Primula PES-3312 12-Cup Aluminum Stovetop Espresso Maker

Very disappointed in this. I bought the 3 cup version and it worked perfectly, but 3 cups is one big cappuccino for me. I ordered the 12 cup because I used one while staying in the Dominican Republic. It was great. Enough coffee for me and my husband, with enough left over for an iced coffee in the afternoon.

I should have known something was wrong as soon as I opened it. The stem of funnel that holds the coffee is much narrower than either the 3 cup I bought or the 12 cup I used in the DR. The first time I used it, it was fine, but every time since then it makes about 2/3 as much as the 3 cup. 1/3 the water travels up the stem. The coffee just tastes burnt.

I've gone on line to find a replacement. There are none to be found.

Had handler broeken had to return it...

Incon venient.

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I purchased this as a gift for my mother. It arrived a few days before my trip to see her and we opened it and used it together.

From the start, there was slight leaking around the band where the top screws to the bottom portion of the coffee maker. It was not too significant but I was keeping my eyes on it.

Towards the end of the week, unbeknownst to me, mom put the components in the dishwasher and ran it. The coffee maker was ruined. All of the exterior finish washed off, leaving it a dull, pewter color. When we tried to wipe out the interior by hand, the sponge came out nearly black and continued to shed its surface material to the point that we gave up and felt it would not be safe to use.

There was absolutely no material provided with the coffee maker, either on the box or inside with regard to any instructions for care or maintenance. While I would not personally have run it through the dishwasher, the impact of doing so was significant and made the coffee maker seem to be unsafe to use further.

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Delfino Intelligent Coffee & Spice Grinder

I've only used this Toastess coffee grinder twice so far and to be honest its the first coffee grinder I've ever owned. I did a lot of research before deciding on one for coffee beans for my French Press. But the Toastess' price, 12 cup capacity, and the grind settings helped me finally make the decision. I definitely like that you have the option to set the consistency of the grounds the directions recommend one notch above coarse for a French Press and that seems to be sufficient for the press. Removing the lid and cup to clean are really easy; although, the grounds, even at a coarse level seem to get pretty sticky under the blade after running the beans through. Best to use some sort of brush to wipe and clean out the grounds. Also, the cord winder on the bottom is definitely convenient and I like its small footprint on the counter.

One thing I have noticed as slightly strange, is when I remove the stainless steel bowl to clean, there always seems to be a few crumbs of grounds that somehow find their way through out the bottom, around the mechanism that rotates the blades. Really weird must be escaping somewhere around the blade in the bottom of the stainless steel cup. Not a big deal to just brush out with a rag, but odd nonetheless.

Another thing I was concerned about was the noise, and this isn't nearly as loud as I had anticipated. It also has a self-timer, so once you push "Start," it only last 4 or 5 seconds and it turns itself off, so there's no guess how long you should hold the button down.

I have no comment yet on how long the motor will last of course, but I guess I'm not really expecting it to last forever seeing as how it was only $40.

So, for the casual coffee drinker who likes to use their own beans, and isn't snobby about having a machine by a fancy manufacturer, I definitely recommend this machine.

I've had a number of coffee grinders over the years and this is the best of the blade grinders.

A number of features make this unit a joy to use. It has a cord winder built into the base and cord management is a breeze. And it has both a timer and a control for the coarseness of the grind. But best of all, it has a removable bowl & blade so that they can be washed either by hand or in the dishwasher. This means you can easily and safely grind spices or coffee and clean it thoroughly so that there is no cross contamination of flavors or odors when switching from one job to another!

It works very well as well as any blade grinder we have ever used. It's built sturdily and it is a bit larger than the typical, small, simple blade coffee grinders.

It is noisy when grinding hard spices like whole pepper corns, but that's a minor item.

This is really versatile!

Jim

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well if you like to grind your beans for Espresso this is the grinder for you I have owned several and by far this beats them all I wish I had found this one long ago it is all most automatic well you do have to put in the beans ;o} you can set the amount of beans and how fine a grind you want and in less that than 60 sec you have the correct grind no powder and the grind is cool (in other blade grinders the grind gets hot and loses some flavor) with other units you have to guess how long to grind all the other units i have had will make a lot of powder as much as 1/2 of the load not this one it's seems to be the blade design I would assume it would also do great on regular size grind the uint can be set from corse to fine and it feels soild and it has a manual cord winder in the bottom I like the idea of "Manual" it seems the first thing that breaks is the "Auto-winder" This is a six star unit

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It worked great the first time I used it and I would have given it five stars. For the second use my wife tried it but it did not work; it was totally dead. Since being not one to return things for a refund, I took it apart for troubleshooting. What I found were Two springy contacts that probably were not making electrical contact so I bent them out for better electrical contact. That solved the problem. I recommend this gadget for DIY people only otherwise have a favorite fixer in mind for a possible fix.

