2021 UPDATE:I bought the Breville Espresso Machine. It’s way better and looks so much nicer.
LISTEN. I have a lot of feelings about automated espresso machines. 👨🏫
I love that they represent an easy 1-button alternative to the scourge of waste-making capsule coffee machines that took over the world over the last 5 years. 😡 It’s great that you can get easy and quick coffee at the press of a button with this machine that doesn’t waste literally a capsule for every coffee. But also it’s nice that I can choose to buy super nice beans and get a great espresso if I want. ☕️
Now, once you decide to go for the automatic espresso machine, you have to be super careful which one you choose. This is one of the cheaper ones you can buy for a few reasons that actually make it better. 1️⃣ It doesn’t have the automatic milk-container attachment (which is a blessing). Those things are a disaster to clean, milk rots in them all day long and eventually, even on the $1200 model, the suction will stop 🤷♂️ and you will lose the ability to froth any milk. The one on this more affordable machine is utilitarian and easy to use—you know, like a normal milk frother on a normal espresso machine.
2️⃣ The other reason this one is cheaper is that it doesn’t have a touch screen. When you go looking for a machine, I beg you do not buy one with a screen. And as a general rule, just never buy appliances with screens. 🙅♂️ The people who designed the interface are not good and the interface will suck to use.
Anyway, I’ve had this one about a year now, (rent to own from Grover) and I still love to use it every day. Maybe one day I’ll shell out for a real espresso machine.
🇺🇸 Buy it on Amazon.com (it’s almost the exact same model from Saeco, but it looks like it’s completely out of stock nowadays)