Nice Crema though a bit of maintenance

Author's Rating:

Pros: Excellent Krups workmanship, strong pump, big water reservoir

Cons: Used grounds lay in soupy mess in holder. Takes some practice to make perfect

The Bottom Line: 
A good espresso maker for the money, though it may require a few minutes longer to prepare espresso and clean compared to steam or coffee-pod type makers.

Author's Review
This is the third espresso / capuccino machine made by Krups that I've owned. There are some pro's and con's, I guess the bottom line is what you deem important in a machine such as this.

The unit itself is very well built in blends in wonderfully with my granite and stainless steel kitchen decor. It is very masculine! Oh, and it is heavy. I'd guess at lease 22 pounds and more when loaded with water. If you wish to make perfect espresso, I'd first suggest you do some reading of both the instruction manual and google a couple of internet sites dedicated to the art of espresso making - it is a bit of an art. The biggest trick is getting the balance between how fine to grind the coffee beans and how hard to tamp the espresso in the holder. Even with a moderately expensive machine, how sweet of a result (aka espresso and the frothy crema) you will get still depends on the operator.

That said, with a half dozen or so attempts you should be well onto your way towards espresso nervana. The results with this machine are good to great. Considering how many much more expensive machines there are which do the basic same thing as this, well I can't complain. The pump is very strong and effective. The machine is well made and visually pleasing.

There are, however, some minor drawbacks which simply may be the case with other machines yet I find mildy annoying: To get best results, one should first "shoot a blank shot" - that is go through a cycle and make a cup of hot water to warm up the device and the espresso holder. After you've made espresso, the grounds sit in a soupy mess in the holder cup which are a little harder to dispose of compared to steam-type espresso makers which make a nice hard cake that comes out neatly when whacked against the side of a trash can. One must be prepared to wipe the grounds and minor over-spray from the machine on a regular basis to keep it presentable on your countertop.

So, with a minor maintenance and a little time you can make great espresso rivaling far more expensive machines without having to deal with bitter espresso so typical of cheaper steam-driven espresso makers. Cheers!