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I have used an inexpensive ($20) Mr. Coffee grinder for a number of years. It has minor annoyances as others have noticed such as, the difficult cleaning, having to hold down the lid for grinding, the cord storage, etc. So, when I saw this, I thought it would make my life a little easier (I am a retired male, who wants to make my life as comfortable as possible).

Now that you have the background, here is what I have found. First the mechanism that you wind the cord back into the unit is stuck and won't unwind or rewind. I am fearful of forcing it, as I am I may break it. This means the cord length isn't adjustable. Luckily, it is stuck at just the right length for my use.

My next issue is that it has grinding settings for 2,4, 8 or 12 cups. Yep, you got it; I brew 6 cups for my self every morning. That simply means I will have to play with the grinding settings for me to get the correct grind fineness.

On the plus side, it cleans easily and I like that once you push the button it grinds and stops automatically.

In addressing other reviewers comments regarding the use of the unit, it states in the directions do not use for more than a minute at a time and let it cool down for 4-5 minutes after each use. This would mean that if you were grinding a fair amount of coffee,let's say for a week or so, (I grind only one pot at a time) you would have to stop and wait for the motor to cool or risk burning out the motor.

The directions also state not to grind any spices that have moisture as the machine is not designed for this use (including things like cinnamon sticks).

Finally, the directions state that you can freeze coffee beans for up to two months and the unit will grind frozen beans. I have a distrust of any coffee grinder manufacturer that states you can or should freeze coffee beans. There are plenty of websites that will tell you why this is not a good idea.

Overall, I will keep the unit and play around with the settings. However, my trusty, old, cheap Mr. Coffee will be kept in reserve.

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Mr. Coffee BVMC-EL1 Cafe Latte

I have been using the Mr. Coffee BVMC-FM1 20-Ounce Frappe Maker for quite some time, but have always wished that I could have something warm for winter. I did purchase a hot chocolate maker, but wasn't really happy with it. Back to Basics CM300BR Cocoa-Latte Chrome 32-Ounce Hot-Drink Maker it is very nice for a crowd, but not so great for one person.

So this particular item has made a big hit in my kitchen. It is easy to use, easy to set up, and I can use my own ingredients and have as many lattes as I want. The only problem I have had so far is that I have had to buy more milk ... I was making too many lattes.

As you will see in the video, the pot contains its own heating element. There are several things to consider. First, it automatically shuts off and never burns the milk. At the same time, it can't be cleaned in the dishwasher (although I never clean my coffee pots that way), and second, if the pot is broken, it cannot be cheaply replaced. So there are both good points and bad points.

In the video, I use the Torani Sugar-Free Syrup, Chocolate, 25.4-Ounce Bottles (Pack of 3) which I actually purchased from Amazon in a Gold Box deal last year. I put in one tablespoon, but if you prefer a sweeter latte, you can use a package of equal or two tablespoons. You can also use "real" chocolate, but as a diabetic, one of the key reasons I enjoy my own makers, besides saving money, is being able to make my own choices.

Besides the chocolate latte I made in the video, I have also made a number of recipes that were included. The pumpkin spice one was awesome. I had purchased one at a local shop the morning my machine arrived, and I found this one to be much better. I used the pumpkin pie spice and a tablespoon of pumpkin, plus a package of Equal, along with the milk.

When the snowstorm hit, I made hot chocolate, using the heat and froth setting, and made an awesome hot chocolate. I made a double, and after I finished my first cup, I hit froth and heat again, and had another perfect cup!

In fact, I have learned that I might as well make two cups when I start, since I always go back for more. Since the pot does not remain heating, the milk doesn't burn, and a quick "heat and froth" warms it quickly. Because of the milk, I wouldn't leave it sit for long, but I tend to drink my first cup pretty quickly.

Now that it is cold, I am grateful for the ability to make my own WARM drinks. While I've only had this one a short time, my Frappe maker has lasted through nearly two years of usage, so I anticipate this one will last a long time as well.

