with a Krups grinder, and found that

1. it ground the flaxseeds more thoroughly (we think it is because of the oval shape), and

2. it was quieter

We like the Braun's space for winding up the cord, and the Braun seems sturdy enough, so it's not a bad unit. But we bought the Krups and have been using it for a few weeks now, and we prefer it.

Our theory is that the key to the Krups's better grinding is the shape -seen from above it is an oval with one end chopped off. This shape appears to stop the forward momentum of the flaxseeds (or whatever) so that the blades hit them with more impact. That is, in a circular grinder the seeds tend to pick up speed and swirl around with the blades, but the shape of the Krups doesn't let the speed build up so much.

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We are serious cooks and take our coffee seriously. Own two of these and the first one is at least ten years old and the newest one less than two. Grinds whole beans according to your desired taste. We own two simply because we like plain as well as flavoured whole bean coffee and simply wish to keep the flavors separate.

Two helpful hints someone suggested that I pass on. Place this grinder on a small towel or pot holder as it helps muffle the sound. Secondly, invest in a good quality nylon paint brush that you can use to "sweep" out your coffee grinder weekly so that you have no grounds left as these can turn rancid over months and leave an awful taste.

Oh and if this or any appliance breaks down contact the maker not Amazon.com and they will replace it. Krups is a reliable maker and I know firsthand that they stand by their products.

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There are two things I take very seriously in this life: one is books, the other is coffee (not surprisingly, the often go together). While the bulk of my reviews are children's books, I felt it necessary to go against type and review this coffee grinder. Most coffee experts as well as everyday, casual drinkers agree that the best tasting coffee is brewed with freshly ground beans. Once beans are ground, they begin to oxidize, much like an opened bottle of wine. Old preground coffee has a tendency to taste bitter, and with the proliferation of inexpensive grinders, more and more people are buying whole bean coffee to grind right before they brew. Of course, finding the RIGHT grinder for the price is the tough part. Grinders exist in every form and size and expense bracket. Quite a lot of round, domed grinders I've used have unsharpened blades on a mount that is too high to really grind beans fine enough for specialty coffee like espresso or Turkish. The Krups has a few advantages over other grinders, namely these: ** The blades are sharp and mounted low in the housing. Maybe other manufactures are saving a few pennies by putting flat tongues of metal in their grinders, but they don't have the edge to pulverize beans like the Krups can. ** The machine has a higher RPM than other machines. This makes it easier to reduce grind times and with additional speed, can reduce whole beans to powder in less than a minute (I've had a Black n' Decker that couldn't grind beans for Turkish coffee if you held the button for half an hour). ** the housing is oval and the lid is flat. I'm not an engineer or physicist, but I think the flat lid and oval shape allow the beans to fall back towards the blades for further grinding (again, my Black n' Decker allowed the beans to spin around the lid in a whirlpool pattern that was pretty to look at, but pointless for actually reducing the grounds to the small particles I wanted). ** it has a large capacity. Do you like strong coffee?? Use more grounds, then!! The box says that you can grind up to 20 cups of java at a time. I don't know about the sorts of demitasses they must be using to gauge the volume of a "cup", but I do know that this machine can grind up enough beans for a number of very stiff MUGS of coffee. In the disadvantages column, the only one I could site is that the housing cup is slanted down, I'm assuming for decorative purposes. Hence, I'm forever spilling beans out of the lower side. My new secret is to measure the beans out in the LID, first, then turn the whole thing upside down and put the housing into the lid. Since I only use it to grind coffee (and while I drink my fair share, I don't have the thing running nonstop day and night), I can't speak with any aplomb about how sturdy a machine is or how long it lasts. I once dropped one after a year and broke it, but it seemed nowhere near quitting, so I can't vouch for how long it would work under normal, non-butterfingered conditions. My assumption is that anything with such a high RPM rate isn't intended to be kept running for long periods of time-creates too much heat and friction-so if you plan to grind coffee night and day, it's probably best that you spend the money on a professional model intended for cafes. All in all, a fine piece of workmanship and definitely worth the extra few dollars over many of the other, cheaper, more poorly-designed grinders on the market today.

