Customer Reviews

Capresso 302.01 Mini-S 4-Cup Safety Espresso/Cappuccino Machine

5 star:		(72)
4 star:		(44)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I purchased this machine after much research and to my surprise; it has far exceeded my expectations. Why? Well first let me inform you that I had absolutely no espresso/cappuccino machine experience and that this Mini-S is in fact my first machine. So back to why?

1. Capresso does an excellent job with the instructional video and so you can feel very confident when making your first cup.

2. During my research I kept reading that some of the other less expense machines don't get up to a high enough temperature - well this is NOT a problem with this machine. BUT if you are making cappuccino MAKE sure that you froth/steam the milk enough to bring it to the right temperature or you will in fact experience a cooler cup of cappuccino.

3. Another complaint I heard about other machines is that the frother/steamer is too low to put a proper sized frothing pitcher. NOT the case with this machine. I purchased the Krups 085 - 20-ounce frothing pitcher and I have plenty of room.

4. This machine doesn't require a tamper - I don't know why but it doesn't and so that is one less item to buy!

5. IT MAKES AN EXCELLENT CUP OF CAPPUCCINO!! My wife and I purchased Espresso from Starbucks and had them grind it (so no need to buy a special espresso grinder) then we compared the cappuccino we made using the Mini-S & Starbucks brand espresso and the cup of cappuccino we had Starbucks make and they were identical!!!! (BTW - DO NOT use regular coffee so do make sure you buy real espresso and have it ground up for you)

I'm certain there are cons to this machine but being a first time user I have to say that I haven't found one yet and that is why I give this machine 5 STARS.

Good luck with your pursuit of a great cup!

I bought this to break myself of going to Starbucks and because I'm cheap. This is not a state of the art, hot shot machine, but it is 1/3 the cost of anything nearly as good as far as I can tell, and I like it a lot.

To make cappuccino you follow these steps:
1. Pour water into carafe to top of metal rim, then pour it into the boiler and close the boiler tight (easy)
2. Put espresso into filter (marked for 2 or 4 cups) and then put into machine (easy)
3. Put carafe into position (only goes one way and incredibly easy)
4. Turn to cup setting and wait until it drips to steam line, meanwhile prepare 2/3 cup of milk (skim is better) (very easy)
5. Put frother into milk, turn dial from cup to steam, steam milk about 10 seconds (easy), then drop the steam cover to start frothing (very easy) and froth for another 10-20 seconds
6. Turn control back to cup and wait until enough coffee has dripped through (either you have enough or it starts steaming). (easy but it takes attention).
7. Turn machine to off, pour your coffee and steamed milk and foam into your cup. Drink (easy)
8. Let the rest of the water drip into the carafe, then let steam run out into (another) empty cup. Very easy
-- You are done --
Clean up is even easier. You can put just about everything into the dishwasher, the only tricky part is to unscrew the frother and wash it to keep it clean. Incredibly easy.

Did I mention it is easy?

The cappuccion so far is better than I was buying at Starbucks for $4.25 and as far as I can compute it, it is costing me about < $0.50 / cup using the expensive Green Mountain Espresso + skim milk. Not a bad savings.

The one thing they don't tell you is that if you are making 1 serving (2 cups), stop brewing (turn from cup to 0) at 2 cups, pour out your coffee, and then let the rest of the water pour through.

All in all, it couldn't be easier. Time from start to finish, including clean up is about 4 minutes.

==============
Here's a follow up some months later. I finally decided that the foam and espresso I was getting was not consistent enough, the parts were a bit fragile, and, most important, a steam-based machine will never quite give me what I truly want.

I decided to to step up and I bought the Starbucks Barrista (during their annual 25% off sale) and there is no comparison (in quality or in price!)

So, I'd modify my review just to say that the Capresso is great for its cost, and great for getting started, but if you want the flavor of a truly well made cappuccino you need a machine with a pump, and one with separate controls for steaming and for making the espresso.

I wasnt sure about this machine because it is so cheap for an espresso machine, but it really does work well. My drinks made at home taste just as good as Dutch Bros. and Starbucks! It isnt noisy, and is easy to clean ... the frother/steamer is also very powerful. For the price, it is well worth it.

Good product - sturdy-built, nice expresso, good latte/capuchinos.

There's been some comments regarding froth generation by this unit. In fact, it's the same complaint across a large selection of similar units. In fact, I posted a 1-star myself for this froth issue but today my friend who happens to be a barrista in Italy helped me out! Here's the tutorial:

(a) Always use COLD, COLD milk - skimmed/thin milk.
(b) Hold nozzle (after a wee bit of steaming) :
- Deep inside the milk
- But NOT pointing into the center
- Cup/Utensil slightly turned towards yourself, so the nozzle blows at the bottom RIM.
- Also twist the cup/utensil a little TOWARDS the machine itself also.
(c) START the process. Almost immediately MOVE THE CUP SUCH THAT THE VERY END OF THE NOZZLE IS INSIDE THE MILK - you do this by moving the cup downwards but maintaining the tilt.
(d) At this juncture you'll see that the sound changes - as if something is being fried in a skillet - GOOD.
(e) Immediately you'll find froth build-up. NOW IT'S IMPORTANT TO KEEP THAT NOZZLE JUST INSIDE THE MILK. SO, AS FROTH BUILDS UP, YOU'LL NEED TO KEEP MOVING THE CUP DOWN!
>>> That's it!

