Espresso Maker with Stainless Steel Filter in Black

Just a grain too much of coffee in the fella and he exploded. I had many messes to clean up from this machine. I could never get the perfect amount of coffee. I need my espresso every morning and this contraption made me not-too-happy. I finally went to Goodwill and bought an excellent espresso maker for 8.00$ American.

the espresso maker is fast brewing and it does a great job on the frothing but it leaks really bad around the coffee ground holder but past that i would recommend it but when you brew have a towel ready because it get water everywere

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CBTL Coffee Capsules By The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, 10 Count Box (Pack of 3)

This is my favorite of the CBTL espresso varieties. Bold with a hint of sweetness. Not harsh at all. If I was going to make one of those foamy drinks (which I'm not) I'd go with their Italian blend. It is stronger and more bitter(more like one from bigbucks, only better)and the flavor would cut through other ingredients. The decaf is also surprisingly good. A flavor leaning towards the Italian blend. I wouldn't have believed espresso this good at the push of a button.

Just what I was looking for. This makes a very smooth espresso with good crema. Consistent shot every time, I was pleasantly surprised at how good the espresso actually is out of the CBTL machine, particularly this flavor. My go-to espresso from now on.

Update: 4/27/12 Original review was of the pods that I bought locally at Target. The ones from Amazon were noticeably more bitter. Also, the top of the pod on the Amazon pods were not as "domed" as the ones I purchased from Target, indicating that maybe a seal had broken or the pods were bad. It's bearable to drink but not nearly the great experience from the ones I got at Target, which I assume were fresher.

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This has to be the best 'at home' espresso I have ever had. I love a very strong cup of coffee, and whenever I go to that chain place, you know the one I'm talking about, for coffee I get a regular coffee with a shot of espresso (red-eye?). It costs me an arm and a leg too! Now I can do it at home.

Bold, rich, aromatic and it tastes less acid-y than the other espressos that I've tried...this was an absolute pleasure to drink. I don't even bother with the frother to top my coffee, because the espresso has just enough crema on top to make this an even richer drink.

Yum.

AND if you use the subscription service like I did, you can save yourself at least 15% and never have to worry about remembering to re-order again!

Read Best Reviews of CBTL Coffee Capsules By The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, 10 Count Box (Pack of 3) Here

This is my favorite of the CBTL brew capsules. I've had it on Subscribe and Save and even bought extras to fill in between shipments. It is rich and not bitter. I normally add a little flavoring to ANY coffee I'm drinking, whether it's espresso or brewed, and most often it's chocolate or some form such as chocolate flavored stevia. I put a swirl of whipped cream on top and a packet of sugar substitute. With the Viennese Brew, I don't have to add anything but a packet of sugar substitute and a dollop of whipped cream (it tastes so good as is). If you drink it plain you may pick up a VERY slight hint of chocolate, but if you are eating something chocolate along with your coffee, you won't notice the nuance of chocolate at the finish.

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This is my favorite flavor out of all the coffee, teas and espressos for the Kaldi. I've tried them all more than a few times each to give them a relatively fair review, but this one tops my list. I do have to admit that I prefer espresso drinks over coffee and teas, so take that into consideration.

The Italian espresso is smooth, bold and full of flavor, but doesn't leave a bitter after-taste. The other two espresso flavors leave a taste in your mouth where it feels like something's missing.

My favorite espresso drink is an iced latte, and this makes the perfect latte. Two shots of the espresso with about 6 ounces of milk makes my perfect drink!

Out of the three caffeinated espressos, the Italian tops the list for flavor, then the Premium and lastly the Continental.

