Capresso Ultima Coffee and Espresso / Cappuccino Machine Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I enjoyed the taste of lattes having lived in San Francisco for many years and found myself in withdrawal when I had to return to St. Louis rather unexpectedly. I purchased the Capresso Ultima about the end of 2002 or early 2003 and was and have been fairly satisfied with this product from the get go. Here are a few things I've found in having brewed well in excess of a 1000+ cups and probably 75+ or more pounds of coffee in this machine:
1. Your coffee selection is key. If you like the Starbucks or Peet's or Border's latte taste, purchase a good dark roast.
2. Buy a burr grinder so you can get the right grind, not too fine and certainly not course. I use the DeLonghi. One word of caution, after using the finest turkish grind on my burr grinder for several cups, one day I discovered the coffe would not flow no matter how long I left the pump on. By the way, don't do this because your excess coffee simply flows into the overflow tray and gets wasted. To fix the problem I called the factory in New Jersey (I think) and was told to just return the central unit--nothing else. For $65, my charges, they sent back a new unit even though I had almost 2 years of use on it. It was returned within about 10 days. Excellent customer service.
3. If you like milky, thick foam then stick with 1 or 2 percent to get the best froth which you cannot get with whole milk or soy or rice milk for that matter.
4. DO NOT OVERHEAT THE MILK!!! This breaks down the fat molecules within the milk making it impossible to build a good froth.
5. Use a small colletor to gather the espresso and not the cup you used to steam the milk. I use this to collect the espresso and then pour it into the steamed milk. After a few cups you will quickly determine how much coffee to brew. Also, if you want an absolute great surprise, make a cappacino and let the machine brew the "crema" that seems to be the rage in espresso circles. The Ultima does an excellent job making crema.
For those who don't know, it's the tasty lighter coffee that is brewed at the end of the brewing cycle and has a wonderful milky-coffee taste.
6. The coffee is always HOT, HOT, HOT so please be careful when initially drinking it.
7. The hot water heater works wonders for the likes of hot chocolate mix.
8. I should add about the frother that you will experience a lot of steamiing water which probably shouldn't be there and disappears if you let the steamer run for a few minutes--do this in a separate container and dump the water, the steam will follow. Also the frothing wand is a two stage affair that generally heats the milk at first and then after a slight adjustment on the wand will produce a thick froth. Also, I move the cup with the milk around the wand to get good even heat to the milk.
9 From a cold start, to finished cup takes about 3 minutes--the heating element works extremely fast.
10. Always use distilled water not tap. This will result in a calcium deposit which will destroy the unit. If you drink a lot of this coffee, I'd recommend buying your own countertop water distiller.
11. All in all, I could not be more happy with this machine. My son who lives in Brooklyn uses a much more expensive model, over $1,000, and it produces a great cup of espresso---the Capresso Ultima does the same at almost one-fourth the price.
12. It is because of the water wastege that I gave this unit a four star rating.
13. To ensure consistent coffee taste, do take off the top, very easy procedure, and then rinse it under the faucet.The black, grounds container on the bottom tray should be emptied and rinsed daily after
each use.
14. If and when the time comes to replace, I'll go right back to the same unit--Love it, love it.
15. Finally, the plastic water container holds near perfect amounts of water to make approximately 7 cups of coffee.


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Capresso "Ultima" eliminates all the inconvienent and sometimes difficult steps of conventional espresso machines: no more complications with filling, cleaning and rinsing baskets, tamping and hot filter holders. Just fill in pre-ground coffee to your liking (7 to 15 grams), pull the coffee lever down and turn the pump on. Within seconds the Capresso "Ultima" brews any size cup from one espresso to two six ounce cups of coffee always with wonderful crema on top. The double coffee spout even adjusts to accommodate different size cups.

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Gaggia 16100 Evolution Home Espresso Cappuccino Machine, Black Review

