Creative Home 73462 Single Serve Deluxe Drawer Coffee Pod Holder

While the drawer is attractive, and works well enough, the top is coming loose at the corners of the drawer opening. They appear not to have been glued, or have come loose and the tiny tacks are not holding the material together. Also, the rear-most row is mostly inaccessible. I can get a Nespresso capsule in there, but not a K-Cup. Owners of similar products have complained the bamboo cracks over time. While this is not happening here, it's early days yet. The material is very thin. I hope I can fix it and that it lasts. We'll see.

Follow-up. I did return the item as the gaps continued to spread.

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Jura Impressa J9 One Touch TFT Coffee Machine

Pros:

+ Makes great coffee

+ Highly customizable for strength, size, temperature

+ Energy saving features

Cons:

Serious usability issues

Low height of spout

More plastic than there should be in a product this expensive

Please forgive the length of this review, but for a product that costs as much as this one does, I think you deserve as much information as you can get.

I have owned a Jura Impressa E8 for three years and have been very happy with it overall. The Impressa J9 is Jura's current top-of-the-line model and, at first glance, it looks the part. Gleaming silver body and chrome buttons and accents plus a color LCD screen make a positive first impression. This fades a bit when you notice that nearly all of what you see is plastic, including the chrome-plated spouts. Seriously, at this price point I expected stainless steel or chrome-plated brass here.

In front center, above the drip tray (whose chrome grille is pretty much the only visible metal) is the dual coffee spout. This slides up and down and the dual spouts pivot apart for filling two cups. (Note that coffee comes out both spouts at the same time regardless.) The height of the spout is adjustable between 2.5 and 4.25 inches, with the maximum distance between the spouts being 2.0 inches. I found myself wishing for a taller opening.

On the left side is another single spout which is used for milk and hot water. The standard spout serves as a mixer for milk, water/steam, and if you're making a latte or cappuccino, dispenses both the coffee and the milk, which is a nice touch. The height of this spout is adjustable between 4.0 and 5.75 inches. This spout has a dial that adjusts how much air/steam is mixed in with the milk, which enters the spout through a port on the left. Into this port you insert a piece of silicone tubing (supplied) which can be run into a milk container or connected to the supplied stainless steel insulated cup with siphon tube. This cup is said to be able to keep milk cold for up to 8 hours, though only when full. The port is covered with a red rubber plug when not in use.

Below the center spouts are two LEDs, with a single LED under the frothing spout. These initially illuminate white but change to yellow while a brew is in progress. They go out after a short while after the serving is complete.

There are four hinged doors on top of the unit. The door on the left side exposes the water carafe, which is tall and narrow. A handle swings up on the carafe to assist in removing, holding and replacing. An optional "Clearyl Blue" filter sits inside the carafe with an extender that snaps on to bring it up to full height. You cannot see the water level once the carafe is in place an issue made especially annoying as the "refill water" indicator doesn't come on until there is less than 8 ounces of water remaining, meaning that your last cup may not be full. The door on the right side covers a storage compartment which holds a spoon for pre-ground coffee, a hot water spout that can be swapped in for the milk frother, and the adjustment for the coffee grinder.

A small door in the center is where you would spoon in ground coffee if desired lifting that door triggers the pre-ground coffee cycle which is then started by pushing one of the buttons at the sides of the LCD panel within two minutes. A large door at the top rear surface exposes the bean hopper, which has an "aroma saver" inner lid and a plastic grille preventing you from getting your fingers near the grinder opening.

These doors on the top of the J9 are a problem for me. I have the J9 on a counter with cabinets above. The cabinets, and the moulding below them, are low enough that I can barely open any of the doors. I am able to, with some manipulation, get the water carafe out and access the storage bin, but the bean hopper is inaccessible unless I swing the whole unit around and out on the counter. Luckily I don't have to do that every day. The side doors on my old E8 were narrower and easier to deal with, though I still had to pull the E8 out a bit to refill the beans which, on that model, were on the right side. Of course, if you have the J9 on an open counter, with unimpeded access to the top, none of this will be a concern to you.

The drip tray has four components. The large tray itself has two electrical contacts on the end that tell the machine the tray is inserted. The chrome grille (with a plastic grille underneath) sits on this. A secondary tray sits on the large tray and a plastic grounds container sits on this secondary tray. I noticed that the grounds container was made of a softer plastic than the one on the E8 and grounds tend to stick to it more.

Above the center spout is the LCD display with three buttons on each side. This is your primary interface to the J9. In normal mode, it presents six choices: Espresso, Coffee, Cappuccino, Latte macchiato, Hot water and 1 portion milk. Pressing the button by one of these choices immediately starts dispensing the selected item. On the top front surface of the J9 is a large rotary dial with a central push button. This is used to select additional beverage choices and to make adjustments. Flanking this dial are the power button and a P button used for programming.

If you spin the dial, you are shown all the standard beverage choices plus these: Ristretto, 2 Ristretti, 2 Espressi, 2 Coffees. You push the central button to make your choice, though if you choose a standard offering; it just takes you back to the main screen. Otherwise, pushing the button immediately starts dispensing the beverage. The double-portion choices double the amount of water used, but don't double the amount of coffee ground, so don't think, for example, that you can brew two 8-oz cups of coffee and get something good. However, it would probably work well for two of the smaller products such as espresso.

(By the way, in case you don't know what a Ristretto is I didn't the J9 makes it out to be a very strong espresso. Originally it was a "fast pull" of the espresso machine's handle.)

No matter what choice you make, you can individually customize your cup, though the process of doing so I found awkward. On my old E8, I could select cup size before brewing and got mild, normal or strong by pushing the start button once, twice or thrice. On the J9, you use either the push buttons by the LCD or the dial to make adjustments, but your opportunity to do so is limited. For coffee and espresso, you can select one of five strengths only in the few seconds while the coffee is grinding. Then when the brewing starts, you can adjust the amount of water to be used in .5oz increments up to 8oz. For drinks that use milk, you instead select the number of seconds it will pump milk. For hot water you can select three temperatures; the manual says that "Extra Hot" corresponds to 203 degrees F, but I measured it at 170 in the cup.

You can, however, preset the customizations for each drink type using the programming menu and the "Expert Mode". These presets are used as defaults but can still be overridden while the beverage is being prepared.

When you first turn on the Impressa J9, the screen indicates that the water is heating and then it prompts you to press the dial's button to initiate a rinse of the coffee system. This rinse uses far less water than the E8 did. Then you can make your selections. When you power down, it rinses again.

Ok, that's a lot of words about the machine, but how good is the coffee it makes? Great! I found the coffee even more flavorful than what the E8 could prepare, and I had not even selected the strongest setting. The latte and cappuccino preparation was pretty good, though I found the milk foam to be no thicker than I ever managed to get from the E8. Earlier I got the Capresso frothPRO, which not only makes thicker, richer foam but is a heck of a lot easier to clean up afterward. However, if you're making a lot of milk drinks in a row, you'll appreciate the all-in-one convenience of the J9 just position your cup under the spout, push the button, and it does the rest.

Jura touts the energy-saving features of the J9, so I tested these. When the J9 is heating water, it draws 1300W, but I was amazed at how quickly it came up to temperature from a cold start, only about 15-20 seconds. When it is sitting ready to brew, it draws 3-5W. When powered off normally, Jura says that it draws 0.1W, but my "WattsUp" meter read zero, so it must have been even less than 0.1. There is also a rocker switch by where the power cord comes in (on the bottom right) that completely disconnects the power.

You can set an EnergySave mode. What this does is, once it has brewed, it does not keep the water at brewing temperature. This is indicated on the display. If you then want to brew a cup, you press a button and it takes 15-20 seconds to reheat, then you press the button again to start brewing. I watched my power meter when the EnergySave mode was disabled and didn't see the heater come on too often. Jura says that this can reduce energy consumption by up to 40%, but if you want your coffee NOW, you will probably choose to leave EnergySave disabled. You can also set an auto-turnoff time which will shut the machine down after a period of no use that can be selected from 15 minutes to 15 hours.

The coffee and milk systems get cleaned independently. The machine will remind you to run a brewing cleaning cycle every 200 cups or so. This is done using a Jura cleaning tablet that is inserted into the ground coffee funnel. The machine then soaks, sprays, and rinses the system and then flushes with water this takes about 20 minutes. When you do this, you must place a cup under each of the coffee and milk spouts. About 8 ounces of solution get discharged into each of these cups.

The milk frother is supposed to be cleaned after every use. The usual way of doing this is to add a small amount of cappuccino cleaner (an initial bottle is supplied) in 8oz of water and let the milk tube suck it up into the system. There's a cleaning option in the programming menu to do this. By default, it won't remind you to clean the frother, but you can enable that if you wish.

On my E8, I discovered that the stainless steel filter/strainer, inside the machine, would get gunked up with coffee grounds and oil over time. Eventually this would prevent coffee from flowing and what coffee you did get tasted bad. I know a lot of people griped about having to send their E8 back to Jura for "repair", but I think many of them could have fixed the problem themselves. The J9 seems a bit less prone to this problem as the clean cycle does a halfway-decent job of cleaning the filter, but I'm going to show you how you can help.

