Great machine, but missing a couple of tricks
4/5
I had my eye on this for a while and finally bit the bullet in the Black Friday sale. The machine is practical and makes a great coffee but to get the negatives out of the way...
Water temperature and cup warmer
The temperature could be better. I mean it comes out hot and steams but even with the temperature all the way up, as soon as it hits a cold vessel it drops considerably. I’ve taken to warming the cup with the hot water spout first and using cream instead of milk to keep it hot. When using the crema jug and the milk menu it puts the milk in first which for the most part is only luke warm at best, so when the coffee is added it’s still not a “hot” cappuccino like you would get from a coffee shop.
Despite there being a metal plate at the top of the machine, it’s not actually a cup warmer and is just a stand for your cups which in the description is misleading. If you want a cup warmer look at the other models.
Saying this, it’s still a great machine and I look forward to my morning coffee from it. I’m still tweaking it and finding the best beans to use to my taste so don’t be disheartened if it doesn’t taste “perfect” the first time you use it. There are a lot of customisable options to adjust such as the strength, grind mill and the amount of water delivered to get that perfect cup.
It’s easy to clean, look after and comes with a brush, scoop for pre-ground coffee, descaling liquid packet for your first go at that and a water filter, as well as a water hardness tester so you can get the setting on the machine right for that too. Each time you turn it on it rinses and heats up to get the water system warm. After you’ve finished making a coffee, it will rinse itself through after about 30 minutes so prevent old coffee sitting in the pipes.
Overall it is a great machine that does produce a lovely coffee, but with a couple of flaws, water temperature being the biggest. It’s my first own coffee machine but having used a Gaggia in the past, I’m sure the coffee from that was hotter, and it had a cup warmer! Once it’s set up and you’ve found your way around it, it’s a great machine and I would definitely recommend it as long as you don’t mind heating the cup first.