Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The people who designed this machine did their homework and incorporated the best features of some of the more expensive espresso makers on the market. I use extra fine grind espresso powder and fill the basket to the max fill line after tamping. This provides me with a double espresso with a thick rich crema layer. I have a German drip machine, a French press, a Turkish cezve, a vacuum flask, and a Vietnamese phin but this is my favorite by far. UPDATE- I bought a conical bur grinder and experimented with several settings on the espresso end. I found that using a super fine grind and over tamping is too much for this machine causing blockage in the porta-filter. Using a fine grind and using light to moderate pressure with the tamper works best. This produces two excellent espresso shots with a thick, rich crema layer. So far, zero problems with the machine. I've had the machine long enough to get a pretty good impression of it's capabilities. Everything I wrote above still stands but I have run into one issue. The portafilter that fits into the charger handle / basket is a 2 piece design. The screen is a separate piece of metal that is press fit into the portafilter insert. Over time, this gets clogged up and the machine stops working. Since the bottom of the screen is inaccessible, it's impossible to clean. Running the cleaning cycle seems to have little effect. I finally found a wire brush with wires fine enough to push through the tiny holes. This solved the problem but I now have to repeat the wire brush cleaning process every other week to keep the machine working properly. The portafilter needs to be redesigned so that the screen can be removed and cleaned from both sides.