I have attached three photos to the product page. The first shows the view inside the opening when you have removed the drip tray. Notice the brown plastic flap with a slanted edge hanging from the top of the opening. This flap is hinged and spring-loaded. Up behind it is the brewing mechanism and the filter disc see the second photo. In this photo you can see the disc after just a few days of use. The third photo shows the same area after a cleaning cycle has been run much better, but not perfect.

What I recommend is: once every couple of weeks or so, take a damp paper towel. Reach into the opening, and with your fingers (and the towel), reach up behind the flap (you can pull it forward a bit don't force it) and wipe off the strainer and surrounding area. You may need someone with long fingers (or small hands) to do this. You won't be able to see what you are doing, but you will be able to feel the disc with its central screw. Cleaning this regularly will keep the quality of the coffee consistent and reduce the chance of problems down the road.

Some miscellaneous stuff you should know. The J9 comes with one filter plus a water hardness testing strip. If you choose to not use the filter, you are supposed to test the water hardness and set the value in the programming menu. This controls how often the machine will prompt you to run a descaling process. The descaling tablets must be purchased separately. If you use the filter, you don't need to descale, but do need to replace the filter every two months. Make sure you get the right kind Jura has two incompatible types of "Clearyl" filter. The one you want is Jura 67879 Clearyl Water Care Cartridge for ENA.

Also in the "Welcome Kit" are two cleaning tablets, a bottle of cappuccino cleaner and manuals in multiple languages. I highly recommend visiting Jura's web site and downloading the manual so you can go over it before purchase.

I hope you found this review helpful if you have additional questions, ask in the comments and I'll do my best. The J9 is expensive, to be sure, but if you buy it, you'll get a machine that makes fantastic coffee in multiple styles, and quickly. I do have some quibbles with the design as far as usability is concerned, notably the positioning and size of the top doors and the quick reflexes you'll need to make adjustments when brewing a cup. With proper care, it should last for years.

I have had a Capresso C3000 super automatic for many years that I was starting to have some minor problems with (small water leak, tray sensors corroding) and decided it was time to get a replacement. I work from home and tend to drink coffee most of the day so I'm looking for something that works reliably and for a very extend period of time. I started looking at the new super automatics from the Jura Capresso based on the longevity of the old C3000. I will admit, it's the TFT display that really caught my eye on this one. I started looking thinking that I'd end up with a Z series, but the TFT display was what veered me over to this one.

It comes pre-loaded with default recipes for latte macchiato, cappuccino, an espresso shot, a ristretto shot, coffee, coffees, hot water, and steamed milk. All of the recipes can be customized via "Expert Mode". You can adjust the strength (1 5 beans), volume in ounces or mL's), steamed milk amount (based on time in seconds). You can also adjust all of the parameters while making the drink without saving, which is great for guests. Basic operation is very simple and straightforward. The TFT display makes this super user friendly. Anyone can easily scroll thru using the wheel on top of the machine and pick whatever type of drink they want. Or, you can select most drinks directly from the TFT screen as well. For two shots or two cups of coffee, hit the button twice. You can also enter the recipe modification mode by holding the drink selection button as well. Grind adjustment is via a knob under the back right top cover. It also displays graphics of your drink while it's being made.

The coffee seems to be a bit stronger on this than on my old C3000, but I love the fact that you don't have to move the cup for lattes and cappuccinos. And, the insulated milk container (included) really does keep the milk cold all day.

I was a bit disappointed when I first got the machine and went looking for the "Auto On" function that turns on the machine at a set time to warm up. After I really started using the machine, I realized this was really not needed. It's typically heated up and ready to go by the time I get the milk container out of the fridge and connected.

Maintenance and Cleaning: If you use steamed milk, I highly suggest changing the setting to display the "Rinse Milk System" prompt to appear right after using. The default is 10 minutes, and you cannot select this rinse from the Maintenance menu. The quicker you rinse out the milk residue, the less likely you are to get clogs. The manual also suggests to use the Jura Cappuccino Cleaner daily. I tend to rinse often and do a breakdown cleaning of the milk system and frother about every other day.

The drip tray on the J9 TFT is very different that what I was used to on the C3000. It has 4 parts (bottom tray, top tray, grinds container, and grill) but the material seems much easier to clean that the drip tray on my C3000.

There is a bar graph style indicator in the Maintenance menu that shows you when cleaning and filter changes are due. I've always cleaned my old one as least once a month with a tablet and about once a week using a cleaning cycle with just water. This machine does use the new Clearyl Blue filters.

One other thing, the coffee only dispenser does not rise up high enough to use with any of the travel mugs that I have, but the milk frother/coffee dispenser side does.

Overall, very happy with my purchase so far. It has the Jura quality that I'm used to, makes great coffee, everything can be customized, easy to clean, and has a neat screen on the front :-)

Buy Jura Impressa J9 One Touch TFT Coffee Machine Now

If you are reading this, you are likely both a gadget lover and a coffee enthusiast, or are considering the J9 as a gift for someone who fits that description. Having tested it for a month and a half, I am still finding surprisingly thoughtful aspects. For example, I found that holding down any button while coffee or milk is pouring prompts you to let it know when you have as much as you want. This is perfect for those odd size cups you can't estimate the volume of, or adding milk foam to the top of a cup of hot tea. It is this attention to detail that really defines the experience with this coffee machine.

Because others have given very good lengthy reviews, with even more available on Youtube, I will give my brief thoughts:

FLAVOR

As expected from the Jura brand, the flavor is excellent. More accurately, the flavor is finely tuned to the user, as the way it is brewed, including strength and grind, is very customizable. Regardless of how you like your coffee, the J9 will likely make it just right and consistently. I have used both very high end and standard beans, and was pleased with both, in the sense that the best flavor and consistency was brought out of both. Of course, the better bean gave the better coffee. Different coffee types are all produced equally well, with black coffee being something beyond the typical office brew and espresso having a beautiful crema and serious punch. A filter is integrated to give better water quality as well, though it can be left out if you want to avoid the cost of replacing it.

INTERFACE

The screen, which seems to add a hefty sum to the price, could be considered a gimmick. For some reason, they brag that it is TFT in the product name, though that is not an impressive screen technology. However, having a screen and buttons (no touch interface) allows for simple and intuitive customization. You can set every parameter of each coffee type quickly and without ever looking at the manual. This makes customization something everyone can have fun with, rather than a daunting task for the professional. If you purchase this unit, I recommend playing with the settings and creating your ideal coffees rather than sticking with the presets. It is a primary reason to own a fancy coffee machine. Some changes can also be made on the fly, such as the above mentioned ability to change the volume of coffee and milk.

CLEANING

The machine includes some consumables for the cleaning, of which extra will need to be purchased (or DIYed) as needed. Other than this issue, cleaning is a breeze. The machine lets you know when it needs to run self-cleaning modes, if you don't do it first, and they are automated. The coffee grounds are ejected as cute pellets and can be thrown away more regularly. The tray will not let itself overflow, because it has sensors to let you know it is time to empty it.

DESIGN

This is my only real sticking point with the machine. For something in this price range, it is sub par. Other than the front plate and tray lid, it is largely made of plastic. The silver color is painted on and easily scratched off, revealing the black plastic underneath. It is strange that they did not at least use silver plastic to avoid scratches showing. Those scratches might occur while trying to open the top flaps, since the unit is a bit too tall to fit under a standard kitchen cabinet. The spouts on the front are chrome plated and feel cheap. Also, the chrome plated wheel on the top for menu navigation does not have smooth movement and feels very plasticky.

Other than the strange design compromises, the J9 is a really wonderful coffee machine. I can not imagine anyone being disappointed with it in that regard.

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This coffee maker exceeds all my expectations. It's quick to program the drinks to your specifications. Machine is easy to use and even easier to clean. It is worth every penny.

Update: Thank goodness for Amazon. Jura has no customer service. One week after purchase the machine started having trouble making espresso. I tried all their troubleshooting methods; increasing the grind, cleaning, and descaling. By week two, the machine could only steam milk. I called Jura and left multiple messages. I also emailed them. After no response I submitted a return to Amazon. They took back this expensive paperweight, paid for shipping, and gave me a full refund. Again I say, thank goodness for Amazon. I still haven't heard a word from Jura. Bottom line: this machine is a lemon

All instructions were followed exactly according to the manual. Defective machines happen, but ignoring them loses customers.

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UPDATED: Frother issues

After a year of making 4 or 10 cappuccinos and 4 or 5 lattes a day, our frother was so dysfunctional, we were cleaning it between uses which seemed a little silly. I called customer service on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, left my phone number and was CALLED BACK a few hours later.

The tech we talked to said I should not be using organic milk for froth because of the pasteurization. He said the machine does not work as well with fat Free milk either -so I had been givign the machine a double whammy. He also said not to switch to soy milk. (ICK.) I have no idea if this is true or not, yet. However, did I mention they called me back on the SATURDAY after Thanksgiving? That is superior customer service.

