20 Best Super Automatic Espresso Machine Under $500 (2022 Updated)

In my first year of ownership, I would have given this product 5 stars. In my second year of ownership, I would have given this product 4 stars. After nearly my fourth year of ownership, I’ve downgraded the rating to just 3 stars.

My reason. reliability, or should I say lack thereof. In the second year, I had to send the machine in under warranty repair, which Breville handled brilliantly by the way. In the fourth year, I had a similar issue of the top of the machine getting way too hot, losing pressure, and dripping water into the tool tray.

Since the machine was no longer under warranty, I decided to open it up and take a look at the internals. I quickly identified a leak on one of the boiler’s fittings and suspected it was a failed O ring.

The problem with hot steam blowing all over the insides of an electric appliance is water condensation causing everything to rust, including electrical ground connections. After my assessment, I came to the same conclusion that Breville most likely would have come to.

the unit was irreparable due to safety concerns caused by water corrosion. While inside the unit, I must say it is a masterpiece of construction and melding of electro-mechanical components that delivered great coffee.

The real question that remains in my mind is, “Is it worth it. again?” What I really liked was the double boiler system, the removable bean hopper, controlling the bean grind, the integrated milk frothing wand with temperature sensor, the auto tamper, large water container, and overall ease of use.

What I didn’t like was the integrated maintenance system; yes it would tell you when to clean the brew unit, but it never told you when to decalcify the machine. When you went into the menu to decalcify, you would often get a “heating” message and seldom the “ready” message.

The first couple of times of me decalcifying the machine, I never got the full instructions to display because it was always in the “heating” state that it never left. Frustrated, I just decalcified the machine based on some videos I watched online and previous experience with other manufacturers’ similar systems.

I believe the failure of my machine was directly linked to the machine not correctly stepping through the decalcification program. The total cost of ownership worked out to about $700 a year, so much cheaper and better than Starbucks fulfilling my daily needed caffeine fixes, but still pricy.

I would buy version 2. 0 of the Oracle Breville Touch in a heartbeat. but not this one again.

Owning and running one of these is comparable to possessing a ’60’s sports car. There are plenty of modern cars that will get you from A to B more quickly, more comfortably, more reliably and less costly than the ’60’s roadster.

but they lack the ‘experience”. The first machine purchased developed a number of irritating faults and had to be exchanged. (Sounds like a car already!) The second machine runs perfectly (so far). It takes a little while to warm up but once underway it performs very well.

Fuelled with the freshly roasted beans of choice the on-board grinder delivers the grind with a powerful growl. The dose can be adjusted manually with internal adjustment to the tamper fan height (no auto-choke here!).

Change your type of fuel and you have to tweak the grind and dose again. just like a ?. need I say anymore? Manually transferring the portafilter to the brew-head and selecting BREW really gets this beast moving.

Without its considerable chassis weight it would doubtless drive itself off the worktop, such is the vibration from the powerful pump. It is not until you change gear and engage the use of the steam wand that this machine really comes into its own and produces superbly heated and foamed milk.

all with your hands off the wheel. A winner in any contest. Having owned a variety of machines, both manual and automatic over the years, I must say that once this beast is tuned it produces a very good coffee.

But I have also had good coffee from other less extensive variants. So why buy it? The enjoyable ride of producing the beverage does not come cheap. but there again nor does the ride in the ’60 roadster.

It’s the experience of the ride you pay for not just the reaching of the end of the journey.

This is definitely an expensive unit but I like how easy it is to clean the milk out of the machine. Dispense pellets, connect the tube, and start the cleaning cycle. Super simple. I just wish I had more control over the coffee.

I can adjust individual drinks but I have no way (or at least haven’t figured out how) to duplicate something and create a custom drink option. I like to prepare a latte machiatto for my commute but I also enjoy the same at home.

I use a large travel mug for my commute and like to have more coffee in my mug than I could fit in a cup at home. So I have to pick the smaller size option and manually keep dispensing more coffee in the morning as I am rushing out the door.

I hate that I cannot have a custom option for my travel coffee so I can click a button, walk away, and continue with my morning regiment. Instead I have to sit there in front of the machine waiting for it.

Sure I can use one of the other recipes and change it for this but the icons won’t match so when my family and friends are over they may press it thinking they are making something and then they get my recipe and the cup would overflow.

I also have issue with the coffee grinds overflowing inside the machine. Every time I remove the tray, there is a large amount of grinds left behind in the compartment where the tray goes in. This part is difficult to clean and seems like an oversight in the design process.

The “chrome” drip tray and spouts (really anything that looks chrome) are also cheap plastic, not metal.

Comparing a bean-to-cup machine to a coffee pod/capsule one is unlikely to be meaningful as they are very different to live with – we switched from 2 Nespresso machines to the Jura E8. Let’s start with what we didn’t know that took some adjusting to – there’s a lot more maintenance.

You are encouraged to clean the milk system daily (assuming you used it) and while the process is automated it consumes a cleaning agent from Jura, water from the tank and your time, plus it sprays the front of the machine with water that you end up wiping a few times a day.

The water tank contains a filter that with our water hardness has lasted about a month, another consumable. Filling the water tank and emptying the drip tray is surprisingly frequent as the machine rinses itself each time it’s switched on.

Continuing with what we didn’t know – the quality of the coffee. Yes, we expected it to be better in some not easily definable way but what we got was better! Using Monmouth beans at the finest grind setting produces a coffee we didn’t think we can get at home.

The result is so satisfying that the maintenance routine is transformed from a ‘chore’ to an ‘act of coffee making’. The buttons are convenient, the screen is nice, the drinks selection is decent but none of this matters as much as the fact that if you are able to somehow make your way to it, in the morning, with unseeing eyes and manage to find the ‘On’ button you’ll be rewarded with the best cup of coffee you can imagine with no effort at all.

OK, I’ve had the Jura E8 for about a month now. As background I moved from a Gaggia Accademia that I had running strong for 8 years until the door started leaking like crazy (apparently a weak spot for these Accademia’s).

At first I considered repairing the Accademia but the repair process sounded complicated/cumbersome and I was enticed to try a new brand to change things up a bit. Jura caught my attention. Beautiful designs and great reviews.

I decided to go for it. Got a refurbished unit of Jura’s website. First unit was a total disappointment – didn’t work, some error with the temperature sensor, I called Jura back and they shipped me another refurbished unit within a couple days.

This second version worked great. I sent the other one back. Despite this setback/disappointment I have to say I’m now very impressed with my Jura. First impression I was concerned about the build/quality of the materials (much more cheap plastic than my Accademia had).

Its beautiful – don’t get me wrong but some components like the drip tray just seems too cheap for such an expensive machine. It does make it lighter I take that but no one is really moving/hauling these things around – once you put it on the counter it stays there.

The functionality and customization is amazing, particularly with the App. The milk based expresso drinks are great. At first I thought I’d hate the cleaning of the milk system (my Accademia did it automatically after each drink) but in reality its not too bad.

Temperature and flavor of coffee is spot on. Easy to get used to the routine/settings. Water tank and drip container also very conveniently accessible and of good size (a bit bigger than my accademia).

Overall time will tell if this thing lasts as long as my accademia did. I’m a bit concerned it wont just based on the quality of some of the outer components that feel more plastic like (as opposed to solid aluminum like the accademia or other more expensive Jura’s) but so far so good so I’m willing to give it a try.

I REALLY wanted to love this espresso maker. After all, I saved a LONG time to be able to purchase one (mom of 3 daughters here) and after all my research convinced my husband THIS is the one I wanted and how I thought it would be worth the investment.

