Handpresso Wild ESE in RED

I have had this product for a couple of months now. I have a rich history of trying to find something to take with me on the road to the improve hotel coffee situation. I started with a single cup Melitta electric drip coffee maker (remember those!), a Krups, a Velox, an electric Bialetti moka pot, an Aeropress, etc. I hate to go to a hotel, find a maker with coffee filters and think things are fine until 6 AM in the morning when you realize BOTH filters are de-caf! The hotel coffee makers range from OK to horrible! The coffee too!

I purchased the HandPresso out of desperation! I have a semi-professional espresso machine (VBM) and roast my own beans. I was not impressed with the ESE pods, but am VERY happy with them in the HandPresso! I like the idea I do not have to touch grounds in the morning like with the Aeropress. I carry a cup, some pods, and the HandPresso. I boil water (I am still looking for a very small electric boiling pot, but have an immersion coil), pump up the HandPresso, pre-heat my espresso cup and the water cup on the HandPresso, dump both, re-fill the HandPresso, pop in a pod, and in 25-seconds or so have a great shot of espresso! Got carried away one morning and had 4 in a row! WOW!

This device is extremely well made and and will probably last a long time. It will get field testing from me. Hope the TSA does not think it is some sort of nasty device in my bag!! The coffee pods give it away.

I've had my Handpresso for over six months now. Being Italian-born and raised, I live on a steady diet of espresso and need my fix at least twice a day. My workplace only has a small coffee stand which makes the worst espresso in the world, and there aren't any other coffee shops in a 2 miles radius, so brewing my own was the only way to satisfy my coffee needs.

I previously bought a AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker, which is advertised as an espresso maker but actually produces something closer to a french press drip coffee. Granted, it was cheap but that's pretty much the only good thing about it: it does not make a real espresso and is definitely more high-maintenance and labor-intensive, requiring filters and thorough cleaning after each use. I stopped using it after a couple of days because it was too much of a hassle and the espresso wasn't very good anyway.

The Handpresso on the other hand is simplicity itself. All you need is hot water and ESE coffee pods (I use 150 Lavazza Gran Crema Espresso Pods). I've been using it 2 o 3 times a day for six months and couldn't be happier. Yes, it's a bit expensive but being able to get a decent cup of espresso makes it worthy of the premium price tag for me.

The device is very sturdy and requires only minimal maintenance (just rinse it out) since the coffee and filters are self-contained in the ESE pods. If you have access to hot water, it takes less than a minute to prepare the Handpresso, stick the coffee pod in it, brew a shot of espresso, discard the pod and clean the machine.

Customer support from the distributor is also outstanding -I misplaced one of the little rubber gaskets that come with the Handpresso (the only moving/replaceable part) and wrote to the distributor (Importika) and they mailed me a replacement free of charge. I was very impressed.

If you are an espresso-freak and want a truly portable and easy-to-use device, this is it.

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Initial Impression

I was a bit skeptical that I could get a decent shot of espresso from a portable machine. And while it doesn't develop as much crema as my home machine (and I wouldn't expect it to considering that machine is over $1,500) this thing is a GREAT way for me to get my espresso fix at work.

Value

The build quality of the Handpresso is top notch, commensurate with its price (i.e. you get what you pay for). It should last quite a while. I was pleased to find that it comes with an extra O-ring gasket.

It's already paid for itself in savings I don't buy espresso at Starbuck's anymore. It also IMHO brews a way more drinkable shot than Starbucks ever did they really need to clean their machines and train their alleged "baristas".

Tips

For hot water, I use my office kitchen's hot water dispenser and you really need very hot water to get a good shot, so take some care not to scald yourself. The only downside is I'm getting a lot of requests from co-workers to brew them a shot.

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Pros: Small size. Fun to pump up in the morning; it wakes you up! Nice to use just one espresso pod and neatly toss it away when finished (like a tea bag). Easy to rinse out handpresso and lid after use.

Cons: Clunky shape gets clunkier when you need to leave the unit and lid separate to dry between uses. Leaks in two places: the button valve, the sides of cap. When the handpresso is in the last unit of pressure, it spews crema in a wide radius surrounding the cup, not straight down into your waiting cup. Be prepared for a major spew cleanup. This means that you can not dispense espresso directly into a small 3.5 6 once cup. The bigger the cup the better so you can put the handpresso as low as possible so that the spewing is contained in the cup. However, you will need to pour from large cup to an espresso/latte/cappucino cup. With each cup change, the espresso cools off. (Yes, I heat the milk. Doing everything I can to keep things hot. :)) Handpresso is not cheap. Required espresso pods are costly.