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

Jura Impressa J9 One Touch is an elegant, gorgeous machine. It is all sleek, silver lines. It's a beautiful design. I love the way the tray sort of floats in front of it. It makes every coffee drink perfectly. No longer does the poor user have to stand there and remember whether to froth or warm or foam the milk or whether the milk or espresso goes first... The complexity and the abilities of this machine are amazing.

This machine took about thirty minutes to look over and open all of the doors, to read the directions, and to load up with espresso beans and milk. Before you get to the directions, you wade through what seems like 100 warning items telling you what not to do. Don't do any of those things. There are a lot of possible mistakes. The directions were absolutely clear, with descriptive photographs of relevant parts. It is all pretty self-explanatory, even if you have never used a super or fully-automatic machine before:

1. Read the directions.

2. Wash the milk container and lid by hand.

3. Put together the two-part filter with the bigger part on the bottom. It will snap into the bottom of the water tank and the tall thin part connects to the top of the filter, first, and then should connect to the top of the water tank pretty easily. It used to be trickier on the older machines.)

4. Fill the water tank. Replace. It snaps in easily.

5. Put beans in the back compartment.

6. Fill the milk cup with milk and choose the appropriate hose.

7. Plug in. Turn on power switch. Put cup under spout. Press on button.

Once the machine heats up it will want to be rinsed. Once you rinse it by pushing the button, the screen will offer you cappuccino, espresso, coffee, latte macchiato. There are more options. It's like heaven for coffee.

There is a PDF file with instructions for use on the Jura website. It's pretty easy to find. The online guide seems to be simpler and more direct although it does refer you to the enclosed guide for warnings.

We use a variety of different espresso beans for our espressos, from Lavazza Super Crema Espresso Whole Bean Coffee, 2.2-Pound Bag and Lavazza Tierra! 100% Arabica Whole Bean Espresso Coffee, 2.2-Pound Bag, for every day espressos, to illy Caffe Normale Whole Bean Coffee (Medium Roast), 8.8-Ounce Tins (Pack of 2) on weekends. I also order espresso beans from a small roaster in Wisconsin, called Ancora. I would advise you to be very careful in using flavored coffees like those that come out of catalogues of Green and Free Trade beans -as those were the only beans that gave my first machine fits until it had to be sent in for repair, tune-up, cleaning, and blade sharpening. At the time, Jura customer service offered us a trade up for a bigger machine, which we leapt at. Customer Service has always been perfect, even telling us how to repair minor problems to get rid of strange sounds, which they can identify over the phone if they feel like it. They are generous with advice.

The primary flaws of the older machines include the noise not unlike a power saw in your kitchen and the strength of the drink. In Jura's defense about the sound, they used to send a CD to play so you could hear the normal sound and know that the machine was not broken. In order to make a standard espresso, I turned the dial to 3.5 ounces while it was grinding enough beans for a strong cup and then dialed it back to 2 ounces of water while it was espressoing. You don't have to do that on this machine.

The other problem was how much trouble it was to froth the milk for a cappuccino or a latte. Putting milk in the frothing pitcher and then turning on the steam generally caused, well, me at least, to get a face-full of hot and cold milk.

We have had two Jura super automatic espresso machines in the past ten years. It is the best, fastest, easiest, and least expensive cup of espresso.

We started looking for a super-automatic espresso maker when my husband noticed my debits, on the house debit card (foolish me), for espressos on my way to work every morning. My husband was looking for a solution for my $5 every morning double-espresso stop at any numbers of coffee shops on my way to work. $5 x 20= $100. We amortized our first $1200 machine well before the first year, including my three summer months off, because I often went out at midmorning for a walk and a latte. I probably still went out half of the time but I used that funny green paper stuff to pay for it.

I recommend this machine completely and without reservation.

February 17, 2012 Customer service update: 900+ cups of espresso later, this machine developed a glitch. After the first or second cup, every morning, it insists that the grounds need to be emptied, even though there are only one or two pucks at most in it. I called customer service and was instructed to leave my number because the call wait time was over 7 minutes. They called me back about an hour later and the tech told me to unplug the machine and leave it off for at least thirty minutes to allow it to reset.

I did that three days in a row and we get the same message.

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LaCafetiere Stovetop Espresso, Classic Polished, 6C

One sip and this becomes a conversational piece. You sense the brew power as it percolates and briefly steeps the coffee. Just be certain when you're brewing for the first time and you get all excited about this new toy, as I did, that you refrain from two urges: 1) firing the gas stove at full speed and 2) peeking to see if the coffee is ready by opening the lid. Adversary effect is, you might get a scalding from the coffee and two, you may overheat the handles. Fortunately, those two latter events did not happen, but it was a close call:)

Quality build is decent. The silicone gasket is decent. Also make certain to tighten the bottom half to prevent coffee from purging on the side due to high pressure as it percolates. cheers:)

I bought this Italian coffee maker just a few dAYS AGO, AND IT IS USELESS, I am Italian and every Italian household has one, this broke within the first 2 days,I have been a customer of Amazon for 6 plus years, and whatever I bought from different sellers were always five star, I cant send it back because it broke, I have used many Italian coffee makers like this one even cheaper ones and never had a problem, I will never buy from this seller again.Mary Forman, Redding Ca

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After years of living abroad, American coffee just doesn't cut it. Now I can have my coffee like I like it again. Great product and was fast on shipping.

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This is lovely but is in silver. Not red as the picture shows. I wanted red, so I'm not thrilled. Am still deciding on if I'll send it back as time is an issue. Disappointed in the salesmanship showing the item in red but selling it in silver. The item quality is fine, so I am still giving 5 stars.

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Nespresso Essenza C101 Espresso Maker with Aeroccino Milk Frother

I worked in an office that had one of these and I just loved the coffee it made. So, I bit the bullet after spending five years making French Pressed coffee and purchased one of these sweet little coffee/espresso makers for my home. I will still make the French Press every once in a while, but this is so great for every day that I don't miss the French Press at all.

To be helpful, the reasons I love this little machine are below:

1) The size is perfect for small counters. It takes up very little space and fits great in the corner where it's out of the way.

2) It comes assembled, so all you need to do is wash the water dispenser, run some plain water through the machine a couple of times and then add the coffee capsule

3) The milk frother is THE best thing ever! It's so simple to use. Add milk up to the minimum or maximum line, put on the lid and press the button and then let it do its thing. It makes the PERFECT milk for your espresso every single time!

4) Cleaning is a breeze to dispose of the capsules, easily slide the front panel off the machine and remove them. They are aluminum so they can be recycled. Rinse the apparatus and then slide it back into place. It's so simple and takes no time at all. For the milk frother, just add a little drop of dish soap, clean with a soft brush, and rinse don't immerse the container in water, just rinse it out, wipe it dry and put it back on its base ready for the next use.

5) It makes a cup of espresso or coffee with steamed milk in under 4 minutes with virtually no mess.

6) The Nestle coffee pods are the best I have tasted and I've had plenty of them to compare to. Once you own your machine, you can go to Nestle's Nepresso website to order all of your pods. The pods cost between .20 and .60 each and they come in boxes of ten. I buy three or four different kinds I prefer the ones with the highest intensity levels (7 or above) because I generally enjoy strong espresso. However, the natural flavors in this coffee, whether with hints of citrus, earth, rich cocoa, or spice, are all so subtle and incredibly sophisticated that any of their blends are lovely. I also appreciate their limited edition blends.

7) Regarding pricing of the pods each sleeve of ten costs about $6.20 I only use one pod a day for my first cup of coffee in the morning so I'm spending roughly 21.50 a month when including shipping fees and I am completely satisfied!

I hope this review has been helpful.

S~

I bought the small machine with aerocino milk frother. I purchased the introductory coffee sampler via Nestle the same day. I received the coffee and machines on the same day, two days after ordering. What do I own a car for? I've had the machine for over a month, and it has replaced my coffee machine. I gave my old espresso machine away within a week. The espresso is incredibly good, and has a nice aromatic rich crema. I believe the machine puts out 19 bar of pressure. It can be calibrated to increase or decrease the volume of the shot or lungo (about 2.5 shots). Nespresso coffee does come with the machine. You get 16 coffee pods. I would highly recommend the introductory offer of 200 pods from Nespresso. You get a nice wooden box which holds about 40 pods with the "wheel" showing each coffee blend with its strength. You get a nice set of books describing the flavors of the blends and the regions they come from. The Lungo coffees have about 25% more grind. Of the decaf blends, I prefer the stronger. Indeed, I prefer the stronger Ristretto, Arpreggio and Roma blends. Of the regional blends, I find the stronger Indriya the more compelling.

The Aerocino frother is a beautifully made device. It has two "whips" for frothing. It is powered by an inductive coil, which the unit can be placed on. Thus, it can be removed as a pitcher. I find it froths best with any milk filled just above the level of the whip. The whips are held in place by magnetism, so you find no exposed moving parts within the device. It is teflon or non stick coated in the interior. One can whip and steam milk or whip cold milk. Holding the start button for a couple seconds changes the light color to green for cold milk. The thermostated heater is not engaged. The "cold frothing" whip can be used for hot milk, and it makes quite a stable micro foam. I find the blade for the hot frothing to be a bit weak for the job, and wish they would produce a blade or whip for an "in between" result.