Capresso Coffee Burr Grinder

I love coffee, and it's kind of a hobby for me. I roast my own beans, and have collected a respectable amount of knowledge about how to make a barista-quality cup at home. I've owned a Capresso Infinity 560 for five years, and I purchased this particular model for a gift exchange. It seemed like a perfect fit: an excellent price for a burr grinder, within the price range of our gift exchange, and it's a brand I am familiar and happy with. This model, though, is not nearly as good as the 560, in my opinion, because of the quality of the grind. It grinds much more evenly than a blade, to be sure, but it creates a lot of "dust" as well. If you really want to get a quality grinder for a great price, I'd recommend the 560 instead. It's usually around $80, but it's well worth the extra money over the lifespan of the product. That being said, if you simply cannot afford that extra money and must choose between this and a blade grinder, this one is clearly the better choice.

I just bought this grinder as a Christmas present for my wife. It grinds quickly and well and is fairly quiet much better than our old blade grinder. The ability to store whole beans in the top dispenser and to store ground coffee in bottom dispenser in the refrigerator is also handy. From what I have considered, it seems to be one of best lower cost burr grinders available.

But as to the "mystery" in my title, actually there are two mysteries:

1) Sometimes when your look for burr grinders on Amazon, this model does not show up. Not sure why, but it might have something to do with the fact that it does not ship directly from Amazon. The supplier names have also changed within the past 2 weeks.

2) It is not listed as a model on the Capresso web site. I tried to register it on the site but cannot, since it is not in their drop-down list of products. In fact, the Capresso web site has no mention of this model (or anything looking like it) in their catalog of grinders, registration page, downloadable instruction manuals, or replacement parts page. Update: the Capresso company e-mailed me that they make this particular model only for Costco, though apparently others get them to resell on Amazon. That still does not seem like a good excuse for Capresso not listing this model on their web site.

The grinder generally works quite well (grinds evenly and as finely as one might want), though the whole beans sometimes get jammed in the top of the grinder. It's easy to clear, but then throws off the measurement of how many cups-worth of beans you wanted to grind. It seems to help if the beans are dried out a bit first, rather than dumped right into the grinder from the freezer when still moist.

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(APRIL 14, 2013 UPDATE)

I've been using this grinder for more than two years now, on an almost every-day basis, and the grinder is still going strong. Use it to grind beans for espresso, paper filter, and french press, and still works just as good as it did two years ago. One of the best purchases ever! I recommend it even more now.

(JANUARY 2011 REVIEW)

Apparently this model is made exclusively for COSTCO, and they were selling it for $30+tax. Found this randomly on the shelf @ my local COSTCO looks like they sell out really fast.

9 settings, and setting 9, which should be really course grind is barely course enough for paper filter. I assume that this is not the best grinder if you want a course grind for your French Press, but will be fine for a paper filter, or espresso machine. I do notice lots of "dust" but that's common, to some degree, with really expensive grinders as well. Static is NOT a problem. just tap the plastic container a little bit, and wait a few seconds before taking the container with the ground coffee out.

What it comes down to is that, if you're lucky enough to pick up one of these at COSTCO, you'll get a decent burr grinder for a great price, and it will allow you to grind your beans fresh.

Don't put your coffee (grinds or beans) in a fridge or freezer if you care about your coffee, taste, quality, etc.

Read Best Reviews of Capresso Coffee Burr Grinder Here

For anyone who does not grind their own coffee beans, you are missing out on really great coffee flavor. It's not that difficult. And for anyone who is using their Braun rotary-blade grinder for coffee beans, STOP. It overheats the beans and interferes with the taste of the coffee. I would not have known this and just assumed it was the way the coffee tasted but for the advice of The Coffee Genius, a friend who knows from coffee to the point of taking it that one step too far and roasting the green beans, instead of buying it pre-roasted. I love coffee, but am not married to it, so grinding is pretty much pushing my coffee envelope as far as it will push. But the difference between burr and rotary grinding is noticable. If you are going to go to the trouble, you might as well get the best taste.