I tried, but it's difficult to explain the ins/outs of the handpresso's cons.

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Like others on here I got the handpresso to make espresso at work. It worked great for about 5 months, then after it would no longer release the pressure unless you let it sit for over 20 minutes. When I emailed importika they informed me they would repair it, but I would be charged 15 dollars for shipping to and from.

This would be a great product, but however sadly it does not last long and the company that sells it does not stand behind their product.

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Saeco S-TG-ST Talea Giro Super Automatic Espresso Machine

I have purchased this coffee maker because I tasted the coffee it makes at a friends party. It was awesome. My friend had his machine for a few weeks and was very excited about it. This is a good looking machine, easy to fall in love with. I immediately went to purchase one. That's when my problems started. and by the way, so did my friend's. If you don't want to read any further, the summary is DO NOT SPEND YOUR MONEY ON THIS MACHINE!!!

Pros: When it works, it makes wonderful coffee

Cons: you need about 10 minutes to read this and let it sink

1. Usability after a few weeks of use it stopped working. The first problem with this machine is its usability specifically, feedback to problems. It has a very capricious operation and the feedback it provides whenever a problem occurs is illegible. It is capricious because, it complains when (a) the water tank is half empty. When it complains you cannot make a decision to override it in other words, when the red light goes on because your water tank is half empty, you cannot continue making coffee until you fill it up again. It takes 2-3 lattes to empty half the water tank in other words, if you have several people for coffee, you can keep yourself busy filling the water tank, forget about polite conversations; (b) after 2-3 lattes you are also forced to dispose off of the used coffee, as it doesn't let you make your own decision, even though the disposal container takes a third of the volume of the machine and has plenty capacity to store 30 times more.

2. Reliability I have this coffee maker for less than three months. It has been in repair 2 times, for a total of over a month. The first time I had to send it for repair after only three weeks of use, when the red light stayed on, no matter what I did. Customer service determined that the machine was faulty and asked me to send it for repair. It came back after 14 days with a note that they found nothing wrong with it! Miraculously it now worked, yet, while the red light problem went away, there was another, new problem. Now when I made espresso, the steam hose was dripping concurrently and profusely, emptying the water tank even faster then it already did under normal conditions. Called customer service again. They diagnosed it as a potential problem with an O-ring and asked me to send the machine for repair again, this time to their center in Ohio. I sent the machine for the second repair on November 14th, and I still don't have it back as of this writing (Dec 9, 2009) you do the math!!! AND YES, THEY HAD TO REPLACE ALL THE O-RINGS IN THE MACHINE, SO PLEASE TAKE A PITY ON YOUR MACHINE AND TRY NOT TO USE YOURS EXCESSIVELY, MAYBE A CUP A WEEK OR SO...

3. Customer Service this is the worst customer service money can buy. It is not that the reps are not nice they are very nice and courteous. However, they are completely ineffective, dis-empowered to make any decisions (everything goes to a supervisor, her manager, and so on). When you're on the phone with the customer service rep, (which they have one of, judging by the wait time of 30 minutes on the average, and the fact that you get the same one every time) it may take 3-4 "waiting in between" times for him to go ask the supervisor how to answer my question or what to do with my request. And it goes on and on. By the way don't call during lunch as you will get a voice prompt politely asking you to call back as the company is out to lunch literally! And yes, if you thought you can get a status of repair on your coffee machine you paid so much for, forget about it. They have no ability to tell you anything except that "its on the workbench" or its not on the workbench... If they promise to call you back to let you know what's going on, because now it has been three weeks and you have called them multiple times, sent them multiple mail messages, etc., don't hold your breath they won't get back to you, guaranteed. And guess what, having gone through all this, they won't send your machine overnight. If you have an issue with this, here is the reply you will get (I got this earlier today):

"I'm sorry that you feel that way. You should have been told that our turnaround right now is roughly 2 weeks. As I stated before, we are the main warranty center for THE ENTIRE UNITED STATES. THIS IS THE HOLIDAY SEASON. WE ASK OUR CUSTOMER TO BE PATIENT WITH US DURING THIS EXTREMELY BUSY SEASON. We ship standard ground. Anything other than standard ground must be paid for by the customer." It reminds me of the movie "My Cousin Vinny", when the whole store got the flu... The "roughly 2 weeks" she quotes has been 4 weeks now, so "roughly" goes a long way with Saeco. It also shows you how busy they are with repair the more they sell, the more they are swamped with faulty coffee machines.