My machine did drip. I called customer service, and was prompted to engage the machine in a pump priming sequence which forced hot water through the bottom of the machine rather than through the cannister holder. This seemed to increase the pressure at the diaphram, and reduced or eliminated the dripping. There is a one year warranty on the espresso unit, so if the problem persists, I'll swap one out.

There is NO WAY I would ever go without this machine or the Aerocino. The service behind the machine is excellent, and the coffee blends are superb. I can't get over the crema for the espresso shots. I find it hard to keep my habit below 3 shots a day. That is a real cost of $1.60 a day. I have read that the cost of a pound of coffee using this system is around $60 a pound. I find this cost to be worth it. I no longer brew a pot of coffee and waste beans doing so. I always have a consistent brew, and I find I don't crave another cup of coffee after having an espresso, cappuccino or latte.

Nespresso does recommend blends of their shots if you call the service number. Give them a try!

I would find myself buying 6 or 8 of their blends. I don't prefer the "weaker" more acidic blends, but I can appreciate their difference. Their patents are running out, and two competitors are beginning to introduce product in cups formulated for the nespresso machines. Nestle will push back, and I hope they'll push back with quality and service. That is what separates this machine and the brand from the bland and boring world of K-Cups.

I doubt anyone who buys this setup will be disappointed. It is amazing and gratifying.

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The coffee tastes really good. Don't let snobs and wannabes tell you that Nespresso is nowhere comparable to espresso brewed with a Rancilio or a Gaggia. Nespresso makes excellent espressos, and the capsule system is very convenient and clean. However, the Nespresso machines made by Nestle feel cheap. They are made of low-quality plastic all around. Nespresso could charge a bit more and offer the same Essenza models in metallic casing, instead of cheap plastic.

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I live in Seattle and had worked at Starbucks when they had the authentic La Marzocco espresso machines and actually learned the craft of pulling a shot of espresso. So when I started shopping for an espresso machine, I thought that I wanted something similar. But after remembering what a cumbersome chore it was to disassemble the machine, wash the parts, and then reassemble, I decided to try out the Nespresso. And I freaking love it! No messy grounds to deal with or a finicky machine. Just consistently awesome espresso. It's so easy that my husband can run it by myself. And when I've got parties of people here, I can whip up drinks for all super fast. I love this thing and will never go back to the old classics. Progress happens for a reason!

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I'm mostly a latte drinker, I'm not an expert on straight espresso, so keep that in mind. But a few newspaper write-ups I have read say even upscale restaurants are using this for their customers. Reviews from hard-core espresso drinker blogs have also said it has replaced their expensive machines.

Here is what you need to know.

1. Simple operation. Lift the load arm, drop in a Nespresso espresso "cup", close it, then hit the button. Boom, you're done. There are 2 buttons to select, one is espresso, the other is lungo (more water). Espresso is the left button, lungo is the right button. And then it makes the espresso.

2. This espresso maker is tiny, the size of a toaster. I don't know why you would want the Pixie version. In fact, I don't know why anyone would pay more for any other version of the Nespresso makers, they all make the same quality espresso from what I have read. 19 bars of pressure in this one and the rest.

3. The cups are tiny too. They are the size of coffee creamers at a restaurant. Easy storage.

4. It buzzes as it makes the espresso. People say it is loud, not that loud though. It takes less than 30 seconds to make 1 espresso.

5. The amount of espresso that comes out is the size of a shot glass. That's the way espresso works. Buy a small espresso cup to catch the espresso, your coffee mug probably won't fit. Then pour the espresso into the larger cup you want to drink out of. If you only want espresso then an espresso cup will fit easily.

6. Clean up is a breeze. There isn't any clean up. Lift and close the load arm to drop the spent cup into the bin when you are done and then run it again with just water to clean the inside out. Not necessary, but that is what I do. The bin is inside the machine, you just pull it out from the front to get to the spent cups. The bin holds lots of cups so even that is not necessary.

7. The milk frother makes only enough for one small latte. Not enough for large drinks. I have to supplement it with microwave heated milk for a 16 oz latte. Not a big deal. I sometimes skip the frother altogether and just microwave the milk and dump in the espresso. Depends on how much you like froth.

8. The milk frother does not make the milk hot enough for some people, but it definitely makes it hot enough for the first couple sips. 10 degrees hotter and you would have to wait for it to cool down. Microwave it when your drink gets too cool or you go on the road.

9. The milk frother needs to be wiped down on the inside after each use or it may scorch the milk residue and the non-stick surface. it is so easy though, just a wet paper towel will work. Takes 2 seconds. The froth whisk is held in with magnets so it just lifts out, and the whisk is less than an inch wide. The milk frother isn't very deep so it's like wiping out the inside of a shallow coffee cup.

10. Espresso "cups" have to be ordered from Nespresso.com. Shipping is 2 business days. It's fast and well organized. Don't order the ones on Amazon. The one 10 pack I ordered was destroyed during shipping. It was a Prime item too. Nice job Amazon.

11. Cups are about .60 cents USD each. The website will only let you order in multiples of 50, so at least 50 cups must be ordered each time. I originally said the price needed to be $50 but that isn't true, sorry. And 2 day shipping for $6.95 extra is the cheapest option. Sounds bad, but you'll want to do that when you see how fast you start going through them. Load up and be done with it. See the comment section of this review for info on the different cups. My most recent order was under $40 USD with 2 day shipping.

The lattes I get from this machine are better than what I taste from Starbucks. And the milk frother is fun. With 2% milk straight from the refrigerator you get great foam if you use the heavy foam whisk (don't fill it past the max line or it will overflow). The other whisk creates less foam for lattes. Using skim milk, it still creates a nice dollop of foam with the heavy whisk. And it takes less than a minute to heat the milk and foam it, while being completely silent in the process.

The only bad things I can say about this combo offer from Amazon are that it is probably best for single people or couples and not for crowds of people that want frothed milk in their coffee. The espresso maker will make espressos as fast as you can load cups, the milk foamer will take much longer to run and clean and run again. Also, the Nespresso maker is plastic except for the metal load arm and drip pan cover. Doesn't matter though, it looks nice and shouldn't be an issue. The milk frother is shiny silver metal and nicely made, although I've read that you shouldn't store it on the power base as that may lead to failures in the future. I have no proof of this, but it is easy enough not to do. The frother also has it's own power cord so 2 open wall outlets or swapping is necessary if you keep them together on the kitchen counter.

Frabosk 5 5/8" Induction Heat Diffuser Plate

I bought the Frabosk 8 3/4" and the 5 5/8" plate for use with my Electrolux Induction Range.

Pro's: They're very nice looking and very well made

Con's: Although they work, they don't work well. The heat transfer is v...e...r...y sloooooow! I could not get the toast for a grilled cheese to brown. I could boil water slowly. And the handles go through and are unusable while heating which kind of makes the handles useless.

The diffuser plate is costly (which is why I got the smaller size though I wish I had the larger) but still cheaper than replacing all my favorite pots which otherwise couldn't be used with my induction cooktop.

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I have a induction burner,Not all my pans are made for the burner,so this little tool has made it really nice.For any one who is considering a induction burner but doesn't want to invest in the cook wear this is a must.

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I bought this in hopes that I could use my noninduction compatiable cookware with the newly purchased NuWave induction burner. Turns out that is just a piece of stainless steel that does not effectively transfer the heat. Save your money and just buy some induction compatiable cookware.

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This thing is HORRIBE!!!!!! It took forever to heat up, and I tried to fried something, it did get it done!!!! I had to finish my meal using my cast iron skillet!!!!!!! Don't waste your money or your time this piece of useless crap!!!!!!!!

KRUPS XP420050 Perfecto Pump Espresso Machine with KRUPS Precise Tamp Technology, Black

First of all, I am not a shill. I'm like you; I'm an endeavours, somewhat ignorant, espresso enthusiast desperately searching Amazon for an economical espresso machine. I searched high and low for a machine that was under $200 and would not explode, soon break, or produce "weak" espresso. This machine, although lacking in reviews, fits the bill. It is sleek in appearance, efficient in start-up time (about 45 seconds), and impressive in terms of espresso strength and milk-frothing-ability (that's right, I hyphenated that).

This machine replaced our Krups Espresso Maker of 25 years. I had a good idea what I wanted in a machine and right out of the box this one filled the bill.

My inaugural espresso was better than the Krups of 25 years. Don't have any reason why but the taste was better, the creme fuller and less mess. Probably because it is a new machine and everything is better with a new toy. The tamper is pretty ingenious will probably save on coffee in the long term simply because you fill it, rotate the handle until it stops and push the coffee button. I'm going to miss tamping the coffee as with the past machine part of the process I suppose. The push button coffee cake ejector didn't work so well still tapped the holder to release it wasn't really expecting some new innovation.

Though a bit more than I would have liked to spend on an espresso machine, if it lasts as long as the previous Krups it will be well worth the investment.

As a side note the espresso this machine makes is great and it will take some serious will power to limit myself to my once a day cup of coffee.