As to the Capresso Coffee Burr Grinder, it works fine for me. The coarser grinds work well for my french press. I use a medium grind for the Keureg, the finest for espresso, and I overgrind on the espresso setting when I want it almost powdery for the little Ibrik. I don't know if that's the right thing to do, but it works for me and if the coffee grinding police show up, I'll lie. The Capresso will grind from 2 to 20 cups worth of beans, you can use the container for storage if you make too much. It's compact and, while not quiet, doesn't sound like a jet is taking off in the kitchen either. For $30 here(or $27 at Costco) and such a lovely improvement in your daily cuppa joe, this would be hard to beat.

If you like coffee, it's just better when you grind the beans yourself. I now buy in smaller quantities and more varieties, and am having a great time experimenting. The Capresso is is easy to operate and presents no problems that I have found. My only difficulty with the machine: my niece borrowed mine and won't give it back. There is a lesson here. Don't tell people why your coffee tastes so good. Just shrug and say "They've really changed the way they make instant, haven't they."

You do get a little bit of the ground coffee on the counter, as noted by some reviewers. This seems to go with the territory, if you ask me. The Braun made a little mess too...and sometimes that plastic cup on top would stick -and when you gave it a good yank, half the coffee went flying. Look, you're grinding coffee. So you get schmutz on the counter. So you wipe it off. We're not talking toxic spill here or calling in the men in hazmat suits. And the truth is, I make a mess no matter what I'm doing, so this did not come as a shock to my system. If Martha Stewart somehow stumbled into my kitchen as i was preparing food, she'd tie a rock around her neck and throw herself off a dock. When I peel an egg, the people next door are picking shell out of their hair for two days. In the grand scheme of things, the coffee grinder mess is one I can tolerate.

And finally, two tips: First, If ground coffee sticks to the plastic container, put the container on the counter and tap it with a spoon--the static or whatever releases. Second, don't throw coffee grounds (home ground or otherwise) down the sink or garbage disposal unless you are eager to contribute to your plumber's vacation fund. Save them up in a plastic bag (in the refrigerator, where nobody can see them) and sprinkle on your roses. (And don't keep coffee or coffee beans in the refrigerator, it dulls the flavor...that's three tips, but who's counting.)

Enjoy.

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I've owned cheap blade grinders in the past, and this is my first burr grinder. I did a lot of research and read a lot of reviews of different grinders. I was originally looking for something in the $50-$75 range, but this grinder had better reviews than most of the other grinders in the higher price ranges. I am very happy with this grinder. I have had it for about a week now and have made fresh ground coffee every morning and have had no problems whatsoever.

It is not very noisy (not even half as noisy as a blender). I also really like the ability to store beans in the dish on top. I usually make a full 12 cup pot of coffee, so the first time I ground with this machine I set the little lever on the front to 12. It actually ground more coffee than what I would normally use for a full pot, and I like my coffee strong too. I changed the lever to 6, and that is the perfect amount of fresh ground coffee to make a full 12 cup pot. I also put the "fineness" dial on 4.5, which works really well for my Cuisinart drip coffee maker.

After reading tons of reviews of different grinders, and after buying this one and using it for a week, I can honestly say that at $33, this is probably one of the best coffee grinders you will find at that price point. Highly recommended.

**UPDATE 5-22-2012**

After owning this grinder for a month now and using it every day, I have had absolutely zero problems. It works like it should every single time. Very happy with this purchase.

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Mr. Coffee BVMC-KG2 Single Serve Coffee Brewer

I bought this single serve brewer at a local department store before realizing that Amazon carried it. Anyway, like most Keurig licensed machines, the Mr. Coffee version produces a fine cup of coffee at $25 less than the similar Keurig brand brewer. In addition, the Mr. Coffee appears to be better constructed than the Keurig Mini Brewing System. The only "con" is that the Mr. Coffee produces only a 8 ounce cup of coffee while the Keurig Mini produces 8 & 10 ounce cups. You can get almost 9 ounces, but you risk a little water going into the overflow reservoir. Nonetheless, I am very happy with my Mr. Coffee. Incidentally, this model BVMC-KG2-001 is the successor to the Mr. Coffee BVMC-KG1-001.