Will update you when I get the machine back. Obviously I would have returned it to Amazon within the first 30 days, had I known what is in store for me. Now I have to keep it. But I am clearly done with Saeco no more buying their stuff. BTW if anyone knows if I have a different option, would love to learn about it.

Update 1/14/2010

And so it goes on and on. The long story from above ended up with Saeco replacing my first machine with a new one. Got back from my vacation few days ago and found a new machine awaiting to be finally enjoyed. My wife and I were very excited. Opened it up, read the documentation and watched the video and started setting it up. I won't burden you with details three days later the new machine doesn't work. Discovered that a selection knob (steam/hot water) is damaged. Sent Saeco support a couple of messages with the images of the broken part. No reply. Called Customer Service several times, waiting 20-40 minutes and ending up being disconnected. So here we are. I guess it's lawyer's time now.

We got this coffee maker for my husband, who likes to drink a lot of coffee and expend practically no effort to prepare it / clean up afterwards. He already knew drip machines were not for him clean up after every use... So he had switched to a French press and got to like the bold flavor but that ended up being too much work still. After that he was only drinking "Turkish coffee" (i.e. dump the grounds in a cup and pour water over them) that was about the right amount of effort but just didn't taste that great. Especially compared to his favorite "Americanos" at the neighborhood coffee shop.

SOO, when I saw this machine I knew we had to get it. We found it almost 50% off at an unnamed dept. store so I have absolutely no reason to justify an expensive purchase by writing a positive review :).

I would not say it's cheaply made at all. The parts where it matters most use high-quality materials. I don't care if my water tank is plastic it seems to be crack resistant all right.

The maintenance could not be easier it cleans itself by running a bit of water through the system before every use (so the coffee never tastes stale) and all you have to do is empty out the grounds drawer and rinse the "brew group" about every week. Very easy.

My husband can make his americanos just by a touch of a button the dispensing of extra water could not be easier. The switch to steam, just as easy. He loves the coffee and so did our guests all major coffee fans.

And here's my favorite part. I didn't even drink coffee before we got this thing but now I will actually make a super light latte now and then. What won me over? The high-pressured, super-effective milk frothing system and the option to reduce the amount and strength of the coffee you brew. I can't think of a better investment and I'm glad I listened to my coffee-fanatic sister about going for the proven Saeco brand.

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Have been using this machine for a week now, and, most importantly, it makes outstanding coffee. I am not a coffee expert, but as a (now former) Starbucks regular, I can testify that I'd prefer coffee from this machine over Starbucks brew any day.

Other things on the good side:

easy to install and simple to operate

very fast, a great cup of coffee is always just a minute away

On the downside:

Although the design is ok, the execution is a bit on the cheap side (for what I'd expect at this price tag) with plastic body and controls not having a feel of precision mechanism

alarm indicators (too add water, add coffee, empty waste tank) are a bit cryptic and it takes an effort to figure out what this machine wants from you, maybe I'll get better at it with time.

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The Talea Giro shows a lot of functional improvements over my 1997 Saeco machine. It makes better coffee, yet I don't believe it will be nearly as reliable and it is positively loaded with clumsy, annoying misfeatures. I'm somewhat disappointed. It is a machine to be endured rather than enjoyed.

I've been fussing with it for a few days and now have it making very good coffee. There is a lot of crema, which will easily float a teaspoon of sugar for five seconds. The coffee is much hotter than it was from the old machine. I make a couple two-shot cups in the morning and espresso at night, and both kinds of coffee are as good as restaurant espresso but not as good as the best hand-pulled shots.

As I said, there are several controls to twiddle. There are some that weren't present on my old machine, and you have to tweak them for some time before decent coffee starts coming out. You control the grind fineness, the water volume, the dose (amount of ground coffee per shot) and the back pressure on the filter. Once you get these lined up to your satisfaction, the shots come out at a reasonable pace regardless of the amount of water that's going to go through the 'puck' of compressed coffee grounds. Once set, these controls seem to stay set.

