Customer Reviews

ARIETE CAFE PRESTIGE DIGITAL 1375-1

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Solid unit with great fit & finish. Very Good espresso every time!

I bought this since the previous manual model the Lello 45900 was no longer being made but had great Amazon reviews. So I bought this Ariete model (apparently the Lello name is dropped) on a leap of faith since it's new, has no reviews yet, nor a photo. I'm very happy with it. It brews consistent cups every time after three weeks so far.

This unit has automatic features for 1 or 2 cup dispensing so you don't have to guess how long to run it. It has a manual button also! The steam wand is great, and also makes hot water for tea. The buttons are all encircled with green lights to indicate functioning and when it has warmed up and is ready to brew. The water reservoir holds enough water for a week and it piggybacks on the back of the machine. You can see the water level easily from the side because the reservoir is clear plastic. Overall, it's a solid piece of work, heavy enough so it stays put when attaching the filter, and doesn't bounce around while running. Filter cleans out easily. People complain of "wet pucks" - and these are wet, but not sludgy. I find it gets sludgy when I tamp too much coffee into the filter. Either way, it rinses out under the sink in 2 seconds, no problem.

I was impressed with the safety features. For instance, I had the steamer running and pulled off the water tank to add more water. The unit promptly alerted with an audible alarm and completely shut off. It's nice to know that there is a little wiggle room and won't get destroyed with a careless mistake like running out of water.

As far as brewing & taste goes I'd say for this price I'm happy with the taste and it's consistent every time. It creates some crema. It takes about 15-20 seconds for the coffee to finish coming out; it drips as it should, rather than squirting into the cup. Plus, this Ariete unit uses so little grind for one cup, my tin of espresso is probably going to last a couple months and I have one to three cups a day. Seems way more cost effective than buying those pre-made filter packets (which this machine does not accept, but apparently there is a workaround for that someone mentioned in the previous model's reviews for the Lello 45900.) In reviews for machines up to $450 I notice reviewers complain about fine points regarding the crema created from the double walled filters, and issues about true boilers vs machines that heat water with a thermoblock, but I'd say that you're only going to get the exact same Starbucks/favorite coffee shop taste if you use the same extremely expensive commercial machines they use, which cost $1500-2500+.

Tips - I'd say read the manual first b/c you want to make great coffee as well as do things to make the unit operate best & last longer. Let the unit heat up for at least 5 minutes. Buy a $15 digital thermometer for frothing the milk so you end up with a hot drink possible yet avoid overdoing the milk (got a nice digital general kitchen thermometer at Williams and Sonoma). Unlike other units reviewers complaints, this one froths regular & soy milk quite well in my opinion, so you can also use the chocolate soy milk for mocha lattes. As far as grinds go, I started with the Illy pre-ground fine grind caffe macinato from Williams and Sonoma (it's smooth tasting, perhaps a little too smooth..). No matter what, use a quality grinder or have the coffee shop do it. Those blade home grinders make inconsistent particle size and the powder may clog your metal filter (like most of these machines, the metal filter is double-walled - one filter separated by a tiny space, on top of another metal filter with fewer holes on the bottom- meaning, it could be theoretically difficult to clean out that space. I've had no problems so far). You'll also want to pick up cups as this unit doesn't include any. It has a nice heating surface on the top of the unit and though it doesn't get super hot it certainly helps. One quirk, when the unit has heated up amd you turn the steam dial to froth milk, there is a delay of 10 seconds and then it begins to steam, sending out a little water at first for 3-4 seconds (likely b/c it probably condenses on the cooler metal pipes) and then you get pure steam. You may want to wipe the previous brew's grinds off the rubber gasket where the filter attaches to the unit. From what I've read, don't leave the filter handle attached to the machine so that the gasket doesn't compress over time and need replacing sooner (I believe this goes for all brands). I put mine on only when ready to brew and remove it immediately. Hope this helps!

Note - when my Ariete arrived, I ran a handful of empty plain water runs both through the filter and steamer just to test it. I'm not sure why, but it took a handful of runs to get the unit working consistently (probably b/c water initially primes the pump & lubricates internal valves, etc.) At first, a number of steams from the wand resulted in the steamed water not coming out the wand, but ending up directly into the drip tray (there's a path from inside the machine for internal overflow) instead of coming out of the wand. Since then is comes out just fine every single time. I suppose like all nice machines whether it's a BMW or this, there's a short break in period. The unit is quiet but when it's pumping it makes a constant vibrating noise, but nothing excessive. During steaming, the pump cycles on and off once each second.

The look of the machine looks beautiful & very well build. However, doesn't work (DOA). I'm willing to exchange for another machine if it's still in stock. Unfortunately, this is the last one. I'm thankful that Amazon is willing to pay for return shipping.