The video will show you exactly what this machine does, so if you are a coffee gourmet, you can decide if this is the kind of machine you want in your kitchen.

For those who are concerned about cleaning, I normally wipe it out with a soapy sponge right after I use it. If I want a deeper cleaning, I put a dab of dish soap in it and put it on heat and froth ... it cleans up beautifully.

EDITED ...

While unpacking, I ran across something I used to use for a similar effect, but had long ago forgotten. If you aren't quite ready to splurge on the price of an entire machine, you might want to consider the Aerolatte Milk Frother, Satin. This little gadget will froth your milk, or combination of coffee and milk, or any other combination, and runs about 1/5 of the price of the latte maker. Plus it fits in your drawer.

While I enjoy the convenience of having the machine (turn it on, come back), some of you might want to consider the frother itself. It is identical to the one in the machine.

Overall, I am satisfied. Pros: There are many different variations/recipes you can make which is useful, and it also makes good hot chocolate/chai lattes. The drinks come out extra hot (a plus for me since I take my drinks on the go) and they are easy to make. It makes the equivalent of two 16 oz lattes. Machine is comparatively affordable to others like it. Cons: I was disappointed to find out that it does not make a true latte. What this machine makes is properly called a cafe au lait. The difference is that a latte uses steam-driven espresso, while a cafe au lait uses drip coffee (which this does). Although some people may argue the difference, if your a hardcore espresso fan you know, as an au lait lacks the intensity of espresso. Also, the frother is not steam-driven it basically whisks the milk to foam. This is not suitable for creating the silky coffeehousestyle foam that many are used to. The only other way I can think to make it better is to make it programmable. As an espresso lover, I have a full-fledged espresso maker at home (which takes time to make drinks) and I bought this to save time and money on my daily drinks. It does do that. It works like it says it does and although it's not the best latte i've had, i've certainly had worse.

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As soon as I received this, I put it into service and made a double serving of the basic cafe latte. It came out delicious with lots of foam. My boyfriend raved about the cafe latte; which is unusual for him. In fact, he raved about it even more than I did and I thought it was very good. We did not lack for froth--perhaps because I used skim milk which froths well. When the brewing cycle was complete, I just poured our drinks and used a spoon to scoop out copious amounts of froth on top of the drink.

What I love about this machine:

This sleek black appliance is absolutely gorgeous and looks great on the counter.

It froths very well if you use SKIM MILK.

Operating the machine is easy. The unit also includes lines on the carafe and in the water reservoir for a single or double serving size. Just follow the recipe(s) and instructions that came with the book.

The coffee basket is easily removable for washing.

I can also make hot chocolate and tea lattes with this Mr. Coffee.

It comes with a recipe pamphlet for 14 coffee lattes, 3 tea lattes, and 3 hot chocolates.

What I don't like:

You can't submerge the carafe or carafe lid in water. This means you must be careful when washing this by hand. I don't use a dishwasher, but I can see where some might not like that the carafe and lid cannot be washed in a dishwasher.

There are no instructions in the manual on how to use the heat/froth only button. I discovered that once the brew cycle was complete, if I wanted more heat and froth I had to turn the unit off after it finished brewing, put the button into the heat/froth only mode, and then turn it on again to get this part to operate. I didn't need to use this cycle at all but I wanted to see what would happen and how this cycle operated. I could see where this would come in handy if the latte had cooled for a while before pouring.

I wish this Cafe Latte maker came with a reusable mesh basket instead of having to purchase a size 4 (Mr. Coffee brand recommended) basket-type coffee filter for this unit. I already own Mr. Coffee BVMC-FM1 20-Ounce Frappe Maker which comes with a reusable mesh basket. I wish the manufacturer had decided to supply a mesh insert for this unit instead of requiring paper filters. This is my biggest negative.

Even if the brew basket is seated correctly inside the unit, once the latte cycle is complete and the carafe is removed, there was always a small amount of water that trickled down the base of the unit. I experienced this during all my brew cycles (3 in total) and the reservoir was not overfilled and the basket was seated as it should be.

Overall, I think this is a good machine for latte lovers. It's not as great as their frappe machine (which is a 5-start product), but it is still a quality product.

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I was never a regular coffee drinker (a half a cup now and then when I need a pick me up), however, once I tried a Starbucks' latte I was hooked. I tried lattes from other coffee shops and they weren't as good. Since I didn't have money to fritter away on a daily latte habit I did some research on the Internet to find out how to make a Starbucks' knockoff.