The machine is much busier than my old one. When you start it up, it rumbles and growls for a few seconds, then there is a cheesy flashing Christmas-light display no doubt meant to assure you there is something going on. After that, it spits a couple ounces of hot water into the drip tray and hums a bit more to itself. All this activity is conducted at a low sound volume, at least. When you push the "brew" button there are all kinds of whirrings and gurgles. The grinder is fairly quiet.

The machine's design is functionally OK it makes good coffee but it has enough usability problems to reduce an industrial engineer like me to helpless laughter. The exterior is not well made. It reminds me of a Fisher-Price doll house with lots of flaps and buttons to push, all somewhat misshapen and all made of plastic that's a little too thin to be worthy of a machine this expensive.

The machine is pretty much cylindrical and it rotates on its feet so you can easily spill your coffee when you turn it to one side or the other as you must, to accord with its cryptic signals, or when you try to push the power button without making a weird Vulcan death-grip pinch on it. The water tank is hidden behind a cheap-looking panel. It should be visible so you do not have to rely on the machine turning on its ! light (its way of saying "something is wrong") to know when to do something, perhaps refill it. On top is the bean hopper. The bean hopper is supposed to hold the beans and allow them to slide into the grinder that's located at its low point. My old machine had a round bean hopper with a conical bottom leading to the grinder a straightforward, silo-like device. The Talea Giro has a wide, shallow bean hopper with a nearly flat bottom so the beans stay perched in clumps instead of sliding into the grinder. You end up herding beans toward the grinder all the time and just so you don't get carried away and try this while the grinder is operating, the cover is now interlocked. However, you can see the beans that aren't going into the grinder. The hopper cover is clear. On my old machine the cover was opaque and that is the way it should be since coffee is degraded by light.

There's another interlock on the water tank door and yet another on the "dregs drawer" where the pre-heat water and the used coffee pucks are ejected. The machine tells you to dump the "dregs drawer" every fourteen shots, no matter whether you've just done it or not, and it won't proceed until you comply.

The half-bakery continues with a feature that was good in concept but was executed with malice aforethought. The drip tray moves up and down. This is wonderful if you have a tall morning coffee cup but short espresso cups. However, the entire mechanism is made of blow-molded cheap. It wobbles to help you spill your coffee when you turn the machine. The water-containing bit of the drip tray pulls off so you can dump it and when you do, you find that it's so light and flimsy that you wonder how it manages to hold a cup up without catastrophic failure. This is going to get broken, perhaps when it's bumped by a wandering kitten, and you need it because all the coffee you have spilled while turning the machine this way and that ends up in it.

I'm extremely unimpressed by the "BMW Designworks USA" effort at building coffee makers. These designers changed a machine that could have a straightforward way of operating into an expensive treasure hunt game, re-inventing things to make them needlessly complex, less useful and more annoying in the process, very much like recent BMW cars. I'm giving the machine three stars because the coffee quality is so good, but Saeco: give the industrial design job back to your old group. They built things that work and last, like my old Saeco machine.

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Great for about 3 months.

Then the steaming wand began to drip endlessly.

I have been trying to contact their support for a week now.

My total hold time has been well into the HOURS.

And I am on hold now as I write this review.

Would I buy this again...NO WAY!

Look for another product with better support.

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BUNN® 10-Cup Pour-O-Matic® Coffee Brewer

I am very pleased with this Bunn Coffee Maker. This nice thing about it is....Hmmmm...Everything. Instead of the water just dripping straight down, the Bunn has a sprayer which sprays all of the coffee equally. There is a long spring that comes with the unit which is used to keep it from becoming clogged from water impurities. Simply unscrew the sprayer head which screws off without any problem, push the spring in the opening of the dripper and it is all cleared out. then of course, run some water through it to get the loose deposits out. The pot for this is nice because as we all know that most of the pots that have been on the market for twenty-thirty years, spill all over when trying to pour into a cup....Not so with the Bunn, it pours very nicely. Also, the one thing that nobody mentioned in their review of this product is THE REPLACEMENT POT. I have already broke a pot on the sink when I was half awake. I had to guess at which backup pot to buy for this unit. The BUNN NCD 10-Cup Black Coffee Decanter is the proper one which is just like the one which comes with the unit. If you are a coffee addict like me, you will appreciate this coffee make. I can't say enough about it. The heck with the 5 stars, I give it 10 stars. By the way, order a backup decanter when you order your coffee maker as I did. That way you will be prepared. I have already purchased 2 more additional decanters.....I hope this helped you.