I purchased this machine after having used a friend's Keurig on a few visits out of town. I really loved the convenience but was put off by the poor reviews of most of the Keurig machines, and the size of them. I decided this smaller machine (which is still a bit bigger than my 1-4 cup Mr Coffee machine) was the best bet for me.

Here are some things to think about when purchasing this machine:

No water reservoir fine for me as I was used to pouring water into a regular coffee machine every day and I am the only user of the machine, but for maximum time saving and multiple users, one might be better off choosing a model that has a reservoir.

Water temperature at first I thought it wasn't hot enough, but then I remembered that I had always nuked my coffee after pouring it from the pot before. For very hot coffee, I would still need to do that, but the temp it comes out at is fine for me. I usually finish within 15 minutes, and it is still warm by the time I'm done.

Dispensing size There is an 8oz mark, and there is a Max mark in the water tank. Max is a little over 9 oz, which is what I always use. If you pour more that that in, the excess will drain into the drip tray before brewing. When testing, I used 10 oz (over the Max line) and got less than an ounce in the drip tray.

Coffee strength this is related to the dispensing size and is the biggest limitation for me. I like weak coffee. I have tried 6 different k-cups so far and found that using the max water amount wasn't quite enough water for 3 of the k-cups I've tried (I'm cycling through a variety pack of 12). I haven't tried the bold flavored ones yet. For this fact alone, it would be better to have a machine that dispensed more water, but once I settle on some flavors I will buy going forward, I'm sure they won't be the bold ones.

Mug size there is a removable drip tray so you can fit a travel mug, but after taking it out my 16oz travel mugs are still too tall for it.

Reusable filters I purchased the Ekobrew filter and tried my own coffee in it when I wanted some decaf last night. It worked great.

If you really want all the bells and whistles and maximum time saving, I suggest getting one the more full featured models. I've had this machine a week and I'm really satisfied with it, especially for the price, which was ~ $72 when I purchased. If I find that I want to upgrade in the future, I will take this one to work.

Also, I think there are models with cup sensors. I haven't made this mistake yet, but I have a feeling that one day I might brew some coffee and forget to put the mug underneath.

**6 week update** I am really very happy with this coffee maker and so glad I purchased it. I did notice a problem a few times where the water didn't brew, it just went right into my mug cold. What happened is that I got things out of order. Water goes in first, then the Kcup. If you start messing with the order, this machine will let you know it doesn't like that.

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This was my first Keurig coffee brewer, and it worked exceedingly well. The design and construction are both good and it never gave me a moment's trouble. If you are looking to produce a reasonably good cup of coffee really fast and with no fuss, I think you'll be pleased with the purchase. That said, I have stopped using this machine after one month and now make coffee using another method. Let me explain why because there are some limitations to the Keurig method of which you should be aware.

The chief selling points of the Keurig method are speed and convenience, but the method's speed is, in fact, an Achilles heel. The hot water comes into contact with the coffee for a maximum of 30 seconds, and that simply isn't long enough to produce the rich mouthfeel and complex flavors of slower methods such as a French press or a Chemex, both of which allow the coffee flavors to be extracted over three to four minutes. (Espresso coffee tastes great despite its short contact time because of the extremely high pressures and very fine grind, neither of which are present in the Keurig method.) The first K-cups I used were the Folgers "Lively Colombian," and I don't think I have ever tasted a thinner, more flavorless cup of joe in my life. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give the coffee those pods produced a 3. Things improved markedly when I used Green Mountain Coffee Roasters "Nantucket Blend" and "Dark Magic," both of which I'd rate a 7, and which I recommend.