Update: 10/22/2012

This has been a great machine ..... until the handle broke this morning. Called Krups and they were great in researching the part number (MS-622892). I found replacements at for $24.99 so I ordered two of them. The customer service rep (Stacey) at Krups mentioned they would send one out as a courtesy if they could find one. You just have to appreciate that kind of service. I just faxed them my order from Amazon and hopefully they'll come through. If not, I know there are two more coming anyway.

All in all, still really enjoy the machine, and having found a weak spot have acted accordingly.

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I have a refurbished Krups that I took to work. Loved it and wanted one for home and work, so got the new one for home. Self stamping is a timesaver in the morning. Steaming not noisy and creates beautiful foam as long as u remember not to touch the bottom of the pitcher with the wand...creates bubbles that way. Very easy to use , even for first timer.

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Love this machine. Was spending 5 bucks a day at the coffee shop and now happy brewing mine at home. Easy to use, let it get good and hot before you make your pull and it is very good. Miss the smiling faces and coffee shop but my machine is 1/2 paid for from skipping it.

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This machine makes a great latte. My complaint is the poor design on the frothing wand. The machine originally came with lame plastic "teeth" on the removable frothing nozzle that gripped onto the metal wand. The plastic teeth broke off after a couple of months and I ordered a replacment nozzle. Krups must have figured out the poor design because the one I received as a replacement was a screw attachment instead of plastic teeth. After 3 months of use the plastic screw threads wore out and the nozzle shot into my pitcher of milk. So now I am looking at my third nozzle attachment and the machine is less than a year old.

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Mr. Coffee ECMP40 Pod Pump Espresso & Cappuccino Maker

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I gave this one a chance after wasting $100 on the Krups Espremio, and I'm glad that I did. I was initially impressed by the weight of the Mr Coffee in the store; it seemed to be solidly constructed, so I tried it out even though I had learned that Mr Coffee is now a Sunbeam company. I'd had such terrible luck with Sunbeam products that I wouldn't buy anything from them. I guess that's not true anymore.

Others have complained about having to use demitasse cups with it, but I sometimes use regular coffee cups and just remove the drip tray--not an issue. My hands are a little unsteady (too much coffee?), so I use pods to make sure that I don't get grounds on the edge of the holder.

The pods that I get at Starbucks fit just fine, so the poster who had a problem with that might try buying them there.

It's a little noisy, but not a LOT noisy like my old Maxim and that Krups.

All in all, I'm very pleased with it.

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I wrote my original review back on 9/10/04 ("Great coffee machine"). I have had this machine for over 6 months now and wanted to put another 2 cents in after reading the recent reviews. I still stand by everything I wrote back in September. Also, I completely agree with 1/10/05 review ("fantastic value! so far...").

I use this machine frequently: 4-6 days/week since July. I am thrilled with the product. It works as well now as it did when I first purchased it. I have never had a single problem with the machine. For example, it doesn't shake, it hasn't lit on fire, it doesn't release steam in places it shouldn't, the frothing arm works fine and the water tube in the resevoir is as good as new. I don't even make an effort to take great care of it; I am lazy and clean it only once/week.

It took me a little time to pefect my coffee making routine, but I'm a pro now (please refer to my original review). However, out of extreme laziness and rush in the morning, I no longer use the frothing arm or preheat the carafe.

My routine is:

-pour Brita water into resevoir

-fill filter w/grinds & pack grinds

-put (unheated) carafe (still using my dessert bowl) under filter

-when machine's ready, run espresso

-pour espresso and cold milk into a paper cup and put it into the microwave for 60-90 seconds

-empty water resevoir

-remove filter from machine after 5 minutes (if you do it right after you turn off the drip, wet coffee grinds will spill all over your counter)

As a result of simplifying this routine, I make the espresso more frequently and have not purchased coffee in months.

I still have not mastered frothing. My friend bought this machine after my recommendation and she's able to froth well. I am mystified.

Lastly, the directions say to clean the machine with vinegar every 80 uses. I have (out of, again, laziness) not done this yet, but I don't see or taste a difference despite this.

I am very happy with this machine and it's paid for itself already. BTW, I tried many different grinds and I love Cafe Bustelo.

________________________

Original review, written Sept 10, 2004:

I was baffled at all the problems people wrote about in previous reviews. I am a novice coffee machine user and work the machine with no problem. My suggestion to the people who gave this machine 1-star is to READ INSTRUCTIONS!!! (They obviously didn't, as per their reviews.)

General comments & replies to previous reviews:

-The machine is not loud (as per a recent review), but do expect the machine to make noise.. duh.

-Makes GREAT tasting coffee with lots of yummy crema.

-Steams milk well, although I'd like to be able to make more froth, but that maybe my fault b/c I'm a novice cappy maker.

-REALLY EASY clean-up, very very simple & quick.

-It does take time to reheat between making the coffee and steaming the milk, but if you read directions, the manual states you can continue using the machine even though the "ready" light isn't on.

-Someone wrote it doesn't have enough pressure to make good cappy: I don't agree. It has 13 bars of pressure, where old machines had 5 and professional machines have 15-20 bars. This person probaby didn't pack the coffee enough or didn't use enough coffee grinds.

My process of making coffee takes about 10 minutes total, so you can figure out if this is too much work for you:

-Take water from my Brita filter to fill the water reservoir.

-Run hot faucet water into the carafe to preheat b/c it keeps the coffee hotter longer.

-Fill the filter with 2 spoons of my cuban fine grinds & tap the top to pack it.

-Turn on the unit, wait until the ready light is lit (unit heats up water).

-Put carafe under the filter & press the coffee button so the cappy starts puring from filter.

-Wait until fluid gets almost see-through, then turn off cappy, turn on steam so until heats up water to a higher temperature.

-Fill my Stainless Frothing Pitcher with Thermometer from Crate & Barrel ($15) with milk.

-Run hot faucet water into the mug you'll use for the coffee to preheat it.

-Once unit is ready, dip the frothing arm into the milk & turn the steam knob all the way to get the max steam out to the milk. Usually takes about 3 mins to get the milk to 140 F (from 35 F). Having the thermometer is essential to this process. To make froth, lower the pitcher so that the tip of the frothing arm is just above the milk I think that the steam hittng the surface of the milk creates the froth.

-Turn the steaming knob back to 'off', combine cappy & milk & froth into a pre-heated mug (notice I left the carafe under the filter b/c the filter drips about 3-5 drops during the frothing process and those drops end up in the drip tray, that's annoying).

-Fill a cup with water & clean the steaming nozzle right away by steaming water (instead of milk) to prevent the milk from clogging the nozzle (this is all in the directions, if you just take the time to read them!).

-Leave the rest of the cleaning for later, enjoy the cappy now.

Shortcomings of the unit:

-Didn't come with a carafe, I've been using a small dessert bowl b/c I can't find a carafe I like.

-The frothing arm swivels about 90% and doesn't bend up/down. This was annoying, but I found a way to tilt the frothing pitcher to the side and got used to it & now it's fine.

-The coffee pods that come with the unit are horrible, don't even bother using them.

-If you're feeling lazy (or running late), you'll still end up going to Starbucks or ABP to pick up your morning coffee on the way to work.

Best parts about the unit:

-Easy to clean: dump excess water from reservoir, rinse off drip tray, dump out used grinds from filter & rinse, scrub dried milk off the frothing nozzle (most tedious tasttakes about 15 seconds).

-Small, doesn't take up a lot of space: on top of the unit there is an area where you can store all little accessories for the unit so clever!

-Produces hot, delicious, dark, flavorful coffee: yum!

-Cheap: $90 w/tax, frothing pitcher/thermometer, and carafe

-13 bars of pressure!

-Right at home no trips to & from Starbucks to get a cappy.

-Even though I'm a coffee-grinds-kind-of-person, having the pods will cut about 15 seconds from packing the grinds & about 5 seconds from the cleaning. I think the only drawback from the pods is that they make single servings where with grinds you can make 2 servings (or 1 really big one).

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The good news is . . . We bought the first machine for Christmas and were more than pleased with it's operation and the espresso was fantastic!

The bad news is . . . .Since then we have had three of these machines. The first lasted 4 months before the steam valve would no longer shut off. It almost scalded my wife and now it is in the shop for repair, the other two which were bought within the last 2 days, both failed out of the box.

The last two, one returned for the next, both had the same problems in that right out of the box, during the initial internal rinse cycle, neither unit's ready light came on, both units started getting extremely hot to the touch, over 130 degrees and climbing, and steam started spewing from inside the unit. In all cases each unit failed to an unsafe condition that could have caused severe burns if we hadn't been paying close attention.

The out of box failure rate for the units we bought is 2 out of 3!

The only reason we tried buying the second two units was that we couldn't wait for our first unit because we loved the espresso they make so much!

I would highly recommend that Mr. Coffee, Amazon, and Target, or any other store selling these units, take these units off the market until Mr. Coffee can fix these problem or they may soon be looking at a law suit for personal injury from some not as cautious as we are!

DON'T BUY ONE, until they have been corrected!!!!

