Capuccino and Espresso Made Easy

Author's Rating:

Pros: Easy to use, easy to clean.

Cons: Hard to make hot, frothy milk.

The Bottom Line: 
A great machine that's easy to use and care for. Makes wonderful espresso.

Author's Review
The XP 4050 is an extremely easy machine to use and to clean. I was worried about getting a capuccino maker because I thought that any machine would be difficult to clean and care for, but I looked into this machine and thought it would be easy. It sure is!

Here are the details on cleaning:

After making espresso, the only things that there are to clean are the handle mechanism and the filter cup inside. Then you have to wipe the machine in the area where the handle/filter connects to the machine (sometimes coffee grounds get stuck up there). You also have to clean out the drip tray - but that just requires a quick rinse usually.

If you make capuccino, you also have to wash the frothing/steam spout. The machine comes with two different capuccino mechanisms. One is an "auto" capuccino accessory. This includes a metal spout, plus a rubber hose where the milk travels through. The manual accessory is only a metal spout. The instructions say both can be cleaned by putting them into water and allowing them to run through the steam cycle, but I found this more cumbersome than just taking them off the machine and washing them by hand. Using water and running the machine through the steam cycle leads to you holding a steaming hot cup of water - I was afraid of burning myself.

In addition to easy cleaning, it's very easy to make espresso. In just a few simple steps, you have a steaming, pure, flavorful cup of espresso. Here's how:

You fill the water tank. Fill the filter cup with coffee (you can fill with coffee for one cup, two cups, or use a pod). Tamp it down with the provided tamper. Reattach the handle, and press the button for one or two cups of espresso. In less than two minutes, you have a cup of espresso. I've used a few different grind sizes and coffee types, and a medium espresso grind with a strong, dark roasted coffee makes the most flavorful cup. I've used the machine to make both single cups and two cups at a time, and both turn out fantastic. I haven't used pods in the machine yet, but I don't like the variety of coffees available in pods, so until that changes, I'll just use my own loose ground coffee.

I'm a little less happy with the machine's ability to make capuccino. The auto capuccino accessory works well and makes hot, steamed milk with plenty of froth. But each time I've used it, I've ended up with a big mess, as the tube drips milk out onto the counter when I take the cup away, so I need to place a drip cup below it after use, or a plate or something to catch the mess. I've tried using the manual steamer/frother too, and this is a lot neater, but it doens't seem to make the milk very hot. It does make great froth, but the froth is up to the top of the cup before the milk is really hot.

Other than problems with steaming milk, I love this machine, and overall, I've been very happy with it.