Sadly I have to say this is a HUGE disappointment!! I first got it April of 2021 in black truffle. Quickly the machine as much as I have tweaked every setting possible etc. kept leaving really wet pucks & making inconsistent shots, then it started not turning on and making a weird beeping sound instead, lastly the black finish was not sealed well because just from hand washing the tray with a soft no scrub sponge it kept getting chipped off just with warm water & soap?! forget brushing anything against it at all it just chips, it looked like I’ve had it for years after only a few months.

We searched over & over on the Best Buy website and months later we’re finally able to exchange it because they finally had one in stock! Well, the one we exchanged for the screen display is messed up, can’t save any of my preferences because the key board doesn’t work!! As well as this particular machine each thing I’m trying to click I have to try 1,2 or 3 times because the screen display is messed up (my last machine was sensitive and I only had to barely touch each thing) one of the reasons I went with this one and NOT the $699 breville espresso maker is because of the touch screen I thought was neat But it doesn’t work! Now just a few weeks later it is not turning on right away and makes the same beep noise the last one started making.

There doesn’t seem to be a machine at any of the surrounding stores or neighboring states near us so I cannot exchange it. My husband called Breville costumer service and they were not only rude (walking him through the trouble shooting and putting it back to factory settings) which was surprising?! We searched over & over on the Best Buy website and months later we’re finally able to exchange it because they finally had one in stock! Well, the one we exchanged for the screen display is messed up, can’t save any of my preferences because the key board doesn’t work! As well as this particular machine each thing I’m trying to click I have to try 1,2 or 3 times because the screen display is messed up (my last machine was sensitive and I only had to barely touch each thing) Now just a few weeks later it is not turning on right away and makes the same beep noise the last one started making.

There doesn’t seem to be a machine at any of the surrounding states near us so I cannot exchange it. My husband called Breville costumer service and they were not only rude (walking him through the trouble shooting and putting it back to factory settings) but said they only way to get a new one is to put a hold on our CC for the same amount over $1,100 to ship us a new one & it would take weeks, then we have to ship ours back to get the money back.

This is completely unacceptable and should be able to be done differently. Not everyone has that much money just hanging around able to put a hold like that on their funds. We are extremely disappointed at the “costumer service” we received from Breville As well as this being our second espresso maker from them in less than a year not working correctly.

but said they only way to get a new one is to put a hold on our CC for the same amount over $1,100 to ship us a new one & it would take weeks, then we have to ship ours back to get the money back. This is completely unacceptable and should be able to be done differently.

Not everyone has that much money just hanging around able to put a hold like that on their funds. We are extremely disappointed at the “costumer service” we received from Breville As well as this being our second espresso maker from them in less than a year not working correctly.

We are thrilled with our purchase. Creates barista quality espressos, lattes and cappuccinos. Easy to use, can customize (and save) settings for longer or shorter grind, (same for the pull) as well as adjust the milk temperature.

The microfoam that it creates using the automatic feature is excellent (especially if you are into latte art). Don’t forget to use non-oily beans and wipe down the outside of the steam wand after you froth your milk (it will self purge to remove any milk that might have got into the wand) The grinder works great, though with the fineness of the grind, the ground coffee tends to overflow the portafilter before you can tamp it down.

To prevent the spillage, we purchased (online), a 54 mm dosing filter that attaches to the top of the portafilter when we grind our coffee. This has prevented any coffee from being wasted. The machine is not too tall and fits easily beneath our upper cabinets.

To make it easier to slide out and fill the containers (water, coffee bean), we used a thin plastic cutting board. We also love the look of the black truffle instead of plain stainless steel.

After much research on Breville’s different models as well as research on other brands, I bought this model for the automatic milk frothing, so other family members can make their own coffee while still having the option of frothing manually.

The steam wand’s auto-purge feature and on-screen reminder makes sure no one forgets to purge the wand. The touch screen presents a menu of drink options and allows customizing your own drinks. It’s also useful for showing cleaning and descaling reminders, which is more informative than flashing lights like with Breville’s screen-less models and cuts down on “family customer support” calls.

I like the process of dialing in a new coffee bag, pulling your own shots with the portafilter, and even trying to learn latte art. It’s become part of the coffee experience and much different from what you would get from a superautomatic machine.

It sits under our kitchen cabinets, so I put a sliding mat underneath to make it easier to refill the large water tank and bean hopper. Without the mat, pulling out the rather heavy machine resulted in the drip tray sloshing water into the storage tray behind it.

The pop-up roller on the higher-end Brevilles was a brilliant idea. Too bad it isn’t on thisTouch. I like how it heats up in a few seconds, instead of several minutes with other brands. A minor gripe is I wished the custom brew temperature setting displayed the actual temperature in C/F like it does for milk steaming, instead of options like “High 1”.

However the fact that you can even easily customize the brew temperature from a touch screen is a huge plus. If Breville made a grinder-less touchscreen model with automatic milk frothing and quick heating in a compact package (Breville, here’s an idea, please: “Bambino Plus Touch”), I would have gone for that and a separate grinder instead.

I am still very happy with this purchase. The whole family loves this espresso maker and it gets used multiple times a day, drastically increasing our family’s consumption of milk and coffee and milk-moustache-decorated smiles all around.

A Cliche, but this particular machine is working well with daily use, making about 4 drinks/day for the past 4 months. After reading, and forgetting, the information in the manual, I was thrilled that the display tells you exactly everything you need to do and precisely when you need to do it.

I have found my favorite beverage, which doesn’t involve the steaming apparatus, however the few times I’ve strayed, I think the frother is easy to operate and (due to onscreen instructions!) super simple to clean! I have used the hot water function for tea, but the temperature ranges around 170° which is perfect for green tea but maybe not the others.

The only suggestions are: Set it up near a water source, as the water tank is as small as my bladder. Temp for coffee on mine is set at the max, but I don’t think it’s hot enough to do a justifiable extraction.

Despite this, the crema is superb!! If the temp is an issue, i recommend heating your cup. Have a vessel on hand to catch water when you turn the machine on and off, as it goes through a short cleaning phase on both.

Not a problem if you don’t however, as the water does go into a catcher. Just be prepared to empty frequently, as it is super tiny. The water filter seems to need replacing frequently, so either have one always on hand, or use filtered water and adjust your settings that you are going filter free.

Please note, I received the Delonghi Dinamica Plus as part of the Stellar Product Testing Panel. When I reached the ripe old age – 5 (Yes, five!) my material grandmother finally gave in and slid me her tan-ish stained coffee cup and begrudenly allowed me to sip her darker than a pitch black night coffee.

After coffee touched my tongue for the first time and the third degree burns healed from the temperature of that coffee (No, not seriously, but the memory from my younger years may be a tad bit skewed!) I was hooked.

From that moment on, my love of coffee only began to increase. The best part? I was introduced first to straight black coffee – no frills no thrills. Throughout the remainder of my childhood years and to my current, undisclosed age 🙂 I’ve experienced coffee and coffee drinks across the spectrum, brewed via a wide range of apparatuses.

I write all of this, not to simply reflect on my own childhood memories but rather help you understand my experience with coffee as a describe this magnificent machine. Unboxing: Do not be alarmed when the machine appears used when you are opening the box – this is what a precision piece of equipment looks like.

Well tested, and ready for prime time! The directions to assemble / prep this machine is fantastic, very clear to understand and simple to get operational. Oh and potentially the best part of all, while the water tank is on the side – ITS SLIDES FOWARD FOR ease of filling.

On to the coffee fill! When it comes to my daily cup (okay fine, daily CUPS!) of coffee one of the most important things to me is sustainability – I will not use single use serving pre-filled cups grounds.