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This grinder was the top recommended spice grinder in Cooks' Illustrated, and it does a good job, but it just won't come clean. Some reviewers have said that it is difficult to clean, but that's an understatement: it is impossible to clean after using it for spices.

I bought this grinder last night and after just one use of grinding spices (a mixture of dried chili peppers, coriander, cumin and black pepper), it looks five years old. Even after soaking the plastic lid in warm, soapy water and scrubbing it, the bottom half of the lid is a dingy brown: this staining would occur even in the black model since the lids of both the black and white are the same. The plastic lid has two textures: smooth and cloudy; the staining occurs only on the cloudy portion, but not on the clear portion. Also, the interface between the metal bowl and the white plastic is stained and it smells strongly, even after I wiped it with soap and water and a toothpick. While I don't mind the smell, in a few months the oils from the spices could turn rancid.

Update: January 2011: Three years ago at a big box store, I bought a Black and Decker coffee grinder for half the price of this one. It has stayed clean even from grinding hot spices. It also works for grinding flax seeds.

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Jura Cleaning Tablets for all Jura Automatic Coffee Centers, 6-Count

Pricey but necessary. Keeps my Jura in good shape and I try to take good care of it since it takes such good care of me.

Does what it is designed to do. I need one about every month or so (we drink a LOT of coffee). Painless.

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These are pricey, but considering how expensive my Jura machine is I would be a fool not to do everything the maker recommends to keep it working properly for as long as possible. I use my Jura all day every day and so far so good with keeping it ship-shape.

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I think these tablets are over priced for a cleaning product. I plan to use some of the less expensive tablets to compare and will check back here soon. $ stars because they do keep the machine functioning well. However our daughter has never cleaned her Jura Capresso in 4 years and only had one minor clog which rectified itself with a little water flush.

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Sure they are overpriced, but using the correct product on your expensive automatic coffee maker is a small price to pay to ensure that it is going to keep working. When you pay $2000 for a coffee maker, why would you try to save $5 and risk either harming or only partially cleaning it? False savings!

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Mr. Coffee ECMP40 Pod Pump Espresso & Cappuccino Maker

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I gave this one a chance after wasting $100 on the Krups Espremio, and I'm glad that I did. I was initially impressed by the weight of the Mr Coffee in the store; it seemed to be solidly constructed, so I tried it out even though I had learned that Mr Coffee is now a Sunbeam company. I'd had such terrible luck with Sunbeam products that I wouldn't buy anything from them. I guess that's not true anymore.

Others have complained about having to use demitasse cups with it, but I sometimes use regular coffee cups and just remove the drip tray--not an issue. My hands are a little unsteady (too much coffee?), so I use pods to make sure that I don't get grounds on the edge of the holder.

The pods that I get at Starbucks fit just fine, so the poster who had a problem with that might try buying them there.

It's a little noisy, but not a LOT noisy like my old Maxim and that Krups.

All in all, I'm very pleased with it.

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I wrote my original review back on 9/10/04 ("Great coffee machine"). I have had this machine for over 6 months now and wanted to put another 2 cents in after reading the recent reviews. I still stand by everything I wrote back in September. Also, I completely agree with 1/10/05 review ("fantastic value! so far...").

I use this machine frequently: 4-6 days/week since July. I am thrilled with the product. It works as well now as it did when I first purchased it. I have never had a single problem with the machine. For example, it doesn't shake, it hasn't lit on fire, it doesn't release steam in places it shouldn't, the frothing arm works fine and the water tube in the resevoir is as good as new. I don't even make an effort to take great care of it; I am lazy and clean it only once/week.

It took me a little time to pefect my coffee making routine, but I'm a pro now (please refer to my original review). However, out of extreme laziness and rush in the morning, I no longer use the frothing arm or preheat the carafe.

My routine is:

-pour Brita water into resevoir

-fill filter w/grinds & pack grinds

-put (unheated) carafe (still using my dessert bowl) under filter

-when machine's ready, run espresso

-pour espresso and cold milk into a paper cup and put it into the microwave for 60-90 seconds

-empty water resevoir

-remove filter from machine after 5 minutes (if you do it right after you turn off the drip, wet coffee grinds will spill all over your counter)

As a result of simplifying this routine, I make the espresso more frequently and have not purchased coffee in months.