After I found out all the stuff I would need and the time it would take to prepare, I decided to see if they sold latte machines. I came across Mr. Coffee's machine and after reading the great reviews I promptly purchased one. This is definitely the way to go; it is as easy as using a regular coffee machine, < 5 minutes to brew. It is also an attractive appliance that looks nice on my counter. It appears to be durable and easy to clean (doesn't bother me that I can't put in a dishwasher). I've been using it for three weeks now with no problems.

To ensure that I came as close as possible to replicating the taste of a Starbucks latte, I was sure to purchase quality ingredients and appliances. I used espresso beans from Costco that are roasted by Starbucks, Torani brand syrups, 2% milk, and raw sugar (my preference). Through my Internet research I found out that coffee grinders with burr blades grind consistently even granules, and that the beans should be ground just prior to brewing. I also bought an airtight non-transparent container to store the beans.

Here's how I made my lattes (IMO, tastes as good, if not better, than Starbucks):

Measurements for 8 oz. latte (can only make two cups at one time):

4 oz. milk, 4 oz. water, 3 tbs. finely ground beans, 2 tbs. syrup (my preference is one tbs. each hazelnut and vanilla), and 2 tsp. sugar.

Instructions (see manual for parts' list and assembly instructions):

1. Grind beans on espresso (extra fine) setting, place granules in filter, place filter in plastic basket, and then place basket in top part of machine.

2. Pour water in top part of machine (area to right of basket).

3. In glass carafe, add milk, syrup, and sugar. Attach lid with frothing wand to carafe.

4. Flick selector switch to café latte, and then press down on the on/off switch.

5. When the process is complete, the machine shuts off. Flip on/off switch up to remove carafe.

6. Pour liquid into cup and spoon foam on top. Sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

I've also made hot chocolate with this appliance using the heat and froth function, however, the milk does not foam up as much as it does when making lattes. To make a decadent hot chocolate, I recommend using Ghirardelli Premium Hot Cocoa with milk. Once you try it, you won't to go back to watery cocoa; I never have.

A latte when you wake up and hot chocolate before bed, life is sweet. Enjoy!

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Fun with coffee machines!

I really don't need another coffee maker of any sort. For one thing, I live in a very small house with an exceptionally cramped kitchen, and very limited counterspace. But something about this item said, Adventure.

I am not sorry I got it. The Mr Coffee Cafe Latte machine just about made a place for itself in my kitchen. It has a neat look to it; all burnished steel and shiny black components. I am far from being a genius with technology, but the instructions on rigging up the latte machine and putting it into service were clear and to the point, and I had a steaming cup of frothy latte in very short order. It was fun to hear and see the little whisk do its thing, and the end result was worth it all.

The lid holding the whisk cannot be immersed or put into a dishwasher, and I didn't put the pot under water either, but both clean up easily by hand.

This nifty little deal is a great addition to my kitchen and will see a lot of use. Recommended for ease of service and quality of product.

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Lello 1375 Ariete Cafe Prestige Coffee Maker

I will give this five stars. Not the same five stars I would give something along the lines of a Gaggia Carezza mind you. This five stars should be taken as a rating relative to its price. If this were the same cost of the Gaggia I would probably have to give it a 3.5

I should note I prefer americanos, cappuccinos, lattes, etc over straight espresso. I bought this for a second house. If I were to be drinking a lot of straight espresso I would have bought the Gaggia.

One important detail which is not in the description is this unit will use ESE pods. The portafilter has inserts for single and double shot amounts, as do most machines. The single shot has a small ledge around it which is designed so it may be used for both single shots and ESE pods, with a pod fitting perfectly into the area created by the little ledge. This is a big advantage for those days when you are in a rush.

Construction. This thing is solid. When I ordered it I thought it would not really be steel, just chromed plastic. Well it is stainless steel. And the finish is beautiful. This has to be the most impressive looking espresso machine this side of $300. One plus of being so heavy is you don't have to hold it down when tightening the portafilter. Something I never liked about the lighter units.

Despite the description noting a rather weak looking 950-watt heater, I was pleasantly surprised by the speed at which it warms up. This had worried me at first, but now that I have it I have discovered no reason to be disappointed. While using the steam feature to froth it has enough power to be ready to pull a shot immediately with no need to wait. And after pulling a double shot it seems like it is ready in seconds for the next shot, well before I have time to remove the portafilter and get it cleaned and reloaded.

