This machine is excellent. Produces above average espresso on every shot. Foams milk well too.I was an early buyer of this machine, and 8,513 shots later (yes it counts them), I know it is an excellent value.
I also would comment that the customer service is excellent. Sent in the machine once, and for $100.00 received a complete overhaul. (Sent in for a pump leak after a house move.) Came back like new, on time, and they paid for the return shipping. Can't ask for much more.
I will buy another super auto, from Jura/Capresso, when the time comes for a new machine. It might be many years from now...
Also, we went through a brief episode in which it would refuse to brew anything (as if it didn't have the power to punch the water through the puck of coffee). I remedied this with a descaling cycle as well as wiping out the parts above the removable tray thoroughly. (I use filtered water in the machine, but the descaling seems to be a more serious cleaning than the normal automatic cleaning.)
Given this, I would recommend keeping large stock of cleaning supplies and at least doing the normal cleaning every couple of weeks, rather than awaiting the machine's automated recommendation to clean. My understanding is that there are no dirt sensors driving these messages. It is just a function of the amount of use.
Overall, I would buy this again for certain, and if/when it dies I will be looking at one of its more expensive siblings, not at other brands.
UPDATE OCT 2012: I am up to nearly 5,000 runs. The only change is that it heats up a little slower. What a quality machine!
Buy Jura-Capresso Impressa F9 Fully Automatic Coffee and Espresso Center Now
Saw a demo of this at a local Sur la Table and very impressed. The coffee it makes is outstanding. I plan to buy one later this year.Amazon is being deceptive about price. They state list price is $2400, and they're selling it for $1798.95, at a savings of $601.05. NOT! Look at the Jura-Capresso website. The list for the Impressa F9 is $1799. That brings Amazon's big discount down to a whole $0.05. The higher end Impressa S9 is $2399 (and Amazon claims it is $3200). Do your research. Don't trust Amazon's claims for MSRP.
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This is not for your typical coffee drinker. It could be, but isn't. The thing that separates it is primarily the price, otherwise just about anybody who drinks coffee should absolutely love this machine.This machine can and does make excellent coffee, cafe americano. It makes very good, but not excellent espresso. You can do as good or better with this machine than you'll probably get at a chain coffee shop.
The key to quality coffee on this is to use HIGH QUALITY coffee beans. I mean specifically beans that are recently roasted. The more recently roasted the beans, the better off you are (optimum use date is 2 days after roasting). I recommend coffee from www.intelligentsiacoffee.com (try their accidental/occidental and house blends) or www.victrolacoffee.com (streamline espresso).
Make sure you use the high temperature setting for best results, also. When making espresso, I think it helps to warm the machine up for making steam before you make the espresso (gives more flavor).
The steam wand is OK, but somewhat limited in that it's hard to get some frothing pitchers maneuvered in for frothing.
True coffee geeks will want a high-quality espresso machine where you can control the tamping of your grind, along with a quality burr grinder because you're not going to get a "God Shot" from the F9.
But for the rest of us, and even coffee geeks that enjoy the ease of single-button coffee/espresso quickly in the morning, this machine is very capable.
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I have had this espresso machine for nearly two years now, so I know all of its "quirks" and benefits/issues. I feel compelled to write a review since I relied so heavily on these reviews when making this purchase...so here goes:1) After much research, I purchased the F9 at Williams Sonoma, primarily because they used to have a policy that you could return anything, at any time, if needed. So, I figured that if ever I had an issue, I could just return it to my local Williams Sonoma and get a replacement rather than returning the machine to the factory and waiting. Turns out I did indeed have to do this once for an electrical issue, which was actually an issue I had with the wiring at the outlet--not the machine afterall! In any event, I don't think Williams Sonoma still has that same open-ended return policy. Be sure to research the return policy wherever you make your purchase!
2) Overall, I have to say I absolutely LOVE this machine. Here's how I rationalized payment for such an expensive indulgence: if you figure a Starbucks costs approx. $3, and you buy one everyday (which I was), it would take 600 cups to break even. Well, with the automatic counter on my machine, I have made more than 1600 cups! This machine paid for itself in the first year..easily. ok, so now that you're past the issue of paying so much for a coffee machine, here's more...
3) This machine is crazy smart. It knows exactly when to clean itself, or tells you when to start the cleaning cycle. To clean it, all you do is insert a tablet in the coffee powder drawer and it does its thing. It knows when it needs water, when the filter needs to be changed, etc. In fact, since we have a water filter built into our refrigerator, we just use that filtered water in the coffee machine and therefore we don't need to use the expensive water filters. Bottom line, if you just pay attention and clean the machine on a regular basis when it tells you to, this is a no-brainer machine.
4) The coffee and espresso are great. I've learned to make a latte just like Starbuck's and I haven't been back since. Some people complain that the frother doesn't work well, but here's the trick: first, you should use non-fat or low-fat milk. For some reason, lower fat milk froths better every time; second, be sure to clean the frothing nozzle after each use. Kind of a no-brainer, I know. Third, there are two settings on the frother, and you can change the setting by sliding the sleeve on the frothing tip up or down. Experiment with this and you will get the perfect froth, really.
5) As for the beans, we don't use overly oily beans as I have read that they can cause a build up and make the machine tough to clean, etc. I believe the "Illy" brand that comes in the metal tin is supposed to be too oily. Others may have a different experience, but we just use whole espresso beans from the grocery store.
6) Believe it or not, this machine heats up in about 90 seconds, if not sooner. As a result, we use this for tea and hot cereal all the time. This is an added bonus for purchasing this machine.
As for issues, I honestly don't have many. I guess the only things that bug me are the fact that I have to remove the drawer from time to time and dump the water which is ejected after each use. I have learned to keep a black coffee cup under the spout so that it collects the rinse water and i just dump it as needed.
The only other issue I have had with the machine is that the touch screen sometimes works and sometimes 'sticks.' I've tried cleaning the face, washing my hands, but sometimes this just doesn't work right. Fortunately, when it does 'stick,' it gets stuck on the setting I use, so it's not a huge problem.
Net-net, I highly recommend this machine. It took us several days of research and at least a couple of weeks to build up enough nerve to spend this much on a freakin' coffee machine, but I have to say, this machine has become my new best friend in the kitchen. Sad, but true! Do yourself a favor and buy one. Enjoy!
UPDATE: This machine is still going stung after almost five years daily use and 4100 cups of coffee! The only issue we continue to have is the electronic display panel continues to go dark at times, or flash and flicker. I'm sure we could send it in for maintenance, but we can't stand the thought of not having our machine for 3+ weeks.