The experience left me reconsidering what it was that I wanted out of coffee and I decided that, for me, taste was more important than speed and convenience. I have since replaced my Mr. Coffee Single Serve unit with a Kyocera Ceramic Coffee Grinder ($41.70), a Bodum Bistro 17-Ounce Mini Cordless Electric Water Kettle ($29.95), and a 3-Cup Chemex Glass Coffeemaker with Handle ($33.15). My new morning coffee ritual takes under ten minutes all told, from the grinding of the whole beans to the brewing of the coffee to the poured cup, and it allows me to start my day with a cup of coffee that rates a solid 10, with flavors a Keurig-method machine can only dream of. The entire setup cost me under $105 (not including shipping), and I am definitely saving money over time by avoiding the pricey K-cups.

Bottom Line: With the right K-cups, this Mr. Coffee unit does an excellent job of producing good coffee. If speed and convenience are your top concerns, you'll probably be very happy with it. Just understand going into this that the speed and convenience come at a bit of a price in terms of the quality of the coffee produced. If you want excellent coffee--cups that rate a 9 or 10--you may want to look into other methods, such as Aeropress, Chemex, or French press.

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I'm a coffee snob, but at work I really don't have time to brew the perfect cup. The K-cup system seemed to offer a good compromise. I could have hot coffee at the touch of a button. Keurig has dialed in reasonable grinds, brewing times, and water temperature (all variables that can make or break a cup of coffee). The brewing process seems to take a couple of minutes (heating time for the most part) and the pump is not "whisper quiet," but it does not disturb me when I'm sitting three feet away and having a conversation (I'm a little hard of hearing, too). This isn't gourmet coffee, but it's pretty darn good when I need a reasonably good cup RIGHT NOW.

At least it used to be. I ordered mine on February 18th. I've had it at work for almost exactly two weeks. Today it failed. The pump runs. The water heats. But it does not flow through the machine to brew any coffee. Internet searches suggest that it could be scale (but it isn't, not in two weeks!), a clogged filter between the water reservoir and the pump (since the reservoir isn't removeable, I have no way of checking--but I brew with filtered water only), or a damaged pump.

It doesn't really matter what the cause is. I'm not going to take it apart and try to fix it! From the complaints I've read, my problem is not uncommon. This model goes back. Since I liked the coffee and it fit into my office life, I'm going to try another version--all the time keeping in mind that pump failure MAY be the bugaboo. On the other hand, a clogged filter can be cleaned with a removeable reservoir model. I will order one of those and cross my fingers.

Most people don't have a problem, I'm sure. And I'm not going off on the companies involved. Mistakes happen. But I'm willing (at this point) to try again. Go ahead and try getting one of these (or another model, the problem seems common to most Keurig-based machines). Just don't be too disappointed if you need to return it soon after you get it.

As far as coffee speed and quality of brewing, I'd give the WORKING machine 3 1/2 stars. Since it FAILED, only the single star as a Caveat Emptor device.

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ASIN B004T6EK3O Someone put me out of my coffee-addicted misery. Clearly the universe conspires against me.

I bought this model for one reason when I sorted my Amazon results by reviewer ranking, it was number one. I've already been through THREE Keurig B-70 B70 Platinum Single-Cup Home Brewing System they had an average lifespan of nine months. Then I went through one Mr. Coffee Single Serve Powered by Keurig Brewing Technology, which lasted a depressing two months. This model, however, has them both beat. ONE WEEK. That's right seven days. Six days worth of coffee. As of this morning, it grinds and grinds and grinds and then, drip!, a drop of brown water falls into the cup. The grinding sound is so relentless that I've been waiting for the thing to explode.

Some quick notes, since "it breaks in a week" is clearly the biggest problem:

The button you press to open the top (where you put the water) is awkward. It opens smoothly and that's nice, but it doesn't catch easily when you close it. It's annoying.

Unlike the Keurigs, but in common with the other Mr. Coffee, this thing has no reservoir. You have to add water every time you want a cup and wait out the heating each time.