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(More customer reviews)After many happy (and dare I say, naive) years with our DeLonghi Caffe Espresso, it was time to replace our old workhorse. Having just spent the summer in Spain, where no bar is complete without the standard superautomatic Gaggia espresso maker, I decided that truly great espresso was a daily necessity. I was tired of incompetent teenagers / college students who work at local coffee shops mangling something as simple as a cappuccino (one part espresso, one part milk, one part foam) into a milk-drowned latte with no foam.
I wanted something in the range of $200, with a dependable track record and plenty of power to spare. I waded through a myriad of reviews for the Gaggia Carezza, hailed as a champion of its class, but read a number of negative reviews concerning design shortcomings.
Enter the Gaggia Evolution. Although the Gaggia Carezza and Evolution share the same innards, the Evolution boasts several improvements in design. With its 17.5 bar pump and high wattage, dual element boiler, the Gaggia Evolution is ready to brew in around 5-10 minutes (I always prime the boiler first).
Design improvements over the Carezza include: a larger drip tray, a cup warmer (although, as usual, it's more effective to preheat your cups by filling them with hot water, which can be done during priming), anti-vibration mounts (once primed, the Gaggia Evolution is nearly whisper-quiet), and a brass commercial portafilter (the spouts on the Carezza were changed to plastic). My Evolution came with the Perfect Crema device (which is supposed to go under the single filter basket in order to create additional pressure/allow a coarser grind), but having read numerous negative reviews of the ineffective device, I simply left it in the box with the packing material.
Five stars for the instruction manuals and CD-ROM: the Gaggia Evolution comes with not one, but two instruction manuals: one from the manufacturer (Gaggia), and one from the North American importer (Importika). The Importika manual is intuitive, easy to read and injected with coffee humor, although the Evolution is not among the Gaggia models listed in the Appendix. The included CD-ROM walks you through setup in the form of short movies and narration, along with more advanced tips and techniques for coffee connoisseurs. We put our laptop on the kitchen table and followed along after unpacking our new Gaggia (thankfully, nothing was broken in the mail, as happened to several Gaggia Carezza owners). Although the manual hinted that your first coffee might not be potable, we'd followed various tips online (prime your new machine several times to remove any residue and plastic-y taste), and our first espresso was laden with crema. The Turbo Frother attachment made the creamiest, densest microfoam I have ever seen-it looked more like meringue (hint: use skim milk for best results). My only complaint would be the cheapness of the included coffee scoop, and you definitely want to invest in a better tamp for maximum extraction (the Gaggia takes a 58 mm tamp at a recommended 30 pounds of pressure).
If you're not in the market to buy a $200-300 grinder (Rancilio Rocky or Gaggia 8002 MDF Burr Grinder) to go with your new Gaggia, Illy makes a delicious, dependable espresso grind, available in tins (decaf, too) or Pods. The Evolution is Pod-ready, simply use the single shot basket with the portafilter. Tip: "classic" double shots should take around 20-25 seconds to extract.
The Evolution is a steal for the current price, since it contains the same innards as other Gaggias in the $400-500 range. Although it runs around $50-100 more than the Carezza, I appreciated the design improvements, stylish lines (I have a Tuscan kitchen with hand-painted ceramics and terra cotta tiles and was afraid that the "modern" styling would stand out, but the Evolution is much more traditional-looking and unobtrusive than the Carezza), and performance. (Note: the Evolution is also available in an all-silver model, but it will set you back another $50. The black model features a black base and sides and a silver front and silver drip tray.)
Excellent for the espresso novice or connoisseur, easy to use and clean, and it makes better espresso than some $500-1,000 machines I've tried!


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The Gaggia Evolution has new sleek lines. The housing may be revolutionary but we can thank Gaggia for not messing with a good thing as they kept the internal components the same. The high wattage dual heating element boiler has about the quickest heat up time in the industry. The 55watt pump has power to spare, and is mounted on vibration resistant rubber mounts. The Gaggia home espresso machines where designed to fit into both the perfectionist and the, Get it and go type of lifestyles. The Evolution has a commercial style filter basket for the person who wants to perfect their technique, and the unique Perfect Crema Device for those who want it quick and simple. The reservoir is easy to fill. Slide it to the left and poor the water in. You dont have to remove it from the machine. Gaggia has been tested and approved for use with the world famous Illy pods. The controls are simple and have all the necessary temperature ready lights. Use this machine to its fullest, and each cup will be creamy, tasty, robust, and rich with flavor. This includes two stainless steel filter baskets (one and two shot), coffee tamper, and 7g measuring scoop.

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Breville BES820XL Die-Cast 15-Bar Programmable Espresso Machine Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)LOVE this machine! I do not claim to be an espresso junkie or aficionado, but I am addicted to lattes and my morning habit was getting to be expensive so we bought this machine for Christmas. It's AWESOME! One of my main criteria, besides great espresso, was a frothing wand that would really do the job, and this one does. It texturizes the milk beautifully and creates delicious, creamy froth for my lattes and cappuccinos. We're still working to get the right grind and tamp combination, but I love that you can also use pods in the machine, which is fantastic for decaf! We drink regular espresso in the morning or afternoon, but every once in a while I want a cappuccino at night but it's not worth keeping the decaf beans or emptying my grinder to replace with decaf so we keep decaf pods on hand for those rare evening cravings. Perfectly convenient! You have to be willing to experiment to get the right tamp/grind combination or your espresso won't taste too yummy, but if you have some patience and try various combinations it really pays off. And I love the hot water wand - heats very quickly and great for hot tea! Super easy to use, pretty easy to clean and maintain, and entirely worth the cost!
Notable stuff:
- heats up quickly
- advertises that the top of the machine serves as a warming station for your espresso cups, but it doesn't get nearly warm enough to actually warm the cups (warm by filling with hot water from the hot water dispenser instead)
- does not require the use of distilled or filtered water (in fact, the instructions say NOT to use distilled water) - just use tap water and decalcify with vinegar occasionally
- the drip tray is nice and large-was able to make 6 lattes, including rinsing in between each one, and drip tray still wasn't full
- water reserve is very large and holds plenty of water
- "programmable" just means that you can program how large your single shot is and how large your double shot is so that once it's programmed, you just have to push a button to make a shot of espresso - eliminates the guess work that results in inconsistent shots
- the pod attachment only works for single shots, as far as I can tell there are no double pods on the market and even if there were, I don't think they would fit in the pod attachment

