We received this espresso machine as a wedding gift over four years ago. It was very important to my husband, the coffee expert, that we have a manual machine so that he could control all of the factors (tamping, heat, how long to pull shots, etc.) We did a lot of research and found that this machine had really high ratngs as a top home machine in Italy. How can you beat that?! We have been very happy with it overall and haven't had any major problems with it. My in-laws have a much nicer electric machine and they have had many more problems/repairs done on it than we have. It allows you to actually be a barista, much more control than just pushing buttons. It is essential, for good coffee, that you also have a grinder! We are only making coffee for two..the only downside to the manual machine is that for a group it can be kind of time consuming. And it means that my husband has to be home in order for me to have coffee, I am not about to try my hand at the manual machine! For this reason, I recommend also having a french press on hand.

mollyc

Durham, NC