When I left college, I managed restaurants that had outstanding coffee made with Bunn Brewers. Well, after buying this unit I will never use anything else! It's so much better than any other expensive brands I have owned. I'm sure it's attributed to the heat of the water coming from the pre-warmed tank and the spray head.

The only problem I had was the water came through the original head too quickly, (causing it to overflow), so I had to order the reduced flow head. I was shipped free and quickly from Bunn. Great customer service! Works great now.

Get this and a pump top thermal pot to keep your coffee warm and enjoy!

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These are the best coffee makes out! I think every home should have one! I wouldn't know what to do if they would ever stop making them! You have coffee in 3 mins. & it makes great tasting coffee! You can't go wrong with one of these! I do think the price is high cause when they first came out I only paid $32.00 for mine.

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I bought this Bunn to replace an older one I had for years. I love this model, but the water heater is very noisy. I've just learned to accept it...at least it doesn't last very long (the noise, that is)!

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Worsk very good. I was originally concerned about it being "on" all the time, but that issue was quickly resolved pour water in, replace the Decanter, close the lid and BAM, you have coffee/tea/hot water in 3 minutes just as it claims. Great product .. this one was bought as a gift for my parents, but I'm over there and use it almost daily too. Probably will be buying one for myself ... or maybe someone will gift one for me (hint! hint!)

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Gaggia 102534 Espresso-Color Semi-Automatic Espresso Machine, Red

I had a Breville Cafe Roma, a good machine, but one that I would regard as entry level. Although the Breville had no trouble making espressos with a nice layer of crema, the (recently upgraded) steaming wand was still a weak spot. Also, there's no hot water dispenser on that model.

After extensive research, I decided to purchase the Gaggia Espresso Color. Although no reviews of this model were available, I really liked the price, the color, the overall design, and the favorable reviews I had seen for other machines in the Gaggia line. This machine is compact, stylish, and includes elements found on higher end machines like a commercial portafilter, a stainless steel boiler, and a Pannarello attachment for the steaming wand. Also, I kept coming across the same brand names over and over again with a sterling reputation in the espresso world, and Gaggia is one of those names.

I am very happy with my Gaggia. I really feel that it is a cut above my old Breville. The insides of the machine (the boiler, the heating elements, the valves) are top notch. It is a very efficient machine which does a great job and is worth every penny.

There is a learning curve with this machine because the commercial portafilter does not contain a pressure mechanism like the filters in thermablock systems. The requisite pressure for properly extracted espresso is very dependent on the fineness and consistency of the grind and the pressure used to tamp the coffee. This machine is all about the ritual of making espresso, meaning you need to pay attention to details like prepping and preheating the machine, and minding the coffee grind and the tamp. The reward, however, is an excellent espresso that trumps what is sold at the typical coffee shop. The Pannarello attachment to the steaming wand removes a lot of the guesswork for making steamed milk and foam. The foam I have had from this machine is dense and luscious and makes my latte feel like a mini-vacation;-). The espressos and lattes I have had from this machine far exceed what I had from the Breville. They're also a lot better than what I (used to) get from Starbucks. Thanks to my Gaggia, I can now get my espresso fix at home (and save beaucoup bucks at the same time)!

We own this machine for 2 years now, and, just like other reviewers noted, it was fast to develop a leak. Gaggia customer support convinced me that it is not their fault, as the gaskets wear out over time. They made me pay excessive fees for the gasket and shipping, and, to my surprise, it did not even fix the problem. However, here is a cheap 25 cent fix... The problem, actually, is in the way they design their product it has cheap plastic parts that support the portafilter on the group head, and they fail pretty fast. At the point of the failure it is not worth fixing it. However, you can take the basket (the metal part that you put your coffee beans into) out, and put a rubber band on it, so that it goes between the edge of the portafilter and the top of the basket. You might have to be careful when choosing the size of the rubber band, and make sure you choose something that is meant to withstand the heat and won't release any harmful materials into your drink (it has no contact with coffee, so it should not.... but still...) You could also look for some rubber ring. The rubber ring should go into the narrow groove on top of the basket as if it belongs there... This will lift the basket a little bit, and make it seal with the gasket. And here it goes great espresso, with lots of crema. Of course, seeing the failures of the engineers to properly test the device before putting it on sale, I would not recommend anyone this product. However, if you have it already, this might extend the life of the useless coffee maker and remind you of the potential that this machine has...

