Top critical review
1.0 out of 5 starsMost frustratingly temperamental coffee machine EVER!
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2023
I’ve thought long and hard about how to articulate this review as clearly and truthfully as I can.
Ok, so I’m not predisposed to negative reviews but this overly expensive coffee machine is awful.
The most important part of this machine is the troubleshooting manual. Keep it to hand - you will need it!
The positives:
1. It will make a nice cup of coffee*
2. The cleaning capabilities for the wand are a good idea
The negatives:
1. True, it will make a nice cup of coffee…..IF
IF you use the EXACT amount of coffee in the filter basket
IF you don’t mind pressing the double cup 3 times to get a single espresso shot - even when you use the right amount and grind of coffee!
IF the coffee machine doesn’t randomly go into cleaning mode (which it does even before forcing a clean every 200 button presses)
IF you use ONLY the supplied milk jug. Using anything else causes the temperature sensor to fail, the steam will never stop and you milk will be boiled and overflow
IF the aforementioned milk jug is placed EXACTLY in the perfect position to get the best contact with the milk temperature sensor
2. As a practitioner of human centered design (making products intuitive and easy to use), I can tell you that this coffee machine is absolutely not easy to use. Too many failure modes, too many unintuitive error states and messages and good functionality ideas are executed poorly - example being the temperature sensor. It works but only IF you do 3 things perfectly first.
2. The need for a cleaning cycle is too frequent. We are having to perform a cleaning cycle every 2 weeks! (And we aren’t coffee monsters!)
3. Water wastage. The wand cleaning wastes SO MUCH water to perform. It could be done using much less
4. The wand cleaning cycle is really messy. IF you position the drip tray in the PERFECT position, you might not have to clean your machine and own clothes from the spray back coming from the wand
5. The wand cleaner is difficult to find, and beware! The sharp pin cover comes off really easily when you are unscrewing the wand tip. Have a bandaid to hand!
In summary, can this machine make coffee? Yes BUT it isn’t easy to use, is highly temperamental and definitely NOT worth the money.
…really wish I could get my money back…