Yes, you'll flinch when you see the price tag! Right now this is the king of super automatics. My work hours are all over the place and many times there is just no time to devote to pulling the perfect espresso from a manual or semi machine. Add to that I drink cappuccino's or lattes 95% of the time. This machine was made for those who drink mostly cappuccino's or lattes and it couldn't be easier. Many long time aficionados on the coffeegeek.com forums will tell you that you cannot pull anything close to a "god shot" from a super automatic and they are correct. But what you get is pretty darn good especially if you love the taste of espresso but don't want to devote your life to making perfect shots every pull. The Z5 is the model of simplicity and produces consistent very good shots of espresso and excellent latte's & cappuccino's every time with little time. I had this machine programmed, up and going just 10 minutes out of the box. I am not an expert on pulling shots manually. Setting the knob to the hottest setting, strongest espresso and finest grind yielded a very tasty shot that was far better than any I have had at Starbuck's. I used Coffee Emergency espresso roast. The crema was good and the temperature excellent. I used a Capressa S9 a year ago and was not happy with the temperature of the shots coming out of the machine. They are much improved on the Z5. Back to cappuccino's... Fill the milk thermos with your choice of milk...set knob to cappuccino and hit the button. A gorgeous cappuccino was produced on the very first try. I didn't have to move the cup...it was all automatic! It took me ages to learn to make a decent cappuccino on same thing manually. Again...much better than at Starbuck's and any of the local coffee houses. The Z5 has a timer that can be set to turn the machine on and off when you want it to. Settings for water level, brewing time, amount of heated milk and foam, can all be pre set or adjusted with a knob live as your beverage is being made. The unit is whisper silent even when grinding beans. It is a well built piece of equipment that is UL approved for both residential and commercial use. I couldn't be happier with it. Should you get this machine? Bottom line is that if you want to make espresso's as a hobby and are going for that ultimate "god shot" every time don't even think about this machine. If you are a working professional who just wants a great cappuccino, latte and espresso with absolute minimum fuss that will beat Starbuck's and your local coffee shop.... think about buying this machine.
I have just replaced my Gaggia Titanium which after 3 months decided to break down. I decided rather than replace with the same machine to go with the much-praised Jura machines. The Z5 particularly appealed with it's unique One-Touch Cappucino function, which avoids the clumsy looking "automatic frothing attachments" found on so many machines.
The machine was easy to set up, and has almost the same footprint as the Titanium, so doesn't take up too much space. It comes with a classy looking thermal milk container (1 litre) which keeps milk at the ready and chilled for up to 8 hours. The front of the machine is brushed aluminium (not plastic as in many of the Jura machines) which is far easier to keep clean than the Titanium's brushed stainless steel (fingerprints!).
The display prompts are clear (product names such as "1 espresso" can be changed should you so desire I personally can't see the point of this, since the name isn't displayed until you press the key to dispense the drink.
The temperature (also adjustable) of the coffee, hot water and also the milk is fantastic I have mine set on the "normal" setting and it is very hot much more so than the Titanium and many other machines which even set to "Highest" still could be hotter.
The crema was good, and the taste great. The brew group is non-removable and self-cleaning (you are prompted when to run a rinse cycle or pop a cleaning tablet in).
You can program the quantity, temperature and strength of all drinks, and choose to override these on-the-fly should you wish, which is very handy.
The water container is larger than the Titanium and most other domestic machines and you can use Claris water filter cartridges, or alternatively opt to use descaling tablets every so often (again, you are prompted when to do this).
The dump box, and drip tray are suitably large so as to not have to be emptied too frequently (every 20 cups).
I only have 2 grumbles with this machine. One is that central coffee spout (which illuminates the cups during dispensing of coffee) does not adjust high enough for large mugs. The silly thing is that you can also dispense coffee from the cappuccino spout which offers 2 interchangeable spouts one for small cups and one for tall mugs. Why they couldn't make the central coffee spout raise to the same height is a shame, but not the end of the world. My second gripe is that the consumables ie. filters / descaling tablets / cappuccino cleaner / machine cleaning tablets are way over-priced. And since you have to use Jura-brand ones to keep within warranty conditions, you don't have much option but to pay these high prices.
Overall though, if you have the money, then go for it this machine is fantastic, looks great, and is the quietest fully automatic by far this doesn't wake up the whole house when you make a coffee!