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I live in seattle, Wa, and I live for coffee. I received this Gaggia Espresso Color for christmas this last year (2009) and there is definitely a learning curve... especially going from your regular drip coffee to espresso :-) After reading reviews and tutorials on ''how to pull a perfect shot'' I went to the store, bought a few bags of coffee and got to work. Lets back up a few steps though.

The machine: the machine is beautiful. Its heavy and sturdy, its made with quality parts-the portafilter is heavy like it should be-definitely not a chincy machine. The only quaff I have is the red outer shell is plastic. I would have preferred a metal casing, but thats my only issue. The drip tray is removable and easy to clean. The steaming wand does a wonderful job with heating things relatively quickly-not starbucks fast, but it does the job! The on/off button is in the back of the machine. A little weird, but not difficult to find. This machine is pretty quiet except for the actual brewing part-luckily that takes less than a minute. you get multiple baskets for the portafilter-double, single, and "pod". The seal does NOT leak-the only time it ever has, was when I filled the portafilter with entirely too much coffee and screwed it on too tight. That was operator error, not a faulty machine. You also get a plastic scoop and a plastic tamp-both work well for being plastic. I've never had issues! You will have to buy your own shot glasses, frothing pitcher, and frothing thermometer though.

Review: I noticed that the grind of the coffee needs to be pretty fine to make it pull a good shot-I actually have a cheap Black and Decker blade grinder and it works just fine. You just have to really grind it fine! I also noticed that the roast needs to be Medium-more Brown than Black. I was using a DARK roast and all my shots came out like Tea or Tar. When using Tulley's Medium Breakfast roast, I get a perfect shot-lots of crema and all! tamping isnt too difficult. fill up the portafilter almost all the way with coffee, tamp it down till its packed pretty firmly (not using like ALL your weight, but make sure its solid.). This is an easy machine to use after you practice a while... i'm so so happy with it!

step by step:

1. make sure there is water in the machine.

2. turn on the machine with empty portafilter in place.

3. start grinding your coffee

4. wait for both green lights to be lit

5. place 2 shot glasses under portafilter, and push BREW button to fill with clean, hot water.

6. take portafilter out, and fill with coffee fine coffee grinds. Tamp. Replace portafilter onto machine to keep warm.

7. steam your milk-fill the frothing pitcher halfway with milk, make sure the brew button is OFF! (it its on when you twist the brewing knob, hot water will come out instead of steam!) twist the steam knob with the wand IN the milk. Heat. when finished, put a towel over the end of the wand, twist the knob once more to get a short blast of steam to clear the lines.

8. get your cup or mug and put some flavorings in there if you want.

9. dump the hot water out of the shot glasses from earlier. replace them under the machine, and push "Brew" (make sure the steam knob is OFF!).

10. after shot is done brewing, dump it into mug with flavorings and mix! add your milk, and wahhlahh! Coffee!

make sure you clean your portafilter completely and turn off the machine :-)

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I'd agree with Kaden22 This is a great machine but you have must preheat it according to the instructions, use a quality bean grinder, and get a correct tamp.

I too thought the machine had bad seals as water came pouring out every time I used it. It was very frustrating the first few times I tried it. Yet, I learned other espresso experts that you need a good conical burr grinder. So don't waste your time unless have a decent grinder. Equally important, you need to get the right temperature prior making a shot. If you follow the manufacturers lead, you will you let some water through the pump and then let it preheat for about 8-10 minutes. One more step is to run a tad more H2o to preheat through the filterthen you are ready to tamp your coffee into the filter. Now run the machine et voilayou have a great cup of espresso.