Another impressive feature here is the warming plate on the top of the unit. Once again, as with the 950-watt rating, I was expecting a rather weak showing on the warming front. Wow, another shocker. It works! I turn the unit on in the morning and prepare my first drink. Then I leave it on. Make sure at this point you clean the portafilter and place it on the unit empty. By the time you roll around to getting your second cup, the cups on top are nicely heated and the portafilter is warmed up as well.

The drip cup and water reservoirs are quite generous. The drip cup underneath the bottom plate even has an ingenious little pop up float near the back which raises with the water level. Instead of constantly pulling up the plate, you can tell if it is getting full by simply looking to see if the float is starting to pop up. What a nifty little feature!

There is one drawback. The portafilter is what Ariete calls their "Thermocream" design. The problem with this design is it is created to produce a "crema like" crema on the top of every cup. This somewhat hides whether or not you are doing your job right and the crema is a product of a good grind, good tamp, and good pull. I prefer the crema production to be a function of how well I doing my job, not a function of some little device that makes stuff that looks like crema even if it is not.

I would like to add that the Group Head (the thing the portafilter attaches to when you put it on) is not solid metal. Parts of it are plastic. But given the price I am not willing to deduct a star for this (or the Thermocream feature) as I would if I were comparing to the $200 machines.

This is an amazing espresso machine for the money. I wanted to run it through its paces for a few months before reviewing it. After almost 3 months and over 100 double shots, I am ready. I am a straight shot drinker; I never knew how smooth and intense espresso could be until I got this machine. Crema is good. I subsequently tried a few offerings from espresso bars and found them completely disappointing; I doubt I will visit another espresso shop any time soon.

If you have problems with the machine, call Lello Appliance: 201-939-2555. The one year warranty is meaningless if you don't know whom to call. Amazon could not provide this info. Lello is very responsive in my experience.

Steaming is adequate. My wife and guests like cappuccinos and lattes. I use a 20 oz Krups pitcher, and it works all right. It is shorter and wider than some of the others. I think a smaller pitcher might work better. I use a thermometer to keep from scorching the milk. I like to mix a drink that I found online called a "flat white". After you steam the milk, stir the froth into the hot milk in the pitcher to make a uniformly velvety thick mixture and pour this into the cup. I always like to make milk drinks in a clear glass cup. The appearance of the layering of foam, milk and coffee is impressive. I steam the milk, make the espresso in the clear cup, and then pour the foam over it. That way, the crema from the espresso, with a lot of the flavor, stays in the cup instead of sticking to the wall of the shot glass.

Experiment with how much coffee you put in the filter. Do not overfill the filter, but I find that experimenting with the amount of coffee I use has improved the quality of my espresso. The amount used can vary according to the type of coffee, roast, and grind. I use less of a darker roast, for example, to avoid a bitter flavor.

The keys to quality are 1) The coffee and roast, 2) the grind, and 3) the time spent brewing.

THE COFFEE:

I used to drink dark roasted coffees like Starbuck's. I found that purchased dark roasted coffees taste burnt and bitter when made into espresso. A lighter roast is called for. I decided to start roasting my own green coffee. I use my long-disused hot air popcorn popper for the task. I found good instructions for roasting and a good selection of green coffees at Sweet Maria's on-line. Their espresso blends or Timor Maubesse (Indonesian) beans roasted to Vienna roast, a shade lighter than French roast, made fine espresso with good crema. It is very easy to control how dark your roast is. You do need good ventilation.

If you do not roast your own, the beans you buy should not be the darkest roast available. The finest coffees available are arabica beans grown at high altitudes. The robusta coffees are bitterer and have much more caffeine; they make up large part of the canned coffee blends on the market. While the arabica beans are much better tasting when brewed into coffee, by themselves they do not produce as good espresso as a blend of quality arabicas with 10-15% good quality robusta added for its taste and crema producing qualities. The green espresso blends that I buy have a small percentage of robusta added. For the reviewer I read who thought that the espresso she made did not have enough of a jolt, a blend containing some robusta might take care of that problem.

THE GRIND:

A friend of mine who has made espresso for decades has never bought a fancy grinder; he uses a blade grinder and grinds very fine. I do not recommend this for this machine with its pressurized portafilter. Fine particles of an uneven or very fine grind can plug the filter; it can sometimes be hard to unplug the filter.