Buy Jura-Capresso 13214 Impressa Z5 Automatic Coffee Center Now
After returning both a Saeco Primea Touch Plus (it gave me an error message after less than 2 months, at which time I was told to return the machine to the manufacturer for repair), and the new DeLonghi Gran Dama, which has a serious problem with the milk carafe (it doesn't fit properly on the machine I had this problem with not one, but two machines), I think I've finally found the answer. I was always dissatisfied with the milk temperature (I use a lot of milk in my lattes), but now with this machine the milk is very hot, as is the espresso no need to microwave, as with some of the other super-automatics.
Set up was fairly fast (I wasn't as fast as one of the reviewers at 10 minutes, but had it pretty well figured out in less than an hour), the first few test drinks are excellent. I read somewhere that you couldn't store the thermal carafe in the refrigerator, but I think this is a fallacy. The Capresso DVD, as well as the instructions, say that you can, and I can't think of any reason that you can't.
If you want to make the coffee directly in a large (16 oz.) paper cup, you can do so with the left spouts another reviewer points out that the center spouts don't raise high enough to accomodate a very large cup, which is true, but with all of the customization features, you can program the machine to dispense the coffee from the left spout, which is tall enough.
After having terrible, rude, largely non-responsive customer service from Saeco, I asked was happy to hear from a number of sources that Jura Capresso has excellent customer service. I haven't had to test it yet, but from everything I heard, I'm hopeful that it'll be good.
Pros:
Great tasting espresso, cappucino and latte
Fairly easy to master
Great looking, titanium-faced, as opposed to the metal-clad plastic featured on many other expensive super automatics
Cons:
It's definitely expensive, but still seems in line with other similar machines, and it's better designed
Lastly, I would recommend the Z5 versus the Z6, unless you are totally sold on a chrome face the machine does splash a bit, as one would expect, and the matte finish on the Z5 seems much more practical and forgiving of fingerprints, splashes, etc.
UPDATE AS OF SEPTEMBER 5, 2008
I've now had the machine for over a year and wanted to update the review with some customer service feedback. It still works flawlessly (knock wood), but after recently moving, realized I had lost the coffee scoop. I called Capresso customer service, and they immediately sent me a new one at no charge. A small thing, certainly, but a great indicator of the respect with which they treat their customers. If you're in the market for a machine like this, I give this one the highest marks.
Read Best Reviews of Jura-Capresso 13214 Impressa Z5 Automatic Coffee Center Here
First there is no doubt that this is a very expensive purchase, but if you have two Starbucks drinkers in the house it's worth consideration. After I determined that the ROI (given our SBUX frequency) on this machine was 3 years, we purchased our first machine (The Capresso 3000) about 4 years ago. It was love at first drink. We went from stopping for coffee every morning on the way to the office, to making it at home with some great to-go cups we purchased at Costco. When the C3000 finally broke, we boxed up the machine and took it right back to Williams Sonoma (sorry Amazon) and they happily took it back and upgraded us to the Z5 for the difference between what we paid for the first unit and the price of the new Z5 (about $350).
We love the Z5 !! My husband is a "straight" coffee guy, but I am a late girl who loves the how easy it is to hook up the milk container and make my late with the push of a button. I also purchased Starbuck vanilla syrup so I can make my own Vanilla Late's at home.
If you have the disposable income to consider this, it is a great machine. After reading the customer service stories in previous reviews, I would consider buying from Williams Sonoma who offers a lifetime guarantee on anything purchased through them. When my $2,699 Capresso failed after 4 years, they took it back without question and upgraded me to the Z5. Through the entire process they just thanked me for my business. I am a customer for life and can't say enough about how much we love this coffee machine !!
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Having had an amazing cup of coffee at a neighbors house (made by a Z5), I was sold. Two weeks later, our Starbucks solution had arrived. As mentioned by other reviewers, the coffee, lattes, caps, etc... were excellent and the machine performed as advertised. In fact, we had regular visits by our neighbors, just for the coffee.
But please be warned that these machines do not last and will require major repairs after the warranty has lapsed. Both my machine and that of my neighbors have stopped working, displaying "error 8" and refusing to do anything other than take up space on the kitchen counter. I realize that things aren't made like they used to be, but for $3,000+ I expect a heck of a lot more than one year's worth of light use. While lacking some of the features of the Z5, there are plenty of "super automatics" that are far more reliable and much cheaper. Don't bother with this machine.
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Does not contain a permanent filter listed in Amazon's description. Nor can any maker's or generic permanent filter be used because of a flat sided basket.