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The first six months were heaven...no more expensive latte's at Starbucks. Then the filter gasket began leaking. I had been cleaning the area after every use. Finally, I ordered another gasket. It was a difficult installation. It worked but the leaks began after one month. They suggest that you clean excess coffee grounds from the filter gasket and I did so religously. I have given up. Do not purchase this machine unless you want a leaker. The water cascades into your latte container along with the brewed coffee, diluting the product to the point you must discard.

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Lavazza Point Ep850 Aroma Point Espresso Machine

I bought this machine for lattes at my office. I got a cartridge system because I thought it would be cleaner than grinding beans & disposing of the puck. I needed a machine that takes little space, and I wanted to drink Lavazza since that's what I use at home. The cost was also a reason for selecting the 850; I didn't want to spend a lot for it.

I thought I got a defective 850 the first time I used it because the steam wand didn't produce steam long enough to heat the milk past 60 degrees. I contacted the Amazon seller but got no response. The manual that comes with the 850 wasn't helpful. I buy my Lavazza beans & cartridges from AromaCafeCulture.com & called them for help; they were out of stock for the 850 which is why I bought it at Amazon. They helped me get the 850 to work even tho I had not purchased it from them.

When you use the 850, you need to press the "on" button on the far left; it stays red to show the 850 is turned on. The middle button is the shot button & it lights up when it is ready. (You press & release the middle button. The 850 pushes water thru the cartridge until you press the button again. I use a Rattlewear shot pitcher to measure the espresso.) The button on the right is the steam button. To get steam, you press this button continuously until it lights. You then rotate a knob on the right of the machine to activate the steam wand BUT you need to press the lighted steam button the entire time you want to use the steam wand. If you don't keep your finger on that button, you'll get 45 seconds of steam. If you keep your finger on the button, the steam continues until you get the milk to 150 degrees & nice froth. The 850 will produce enough steam to heat & froth milk, but it takes longer than a machine at a coffee shop. Also, the amount of steam produced will vary while you steam & the light may turn off while you steam, but the 850 still steams while the light is off. Yes, it does not steam like Starbucks, but I also didn't spend $4000 on a machine either.

I can't judge the reliability of the 850 since I've had it for 2 weeks. It will pay for itself in 4 months.

I make vente lattes, so I use two cartridges for a serving. I get 2 oz of espresso per cartridge and steam 3/4 C of milk; this fills my Starbucks aluminum mug. Net cost is 20 cents with 8.8 cents for the cartridges. Not bad when compared to the coffee shops & they don't use Lavazza beans, so I'm also getting better tasting lattes while saving money.

I had the good fortune to be in the paddock at a couple of Formula 1 races. I spent a lot of time around the Ferrari garage and that was the first time I saw a Lavazza espresso maker. I was fascinated by how fast and easily the mechanics and others on the team could pull a shot. They chugged the dark brew in one or two sips and were immediately back to work The machine they were using was the pro model (I think it's over a grand!) so getting one was out of the question. Then I discovered this one it uses the same high quality coffee pods but that's just about where the similarity ends.

The not so good news First, the pro model has a lot more features, the most important being that it shuts the flow of coffee down automatically, guaranteeing a more precise shot. Alas, blessed by a Champagne taste but living with beer budget, this unit was all I could afford.

The good news The unit is beautiful ( it is, after all, Italian) and it's not really difficult to use. Make sure you turn the thing on well in advance of your need for Java. It takes a bit of time to warm up. After the green "ready" light comes on, you unfasten the pod holder and insert your favorite capsule (pretty simple). Then you press the green button, watching carefully to make sure you don't over fill your espresso cup. (Too much water and you get what the Italians call "dish water".

When it's reached the level you want, you press the button to stop the flow. The smell, by the way, is wonderful. If you want some frothed milk, you have to press the third button (NOT THE THIRD BUTTON!) until it lights up. Bring a container with cold milk over by the wand (on the right) and twist the knob behind it.

Why only 4 stars I really like this unit and given the price, I think it represents good value. However, there a few little things that annoy me. The steam wand shoots out water when you first use it so you have to remember to clear the pipes into a container before frothing anything. Also, the instructions are pretty rudimentary. They never really tell you how much coffee you should be "pulling" I have been estimating but as an ex chemistry teacher, I would love to have better specs. Finally, unless you use Lavazza espresso paper cups (yes, they sell them), pulling a shot into a room temp espresso cup will result in a luke warm cup of coffee. You need to heat up the cup (use the steam wand or dunk the cups in hot water). Also, if you want to add a dribble of milk, the small shot will get pretty cold best to warm the milk first is my suggestion.