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I was given this coffee maker as a gift, and it worked great for about nine months. Then progressively-larger amounts of water started leaking around the top of the basket that holds the coffee. I tried everything: more and less fine grounds, tighter and looser packing of grounds, tighter and looser locking of the basket, completely cleaning the area, etc. Nothing worked.

Finally I decided to do a search online. I found many other people with this problem. The only solution seems to be replacing the unit.

So I called Sunbeam (the owners of Mr. Coffee). They claimed they'd never heard of the problem and told me I shouldn't believe everything I read online. They told me my only option was to drive an hour from my home to a service center. I asked if the service center would charge me. They said, if the unit was purchased more than a year ago, even if I received it as a gift less than a year ago, the service center would see that in their records and charge me just to look at it. And they might not be able to fix it. Throughout this I stayed polite and the person I spoke with was quite defensive.

Chalk me up as very unhappy with the dismissive and unhelpful people at Mr. Coffee / Sunbeam.

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First off many of the complaints voiced here are inherent in cheaper expresso machines. Additionally many can be attibuted to not knowing how to the use the machine(this is not a coffee pot and it doesn't work like on either. I've owned 3 different brands over the years and unless your willing to pay in excess of 200.00 then this is what your dealing with. Breakdown as follows:1)not enough clearance beneath beneath brewer(a 2 oz shot glass or expresso cup fits nicely though and ultimately that is the proper way to brew expresso anyhow--not in a coffee cup/jumbo mug) 2)It does leak when brewer is turned off(from brewing head drips)--not really a problem as much as an annoyance(if you remove the brewing head once the expresso is done--no leakage-or leave a cup there for a few minutes to catch the excess). 3)Frother is much more powerful than simililarly priced machines that I've used and works well(note: generally when a frother quits working it's because the milk has hardened in the frothing tip and the steam cannot escape--it must be cleaned regularly!). A big plus is being able to brew 2 expressos at once, a feature that no other machine in this price range offers(most are single brews into one large glass cup which equlas no crema). It boils down to this--for it's price it's a decent value and if you learn how to use the machine it should work as intended and it outclasses any other machine in it's price range. And by the way the face plate is made of metal so I'm not quite sure how the other guys melted off twice from the steam.

Update(1 year later)---Pot still kicking strong after a year of heavy use(1-2 times a day)...Still brews excellent expresso with a nice crema on top(2.5 oz in about 25 secs). As for the frother-a bit on the weak side but good enough--keep it clean though, a dirty/clogged frothing tip will not work--get rid of the black plastic adapter though--it doesn't work. Overall--a real bang for your buck--no reason to blow 300-500 as long as this economy unit is out there....also--use the right grind(about the size of granulated sugar--do not use fine grind ala turkish it will not work properly)and learn how to tamp the coffee, very important to the end result.

Mr. Coffee BVMC-FM1 20-Ounce Frappe Maker

Many people buy this machine to save money from the expensive coffee houses.

I bought it because the nearest location I can buy a Frappe is 25 miles from home ...

I also bought it because I like coffee in the afternoon, and I could use decaf ...

And then there's the fact that I'm diabetic and need low carb choices ...

So for me, it not only saves money, but it makes the impossible possible.

I've been using the Gevalia Dark Chocolate Truffle Ground Coffee, Decaffeinated, 8-Ounce Packages (Pack of 3), with 1/2 cup water in the top. Then in the blender I add 2 cups of ice, 3 TBS low Carb chocolate syrup, Equal, and 1/4 cup nonfat milk.

Three minutes later I have a scrumptious frappe, fully approved by my doctor! Because of the low calorie count and the lack of caffeine, I can have as many of these as I want at any time of day. Right now I'm whipping one up for breakfast and another one in the evening as a low calorie substitute for ice cream.

Everything on this is easy to use and easy to clean. It made no more noise than the blender I was using to try to make my own (unsuccessfully), and not a drop leaked anywhere. Everything locks tightly for a safe and mess-free experience.

I love the recipe book included (which even has some alcoholic options), but the best part for me is being able to substitute what I like to make my very own perfect frappe. I like mine light (like McDonalds), but if you want a heavier coffee flavor, you simply add more grounds to make it your way.

I've put my coffee maker away for the summer (maybe forever), and moved the blender back under the counter. Since this is smaller than my blender, it hardly takes any counter space.

Fortunately, I opened the box before I brought it home and realized it needed the 4 cup basket filters, so I was able to grab them while I was still at the store. I bought the 2-4 cup size which fit perfectly. But other than wishing the information on the filters was included in the details on the outside of the package, it was a wonderful purchase for me.

I bought this locally on sale, and as a result this will more than pay for itself in about two weeks ...

*** NOTE *** The video is "real time" so you can see exactly how long it takes to go from beginning to end. It actually took me longer to upload the video to Amazon than to make the Frappe and in the time it takes you to watch the video, you could be sipping yours!

SPECIAL NOTE

Mr. Coffee has recently come out with a latte maker Mr. Coffee BVMC-EL1 Cafe Latte. If you are looking for something similar to use for your winter drinks, it is nearly as awesome as the frappe maker. I have posted a video there as well, and now rotate between them based on season.

*** Edited Review *** I purchased a second Frappe machine for my daughter which we used about 5 times a day for a week. She is using ice cubes from her freezer, and even though we were sure her lid was secure, one of the ice cubes caught the lid wrong (or is it right) and loosened it, causing the "kitchen mess" others have reported occurred. This happened once in about 35 times of use.

I am using smaller crushed ice and ice from an ice machine (small and round) and have not had it happen on my machine yet, even though I have made more than 70 frappes in my machine but I have removed a star, Mr Coffee really does need to make sure the lid is secure and locks.

****Second Edit**** This morning (about 10 months after I purchased the Cafe Frappe, my unit would not power up. :'( However, I called customer support and they were able to walk me though a quick fix. I'm back up and running. Since customer support is important to me, I wanted to add this to my review.

*** Updated Dec 2012. The Frappe maker survived the move to a more civilized location, in easy driving distance, but the ice maker that keeps it supplied did not! After looking at the price of Frappes, I am continuing to make my own.

*** Updated May 2013. It started getting warm again, and I pulled out my Frappe Maker once again. It works just as good as ever! You should know that I am now on my third ice making machine to supply ice to this, my favorite appliance. If it ever gives up the ghost for real, I won't have to even consider whether it is worth replacing, I will buy a new one, with overnight shipping since I have prime, it costs less to ship overnight than to buy even one frappe.

This product doesn't do anything you couldn't do on your own with a blender and a coffee machine, but the combination of the two makes the frappe-making process much more convenient. In the few weeks I've owned it, I've found myself just making my own frappes instead of running to the local coffee shop. The accompanying recipe book offers some great ideas, including tea frappes. As a warning to those who don't keep paper coffee filters around the house, the package doesn't even include a sample filter, so you'll need to purchase four-cup size filters before you can try out the product.

The process is simple. Set up the coffee brewer by placing a filter, 3-6 scoops of ground coffee, and water in the machine. In the blending pitcher, add ice cubes and other ingredients (e.g. ice cream, milk, flavor syrup, alcohol, etc.). Turn it on, and the coffee (or tea) brews directly into the pitcher, which then automatically starts a pulsed blending cycle. There is a separate "blend" button that can be used if you find the drink requires further blending once the automatic cycle is complete.

The machine has worked great for me, but there are a few reasons I'm not giving it a full five stars. The coffee flavor is a bit weak, so I sometimes also add my own shot of espresso in the blending pitcher, which sort of defeats the purpose of the product (though I'm someone who prefers the darkest straight espresso shots, so I realize others might find the by-the-book frappes fine as is). Ideally, the product would have a built-in coffee grinder so I wouldn't also have a grinder to clean, but that would obviously increase its cost. In regards to cleaning, it's worth mentioning that the components of the machine aren't dishwasher safe.

If you're like me and tend to keep a collection of gimmicky small kitchen appliances to inspire you to make things you might not otherwise think to make, this is a great item to have around. It operates well, and some of the little details like the automatic pulsed blending as well as the option to perform extra blending as needed render it truly functional.

Buy Mr. Coffee BVMC-FM1 20-Ounce Frappe Maker Now

I recently purchased the Mr Coffee Frappe Maker after seeing an ad for it. I thought of the times I have had to stand in the long lines at the local coffee house, how many times they have made my Frappe wrong because they were in a rush to deal with the long lines and of course the cost they charge. I figured for $ it was worth a shot. The Frappe Maker gives you the control of strength of coffee or other goodies you may want in your drink, syrup, sugar, etc. The ad claims in delivers the product in 3 minutes and it does! I was personally delighted with the end product. It will have paid for itself after a mere 20 visits to the local coffee house. I am pleased with the ease of use and the convenience it provides. I can make myself a Frappe in my own home saving time and money, this is a great product for those that do not have a need to impress others by drinking coffee house Frappes. I anticipate many other copycat products following suit. Every so often a product comes along that is affordable and does exactly what you want it to do.......this is that product and it's affordable. Try it, if you don't like it, return it, you will be surprised how convenient it is however.

