Semi-Auto Espresso Machine With Burr Grinder Stainless Steel

DO NOT BUY! I spent months researching semi-auto espresso machines and then landed on this one because it looks good and came w/ a 2 yr warranty. The first machine shows up, and the set up instructions were very vague and unclear- turns out the machine was stuck in a cycle of constant descaling, therefore never allowing me to actually make any type of beverage. I called AMAZON, and they offered to send a replacement. It took over half an hour to take the machine apart (dump the water, dump the bean hopper), and then get it back into the original packaging. It made a massive mess and water kept leaking from inside the machine and I was never able to recover all the beans. So, the second machine shows up- I’m optimistic. I start the set up process- it would never allow me to prime the machine, but lucky for me, I was intimate familiar with the descaling process, so I implemented that to get everything flushed out. Things seemed to be going well- I followed the videos and instruction booklet on how to pull my first shot- only my two ounces of ground beans only created 1/2 ounce of espresso. I figured some of the settings must have needed a reset as it should automatically pour long enough for 2 shots. I called into the KitchenAid help line… I eventually spoke with someone in counter top appliances- I was texting him pics and video of what was going on, and his response was to return it as they DO NOT have an espresso machine tech they could pass my issues onto. So once again, I had to take everything apart, repackage it, and send it back. Save yourself the hassle and get the Breville- so easy to set up and pulls a GREAT shot out of the gates.

Great espresso machine at this price range.

Six months in, we love the machine, especially how quiet it is. We needed a dosing funnel to keep the grounds from overflowing onto the base. Once we had that, it's an excellent machine that typically makes 7 or 8 cups a day. So far it's a workhorse. The espresso is outstanding, consistent and way better than the Gaggia Classic machine it replaced (which we used daily for 15 years -- so no diss on Gaggia) The grind is consistent and the espresso is really good and consistent. As long as it's reliable, I'm glad we bought this machine. It's very quiet both for the grind and making espresso. Seems solid and the build quality is very good. The main issue with it (and why it's not a five) is the complex setup. Please make sure you go to YouTube and watch the setup videos, multiple times. It's not a plug and play device. You have to follow specific instructions perfectly to get it to make really good coffee. The documentation is really bad, most of the parts in the box aren't described and don't mention all the steps required to set the machine up. Bad! KitchenAid, clean up your act. The only other beef I have with it, is you have to empty the post brew overflow tank long before the main water tank is empty (I'm a product manager and that's a big miss). Go through the effort to set the machine up correctly and deal with the shortcomings, I suspect you'll have a machine you'll love. Make sure you buy a 58mm espresso funnel so you don't have to clean grounds off the machine all the time.

I waited several months before reviewing this item. It was a splurge for me and I have not regretted it for a second. I researched everything around this price point and am so glad I went with the KitchenAid! I love the all-metal, high-quality build and the way it slides on its little wheels back and forth. It's semi-automatic, which for me makes me feel like I'm really making the coffee (fully auto feels like cheating and not so much of an experience, I'd probably go back to 100% manual first) but it's soooo easy to use that it's no problem when I'm in a hurry or sleepy. I weigh out beans for each cup because my husband and I like different coffees, and the grinder works great with way less mess than my old standalone burr grinder. The frother is easy to use and clean. We've switched beans many times and it doesn't take much effort to dial in and get the flavor right. The cleaning cycle takes a good bit of time but I only need to do that about every 6-8 weeks depending on usage. I'm just thrilled with this thing and still look forward to using it every morning.

Taste of real coffee, espresso range depending on grinding coffee beans.