This machine accepts either ground or beaned coffee and grinds the perfect amount for the selected type of coffee and disposes of the used grinds in a bin inside the machine – very nice. The Display: The best feature of this machine is the user interface, this is where different users ‘profiles’ can select their individual favorite coffee options – this will make your personal favorite, lattes, cappuccino, etc seriously this thing has options I had never heard about, customize them, and reuse them over and over again with ease! This is game changing, this makes this arguable ‘idiot proof!’.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, you can do all of this from the machine OR from the connected app via your smart phone. So, in the morning you turn the machine on and let it heat up (pro tip always have a cup under this machine, it purges itself of the cold ‘in the line’ water and will eject that water out the nozzle in the tray.

Thus, we always have a cup under the machine to avoid dumping the tray constantly. Next, you push a button and it all happens. No second guessing, no multiple steps, no grinding or tamping, simply just click the button and relax and boom in just a short amount of time, you are enjoying your perfectly brewed beverage (Hot or iced, I may add!) The milk: OH THE MILK! While I typically try to resist the calories that milk adds to coffee drinks, sometimes you need that little extra kick! Before this machine, we had tried several other offerings of at home milk frothers without great results.

This machines changes everything, not only does it froth the milk itself, it also mixes it in perfect into the drink, again taking the guesswork out of the process. Additionally, it has a build in cleaning so the machine doesn’t get full of crusty old milk! Seriously – a fine crated piece of equipment.

Overall: as initially said in the title – this machine has replaced our trips to the fancy coffee shops. Seriously its just as good as the coffee you can pay $5-6 per cup for, and you can do it from the comfort of your own home and you can make as many cups as you want! If you’re second guessing this unit due to the price – commit to it, as shocking as it sounds it will replace your expensive indulgences all from your own home.

Oh, and this thing must be modeled after a fine German vehicle because its nothing but gorgeous on my counter. Enjoy, happy coffee drinking!.

Ok, other than the fact that this unit is pretty pricey, (it will pay for itself if you get your latte at home instead of at the drive through), the much touted wifi is truly useless. The idea of using your app to make your coffee before you get out of bed is blown out of the water when you realize the first thing the machine does when it comes on is rinse itself.

So, unless you want the rinse water as part of your morning coffee, this just doesn’t happen. What this machine does do very well is make very good coffee. Where could it be improved? Well, you have to make sure you check the water and milk levels in the tanks and the bean quantity in the hopper before you select your coffee.

Otherwise, the machine will start the cup and only let you know if it is short of water or coffee after it has wasted a cup. For the water level, a simple float in the tank that would tell you on the front panel if you needed to add water would be great.

Perhaps a small spring switch to let you know upfront if the hopper needs beans as well. Are these being nit picky, on a $100 coffee maker yes, but on one that is well north of $1000, absolutely not.

It is a good machine, but for this kind of money, it should be an outstanding machine. I would not recommend this machine unless it is heavily discounted.

The Miele 5510 is my first automatic coffee system I am still trying to perfect the perfect cup of coffee. But, my issues are the water tank and drip tray. The water tank is small and I was aware of that, however, it won’t even use all the water in the tank, before stopping and making me refill when it is 25 percent full.

Also, drip tray gets full after making 3 double cups of coffee. When it is not in use, I put an empty cup to catch the rinse water, so it isn’t that. I am also on my 4th brand of coffee, and still not satisfied with the coffee taste.

Hopefully I will find the perfect one soon, then I will be on to espresso and cappuccino trials. I had looked at a Jura for months, maybe should have spent a little more and got that.

I didn’t get it because they were sold out! What type of review do u think I would leave? It isn’t Bloomingdales fault. It actually is mieles and they have done this same thing with William sonoma, Bloomingdales and recently on their own website.

They use to be about quality but now if they under produce, they just cancel the order. This has happened 6 times. Oh and the 200 they said they would rebate? Good luck trying to find out where you get this rebate!.

Pros: One button coffee Cons: Drinks are small even when selecting long coffee. It’s a bit too much plastic

This machine makes a great tasting barista style coffee so simple. Breville has incorporated 4 keys elements into their machines to assist in making the perfect coffee we all desire. 1. Dosage. A consistent measured dosage for either a single or double shot selection.

2. Water temp. The heat pump produces the ideal water temp of 93. 3. 9 Bar of pressure during the extraction phase , allows all the flavours to be extracted from the coffee grinds. 4. A steam wand that produces 130 steam, perfect for making the milk microfoam to top off the perfect coffee.

The key feature for me is the intelligent auto dosage which provides a consistent 8-11gms single shot or 18-22gms double shot dosage and the assisted tamping mechanism, which produces a perfect 10kg of pressure with a final 7 twist just like a professional barista would do to produce a perfect polished puck, ready for the extraction process.

Once you have dialed in the correct grind setting for your preferred coffee beans, this allows the correct pressure during the extraction process, as indicated by the grey range on the pressure gauge.

This machine takes all of the guess work out of the equation for those of us with no barista experience. Moderately priced and highly recommended.

I came across this Breville machine while searching for good coffee machine for home use which is easy to operate and makes Barista style coffee. If you have similar requirements, look no further than Breville the Barista Express Impress.

– Easy of set up The installation instructions are detailed and provide great insights into each equipment. I had never set up or operated a coffee machine but the instruction booklet and multiple youtube videos really helped me to understand different parts and their functions.

– Ease of operation The coffee machine is easy to operate. Detaching, filling up and reattaching the water tank is easy. The hopper can store 400-500gms of coffee beans. Once we put the coffee beans, preferably roasted within last 30 days, the grinder does its work and dose is automatically calculated.

Different filters are provided to ensure we can get the best tasting coffee. Once prepped the machine through initial cycles, everything seemed to be on auto mode. Dosage quantity was automatic. In built tamping takes away guesswork from the dosage calculation.

– Fast The machine is fast, it doesnt take much time in heating up for grind or steam or water. We like our milk extra hot and that takes a bit of time. If you are looking for an espresso, it would be only 2 min and a long black will be ready in 3 min max.

– Build Quality Build quality is really good. The most used parts like portafilter, the filters, cleaning tray, milk jug are very easy to use. – Maintenance The machine has an indicator which alerts when tray needs to be cleaned.

The only area of improvement I could think was that we can use steamer and hot water outlet at once. If a novice like me can learn how to make a good coffee, a regular coffee maker at home will fall in love with this machine.

Tip videos from breville NZ on youtube are really helpful.

I’ve had this espresso machine now for about four months and in that time I’ve basically used it every morning. It’s easy enough to make a morning latte with this machine that the drip coffeemaker has been relegated to the closet.

I’m an espresso beginner so it took me a little while to dial in the grind for the beans I use, but after four months of practice I’m now at the point that I can pretty much make a perfect double shot in less than 3 minutes while still half asleep–the fast heat-up on this machine is a godsend.

My absolute favorite feature, though, is definitely the automatic milk steaming with the auto purge of the steam wand. Does it make perfect latte art microfoam? No. Does it at least enable me to make passable steamed milk for a morning latte while, as mentioned, still half asleep, with very little fuss or room for error? Absolutely, which is what I was looking for in choosing a machine with that feature.

Maybe someday I’ll learn to steam manually and get that perfect latte art foam but for now I’m happy to be able to produce a very drinkable latte without having to go through that extra learning curve.

Also the damson blue color is really beautiful. neither black nor stainless would have looked good in my kitchen and the machine definitely takes up some space and presence on the countertop so I was determined to buy the machine from a place that carried the blue version!.