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I am a "frappe-aholic" to say the least. I saw this frappe maker and just had to have it. I have to say for the most part I am pleased with it, But~ they really need to redesign the lid on this thing. Every morning I am cleaning the counter and all around the frappe maker due to the mixture that is shot out of the top when the blend feature it on. It is seriously insane the amount of liquid that is shot out of this thing. I've tried everything to ensure this isn't a daily mess. I now have to wait just prior to the blend and place a washcloth over the top to catch the mess. For the price they could at least fix this problem. Just a note as well, the parts are NOT dishwasher safe. If they spend a little more time in the design room fixing this issue.. it would be a 5 star machine in my eyes. I do love it, just hate to spend the extra time cleaning a mess that could easily be prevented by a redesigned top. Get to work Mr. Coffee... : )

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If you like Starbucks' Frappes, then read on. As a "smart shopper" I love finding deals that will end up saving me money; ultimately, saving me enough that the product pays for itself. I used to buy real iced tea by the gallon until I bought Mr. Coffee's Iced Tea machine... now I smile as I pass the aisle at my grocery knowing that I no longer have to lug those containers around and that my appliance has saved me lots of extra food money. With the Mr. Coffee Frappe Maker, I will be able to say the same every time I pass by a Starbucks (i.e. every other block!).

I have tried using a blender for similar results, but trust me when I tell you that is a waste of time. The results from the Frappe Maker are far superior. The ice breaking power and the appliance's "technique" were not only made for frappe making but is also as simple as can be. A note on its power: make sure you place this machine on a sturdy surface as it kind of jumps a bit when the blend takes place -although I was never in doubt that the Frappe Maker would ever be too unstable (as tall and powerful it is) even during the first time I ran it... it is a legitimate piece of machinery.

I used Hershey's dark chocolate syrup to make a mocha frappe and followed the directions without modification... the results were perfect! The recipe booklet it comes with has several great concoctions that I would have never thought of on my own... I can't wait to try them out! Seriously, if you were to pour your homemade frappe into an empty Starbucks container and gave it to someone, they would NOT know the difference (and I say that without exaggeration!). One extra note: when you are at the store picking up ingredients, don't forget the straws... take it from me who learned the hard way! Also, the directions call for crescent-shaped ice cubes, but I used regular medium-sized ones and the results were just fine. Enjoy!

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Nespresso A+D50-US-OR-NE Espresso Maker with Aeroccino Milk Frother, Pure Orange

I have spent a large amount of time researching consumer espresso machines; it's actually somewhat of a hobby of mine. The range of products from entry-level to prosumer is boundless and it fascinates me to see what people will pay for the convenience of a latte at home. Nespresso takes this convenience to another level with its capsule system, only available through Nespresso, that offer relatively high-quality espresso for the masses. There's no portafilters, no grinders, and no tamping.

And this is one the biggest secrets of espresso at home. You're not buying a machine, you're buying a setup. Typically this involves an espresso machine ($150+), an entry level espresso grinder ($200+), and countless accessories. Want to steam milk? Well, you'll need a pitcher. And a thermometer. Fresh beans need good storage. A better tamp? That'll cost you. The up-front savings of the Nespresso are sizable and easily offset the expense of the capsules.

As a professional barista who works in a fully manual, high-end café, when I want an outstanding cappuccino I generally will just go to work. Frankly, this is not a replacement for a café, and you won't find one in this price range. The Nespresso U is perfect for those times when you want to go to get a latté but just don't want to leave home.

The U is far from a replacement for a traditional cup at a coffee shop, but it is a standout in its price point. It has fantastic design elements that make espresso drinks much more manageable like

-internal drip mechanism so that your counters don't get dripped on

-magnetized storage so that parts don't get lost as easily (internal and external drip trays)

-moderately large used capsule bin inside

-easy to use ristretto, espresso, and lungo settings. I love how easy these are to program as well

-great water tank that's moveable; great for small kitchens

The Aerrocino is also a lot of fun. Latte art is absolutely not going to happen with it, but it makes the milk adequately frothy and hot. I am particularly fond of the cold cappuccino setting which basically just turns all the milk to foam without heating it. This is a feature you can't have with a steam wand like on a traditional machine. It's fun, light, quick, and delicious. I also think the Aerrocino, much like the U, looks nice on the counter.

In short, this setup is a great value. You will get decent espresso, nice milk, and no additional resources needed, excluding Nespresso's capsules and some quality milk.

makes an excellent cup of espresso with no manual intervention other than dropping in the coffee capsule, and the milk frother heats and froths milk silently and quickly.

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Exceptional product, very easy to use and it makes drinks in minutes. The quality of the Nespresso Caps and the coffee flavor is rich and full, I could not be happier. Great product and saves me money at the coffee shop.

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If you love espresso, and drinks made with espresso, this can't be beat! I used to grind my own beans, pack my own coffee, and make my own espresso... but the clean-up afterwards is a buzz kill. Personally, I think 60¢ per cup is a DEAL considering the convenience factor and the quality and consistency of the product. The Aeroccino also makes perfect froth every time. My wife got a Keurig and I got this after I liked the convenience factor of the Keurig but not the quality or its ability to make real espresso, or cappuccino (what it [produced was nothing more than instant "gas station" coffee). The Keurig is no longer in our kitchen. My only knock is that it would be nice if it made the drink a little hotter (its actually the right temp if you drink it right away but bigger drinks get cold before I finish).

Tip: This machine has programmable buttons. I reprogrammed the smaller button to pour the standard espresso (realizing that I would never want the ristretto setting which is too small), changed the middle button for the Lungo size, and changed the larger button to pour an "Americano" (essentially your typical coffee sized drink made with a shot of espresso and hot water I just let the hot water continue to run through the pod for a little stronger version). This larger pour just makes basic coffee (as good as any our Keurig could muster).

I have found that I like the Lungo sizes (now my middle button). It is essentially a double shot of espresso (more like almost 3) and, to me, is the perfect cup of "regular" coffee (just way more flavor than standard coffee, and still has the crema). The Lungo pods have a little more cofffee in them so they also make the best "Americanos". Enjoy!

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It's quick easy and doesn't take up any space on your counter. And nespresso delivers fast to your door step! I have two of these now one for my home and one for the RV.

Delonghi EC330-s Pump Espresso Maker

I ordered this machine off amazon.com after reading the very positive reviews on-line about it. The best part was that amazon had it available for just $72 plus shipping (for a refurbished machine). Initially, I was going to order the EC155 (which is very similar), but then noticed that the EC330 was much nicer looking (more stainless) and only cost a few bucks more. Both the EC155, as well as the EC330, received very good reviews.

The basic consensus was that the EC330 was one of the best espresso pump machines around for under $200. This machine has a 15 BAR pump, just like much more costly machines. Pump machines are generally considered better, since they use a pump to produce their pressure. Not only do they provide more consistent pressure throughout the extraction process, but they don't burn the coffee (which produces a more bitter taste) as "steam only" machines do. Steam only machines rely on the pressure from stem in the boiler, which means the water has to be closer to 212 degrees. This is really above the ideal temperature (more like 200 to 203 degrees) for making espresso. Also, steam driven machines generally only produce 4 or 5 bar of pressure, while pump machines produce the full 15 bar needed to make true espresso (well, technically only 10 to 12 bar are needed I believe). In any case, a 15 bar pump machine is considered a much better machine for making espresso.

I ordered this machine in order to play around with making espresso vs. using a french press. With the french press, I brew the coffee on the stove for 5 or 6 minutes, then press it. I use a Bodum manual milk frother to froth the milk (see my review on the Bodum frother, btw) and this system produces a wonderful latte/mocha easily blowing away anything you find at coffee chop shops like Starbucks, etc.

Anyway, prior to plunking down $1200 for a La Pavoni or something, I wanted to see if using a 15 bar pump type espresso machine would make any major differences over the French press method. I also liked the idea of being able to make an espresso vs. just strong black coffee as the foundation for my caffe latte or caffe mochas.

Anyway, the EC330 arrived today. If I'm not mistaken, this machine is mainly sold to the European market. However, it's available as a refurbished unit on amazon.com which is great. As mentioned, it's much nicer than the EC155 and only a few dollars more. Our unit arrived in the factory box, with the factory manual. After taking it out and checking it over, you would be hard pressed to tell it wasn't brand new. It included a factory manual and also a printed sheet with some additional instructions. The sheet said the unit had been tested before leaving and I did see some water around the water tank fitting that tended to support this.

My first impression of the unit was very good. The machine is high quality and well made. While it's not all metal, it does have a nice stainless drip tray and some satin looking metal on the front, etc. The push buttons that control everything have a very nice and smooth feel. There is a warming tray on top and then a removable plastic water tank on the back with a little flip up lid. The overall design and layout of the machine is quite nice. I especially liked how you can take out (and take apart) the drip tray. It removes so you can wash it off quickly. Clean up on this machine is very easy.

There is a steam knob on top. The steam knob feels a little cheap (it's plastic), but certainly not enough to detract from the overall quality feel of the machine (especially given the cost). There is also a steam nozzle on the side for frothing milk. I've used it a few times and it seems to get the job done. I think I need some more practice on steaming milk however. I also need a pitcher like they use in the coffee shops. BTW, the unit does not come with any shot glasses, so you will need to supply your own. I ended up walking across the street and buying some from the brewing company around the corner.