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Make any rainy day better by brewing crema-rich espresso drinks from the comfort of home with this programmable espresso machine. Designed to satisfy both novice brewers and experienced baristas, the unit offers manual operation as well as an intelligent programmable function that can be personalized with a favorite espresso setting. Its custom-set programming function extracts the perfect volume of coffee at the touch of a button--choose from Auto Shot, Custom Shot, or Manual Shot. Prior to extraction, the machine's 15-bar Italian-made Triple-Prime pump with a thermoblock heating system delivers three bursts of hot water into the filter head. This increased pressure expands the ground coffee or espresso pod and helps eliminate air pockets, which allows the unit to extract more crema for a rich, smooth-tasting coffee. In addition, the unit's electronic temperature-control system accurately maintains the optimal brewing temperature of the water to ensure the best possible extraction. A pressure gauge on the front of the unit measures the pressure that water gets forced through the coffee in the filter holder. The gauge needle pointing above or below the Optimum Zone indicates over- or under-extracted espresso. The gauge needle positioned in the recommended Optimum Zone during pouring indicates espresso will be produced at the ideal pressure and will have a generous layer of golden crema.
When it's time to produce steam for frothing milk, the espresso machine increases the water temperature and provides a swivel-action steam wand with a stainless-steel frothing attachment, plus a froth enhancer and a stainless-steel frothing pitcher for barista-style results. After frothing, its Auto-Purge function returns the water temperature to the optimal level for brewing. To save on energy the machine will enter Power Save mode if not used for one hour, and will automatically turn off if not used for three hours. Power Save mode uses 45-percent less power than Stand By mode. Other thoughtful details include a 75-ounce water tank, 4-1/2-inch head elevation to accommodate full-size mugs, a 1-liter slide-out drip tray, a dedicated hot-water wand with a 360-degree ball joint, and an extra-large cup-warming plate. Accessories include one- and two-cup dual-wall stainless-steel filters, an espresso-pod filter, a tamping tool/measuring spoon, a cleaning tool, and a user manual with recipes. Housed in die-cast stainless steel, the espresso machine measures 10 by 10-1/2 by 12-1/4 inches and carries a one-year limited warranty.

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KRUPS XP5220 Precise Tamp Pump Espresso Machine, Black and Stainless Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
A few weeks ago we shopped for a new expresso machine at the Bed, Bath and Beyond store. Take in your 20% discount coupon and you will get a great deal.
Overall, we give the Krups XP5220 machine 5 stars. It is a quality made machine and makes good creme (foam). The nicest feature is the automatic tapping and the push-button to pop out the used coffee puck, no longer need to bang the filter holder on the garbage can to get the grinds to fall out.
One word of warning: we found a number of unhappy amazon.com users who had broken the tabs off the steam wand. A customer may not realize that in order to remove the nozzle for cleaning you have to pull the slip ring down and pull straight off which requires a bit of force. If you pry one of the 3 tabs which are in a vulnerable position they will break and then the steam wand may not stay on under pressure. Once you understand the proper removal and installation, it's not a problem. The manufacturer should review this design and make it a bit more robust. Otherwise it is a high quality machine and does a great job.
We benefitted from previous reviewers on the subject and were careful with our steam wand. Once you understand how to properly remove the nozzle it's not a problem. Don't overlook this machine, it is very nicely made and works well.

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Beautifully housed in brushed stainless steel with black accents, this user-friendly espresso machine not only looks great on the kitchen counter, but it also makes it possible to brew cafe-quality coffee drinks from the comfort of home. The machine features a 15-bar pump and fast-heating 1400-watt thermoblock heating system, which ensure optimal temperature control and high-pressure brewing for perfect extraction with excellent crema. Even more, the brewing system pre-heats twice as fast and resists lime-scale buildup (less descaling needed). Choose from ground coffee, E.S.E. pods, or soft pods thanks to the included universal coffee filter holder, which clicks into place for one or two cups. The espresso machine also comes equipped with foolproof Precise Tamp technology, which automatically tamps coffee grounds evenly to the optimum level, directly against the brewing head to minimize puddling and tunneling. After brewing espresso, turn the manual selector knob from brew mode to frothing-milk mode to effortlessly create creamy cappuccinos, lattes, and more. The machine's mess-free cake-ejection system, redesigned multi-directional frothing nozzle, and locking steam nozzle provide exceptional convenience and easy cleanup. Other highlights include a removable water tank for filling at the sink, a removable drip tray, and on-board coffee-scoop storage. A thoughtful housewarming gift idea, the espresso machine measures 9 by 10-2/7 by 11-1/2 inches and carries a one-year limited warranty.

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