I bought a Capresso Infinity grinder from Amazon. For under $100, it produces a fairly consistent grind. You do not need to tamp the coffee hard in the portafilter. The quality of the brew is determined by the fineness of the grind. I experimented a bit with grind. I found a grind that occasionally plugged the filter. Set one notch coarser it produced a consistently good espresso without plugging the filter. So I think that the finest grind you can get without plugging the filter is probably best.

When experimenting with grind, be careful. One detractor who gave a poor review to this machine says that there is danger of the machine exploding. If you do not see coffee coming out of the portafilter within a few seconds of turning the dial to the right, shut off the machine and clean out the filter. Then use a slightly coarser grind.

If the machine does not deliver coffee and the pump is left on, a messy explosion seems likely. This seems like common sense to me. The fact that the detractor experienced an explosion is a testament to the amount of pressure the pump delivers.

AMOUNT OF TIME SPENT BREWING

If you do enough research on line about espresso, you will find a reference to the "Golden Rule". This rule states, as I understand it, that drawing a double shot should take 20-25 seconds. If it takes less time to draw a 2-2 1/2 ounce shot, it will be weak; if it takes longer, it will be "over-extracted" and bitter.

If you have an expensive machine with a commercial non-pressurized portafilter, the proper combination of tamp pressure and grind to get this brewing time will produce good espresso. With a pressurized portafilter on this machine, tamp is fairly unimportant. The extraction time is therefore controlled by the fineness of the grind. I have found that if I adjust the grind as explained above, it does take 20-25 second to get the shot.

Never leave the cup under the spout after shutting the pump off. After you shut off the pump, the coffee that flows from the machine is not extracted under pressure and will taste like bilge. Let the coffee extract under pressure for the full 20-25 seconds, move the cup from under the spout as you shut off the pump. The last few drips should go into the tray.

PROBLEMS

I gave it four stars only because there were enough very soluble glitches to make learning how to use the machine a bit trying. I destroyed a gasket before I realized that tightening the group head more did not prevent the first shot from being a total bust. Unless you warm up the machine for at least 10 minutes, run a blank shot through the machine, because all you will get is steam and espresso that tastes like dishwater. After destroying the gasket, I found the service number for Lello Appliance: 201-939-2555. They acknowledged that the original gaskets were not very good and sent me 2 new ones via priority mail; I got these in two days.

Another minor glitch is that not all of the water draining from the machine goes into the drip tray. Some water ends up leaking under the drip tray; but as long as the drip tray is emptied timely there will not be enough overflow to leak onto the counter.

The cup warmer is a joke. Have some hot water going near your machine to preheat cups. This is especially important when making milk drinks, which is a longer process.

It is now 4/14/2009 two years and change since I bought the machine. I use it every day for an average of 3-4 double shots per day. It still makes the best espresso I have had. Except for the leaking drip tray, it gives me no problems. Part of the quality has to do with the gourmet green coffee beans I buy from and roast at home in a hot-air popcorn popper. The rest has to do with the machine. My cousin has a Rancilio Silvio, a highly rated and expensive machine. My machine is easier to use and pulls a tastier shot.

1/23/2011 it is now four years since I bought the machine. Still working as new! I never liked the pressurized portafilter that came with the machine It is always getting plugged and is hard to clean once plugged. I discovered via a forum on coffeegeek.com that you can get a non-pressurized filter basket, La Pavoni 2 cup MP-68 Millenium Edition Europiccola/Professional non-pressurized basket, a 51mm basket that fits the portafilter fairly precisely. Remove the black "pressurizer" by removing the screw at the bottom of the filter. You have to flatten the rounded rim on the new basket. I did this by inverting the basket and carefully flattening the rounded edge using a large pin punch--a small bolt or steel rod would work--and tapping it with a hammer. You need to get a better tamper and use a finer grind. The end result is the best cup yet with real crema. You need to adjust the grind and tamp pressure to get the espresso shot to draw in 20-25 seconds. The only drawback is that the seal was not as good as with the old basket. I fixed that by smoothing the imperfections resulting from the way I flattened the rim by rubbing the inverted basket on a knife sharpening stone until it was evenly smoothed.

12/26/2012 The machine finally died in late summer. It has a leak in the pump which has gotten worse. They will not send you parts; the only option is to send the machine in for refurbishing. Probably cheaper to get a refurb. I am not altering the rating; after 5 years of use, I definitely got my $100 dollars worth. This machine with the La Pavoni portafilter made the best espresso I have ever had or, frankly, that most of my friends have had. I got a "Presso" manual expresso maker locally to use while I decide what to do. At $120, I heartily recommend this machine. After 3-4 months with the Presso, I doubt I will get another semi-automatic machine soon.

