Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
31 of 32 people found the following review helpful.
Well worth it for well under $100!
By TX Techwriter
.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..
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful.
This is the ONE TO GET
By A Customer
Bought this unit about 3 weeks ago and have NO REGRETS. POSITIVES 1. Fast (Can make multiple cups of espresso with the only delay in changing the grindes. 2. Contemporary Styling 3. Nice amount of crema and good temp. 4. Pump unit, build durably. Not flimsy 5. Price $60 (the there are cheaper but not of a pump unit) 6. Includes Measure and tamping tool, expresso pod accessory, and trials of different espresso's. NEGATIVES (These are my inital negatives, but i've gotton over them) 1. Drip pan will stain if not cleaned after use. (It is metal so it can be scoured clean, no longer an issue) 2. Can not use a standard height cupand does not come with a caraffe to brew into, must use a dematasse or cappuccino cup (short cup) This was only an issue the first night I brought the unit and wanted to try it out. Found nice and inexpensive cappuccino cups at linens and things. 3. Makes only 2 cups of espresso at a time. (again no longer an issue due to the speed at which it can produce espresso) SUMMARY. Wonderful machine for price, no other in the same category for the durability, espresso quality, and speed factors. Just make sure to have a good quality espresso (i prefer the cuban "pilon" and cappuccino cups on hand and enjoy -JT
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful.
Great coffee machine
By Good coffee
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 tast- takes 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).
See all 64 customer reviews...
Espresso maker
Great, but beware.....
So far very glad I have it