Love the machine. The image Breville provides in my review is different from what I have. A few notes on the Barista Express. you will definitely want to purchase a molded funnel for the portafilter.

The machine has a design flaw where a lot of grounds bounce out of or miss the portafilter. I also recommend a distributer so you can make a level tamp in the portafilter. The included tampener can be pushed down unevenly and cause one side of the grounds to lower than the other side.

Every set of beans is different. You will need to recalibrate your machine for every new bag, especially from different roasters. Expect to blow through a pound of coffee when you first get your machine.

I think a lot of the settings are totally unnecessary. There’s a coarseness setting from 1 (fine) to 10 (coarse). You literally cannot use it above 3 in my opinion. It’s too coarse to get the required pressure.

Same for the ground volume knob. the portafilter can only hold so much grounds. I’ve never had the dial past 3pm. I would recommend descaling monthly. My machine starting making an awful buzzing sound after pulling some shots.

I thought it was toast, but I ran three descaling cycles and two cleaning cycles and it was gone. and this was after following the machine’s maintenace schedule to a t. Overall, I love it, but it’s definitely not an “espress out of the box ready”.

Also. if you buy a Breville with the built in grinder, it is very difficult to put back in. You have to make sure all the beans are ground, then use a brush to push all the debris in the funnel down further so the grinder top can sit flush.

This device provides superb quality, yet the price is affordable. For Polish customers: it is ~250€ cheaper in DE than in PL. Choose wisely!

I did a lot of research before buying this unit. I settled on the Miele brand because every other Superautomatic Coffee machine made by other manufacturers had complaints about drinks being too cold.

Having used the 6350, I can attest that “hot” is NOT and issue with Miele. The medium setting is plenty hot, hot is probably a little too hot, and I havent tried maximum hot for fear of scalding myself.

I chose the 6350 over the 6150 because it had a few more features including a milk container, an active cup heater, LED lighting , and a hot water spout. My recommendation is to buy the 6150 unless you need the hot water spout because the other features are not terribly useful.

The unit uses A LOT of water because it cleans itself both before and after making coffee so the water reservoir needs to be filled often and the drip tray needs to be emptied often. For this reason, I would not purchase a 5000 series because they hold less water.

All of this said, the unit makes excellent Latte and Cappucino drinks with thick and warm milk foam. The coffee produced by the machine reminds me more of that I have had in Europe and represents a cross between filter coffee and espresso.

The controls take a while to learn but the ability to modify the amount of ground coffee, temperature, and volume of water are very useful. The factory refurbished units are an exceptional value with a 2-year warranty.

The CM 6150, replaced a cheaper ($1,300) 7 year old Jura coffee machine. In comparison with this machine, we have found the Miele to be noisier. It is less efficient, using a lot more water. The software is not particularly intuitive and continues to cause angst.

The periodic cleaning required is most cumbersome. It has less features. As a similarly, we were expecting a midrange BMW. However we appear to have purchased a rebadged Lada. Could we return for a full refund please.

I did not just do a review of the Miele CM6350, I did a 15 page review. I obviously can not post it here. We get so caught up with a product that we forget the due diligence we did before we bought it.

I had no intention of buying this Super Automatic Espresso Coffee Machine. I was going to buy a DeLonghi. I had owned 4 DeLonghi’s in the past. Then a good friend out of the blue told me he just bought the CM6350.

I started by research. I down loaded the owners manual and read it cover to cover. I read every review I could find. I watched ever YouTube Video especially the ones that are hard to find. This model has been around for a few years.

Other brands had new released machines. So I did an excel worksheet lining up the specifications. All the machines were about the same with very subtle differences. One would have a built-in water filter, another would not.

One would have a bigger water tank then another. It all came down to the reviews I read like this one. It also focused on my last DeLonghi broke twice in three years. Finally it was that I owned a Miele Vacuum for decades.

I bought it. My study of the manual made all the difference in the world. Easy set up, easy ability to adjust every aspect of any of the coffee’s the machine makes. Easy clean up and maintenance was a snap.

The coffee is fantastic however please remember it has to do with the beans you use. You can’t use oily beans so Starbucks and Illy brands were out. What impresses me the most is the machine won’t let me mess up.

When you make a milk drink, you need to clean the milk tube if the machine goes off, it self cleans itself. It beeps to remind you to take the milk tube out of the milk container. If you don’t it will skip cleaning the milk tube.

When you turn it on again, you can’t make coffee until you clean the tube. That is one smart machine. A hint for everyone, my wife likes her coffee a certain way. I was smart to know to set the default setting to her liking.

I then created a profile for me. You see, my wife is not a technical person and I am. If she thinks the machine makes great coffee, she is happy. If she is happy, I am happen. I love this machine. Hope that helps everyone.

After debating on whether to take the plunge on a full featured espresso machine like this one or go for something cheaper/simpler, I could not have had my expectations blown away any more than they are after using this machine.

I am a novice when it comes to making coffee (went from a nespresso to a couple of french press/pour over methods but never felt like I got the taste to match or surpass getting something made at a coffee shop).

This Breville machine made it feel like after a single pour, I was an expert. Setup was straightforward enough – they include a handy quick setup/reference sheet that helps you get through the initial steps and perform your first extraction.

The box includes all of the pieces you should ever need to clean/maintain your machine (except for disposable products like filters and descaling tablets). Operating the machine is super straightforward, and what helped me the most is that on the back of the quick setup guide is a nice tuning guide that helps understand what to do to get the best extraction you can get.

In total the machine has so many customizations that you can get super crazy dialing the machine to a specific bean that you are trying to brew. After reading through the manual, cleaning/maintenance of the machine also seems doable.

After dialing the machine in to get a good extraction, both my girlfriend and I were able to enjoy our favorite starbucks orders from the comfort of our own home, and they actually tasted better than when we order sometimes! tl;dr – A fantastic fully featured espresso machine currently $200 less than anything comparable.

While I don’t have the most refined palate, this machine has reviewed really well in terms of its taste. I’m incredibly happy with the price of this product, the quality it produces, the money I’m going to save by not going to starbucks every morning, and the fun I’m going to have learning how to make world class espresso.

It makes a good shot of espresso! I’ve had many of these, what I call “fancy coffee” machines. I paid more for some, less for others. I used to move often and it seemed every move, my fancy coffee machine would break and start leaking inside (probably due to freezing).

Well, now I’m settled permanently (I hope), so here I go again. This machine is still pretty new to me, and although I like the quick convenience of a “pod” type coffee maker, when I can devote a few minutes to crafting a really premium coffee beverage, this machine delivers.

The pros: looks nice, fairly sturdy build quality with lots of metal, heats up pretty quickly, recovers quickly between shots, really nice heavy high quality porta-filter, contains a VERY, VERY nice grinder that is precise and consistent as well as compatible with bean hoppers from Breville’s stand alone top-of-the-line grinders, handy inside filter storage and magnetic tamper storage, single and double wall filters supplied, nice ball-jointed frothing wand, but best of all this machine is VERY customizable.

Single and double-shot volume is adjustable, grind size and volume have lots of adjustment range (also manual volume control by holding the porta-filter in), brew temperature can be customized over a range of several degrees, and bean hoppers can be unlocked and removed (swapped) with beans still inside.

The frother works fine but I usually use a separate induction type frother. The cons (all very minor): It’s a little messy. It spits a little when brewing. To dispense a full dose into the porta-filter at my preferred grind setting (3), there’s some spill-over, even if I shake the handle a bit during the grind.

I don’t think this can be avoided in anything other than a super-automatic machine and I hate cleaning those things. I deal with this by reducing the grind volume by half, tamping it down, then grinding in the other half.