Speaking of heating, I hope you have a microwave, because this coffee isn't hot. I use Coffee-Mate Regular Powdered Coffee Creamer, 16-Ounce Packages (Pack of 12) and this maker always leaves little un-dissolved bits floating in the coffee. Yum.

With no digital screen, it's possible that this thing gets scale-y fast and you'll never know. With a regular maker, a routine cleaning schedule might be enough, but with these things, a screen to tell you that it needs de-scaling is almost a necessity.

As with all other k-cup using machines, this makes weak coffee, but only because of the k-cups. Get a Keurig My K-Cup Reusable Coffee Filter and control the strength for yourself. A little.

Final word One week, for this price? Please. I'm beginning to hear the call from the crummy old ten dollar coffee pots that at least lasted. My last one of those made it eight years!

AnnaLovesBooks

EDIT, later the same day. I have found a way to get a cup of coffee. Coffee addicts will find ways... The machine has been making an horrific grinding sound and dripping. If I remove the cup of grounds and run JUST water through, it goes through fine. Then I was able to make a cup. So, for whatever reason, the problem seems to be that the water can't get through the grounds. While this work-around is okay, it shouldn't be necessary. I'm not asking the thing to push water through a brick wall, it's loose coffee grounds.

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Espresso Supply ErgoServ Coffee/Creamer Carafe, 20-Ounce

We received this product through the US Postal Service well packaged and timely. I have not used this creamer yet, but will do so soon. It is of good quality and will meets our needs.

Philips Saeco Syntia Focus Automatic Espresso Machine

This is the first espresso machine I have owned, so I won't be comparing it to other machines. I've had the machine for about 5-6 months now, using it once or twice nearly every day with no problems.

I have been drinking espresso for a long time and I appreciate a well-balanced, properly extracted, silky crema and rich cup of gold. This machine is quick and consistent with every cup. With the touch of a button, you can go from bean to drinking within seconds. I prefer heavy thick espresso, so I keep it at it's finest setting for a powerful cup. There are two methods to set the potency: one to adjust the coarseness of the grind and one to adjust how much to brew in each cup. You can use pre-ground as well, however, I have not tried it.

The steamer works fantastically and takes mere seconds to warm up. The design makes a great foam on top for a perfect cappuccino or latte.

It's easy to keep clean and it is very easy to set up right out of the box. The brushed finish leaves no fingerprints and the steam wand wipes clean with a damp rag very easily.

The machine is built sturdy and is very low profile, which is great for smaller kitchens lacking counter-space. You can adjust the height of the spout for different sized cups. The full operation (grinding, tamping, brewing, and disposing) is not loud at all compared to some machines I have heard.

Since the machine is relatively small in size, it does not hold a massive quantity of beans, the water tank does have to be filled often (but it is very easy to fill), and the waste bucket needs to be emptied after 4-5 uses (easy to dump).

I have nothing bad to say about the design, operation, interfacing, or maintenance of this machine. I highly recommend it to anyone and wouldn't return it for anything. It truly is the best part of waking up!

--Salud!

We have had this machine for a couple of months and love it. We spent a lot of time looking at different machines. We were looking for durability, brew quality and price (I know, not a big surprise). Finding all three is a challenge in the superatomatics. The Saeco Syntia seems to meet all our needs.

It costs a little more than some of the others, but the issue I saw again and again with cheaper models was that they just didn't hold up. There were very few reviews outlining any problems with the Syntia.

So far everything is great. The documentation with the machine is just OK. I strongly recommend viewing the how-to videos on You-Tube by Saeco; they were very helpful.

The machine is much smaller than I thought it would be and fits very nice on our kitchen counter taking up just a little more space than a coffee maker. For the savings in space, the size of the water tank is sacrificed; we need to fill it every day. This is the only complaint thus far. We are very happy with the performance.