I still have not mastered frothing. My friend bought this machine after my recommendation and she's able to froth well. I am mystified.

Lastly, the directions say to clean the machine with vinegar every 80 uses. I have (out of, again, laziness) not done this yet, but I don't see or taste a difference despite this.

I am very happy with this machine and it's paid for itself already. BTW, I tried many different grinds and I love Cafe Bustelo.

________________________

Original review, written Sept 10, 2004:

I was baffled at all the problems people wrote about in previous reviews. I am a novice coffee machine user and work the machine with no problem. My suggestion to the people who gave this machine 1-star is to READ INSTRUCTIONS!!! (They obviously didn't, as per their reviews.)

General comments & replies to previous reviews:

-The machine is not loud (as per a recent review), but do expect the machine to make noise.. duh.

-Makes GREAT tasting coffee with lots of yummy crema.

-Steams milk well, although I'd like to be able to make more froth, but that maybe my fault b/c I'm a novice cappy maker.

-REALLY EASY clean-up, very very simple & quick.

-It does take time to reheat between making the coffee and steaming the milk, but if you read directions, the manual states you can continue using the machine even though the "ready" light isn't on.

-Someone wrote it doesn't have enough pressure to make good cappy: I don't agree. It has 13 bars of pressure, where old machines had 5 and professional machines have 15-20 bars. This person probaby didn't pack the coffee enough or didn't use enough coffee grinds.

My process of making coffee takes about 10 minutes total, so you can figure out if this is too much work for you:

-Take water from my Brita filter to fill the water reservoir.

-Run hot faucet water into the carafe to preheat b/c it keeps the coffee hotter longer.

-Fill the filter with 2 spoons of my cuban fine grinds & tap the top to pack it.

-Turn on the unit, wait until the ready light is lit (unit heats up water).

-Put carafe under the filter & press the coffee button so the cappy starts puring from filter.

-Wait until fluid gets almost see-through, then turn off cappy, turn on steam so until heats up water to a higher temperature.

-Fill my Stainless Frothing Pitcher with Thermometer from Crate & Barrel ($15) with milk.

-Run hot faucet water into the mug you'll use for the coffee to preheat it.

-Once unit is ready, dip the frothing arm into the milk & turn the steam knob all the way to get the max steam out to the milk. Usually takes about 3 mins to get the milk to 140 F (from 35 F). Having the thermometer is essential to this process. To make froth, lower the pitcher so that the tip of the frothing arm is just above the milk I think that the steam hittng the surface of the milk creates the froth.

-Turn the steaming knob back to 'off', combine cappy & milk & froth into a pre-heated mug (notice I left the carafe under the filter b/c the filter drips about 3-5 drops during the frothing process and those drops end up in the drip tray, that's annoying).

-Fill a cup with water & clean the steaming nozzle right away by steaming water (instead of milk) to prevent the milk from clogging the nozzle (this is all in the directions, if you just take the time to read them!).

-Leave the rest of the cleaning for later, enjoy the cappy now.

Shortcomings of the unit:

-Didn't come with a carafe, I've been using a small dessert bowl b/c I can't find a carafe I like.

-The frothing arm swivels about 90% and doesn't bend up/down. This was annoying, but I found a way to tilt the frothing pitcher to the side and got used to it & now it's fine.

-The coffee pods that come with the unit are horrible, don't even bother using them.

-If you're feeling lazy (or running late), you'll still end up going to Starbucks or ABP to pick up your morning coffee on the way to work.

Best parts about the unit:

-Easy to clean: dump excess water from reservoir, rinse off drip tray, dump out used grinds from filter & rinse, scrub dried milk off the frothing nozzle (most tedious tasttakes about 15 seconds).

-Small, doesn't take up a lot of space: on top of the unit there is an area where you can store all little accessories for the unit so clever!

-Produces hot, delicious, dark, flavorful coffee: yum!

-Cheap: $90 w/tax, frothing pitcher/thermometer, and carafe

-13 bars of pressure!

-Right at home no trips to & from Starbucks to get a cappy.