The porta-filter comes with a dual-outlet nozzle, but I never brew into two cups. Sometimes I want to brew into a very small cup, but the dual nozzles won’t both hit it. If you unscrew and remove the dual nozzle, the porta-filter won’t sit flat and level on its own while tamping.

This is a minor annoyance. It doesn’t have provision for a direct plumbed water supply (I know that’s a big ask, but it’s what I want). Overall: I love this machine. When I’m not using it, it sits there looking nice.

When I use it, I realize how good coffee can be. I hope it long outlasts its warranty.

I really do like this machine, and though this is a new machine, it replaces another just like it that we’d been using since October 2011. Consequently, we have 10+ years of experience with this model.

The design is well thought out, from the magnetic tamper holder to the “Empty Me” float on the water collection tray. The one complaint that I had with the previous machine was that the grinder did not grind fine enough to get a good shot with the single-wall filter–but I fixed that by shimming the lower burr with a washer.

This newer version of the machine has an adjustable upper burr and does not have that problem. Thank you, Breville! Between my wife and I, we typically use the machine to brew 2 to 4 beverages per day, so it gets plenty of use.

The water reservoir is adequately sized (in my opinion) and with where we have the machine placed on our countertop, it is easy to refill without removing the reservoir or moving the machine, though removing the reservoir to refill it is very easy.

The controls and buttons are well placed and operation is easy and straightforward. My wife uses the double-wall filter basket but I like to play Barista with grind and tamp control to see how well I can do with the single-wall basket.

This machine will let you do both. And I am happy with the steam wand and frothing with this machine. I think this is a versatile, good looking appliance to have on your countertop if you are looking for an Espresso Machine.

Tldr More of a beginner machine and will best suit individuals who are learning or just getting into the home espresso game. More advanced users will still get probably the best bang for buck in the price range but may be frustrated by some of the more user-friendly design features aimed at more novice buyers.

Pro’s Machine has an elegant, aesthetically pleasing and sleek design. The features are intuitive and with a little bit of practice, you can pull surprisingly good shots. The grinder that comes with it feels good with almost identical quality grinding when compared to a Breville Smart Grinder pro.

The water reservoir is big enough, comes with a water filter (which is awesome) and a carry handle if you need to transport it for refilling. Con’s If you’re a bit more advanced with your coffee techniques, you might find some issues with upgrading certain parts.

While the machine does operate at a 9-bar pressure, the group head and 54mm portafilter make it hard to find 3rd party accessories for under $100-150 per part. The grinder and portafilter holder are a neat match, but to dose correctly requires a bit of tinkering and the grinder gets messy.

It is near impossible to remove the portafilter after a full dose has been ground without making a decent mess all over your machine. The steaming is great for new coffee people as it’s slow, forgiving and gives you some time to adjust your wand to get the right effect and angle.

More advanced users will find the steam time and pressure slow and weak. The tamper is horrendous. It is lightweight, cheap and the head is coarse and frequently disturbs the top of your puck as you remove the tamper from the portafilter.

Upgrade immediately. Pro tip Machine has a tough time extracting lighter roasts. True medium/light roasts require a very fine grind which often causes the machine to choke your shot. If you still want to use a lighter roasted coffee, preheat your portafilter head with boiling water, grind finer than you would for a medium/dark roast, and aim for a 30-34 second drop time.

Ensure the machine has the water temperature set to its highest setting too.

The Breville BaristaPRO is good for the espresso connoisseur who wants the hands on experience of being a barista at home. This machine is not for one who wants a latte by the push of a button or without any effort.

The grind settings are a challenge to perfect. After a few weeks of intermittent use, I am still experimenting with the settings, and I expect to always need to make adjustments. The flavor and consistency of the espresso likely varies on the beans of choice, and are on par with the professional grade equipment in coffee shops.

If you have been a barista with a fully manual machine – this will feel small and lightweight. I insert/remove the portafilter with my right hand and hold the machine with my left, otherwise I push it all over the counter.

The knob for the steam setting is interesting, and the steam is not instant. And of course the machine does not get as hot. Cleaning is a little different than what I learned at work. Overall, a good buy.

If between the Pro and non-Pro versions, I would try the non-Pro. I purchased this one only because of a promotion that sadly 🙁 wasn’t even recognized. The hassle of returning such a large item is the reason I will keep this one and not return for the non-Pro.

My family and friends LOVE that I have this and can make them drinks anytime. I no longer am a barista by trade, but this machine takes me back and is fun to have. Hint: know where you are putting this thing before you bring it home.

Find a cardboard box or something of similar dimensions and get a feel for the size on your counter.

During an epidemic, going out early in the morning to buy a cup of coffee can sometimes be a luxury. So after thinking about it for a while, I decided to buy this espresso machine. After all, this machine is not cheap either.

After two years of using it, I don’t think I can live without it anymore. Making my own cappuccino every morning has become part of my routine! Due to the excellent heating capacity of this machine, I can make a cup of espresso in 15 seconds and I can finish a cappuccino in 3 minutes.

Due to the amazing heating speed of this machine, I can fill up a cup of hot water for tea in 10 seconds. This machine is extremely novice-friendly, and the instructions detail how you can make an almost perfect cup of espresso by adjusting the grinding and brewing time of the coffee beans.

If you are an experienced person, it will only take you a few minutes to become proficient in how to use this machine. The problem with this machine is also that you have to readjust the grinding and brewing time of the beans after you change them.

For example, if I want a decaffeinated drink in the evening, I need to pour out all the coffee beans, replace them with decaffeinated beans, and then adjust the grind and brew time. This process can take me up to 15 minutes.

It would be nice if this machine had a memory button, so that each time I only need to change the beans. If you’re still on the fence, imagine how nice it is when you need a coffee drink that can be made in just a few minutes.

Very happy with my new machine. I’ve had it for a month now. After watching about 40 videos on YouTube about every Breville coffee machine and a few competitors, I decided on the Breville Barista Touch machine.

It is a perfect size machine that doesn’t overly dominate my kitchen counter. The warm up time is crazy fast and I love the pre-programming of drinks. The machine is quick and simple to use and clean.

I love the smell of fresh coffee ground, so it is an extra pleasure to smell it as I’m making my coffee. The machine is not as noisy as I thought it would be which I am very pleased about. I actually own the Breville “milk cafe” milk frothing machine which I do still use.

The micro foam is amazing with the “milk cafe” machine and sadly even with the Barista Touch machine foam setting dialled right up it isn’t as creamy a result as the “Milk Cafe” machine. Having said that my husband drinks his coffee with Almond Milk and the Barista Touch does a better job frothing that than using my other machine.

So I do still use both depending on who I’m making coffee for. I’m fairly confident to say that my milk foam preference is fussier “maximum foam” than most folks. The drip tray is easy enough to empty although I’m perplexed as to why it has shapes and grooves, which requires a smaller brush to get into the grooves and clean.

My old machine drip tray was a straight forward rectangular shape. The Barista Touch makes a consistently good coffee time after time.

I got my Barista Touch espresso machine 1 month ago. I’ve had so many issues with it. – hot water is not hot! It’s just lukewarm. my americanos come out at 145 F on average. I can just drink the whole glass at once because it’s not hot.

I tried warming everything up by running the machine once without coffee, but not a whole lot difference. The highest I ever got to was 150 F. – The automatic frothing (which is the whole reason I got this machine) is miserably broken.

It only gives me a watery milk at the bottom, and lots of bubbles and foam over the top. None of that silky milk texture that you need in order to have a proper latte. Take a look at the photos, this is as good as the automatic frothing of the milk gets.