The portafilter is aluminum and plastic. It's fine, but certainly not as heavy duty as a higher quality pro machine. It has two plastic drip spouts on the bottom. The filter basket (the machine comes with a 1 shot and 2 shot size, as well as a little coffee scoop) is nice and can be taken apart for cleaning. Construction seems pretty good. Again, for the money, you can't really complain especially when you consider you can almost spend as much for just a naked portafilter as this entire machine costs :-)

The unit has a little plastic tamper on the under side. I am planning to get a separate tamper to use. The diameter of the filter basket (which inserts into the portafilter) is about 53 mm across from what I can see. I measured it and it's a little under 2 1/8th inches so I'm guessing a 52 or 53 mm tamper would be just about right (don't quote me on that however).

I've pulled a couple of shots with this unit. I got some decent crema by using the finest setting on my coffee grinder and by tamping as hard as I could with the little plastic fitting on the underside of the machine. I'll upload some pictures showing my results in the user photos. As far as taste, the espresso seemed pretty decent (good flavor, a little bitter/sweet taste as you'd expect). I'm no espresso expert, but it seemed pretty good to me.

As far as operation, they directions suggest allowing the machine to warm up for 15 to 30 minutes. However, they say you can pre-heat things faster by running a couple of "water shots" through the unit. The functioning is pretty straight forward. You turn the unit on with the top button, then when it's ready, a light goes on. Each time you pull a shot, the light goes off. Then the unit warms back up and is ready to go again (just takes a few seconds). The machine is more or less manual as far as the time to run the shot goes. In other words, you push the button, the pump turns on, pressure builds up, the shot comes then it's up to you to turn it off. If you don't turn it off, you can run water through the portafilter for pretty much as long as you wish. Also, when you turn the button off, the residual pressure keeps the water flowing for maybe 4 or 5 additional seconds. Clearly it will take a little fiddling around to get that perfect 25 to 30 seconds shot. With that said, I think I like the manual on/off approach over a preset time. I like having the control over how long the pump runs frankly. Kudos to Delonghi for not forcing me into some pre-programmed time limit.

As far as the steaming wand, it's all right. Again, I'm no expert when it comes to frothing milk, but I've seen it done a few times. With a little practice, I was able to get a pretty nice combo of steamed/frothed milk; made a couple of lattes in short order with no problem at all. One thing to note is that because this unit has only one boiler for both making both the espresso as well as making the steam, you do have to take into consideration the difference in temps that result. In other words, if you push the "steam" button, then the unit heats up the water a little more. When it's ready, the "ok" LED goes on and you can turn the knob on top to force steam out the wand. Once you are done, then you turn off the steam button and it takes a minute to cool back down to the proper temperature for making coffee. Of course, you could probably just pull a "water shot" (i.e. with no coffee in the basket) to drop the temp more quickly. The result is that if you heat up the boiler to make steam, then decide you want to quickly make more coffee, the water in the boiler is going to be a few degrees too hot (and this could cause you to burn the coffee during the subsequent extraction if you don't allow things to cool back down a bit). Myself, I didn't find this to be any problem however. And, as mentioned, running some water through to cool things down (and clean things up) is easy enough.

All in all, it's a great little machine. Maybe it doesn't produce the crema that a $2000 machine would, or a lever operated La Pavoni will, but I was actually pretty impressed with how the first couple of shots turned out. As mentioned, I plan to buy a separate hand tamper so I can press the coffee down a bit harder. I don't think Delonghi suggests that, but I'm still gonna do it :-) Also, I think using a slightly finer grind might increase the flavor a bit further as well.

I was happy to see that, after pulling the shot, the grinds in the filter basket are pretty dry. You aren't going to drop out a totally dry puck, but it's close. The grinds are certainly not floating around in a liquid or anything. Just be careful getting them out, because there is a rubber washer in the filter basket. Knocking the portafilter on the side of a trash can worked fine as far as getting the grounds out.

I rated the machine 5 stars. I think for $72 plus a few bucks for shipping, you just can't go wrong here. As far as appearance, I think it stacks up to some of the nearly $500 Breville machines I have seen in the stores. At the end of the day, 15 bar is 15 bar in my opinion. Can you spend more on an espresso machine? Of course... however, for under $100 including shipping, I think this machine will fit the bill for most people. It looks great on the counter and is obviously very well thought out. It produces quite a tasty little cup of espresso without any complaints.

What more can you ask for? I can't think of much.

I'm very pleased with my purchase and I'm not always easy to please ;-) This machine really hits the mark.

For those not wanting to read the long and dull version, here is a quick rundown of the pro's and con's in my humble opinion:

PRO:

1. Price. This thing is a steal at around the $70 to $90 that it costs.

2. Aesthetics. Stainless steel on most of the front is a nice touch.

3. Ease of Use. In 10 to 15 minutes you can bust out a nice cappuccino or whatever your heart desires.

4. Reservoir. Nice size reservoir, lasts me almost a week before topping it off.

CON:

1. Heat. Heating unit takes a minimum of 30 minutes to fully heat up, unless you do the quicky flush.

2. Steam Wand. The thing is tiny and cramped. Not to mention it drips off the drip tray.

3. Steam Knob. It's cheap plastic and gets HOT when the steam is pouring. You can still touch it, but it's not a great feeling.

4. Plastic. Yes, there is stainless steel on much of the front, but there is also plastic in the base and on part of the top.

This unit doesn't seem to have ever officially made it to the US retail chain for some unknown reason. However, with a little searching these units can be had as refurbished or open box units. My open boxed unit set me back about $89 which included shipping and it was in perfect condition. Although on the UK amazon site it's listed for about twice that, a price point which might be a lot harder to swallow.

Unboxing the unit is pretty straightforward and the appearance is very nice. The stainless steel is a very nice effect, I just wish it covered the entire facade of the device. The base tray is plastic, the water reservoir is all plastic and parts of the top cover are plastic. It still looks good on any kitchen counter, but if people can't tell from the picture, plastic is still used extensively in the construction.

During the unboxing the manufacturer has a very urgent warning to read the instructions, which I did, multiple times. Once you go through them a few times they are pretty easy to follow. The instructions start off by saying that the unit has to warm for about 30 minutes or a quick flush can be done by just running the espresso maker twice, minus the coffee obviously. I am fine with the wait/flush option, but the sensor really needs to reflect this. The only indicator is a green light when the device hits temperature, but it turns green when it's not ready and when it is ready. I'd rather it just turn green after the flush or after the 30 minutes. Either way, don't try to pull a shot of espresso when it isn't ready or the green light will turn off prematurely before a full shot is released. All other espresso features are generally ok. Just order your own tamper, as the built in one is useless. It's cheap plastic built right next to the dispensing area, and actually applying pressure is difficult. I'd rather see it done away with entirely and not take up room on the machine.

Steam generally hits temperature fairly quickly and I was satisfied with the amount of steam produced. I was not satisfied with the steam nozzle itself though. It is very cheap plastic and has an extremely limited range of motion. Putting a cup, glass, whatever under it is awkward. Also the thing tends to drip since this does double duty as a hot water dispenser. Dripping wouldn't be an issue if it actually hit the drip tray, but it doesn't! They really should have made a rectangular extension on the drip tray to capture anything coming off the steam nozzle. It should also be noted that when it hits temperature the plastic control knob gets very hot. It won't burn you, but it's a little bit disconcerting and it's not something you would want to keep your hand on. But the plastic hasn't melted yet, so no worries so far.

As for making a decent espresso, I have yet to succeed. I first used grounds that were too course and now I'm pretty sure that my grounds are too fine. I have no doubt though that it is possible to have a good shot of espresso using this machine once you tweak all the variables. Thankfully my drink of choice is cafe au lait and this machine performs that duty very admirably and cheaply.

Overall, despite the obvious shortcomings, I am happy with this machine, especially at the price point. For under $100 I think this machine is a great value and I have no regrets. Once you get above the $100 range though, the listed retail, I might start to think the machine is overpriced for what you get.

Buy Delonghi EC330-s Pump Espresso Maker Now

I had read some reviews on this machine and was a little hesitant to purchase it based on some of the reviews by folks that were not able to get it to work like they wanted. After making some espresso and some cappuccino with it now, I have to say, this is a very good machine and easy to use. It makes very good espresso with a nice froth on it. It's possible the folks having some problems with it are not letting it heat up long enough. The manual says it needs to heat up for 30 minutes, so that's what I did and it works great.

I was very impressed with how quickly and easily this machine steamed milk compared to my old (steam-driven) machine. My old machine required some practice to get the steam wand at the right depth for steaming the milk. This machine was just some much easier. The milk started to immediately froth up. No problem at all.

I would definitely recommend this machine to anyone looking for a reasonably priced pump driven machine.

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Excellent value for a well constructed espresso machine.

One of the better entry level machines.

Easy to use, espresso was hot and flavorful.

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Difficult to steam milk...doesn't produce very hot coffee either. Disappointed after reading other reviews. Might be good if you only like the espresso.