-Even though I'm a coffee-grinds-kind-of-person, having the pods will cut about 15 seconds from packing the grinds & about 5 seconds from the cleaning. I think the only drawback from the pods is that they make single servings where with grinds you can make 2 servings (or 1 really big one).

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The good news is . . . We bought the first machine for Christmas and were more than pleased with it's operation and the espresso was fantastic!

The bad news is . . . .Since then we have had three of these machines. The first lasted 4 months before the steam valve would no longer shut off. It almost scalded my wife and now it is in the shop for repair, the other two which were bought within the last 2 days, both failed out of the box.

The last two, one returned for the next, both had the same problems in that right out of the box, during the initial internal rinse cycle, neither unit's ready light came on, both units started getting extremely hot to the touch, over 130 degrees and climbing, and steam started spewing from inside the unit. In all cases each unit failed to an unsafe condition that could have caused severe burns if we hadn't been paying close attention.

The out of box failure rate for the units we bought is 2 out of 3!

The only reason we tried buying the second two units was that we couldn't wait for our first unit because we loved the espresso they make so much!

I would highly recommend that Mr. Coffee, Amazon, and Target, or any other store selling these units, take these units off the market until Mr. Coffee can fix these problem or they may soon be looking at a law suit for personal injury from some not as cautious as we are!

DON'T BUY ONE, until they have been corrected!!!!

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I was given this coffee maker as a gift, and it worked great for about nine months. Then progressively-larger amounts of water started leaking around the top of the basket that holds the coffee. I tried everything: more and less fine grounds, tighter and looser packing of grounds, tighter and looser locking of the basket, completely cleaning the area, etc. Nothing worked.

Finally I decided to do a search online. I found many other people with this problem. The only solution seems to be replacing the unit.

So I called Sunbeam (the owners of Mr. Coffee). They claimed they'd never heard of the problem and told me I shouldn't believe everything I read online. They told me my only option was to drive an hour from my home to a service center. I asked if the service center would charge me. They said, if the unit was purchased more than a year ago, even if I received it as a gift less than a year ago, the service center would see that in their records and charge me just to look at it. And they might not be able to fix it. Throughout this I stayed polite and the person I spoke with was quite defensive.

Chalk me up as very unhappy with the dismissive and unhelpful people at Mr. Coffee / Sunbeam.

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First off many of the complaints voiced here are inherent in cheaper expresso machines. Additionally many can be attibuted to not knowing how to the use the machine(this is not a coffee pot and it doesn't work like on either. I've owned 3 different brands over the years and unless your willing to pay in excess of 200.00 then this is what your dealing with. Breakdown as follows:1)not enough clearance beneath beneath brewer(a 2 oz shot glass or expresso cup fits nicely though and ultimately that is the proper way to brew expresso anyhow--not in a coffee cup/jumbo mug) 2)It does leak when brewer is turned off(from brewing head drips)--not really a problem as much as an annoyance(if you remove the brewing head once the expresso is done--no leakage-or leave a cup there for a few minutes to catch the excess). 3)Frother is much more powerful than simililarly priced machines that I've used and works well(note: generally when a frother quits working it's because the milk has hardened in the frothing tip and the steam cannot escape--it must be cleaned regularly!). A big plus is being able to brew 2 expressos at once, a feature that no other machine in this price range offers(most are single brews into one large glass cup which equlas no crema). It boils down to this--for it's price it's a decent value and if you learn how to use the machine it should work as intended and it outclasses any other machine in it's price range. And by the way the face plate is made of metal so I'm not quite sure how the other guys melted off twice from the steam.

Update(1 year later)---Pot still kicking strong after a year of heavy use(1-2 times a day)...Still brews excellent expresso with a nice crema on top(2.5 oz in about 25 secs). As for the frother-a bit on the weak side but good enough--keep it clean though, a dirty/clogged frothing tip will not work--get rid of the black plastic adapter though--it doesn't work. Overall--a real bang for your buck--no reason to blow 300-500 as long as this economy unit is out there....also--use the right grind(about the size of granulated sugar--do not use fine grind ala turkish it will not work properly)and learn how to tamp the coffee, very important to the end result.

Toddy T2N Cold Brew System

This thing makes the most wonderful coffee. I am an admitted coffee snob but was suffering from the acid in the coffee I drank. It all ended with this set up. It makes great coffee that is so darn much easier on your system.