Not a rave and not a rant a decent machine that fits my 4 or 5 espresso a week habit.

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Just received this machine on 12-31-10. I know it has only been 2 days of using it but i love it. It pulls a good shot of espresso. It may not be great,but it is good. I had a Gaggia classic many years ago. That pulled a great shot if you did everything right. I'm getting lazy in my old age and want an easier way to make my espresso. i have always loved Lavazza ground espresso coffee. I even use it in my Bunn coffee maker. I almost went with the Nespresso D90,but i am happy i went with this instead,partly because i know that i will get great coffee from Lavazza. Oh yeah it also looks great on my countertop!

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The cost of this machine is good compared to some of the other Lavazza machines.Still creates a quality shot of espresso, but the only disappointment is everything is so manual. great shot though!!

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Expobar Office Control Espresso Machine

I have owned this machine for three years and have never regretted it. Ok, I regretted it a little when I had to get it repaired once, but it is a straightforward and simple machine, with a double boiler so you don't have to switch temperatures between making espresso and steaming milk.

I've owned this machine for over a year now and it has been a workhorse. There are days that I pull 3 triple shots (using a triple basket and bottomless portafilter) a day just for me. Then there are days where I have company over and can quickly make lattes, mochas, and americanos for my guests in very little time. I use this with a Nuova Simonelli MDX grinder (flat burr). I've owned cheap machines in the past with single boilers and pressurized portafilter baskets, but this thing blows them away. If you are looking for an e61 HX machine on a budget, look no further.

My routine is this:

pull 4-5 ounces of water as a flush, but also to heat my two 2.5 ounce shot glasses.

dry the portafilter (i use a triple basket)

grind 18-21 grams of coffee into portafilter, distribute (north, south, east, west), tamp ~ 30 lbs

insert portafilter and pull 2.5-3 oz shot, stopping the pull when "blonding" starts, around 35 40 seconds (22-30 for a double shot).

I would recommend getting a different steam tip. I found both a 3-hole and a 4-hole tip from another site, Chris's Coffee. The 3-hole is a nice improvement where I can go from about 60-seconds to steam ~ 8 oz of milk, down to about 35 seconds. The 4-hole tip is even quicker, though it takes much more practice to get latte art quality microfoam. Using the 4-hole tip, I can steam 8 oz of milk in around 20 seconds and the steam power is amazing. The problem with the original single-hole tip, is that it restricts the steam too much in my opinion. It makes it easy to make great foam, but it takes too long.

Overall, this is a great machine. It is built like a tank and the programmable buttons are a nice feature. I really like the auto backflush clean cycle that it has. Eventually, I'll probably have to send it to a shop to get descaled, but that is the case with an HX machine, from what I've read. Anytime you are repeatedly heating water, it's going to require a descale at some point. I have a whole-home water softener and RO water at the tap, but I still use the included filter / softener in the water tank to cut down on the scale.

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I have owned this machine for 8 years and for 6 it was working. Overall this is a good machine. It is not a easy machine to repair with its enclosed design. It is very good for what it was designed for: fitting a small area and keeping the cups warm for use. Its greatest feature for our family and office use has been ease of use and the 'quad' espressos. The largest issues are fluctuations in heat at the group head resulting in variations in quality of the brew. (The 'heat' eventually will fry the nice push button controls.) Getting repairs are expensive and hard to get in some areas.

Learn as much as you can about the machine and how it operates and clean and flush it regularly (the manual and paperwork it comes with is worthless). Replace the cheap plastic water container (the least they could have done was include a stainless container over the plastic) with a direct plumbing line and filter will save a lot of grief. The container will run out of water more often than you think, so check and fill often. The grind is very important in this machine, too fine and you'll have a long day of cleaning it for their is a second area behind 'the group' that will retain the powdered nectar and clog a secondary screen. If unaware, you will be buying new pumps and relays and such.

The baseline question to ask is the convenience and ease of use for this time (5-6 years) worth 1200 dollars to you? If it is, Is the 700 dollar repair also worth continuing down the road with the unit (you will grow to either love or hate) at that 6 year mark? If this is your office machine, it probably is, but if it is for home use, you may want to consider the above.

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