– The group head is misplaced and a little too high, I have to fill my portafilter with 22 grams of coffee (rather than 18) to have a proper puck. My friend got the same machine 2 weeks after this, and he doesn’t have these issues.

His americano is at 170 degrees, milk is always silky, and pucks are filled with exactly 18 grams of coffee. I have contacted them, but I haven’t felt the support that I was hoping for yet. I have done my homework and have dug deep into my issues, went as far as finding a similar machine to compare and make sure my concerns are valid.

But all I hear from the support is that different machine are different and I shouldn’t compare! We will be doing a video chat with the support to see if things can be fixed. I have a lot of Breville products and I considered them the best.

But this experience has changed my mind and I think I’ll have to switch to another brand.

This is the first proper espresso machine I have ever bought and I don’t regret it! Overall, I am pretty happy with this machine. As a doctor working shift work, I rely quite readily on coffee and this machine actually makes it easier to get up out of bed in the morning knowing i’m only minutes away from that liquidy goodness.

Also, it is saving me money as the coffee at home now tastes better than my local coffee shops. I was quite hesitant to commit but a big seller for me was the touch screen (which works fine) as well the ability to save your custom settings under you own name.

Upon purchasing, my first impression out of the box was the mavine looks very nice and compact to sit out on the kitchen bench. Saved space as I don’t need a separate grinder now. Be warned though, if you are a novice like me with no real experience making espressos (just tasting them), you may really struggle, as I did, to find the optimum grind and brewing settings to achieve the “ideal” extraction time.

Despite having the side dial set to the finest setting and tamping to the max, it kept under extracting (running too fast). After a frustrating 2hrs, half a kilo of beans and re-reading the manual a few times, I finally found the second adjustment point at the top of the grinder; which does invole emptying and removing the bean holder to adjust (the process of which is identified nicely in the manual, though it wasn’t immediately clear which direction to turn this dial as the arrow in the book points the opposite way that you want to turn it for the desired effect).

After figuring this out and experimenting with grind time, tamping pressure and brew time etc. and watching a few youtube videos (I’m basically a Barista myself now), I found the perfect settings for my coffee beans which I now have saved under a personalised icon and can now make a great coffee, consisently, with ease in less than a couple of minutes.

Other positives, is it pretty much instantly ready to use upon turning on and is quieter than expected when on startup and when grinding In regards to milk frothing, the automatic function works perfectly, creating that microfoam thay makes you feel like growing a manbun and the customisable temperature and froth control is ideal for the whole family.

If you already are a pro and like to manually froth the milk you can do this too. My biggest complaint with this machine is that it seems too light as the whole machine moves on the bench when attaching the porta filter to the point it requires me to use my other hand to steady the machine whilst doing this.

(Some rubber foot grips under the machine would be an ideal addition to oppose this from happening). I have since put a rubber matt under mine but to limited effect. I’m hoping the stiffness of attaching the porta filter relaxes with time and this will go away.

Also you can’t fit anything bigger than an average size mug under it which you can work around with shot glasses if you want to fill that grande sized travel mug for your sleepy drive to work in the morning Overall, I highly recommend this machine and I think its great value.

It even impressed my family who are big coffee snobs. Particularly with its simplicity, consistency, customisation, and minimal mess. One of my family members was even a bit jealous that it rivals their espresso machines which cost more than twice as much.

Unfortunately, Jura S8 is the BIGGEST disappointment we have ever had with a coffee machine! We bought this machine hoping that the price will be justified by superb quality of the beverages and a great user experience.

None of that is the case! Let’s start with the quality of beverages. So far, we have had some experience with 3 different brands of coffee machines (De’Longhi, Phillips and Breville) and each of them was incomparably better than Jura S8.

They were so much more “user friendly”! 1) they didn’t waste so much water (we have to fill the water tank of Jura S8 after making max 5-6 drinks!); 2) we didn’t have to clean the coffee grounds container and the drip tray so often; 3) touch screen works terribly! It is not sensitive at all, and we have to press it really hard to make any selection!; 4) the worst thing for us is the difficulty with drink adjustments and so limited options! We can’t change the proportion of milk, water, etc.

Only the total drink size and its strength! I strongly recommend Jura product designers to go and get some lessons from Phillips, for example LatteToGo machine! Now let’s go to the drinks’ quality. It is even worse than the technical features described above.

We got Jura S8 for one of our homes, hoping to stop going to Starbucks every morning! But when we made our first coffee it was so bad that we couldn’t really drink it! We have our favorite coffee beans which we use with other coffee machines mentioned earlier.

We got exactly the same coffee beans to be able to compare “apples to apples” but unfortunately after we taste the first drink our disappointment just went to the roof! Now, after a month of using the Jura S8 we still can’t get over how much below market standards the taste of the beverages is.

It is simply disgusting, and no milk, no cream, no syrup, no sugar can “cover up” this disappointing taste. Comparing to our other coffee machines, drinks from Jura S8 are less tasty, flavor is sour and “flat”, pressure of the steamed milk is low, etc.

Unfortunately, this coffee machine doesn’t have any feature we could be positive about. :-(.

In a word — Outstanding!! Unit arrived and looked brand new right out of the box; the total cycle count was only 37. In the three weeks we’ve owned it, I think I’ve at least tripled that count, and I’m the only coffee drinker in our household! This machine is a game-changer.

My faithful “cup machine” gave up on me after over ten years of service; I committed a few years back to buying a Jura once the ole Keurig let go; it held on far longer than I thought it would. but I’ll tell you that I will *never* go back to a cup machine, a drip machine, or even a percolator.

This S8 is everything I love about coffee, and has been a pure joy to own and operate thus far. Customization is fantastic. I’m a nerd at heart and fly planes for a living, so I love to push buttons and adjust things — brew strengths, milk amounts, and volumes to my own liking, product names, etc.

I was even able to pre-program the PERFECT milk portion settings for my little people to make hot chocolate–which is the best cup EVER for them. Why the S8? I wanted drink options, and automatic performance.

I own an espresso machine, but always found it time-consuming and troublesome to have to run an extraction, then pull a froth, then clean for twenty minutes just to make a latte at home. I don’t want to do all that to enjoy a beverage (I’m super lazy, apparently) so wanted to give the super-automatic a shot.

I don’t want to move the cup. and with the S8, I don’t have to! I especially like the Latte Machiato tri-layer effect, as well as the flat-white option. Cappuccino and Latte modes are terrific, as well as the plain old 8 oz coffee brew–which, thanks to PEP–tastes better than anything I’ve ever had out of a drip machine.

Ever. I’m only in my 4th Decade of life, but I’ve probably had way to much coffee, good and bad. *This tops them all. * Cleaning — while the whole process is somewhat cumbersome and some might say time-consuming, I actually enjoy it, as I know it’s “taking care of an investment” and being a good steward.

Let’s face it, these machines cost almost as much as a used Ford Fiesta, so you gotta take care of it in order to make it last! Using the water filtration unit is no-brainer, so haven’t had to worry about de-scaling.

Using the milk system cleaner isn’t difficult but it will take you a solid two minutes to complete. On a busy morning, that can be an impediment to getting out the door, so I generally run the cleaning cycle at night (after the “after dinner cappuccino” is enjoyed!), and rinse/dry all components for the next day.

1000mL bottles will set you back nearly 40 bones per bottle, using 10mL per cycle; be sure to factor that into your cost of ownership, as you definitely have to keep that system clean. Noise — It isn’t bad at all; the grinder is noticeable but not obnoxious.