It is not without its minor flaws, however. It is a bit more expensive to make coffee this way. Clean up is a bit difficult. The rim of the plastic upper part could be an inch taller.

I am going to tell how I approached each of those problems, it seems to work well for me.

In using the full pound of coffee and 72 ounces of water called for (It soaks for 12 hours per instructions) the top container is filled to the very brim...water and grounds are easily spilled over the top when pressing the grounds down (again per instructions) to assure uniform wetness.

I now use about 75% of a pound of coffee and 90% of the water called for. I place a #4 basket filter over the round Toddy filter to make for a better flow at the end of the process. I leave it all for about 30 hours and it is at least as strong as that obtained by following the instructions provided. Remember...this is not an exact science! I get more cups of coffee per pound this way and also have much easier clean up and less mess in the making. With the coffee and water mixture about an inch below the top of the container, one simply does not make the spills normally encountered.

When done, I let the concentrate run into the carafe per instructions, but then press the outsides of the grounds and then the center to get all the concentrate out...I do this twice. A surprising amount of extra concentrate is saved in this fashion. I then remove the carafe, place a plastic bag over the top of upper unit and invert it into the bag. The round filter is right at the top and I can easily pick it out.

In the sink I have placed a very large bowl (I use a stainless one) and rinse the parts that need it into the bowl. The grounds do not get away or get down my drain. When done I can just toss the bowl of water and grounds rinsed from the filter, etc. into my back yard and the clean up is basically complete.

I have been using the Toddy for more than 2 years and here are some tips and tricks.

1. You don't have to use 16 oz of coffee to make great tasting cold brew. Fresh dark roast beans do make a difference. I tried pre-ground from a bag and it was so-so, pre-ground from a can had no taste at all.

2. Anything less than 12 oz will cause the lower glass container to overflow when you drain the upper plastic "brew" container.

3. Simply put in 12 to 16 oz of ground coffee like this:

a. 2 cups water before you put in any coffee

b. 6 8 oz ground coffee

c. 3 cups water slowly all around the ground coffee

d. 6 8 oz ground coffee

e. fill slowly to the top making sure to cover all of the grounds.

4. No mater how much coffee you use, anything between 12 and 16 oz, you will almost always have to tap on the top of the grounds with a spoon. This cause the water to rise and soak the dry spots in the grounds. It is helpful to do your tapping before you fill the Toddy to the top. DO NOT STIR the grounds this will clog the filter. You can slowly lower a spoon into the grounds, with the flat of the spoon, and slowly pull up, but do not stir.

5. You can put in a regular industrial size coffee filter along with the regular Toddy sponge like filter to ease clean up, but it does create more compostable waste. Regular coffee filters are too small.

6. I used to reuse the grounds immediately, by putting the coffee solution in another container and then adding water to the already wet grounds, with the plug in of course. Then I waited 12 more hours and doubled my yield. I no longer do this because it made too much coffee and it just sat in the fridge for too long.

7. Let your coffee "steep" cold, of course, for more than 12 hours, say 14, 16, 18 hours, and the caffeine and oil content will increase for a more flavorful cup. After a couple of years, I started going for 24 hours and it makes it even more flavorful.

8. After cleaning up, wet the sponge filter and store it in a plastic food safe bag in the fridge.

9. Tell your family members what the filter is so that they don't throw it away thinking that it is a molding chunk of cheese ;0)

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Now you can taste that smell!

Let me explain: I can't call myself a coffee addict, but I really enjoy a good cup of coffee. Unfortunately, I'm a little let down when I walk into a cafe, smell the rich aroma, then taste a cup of coffee that's either weak, bitter or just too strong. The smell doesn't match the taste, and that's a bummer.

With the Toddy system however, even though I don't get the rich smell of fresh-brewed coffee in the morning, I do get a taste that reminds me of that smell, and that's far more important. Better still, my girlfriend can make her coffee weaker than mine by simply adding less concentrate. Cups of coffee tailored specifically to your taste!

I've tried espresso makers, french press, auto drip and even (dare I say it) instant coffee, and french press is the only type that comes close to the rich flavor. But that said, as I get older (early thirties) acid content becomes a bigger issue for me, and the relatively low acid content in a cup from the Toddy system is more and more appealing.