Buy Lello 1375 Ariete Cafe Prestige Coffee Maker Now

Wow, a stainless steel unit for ~ $130. Seemed too good to be true but let me assure you that it's not. Solid and well built, it is quite functional and easy to use too. I live in Seattle, the coffee capital of the universe so I've got fairly discriminating taste in espresso and it has more than lived up to my expectations. The 15-bar pump-driven system provides good, strong pressure and brewing consistency. The drinks have frothy foam, excellent brew, and great taste. It is a bit bulky, roughly a 10" cube, but not overly large (it is actually 9.5" x 9.5" x 12" to be exact). Unlike some models, there's pretty good clearance between the nozzel and the drip tray so you can get a decent-sized cup underneath. Easy to take apart and clean too. I'm very happy with this purchase!

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ours started a leak out the back of the portafilter last week after only a week of ownership and stopped brewing at all today. I am bummed cause I followed each instruction to a T to avoid the problems all those "complainers" who wrote the "exploding and shattering glass" reviews must have brought upon themselves.... Ours is a beautiful machine that I will be sending back after the holiday as much as I don't want to. I will choose a different machine this time and not take a replacement. The feedback is real and there for a reason.

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I've had this for a couple of weeks and it has produced excellent espressos with a smooth, reddish-brown crema. My husband has commented that it's the best espresso he's had yet--that's saying something. Believe it or not, you cannot tell a difference from my espresso or the cafe down the street. This is a bargain for the quality you're getting. Beautiful machine. Heavy stainless steel. Quick turn-around time for your next espresso (and next and next and next and next!) Just excellent! This machine is not designed to handle e.s.e. pods. I know some have suggested it, but you'd need an adapter. Just thought I'd let you know.

A few tips:

1. Pressurized portafilters only have ONE hole and can withstand having a varying degree of grind. However, too finely a grind with a 'gorilla' tamp may provoke an explosion. A pressurized filter is made to do the work for you. So don't tamp hard.

2. There is no lock handle on this portafilter--that's only for European models. It's no defect.

3. Simply add the grounds, tamp lightly, remove excess from around the portafilter, attach to grouphead snug, turn to "coffee cup" position (all the way to the icon, please!). STOP machine after a few seconds (8 or so), or when the coffee starts to turn from dark brown to lighter brown.

4. After pulling a shot, run a blind shot through (no grounds) to clean grouphead. Next, take a damp paper towel to wipe around the seal and 'spout' of the grouphead. (doesn't matter which order you do this) Done!

5. When done using steam wand, simply remove rubber tip and rinse out, wipe stainless portion of steam wand with a damp cloth, and finally, turn a little steam on to eject any milk that may remain.

6. The drip tray portion needs to be rinsed/wiped out, because when making an espresso, water comes out afterward into the drip tray from below. There is a slight protruding part on the drip tray that fits onto the bottom of the machine--the water comes out from the bottom onto the drip tray. I couldn't figure out why I had collected so much water, because I rarely spill any . . .but realized after making an espresso what the machine 'does'. No problem.

7. Frothing: This machine makes perfect froth. You can use the rubber tip first and as you get better, you can stop using it.

Some pointers:

a. Put 1/4-1/2 of COLD milk into a frothing pitcher or cup (sorry baristas!).

b. Insert frothing arm into pitcher and hold pitcher at an ANGLE.

c. Start frothing (clicking noise normal)

d. As the foam 'grows', keep your frothing tip just below the surface of the foam and keep pitcher at an angle. Stop when your foam is 'tight', or when it's doubled in size. Be careful, if your foam starts producing big bubbles, you've boiled your milk!

This machine produces glossy foam, just like my local cafe.

This machine is completely stainless steel inside and out. The ThermoBlock is lined with stainless, too! It's a bargain! Get into the Ho! Ho! Ho! spirit at this price!!

12/17: I know it's not been long, but this machine is still producing great espressos and other drinks. I have already saved a bunch of money by making them at home myself. Plus, it's super convenient.

A note on storage: If not using for an extended period (vacationing, etc.), make sure to empty the water tank and run the machine (when still cool) just until water stops coming out. Then, prime the pump again when you're ready to keep it in use for awhile.

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