No worse than my old Mr. Coffee countertop grinder. but it puts out a much better product! Temperature — Many reviews mention temperature, and wanting a hotter beverage. To be brutally honest, I could see a few extra degrees as a slight possibility, maybe, but the trade-off would be beverages that might need a cool-down period.

I don’t use a cup-warmer (I’m a simple creature), but I do use a pint-glass for all the milk-based beverages. The temperature it puts out is adequate, comforting, and is enjoyable the second it comes off the tray–no cooling required.

Perhaps future iterations of the product could have adjustable temps, but for now, this is perfect. Aesthetics are solid — unit looks good and is an instant conversation starter with visitors to the kitchen.

It’s a welcome appliance that blends right in–but most folks have no idea “what type of coffee machine that is” sitting in the corner. The moonlight silver blends nicely with our stainless appliances, and the black fascia matches all other countertop dwellers, so it’s a win for us.

Coffee beans — I’m using a blend of Starbucks dark Espresso beans, and mixing it with the Jura 4-bean blend to balance out the strength profile. It’s fantastic! I’ve got some Illy beans on order, and as long as not too oily, will be stoked to see how they do.

Jura customer service is absolutely top-notch; upon unboxing my unit, we noticed that the water filter extension topper wasn’t included in my packup. No big deal; it’s a refurb–and that stuff happens sometimes.

One brief phone call to a friendly rep at Jura’s NJ headquarters yielded a FedEx overnight package on my porch the very next day–problem solved. I’m 100% a Jura fan at this point. Price was solid, performance is awesome, and options are plentiful.

I’m hoping that with attentive care, routine preventive maintenance, and regular usage, to get many years of faithful service from the S8–it’s truly been a pleasure to wake up and make that cup of coffee in the morning.

If you’re on the fence about acquiring one of these units and adding a Jura to your morning routine– do it!! You’ll be so happy that you did!!.

After years of pining, we finally got a Jura. Love the self-cleaning features and beverage choices. And we have finally found a coffee bean that isn’t bitter in this machine – Kimbo Espresso. All other beans have rendered bitter brews, bitterly disappointing, and we almost returned the unit.

With the right beans, we’re happy with the crema and flavor. But there are two things we wish we had known, in which case we wouldn’t have purchased this machine. The Jura S8 does not tell you when there’s not enough water to make your beverage! It spits out whatever amount of water is in the tank, wasting a puck of coffee because you must make another cup for a full 8 ounces.

I mean, come on, even a cheap Keurig lets you know if you need more water before you waste any coffee. Sheesh. Mind you, this wouldn’t be an issue if you could actually see how much water is in the tank.

You can’t! The designers have made it so you cannot see water levels at all from the front, then they put vertical lines on the side view that make it impossible to discern water from plastic art. Jura, what’s up with that? I definitely would not purchase or recommend this unit.

Something so simple is so frustrating, first thing in the morning. Is there a fix to water-blindness and bitterness? If so, I’ll gladly amend this review.

I bought my Magnifica ESAM3300 machine in Aug 2020. It’s really been a delight for most of that time. However, I incorrectly assumed that with simple maintenance, I might have this device working well for at least a 5-7 year range, because many of the earlier reviews suggested their machine had lasted nearly a decade (including coffee shops).

We have made around 3 cappucino’s a day during that time. About two weeks ago (15 Jan 2022), my machine began to leak considerably. It still makes a coffee, but water is now pooled into the base of the machine.

We do have above average hard water, but I explicitly spent the time (per the setup instructions) to find out how hard the water is and which setting to put the coffee machine in for the water hardness level I tested.

I have faithfully used the Delonghi EcoDecalk every time the light has popped on requesting a clean. I additionally clean the machine out about every water basin fill (when the light pops on for a cleaning).

My expectation was that this machine would last for another 5-6 years without complications. And I was really disappointed. At this point, I have no experience fixing a machine and after opening the machine, it looks like the machine was not designed for maintenance.

It’s been a little over 500 days since I purchased the machine. That amounts to about 1500 uses before failure. If I factor in the cost of the device, I’m looking at a pure cost of about $0. 30 for each cup.

Descaling cost is about $6 every 100 uses or $0. 06. Cost of beans per cup is about $0. 50. Cost of milk per cup is about $0. 20. So I’m spending slightly more than $1 for each cup of really nice cappuccino.

However, I spent nearly $600 on a machine in 2020 and the 2022 cost is now $700. Assuming it lasts the same amount of time, it’s about a $0. 15 increase on each cup. That feels like a big change to me (15%).

If the machine had lasted significantly longer, it would have gotten more stars, but $700 for a year and a half or so of mild usage (3 cups a day. ) for a coffee machine feels pretty bad to me.

The machine did not work properly from day one. We have owned 3 and sent 3 as gifts and recommended to friends, but NOMore! Customer service gives a run around, wanting us to send it in for service, and we are WAITING on the return process, which they say takes 7-8 weeks.

The company support is terrible and the machine will only pump water for frothing or coffee for only 20-30 seconds before cutting off and the water light flashing. Very disappointing to pay full price for a defective machine that the company will not take back.

It has been weeks with no response from the customer service team. We bought directly from the company … if you risk buying this machine, get it from Amazon or a store with a good return policy in case you get a defective machine like we did.

Very good espresso with a bit of dialing in. Pulling very tasty espresso. Compact and nice design. However, I was a bit disappointed with the build quality in some aspects – very plasticy (I got the white / sea salt version – maybe the usual steel version is better?).

the steam dial is particularly bad – stiff and you are never really sure if it’s back to the neutral position properly by just the feel. it’s a shame a bit more premium feel would make the experience much better.

But still overall for a machine under £1000 it is very good value I think.

Great machine – a few quirks to be aware of though! Initially was disappointed with the quality of the results with the single shot – but I found single dosing solved this. Double shot has always been consistently good.

Wish the timer didn’t reset so quickly – I take the portafilter out halfway through the grid to tap the grinds down to make space. For such a luxury design, it’s a bit disappointing the grind setting dial and steam wand dial are made of plastic.

But overall these are not deal breakers. It looks great in black too!.

We were looking for a machine that allowed us to do the steps manually, rather than a “one press bean to cup” machine, and this fits our requirements perfectly. The integrated grinder allows us to set the grind fineness and amount to put into the basket, then you can see the pressure achieved during extraction (making the espresso) on the pressure gauge so you can tell if you’ve got the right fineness of coffee and the right amount for the type of bean/powder you’re using.

Extraction is at 93C and may be tweaked a bit. Finally, steaming is at a higher temperature (130C) and makes an excellent job with the supplied jug, which has a temperature gauge built into the side to see when the milk’s at the right temperature.

Some advice: – fresh caffeinated beans – grind fineness of 8, amount at 4 o’clock on the front dial, using the standard baskets – fresh DEcaffeinated beans – grind fineness of 5, amount at 12 o’clock, using the dual-walled baskets – pre-ground – use the dual-walled baskets (as per the instructions).

Really important to note how decaffeinated beans need different settings and the different basket! Note that the extraction pressure is 9 bar, not 15 bar as might be shown in the description. 9 bar generally provides better results.

Overall this is a very well built machine, very enjoyable to use and very rewarding to hone your barista skills.

I love my Barista Express, the design and quality is amazing, just as all the other Sage products. I’m a barista and I actually prefer my morning coffee from the Express over the machine at work. Considering the performance and comparing to others on the market it’s very good value.

An amazing gift for a coffee lover for sure. And of course the customer support is fantastic too, if you need it. It’s compact with a beautiful finish, creates great coffee seamlessly once you get into the groove of knowing how to dial in your beans.