Now, as much as I like the system I do have a couple of gripes. First, I wish the brewing process was a little more intuitive since it's time consuming and messy. I brewed my coffee almost a week ago, and I'm still finding grounds hidden here and there. Hence, I wish the brew portion into which the grounds go had a lid.

Second, though it's easy to figure out through trial and error, a chart in the manual with more detail info on ratios, coffee types and strengths would be helpful. For example, I used Eight O'Clock coffee (I know, it's not designer coffee, but it tastes pretty good) which isn't quite as full-flavored a roast as some other coffees. Hence, I find I need to add more concentrate to water. I'm curious what the concentrate will be like when I use a stronger/different roast.

Nonetheless, I gave the Toddy system 5 out of 5 because when it's all said and done, a brewer is about the cup of coffee it produces, and hands down this is the best cup of coffee I've ever made at home.

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I have been making iced coffee the cold brew way for a few months with two jars and a strainer. Since I consume so much, I thought I would give the famed Toddy system a try surely so many people couldn't be wrong. Boy, am I sorely disappointed! I open the package and all you get is a cheap plastic pitcher and a glass carafe. $30 for this is way overpriced! Even so, the price would be fine if it did anything different or better than my makeshift system but it is actually worse, way worse!!! Here are my reasons:

1) The cheap plastic brew container has NO COVER and a FLIMSY STAND. I am going to leave an open, wobbly container full of coffee concentrate on my countertop for 12 hours, does this sound like a good idea? Does it sound sanitary? Unless your house is like a museum, probably not. By contrast my $2 jars have lids imagine that.

2) The filters are so sensitive you cannot stir the grounds and water together to fully soak the grounds. What genius designed this filter? They expect you to go through a delicate dance where you add a few grounds, slowly pour the water in a circular pattern, add some more grounds, slowly add some more water, etc. All so the filter doesn't CLOG. Who has time for this!? By contrast, when I put water and coffee grounds into my $2 jar, I drop it in and stir with a spoon imagine that! My $1 strainer and 10 cent regular coffee filter removes all the grounds/residue and leaves me with pure concentrate.

3) You have to keep buying their filters and they aren't cheap! Nowhere had I seen that you had to keep buying their filters they cost $2 each and you can only use them 10 times! And you most likely will end up ordering them over the internet, where you will have to pay shipping. They might end up costing $4 each! Why wouldn't I just keep using my $1 strainer and 10 cent coffee filters, which works just fine and are easier to get!?

4) Their filters require a lot of care. Every time you use them you have to go through some ridiculous process of storing them in a zip lock bag in the fridge. Again, who the heck has time for this?! My $1 strainer takes 5 seconds to rinse and then I stick it on the drying rack and the 10 cent filter I just throw out!

All in all I am very disappointed with the Toddy system. Not only is it way overpriced, but it is worse than a $5 makeshift alternative. I am using the carafe because I might as well and the brew container is now used in my son's bath...

I hope this helps people to see the light about this product.

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This makes, quite simply, the best coffee you've had in your life. Make it any way you want--hot, cold, espresso strength, American strength. I started with expensive coffees but am now quite happily using Folger's Special Roast. The cold-brew process makes delicious coffee even with the cheap stuff. I have become something of a cold-brew-coffee snob: I only drink toddy coffee at home, and when I'm out and forced to drink regular hot-brewed coffee, I cringe and can never finish a whole cup. This is literally a life-changing brewing method. The plastic handle they now include, while not absolutley necessary, is a nice bonus. ONE IMPORTANT THING: don't follow the instructions included as far as the technique for making the coffee, namely, 2 cups then 5 cups then 2 cups water added in stages. Instead, do 3 cups 3 cups 3 cups. When I used the 2-5-2 method, the thing would get clogged every single time, which is a real problem when you're dealing with a large quantity of coffee concentrate. Using the 3-3-3 method, I haven't had a clog or a slow "bleed" once; coffee comes pouring out as if from a firehose once I pull the stopper. I also ensure no dry grounds by, about an hour after initial setup, scraping coffee up from around the edge of the brewer into a pile in the middle, leaving behind a ring of already-dampened grounds at the sides; then I add another 1/2-1 cup of water, pouring it on the pile in the middle so that the grounds level out again and the brewer is really _full_. I've found the Holy Grail of coffee makers and I won't look back my life long.