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We previously owned a Talea Touch that the display started acting up after almost 4 years of a LOT of use. I decided to pull the trigger on this unit instead of re-buying that one I love the way this looks. It's small height fits nicely under our counter and allows easy access to the bean hopper without having to move the unit around. The coffee (and we rarely drink espresso...use this mostly for coffee) is great tastes very good and although I read that it might taste different due to the lack of the SBS (Saeco brewing system) that my Talea had, I find the taste to be very close. I doubt seriously I could taste test a difference in a blind test.

For those that want to use this as a pure coffee maker, please note that the most you can get out of this unit is 8oz. We use 12oz coffee cups and were hoping to get some menu adjustments to add a few more oz of water to the cup, but it's not possible. Now, in fairness, the Talea does allow you to make this adjustment but essentially it just waters down the coffee a little more (which I felt I always noticed in taste but didn't know exactly how the Talea worked and assumed that it was making the adjustments via pre-brewing, etc... but it doesn't...it just adds more water).

Overall, had this unit a few days and really happy with it. Good build, nice looking, easy to use and the coffee is noticeably hotter out of the unit than my Talea ever was. Several people used to put their cup in the microwave after just to get it hotter. Not so with the Syntia. It also allows you with the dial on the front to dispense hot water as well, so great if you want a cup of tea, etc...

If I had one big complaint it's that the water hopper is really small smaller even than my Talea. I didn't measure, but if you're doing all espresso it's probably not a huge deal. When you're doing all coffee the water runs out fast...maybe 3-4 glasses tops and you are re-filling the water.

Highly recommend though my wife has people coming to our house just to drink coffee with her. Everyone loves this thing the quality is SOOOO much better than anything else we've tried. My sister bought us a Keurig unit to keep in our guest suite and we had to use that for a few days waiting on this unit from Amazon. It's not even close. And, the best part of a unit like this is that you can use whatever beans you like best you're not tied to a companies product to keep making coffee. Personally, we love the Dunkin Donuts blend. Soooo good. :)

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We have had a lot of problems with our unit. It has been in to service and we have it back but we are still not please. We upgraded to this from an Incanto and I miss our old machine! This looks nice and is easier to fill and empty but it is a lot more sensitive too. Upon receiving the unit back from service, we received a comical letter advising us not to use the machine on full strength. The person who serviced seems to have a personal attachment to coffee makers. It made me think of the Seinfeld episode where the mechanic drives off with Jerry's car because Jerry wasn't a good enough owner. We bought this because we like very robust coffee. I didn't come with a lame setting as far as I know! I am annoyed at and frustrated with this machine and Saeco 'service". I hope this is the only dud in their product line.

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Years ago, I worked part-time at Starbucks as a barista. Even before my Starbucks days, I managed an espresso bar in college. I know my coffee/espresso drinks and I've worked with some hardcore machines. After I left my barista jobs, I figured getting the same quality of espresso drinks at home would be hard to do. The machines I've purchased to replicate what I used on the job fell pretty short in terms of power, speed and quality. I then resorted to purchasing my coffee/espresso drinks instead so I could continue enjoying espresso with the same expectations.

When I tried out the Syntia Focus for the first time, I was impressed. It really yielded a great quality with perfect 'crema' {or espresso foam}which is telling of a good machine. Crema is achieved when everything from the water temperature, pressure, tamping and timing is perfect and where it needs to be to put out the best espresso. Who would have thought a home espresso machine would really deliver like this?! I was hooked and I liked the product so much I taught a 'Barista Basics' class to a handful of coffee/espresso loving students.

Using the Syntia Focus Automatic Espresso Machine, I taught folks how to create the perfect cup of espresso and a myriad of espresso drinks from cappuccinos, lattés, mochas, breves, mistos, etc. Needless to say, we were all pretty wired by the end of the class! Since the holidays are just around the corner, if you're looking for a great gift to give a fellow coffee/espresso lover, I highly recommend this espresso machine. But honestly, don't wait until the holidays to purchase one. This is great even for yourself so you can have fun making your favorite coffeehouse drinks and be a master barista in your own kitchen!

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