There are always the upgraded models if you would rather all the settings be automated but I personally enjoy the process and once it’s set, it’s super simple. Lots of YouTube videos on advice of how to get the best out of this machine out there 🙂 A note on coffee; at the beginning I was purchasing all kinds of craft beans, they produced good crema but tasted pretty offensive.

I was starting to worry it was coming out too acidic because I wasn’t able to dial it in properly and I got really frustrated with the results, it was my first proper machine since having had Nespresso for years.

I finally found a great roaster and the coffee just came out delicious first try and was so easy to dial in, giving consistent brews. So it was nothing to do with the machine settings, it can simply be a lot of trial and error on finding the best beans for your taste.

I also highly recommend getting a coffee distributor tamp for consistent shots.

This was my pandemic splurge two years ago, and I’m sad to say that my worries when I received have proven true. The Cappincup system never worked great. I can deal with it shooting bunch of water into the cup before the milk, but it has required baby sitting and coaxing for it to pull milk out of the container for most of the life of the machine.

From the beginning, it didn’t deliver the volume of milk it should so the balance of the drink was off. It got worse with time and Whole Latte Love support gave me instructions for disassembling and doing a deep clean and descaling, which improved things briefly.

The cleaning does require pulling the system fully apart every couple of weeks and the plastic is so fragile that the spout piece tab broke off. So I had to replace the whole plastic assembly. Even with this cleaning routine and frequent descaling, I have to babysit the milk drinks and get it to draw milk by raising the container up when it starts to draw milk so that the milk can get over the tube apex and run downhill, so to speak, into the cup.

The volume of milk in the drink is different every cup as it depends on how successful/fast I am at getting the milk to get over the apex. Sigh. As for more confirmation of the cheap plastic used, the little by-pass doser plastic cover also broke off after one year just by using it for one cup of decaf espresso a couple of times a week.

Today, the front water tank cover broke off. This was a matter of time given how hard it it is to pull that thing out. I wish I had checked the review section earlier as I now see that I should have applied some grease to the tank.

With three plastic pieces broken on the machine so far, you might think we are hard on our things. I’d like to think we are not as this is unusual for us. My husband is also a plastics engineer and he knows the type of plastic that was used in this machine and feels it was the wrong type given the function of some of the pieces (they went cheap).

I suppose I will replace the water tank but am not sure it is worth it given the poor performance of the milk function, which is why I bought this machine. It has been a disappointing purchase, and I wish I had paid more for the next model up.

This is a “you get what you pay for” lesson.

First of all, the beverages dispensed taste great! But the machine takes too much babysitting for me to end up with I consider a cup of coffee (16-oz mug). You can’t program milk based drinks to double, which means you have to stand there ready to press the buttons again if you want 2 cappuccinos in one mug.

Two cappuccinos results in about half of what I consider a cup of coffee. At that point you have to run the milk carafe cleaning cycle (which requires removing your mug and placing a purge container underneath the spout).

Then I put my mug bag and run a double lungo (programmable to be a double), and finally have a full mug of coffee. But the worst thing is that the coffee spouts and the arm on the milk carafe don’t work well together.

When the milk arm swings over to the ready position, it bumps up against the cofree spouts. Half the time when I use a round mug either the coffee spouts or the heated milk miss the mug and end up on the counter or in the drip tray.

I have to stand there and move my mug back and forth through the machine’s cycles. This might be a fine machine for someone wanting to use those little demitasse cups, but don’t count on being ready to set it to make you a travel mug full for the road while you accomplish something else.

All of this allows your beverage to cool down considerably while you finagle around punching buttons, aligning your mug, running clean cycles, and making the machine happy. If there is a way to increase the volume to make one 16-oz mug of decent tasting coffee, I am not finding it.

I tried programming an Americano that way and it was terrible. I wish I had my old Accademia back, and would in fact trade this back if it were possible.

Having used superautos for 12 years — two Delonghi Perfectas, and now a Delonghi Eletta– I decided to try a Gaggia for my office because 1) I’m worried Delonghi’s are getting hard to service, 2) I trust WLL, 3) I loved my Gaggia Baby 20 years ago, and 4) I was hoping the cell-phone like display would be easier for folks at work to navigate.

(I also am a longtime home roaster and past owner of prosumer machines. ) First off, I love the display but since it’s not a touch screen –you still have to use the physical buttons near the screen– the navigation isn’t easy for friends and guests to do on their own, which disappointed me.

Second impression was that the heating up of the boiler is quite loud, with a dramatic puff of steam coming out the side of the machine This is very different from my quieter Delonghi’s. The main issue, however, more than anything is the milk volumes.

I started off making a latte and the pathetic little drink at the bottom of my glass was a shock. I contacted WLL support asking if I was doing something wrong or if they could send me just that little black plastic with straw attachment since there must be some kind of defect, and I included photos.

In three emails they told me this is perfectly normal for this machine, that setting the milk to 9 oz doesn’t really mean 9 oz but only means a relative amount of time, and so that it steaming 2 oz of milk, say, for a setting of a 9 oz steamed milk (for my kids) is perfectly normal.

I don’t know whether to be disappointed in Gaggia or in WLL honestly. I’m including photos for you to decide. You can see the latte settings I inputed for an 11 oz latte (9. 5 oz of milk, 1. 5 espresso), how it only used 2 oz of actual milk, and how the large drink looked in the end.

I am returning and hoping I am not charged to restock.

If you are coming from your typical brewing machine, this is the way to go. Nothing beats freshly grinded and brewed coffee. I only wanted freshly grinded and brewed, and my wife wanted milk based coffee drinks so this was a good choice.

We never use the all the amount of gimmicks thought. All in all I love the machine and nothing beats a 5 year warranty. Pros: -Great form factor. It is compact and doesn’t take up as much space as others so you have more options to find the right spot for it.

-It makes great coffee. If you tweak your settings right, such as grind size, aroma, etc you will be able to make coffee just the way you like it. It does take a bit of trail and error, but you learn about coffee, which is fun.

-There are profiles. This allows my wife and I, and even guests to save your prefered settings so you don’t have to set amounts, aroma and etc every time. – You can use the Bluetooth app to configure your settings and recipes with ease and start preparing coffee remotely.

Cons: -You can use the Bluetooth app, but it can only connect with one phone at the time. So if two people want to save recipes and else it is not possible. If one connects, it disconnects the other.

– This is not so much of a con, but more of a compromise. The water tank empties fast. I have to fill it basically every day, but I wanted a small machine, Anyway, coming from the Moccamaster, you have to fill it every time, so no difference.

-It is loud for early birds. No machine of this kind will be quiet anyway. I hear this is quieter than others, but I can’t tell because I haven’t compared it. I usually make my coffee at 05:00 so I wake everybody up.

They are quickly getting used to it though. I just make sure to close their doors in the morning before starting the machine.

This device is great for tech minded & capable users. With the app you can switch it on & make a coffee from a menu of choices. You can also create your own unique coffee. Want more water, less water, more or less beans, more or less milk? You can do this on the machine as well & over ride pre-defined recipes.

I have been using for over 7 months and while initially hesitant, I’m now confident in recommending this. My only gripes are: 1. It doesn’t have a milk frother attachment for making a hot froth manually.

The auto frother makes a lukewarm froth 2. You can’t schedule it to power on so it’s ready to go when ur getting ready for work. I keep ours off for power saving.

A great option if you want coffee option between a capsule system and manual or semi-automatic system. The Dinamica gives you some control options for grind, temperature, volume and strength. It doesn’t take long to calibrate to your preferences (and custom options), and the Latte Crema system is excellent for milk beverages.

It makes a hell of a cappuccino, latte macchiato, and espresso macchiato! A+.