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6 Cup Espresso Coffeemaker Replacement Gasket

The inside diameter was too large just barely, but too large to brew. So...I bought a new Bialetti with an extra gasket. The Bialetti gasket did fit my old espresso pot, although it is not a Bialetti, it is an import, a rather stylish 6 cup pot I've had for over ten years.

Cuissential SlickFroth 2.0 - Electric Milk Frother, Cappuccino Maker

The SlickFroth doesn't cost as much as other milk frothers, but it seems to perform just as well. I have friends who have used the Aerolatte brand and others using the Ikea model, this Cuissential frother seemed like a nice middle ground to try out. The SlickFroth took some getting used to (which is probably true the first time using any frother), but once you get the hang of it, its like riding a bike. I use the frother a few times a week, especially on the weekends, for a fancy start to the day for the family and it has performed admirably every time. I've attached a video of the 2nd or 3rd time using the SlickFroth (I've gotten much better at making froth since then!)

Note: I purchased this unit, unlike other reviews where a sample was provided.

I have owned 3 different frothers prior to this purchase with prices ranging between $17 and $24, they include: Frother Bonjour, aerolatte, and an Italian one. I purchased the Italian one in Europe while on a trip. My prior experience with this type of frother is to assume a life expectancy of 12 to 18 months. I use the device daily and use it as of quick stir for my sugar and cream as part of my personal coffee bar. I do have a machine that makes froth (micro bubbles); however that is the $40 range (and I am on my second unit), which is pricey.

Pros-

Frother is very fast to reach its full speed (1 second), several other brands take a couple of seconds.

Torque is good and strong, better than the others

Makes good froth compared to the competition, slightly warmer milk/cream is best. Note: My experience is the froth does not last the entire duration while drinking your beverage. I put this in the pros category, because when compared to similar devices this one does a great job.

COST, great value

CON

I would like to see a color that fits my kitchen. Black would be nice.

If this Unit last 12 to 18 months like the rest, this is a good deal for a better product at a better price. It works longer, its an awesome deal. Shorter, well, although I will be disappointed, my cost will be more of a break even situation.

Yes, I would recommend this unit and would purchase again.

Buy Cuissential SlickFroth 2.0 - Electric Milk Frother, Cappuccino Maker Now

This Cuissential Slick Froth milk frother is amazingly easy to use. It's so easy that all you need to do when you get it is wash it and put in two double-A batteries (not included) to have it up and running. The power button is a small silver press-button on the end of the handle, which is easy to reach with your thumb. This makes turning off the frother easy to do with one hand in case you have something like a mug or glass in your other hand.

While each person has their own type of milk or cream they enjoy using with their cappuccinos, for reference, in my video I used cold 2% milk. The wand is long, so even using a tall glass you can reach the milk to make froth. The froth comes out very creamy and decadent. Firm enough that you can spoon it out, but still smooth enough that you can pour it out into your drink.

This frother makes froth just as well as my expensive Capresso frother does, only at a fraction of the price. It's extremely handy in size and doesn't require being plugged into outlets like others do. I love this since in my small kitchen, I only have a limited number of outlets and they are all filled to the max with other kitchen appliances. This small electric frother is perfect when you're limited on space, but want something that works just as well as the more expensive ones. And at such an affordable price, it's hard to beat!

A sample was provided for reviewing purposes.

Read Best Reviews of Cuissential SlickFroth 2.0 - Electric Milk Frother, Cappuccino Maker Here

I was very excited to get this frother and it worked really well whipping up the skim milk I use in my coffee. Unfortunately, the on/off switch is flimsy and stopped working on the 3rd day. I was very disappointed but happy with my ease in returning the product. Amazon gave me a full refund and the manufacturer sent me a new SlickFroth at no charge. The new one works just fine.

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The SlickFroth 2.0 is very easy to use, and the cleanup is simple as well. It turned about half a cup of milk into two cups of foam. Nice for making coffee or tea lattes.