Now, the importance of the tilt is to generate a circular motion on the milk as steam blows into it with the motion creating a movement of the milk DOWNWARDS. The reason is, a best cuppa coffe is when the bubbles are SMALL and MIXED with the milk - not the BIG bubbles just floating up and pure milk down! So, as you generate that circular motion - you constantly PUSH those BIG bubbles down INTO the milk where they dissapiate and get totally mixed with the milk.
Remember: The trick is in the tilt and the sound - watch those 2 and you have a perfect cup!

I bought this for $60 in August... desperately wanting to enjoy steamers and lattes with breakfast but being a just-more-than-impoverished grad student. I've worked in coffee shops before, so know my standards.

The machine weighs disturbingly little, and is horribly uncomplex. The filter arrived with many of its holes still unopened, and I had to punch them out myself. But I have three main complaints:

1. It cannot steam and make espresso at the same time. Maybe I'm just spoiled...

2. Steaming adds a ridiculous amount of water to the milk. Right now, at the height of my steaming ability, I'm still getting about 4 oz of water added to every 8 oz of milk.

3. It has no warm-up switch. IE, whereas other machines you can turn on, walk away, and come back when its heated to make espresso, this one will just start pouring water though anytime it feels its hot enough. Thus, if you want to avoid accidentally ending up with 8 oz of espresso when you only wanted 1.5, you have to watch it like a hawk.

This is a $30 machine. If you can get it for that price, its worth the money. If not, go with something else.

This machine should meet the expectations of coffee addicts on a budget. I have owned this machine for approximately eight months, while using the machine almost daily to make espresso shots and other espresso beverages.

I have found that the machine produces consistently good espresso, even when pulling all four "cups." The trick is to always fill the machine with water equivalent to the top of the band on the carafe. This information is in the instructions, but is easily overlooked. I have only been dissatisfied when I have not filled the machine all the way.

The accompanying video is a nice inclusion, but I, along with most of my friends, have ditched our VCRs some time ago. Luckily, I was not out of luck. I was pleasantly surprised that capresso.com has video instructions available for streaming.

Of course, if I should have the budget to spend ten times the price for an amazing machine I would be worrying about pump pressure and looking for perfection in not only the output product, but in the design. Yes, this machine is mostly plastic, but the important working parts are metal. I find the design attractive, and perhaps more importantly the machine is compact enough to fit well in my efficiency kitchen.

I depended so much on the reviews before I got my machine that I felt an obligation to return the favor!

It took a little practice to get used to this machine, but once I did, it has been a breeze to use. I've been using it for a couple of months and have taken lately to making iced lattes every morning for my trip to work. This has saved me BOATLOADS of money that would have gone to Starbucks.

I'm not a coffee connoisseur, but I imagine if you are, you're probably not buying a $60 espresso machine. With that in mind, if you use good quality fresh grounds, this makes a mighty tasty espresso, latte, or whatever you fancy.

PLUSES:
Very small - takes up hardly any counter space!
Comes with a really helpful video, assuming you still have a VHS around to watch it on!
Really easy to use. I was a little intimidated at first having never used an espresso machine before, but once I got the hang of it, I could do it in my sleep.
Folks say it's noisy, but no noisier than a Starbucks - have you been in one of those places? I don't mind this thing at all in comparison.

MINUSES:
Though the brewing doesn't take long, you can't leave the machine while it's making the espresso. I've made the mistake of getting distracted a couple of times, and the overheated/burned coffee starts to come out before I catch it and ruins the whole batch.
And yeah, it's plastic and looks/feels a little flimsy, but it works well. If you can't get past the thing being plastic, then you'll need to pay for something a little fancier. But I'm not sure you'll get a better espresso out of it.

Things to note:
A few people have complained about the frother getting gummed up or not working, but it took me a while before I realized that it can be unscrewed and cleaned as well. If you do that often enough, you'll have no problem.
Also, always remember to depressurize it when you're done. The only time I had a malfunction with it was after I hadn't blown all the steam out - but the next time I used it, I did and haven't had a problem since.

Enjoy!

when i was buying this machine i was hesitant. i thought i was going to get junk for this money. to my surprise this little machine is so easy to use and it makes great espresso for my lattes and mochas .i use thermometer when steaming milk, it steams milk to 170 degrees fast with no problem.i wish i had space for a bigger pump espresso machine like francis x5, but in the meantime this little one serves my purpose in fact i will but another one to give as a gift. i am stabucks addict and for a whole week i made mochas and lattes that my husband could not tell between the ones i made and starbuck's. i am very happy with this purchase.

This device paid for itself easily in just the first week. No more $4 latte's at Starbucks.
Yes, it has a few slight drawbacks.
1. Prep takes a little time (so does waiting in line at SB's).
2. Clean up is also time consuming for just a few cups.
3. I like my drinks HOT and have to microwave them afterwards.
4. Locking/unlocking the coffee filter might be a little tough for some older folks.
Other than that, this little puppy does exactly what I wanted and expected it to do.
Why 5 stars?
1. The price.
2. Being able to make an excellent drink whenever I want it.
3. Ease/familiarity of use after just a few tries.
4. Money saved is going to my college aged kids instead of Starbuck's corporate wallet.
5. Satisfaction of making my own hot drink and enjoying it at my leisure.
6. Did I mention price?

I bought a Mini-S Espresso machine in August. I was well on the road to being fully satisfied with device--until it broke about ten days later. Due to the apparent cheapo plastic construction of the switch, I cannot endorse the long-term value in this machine. I give it five stars for quality espresso, but only one star for durability, resulting in an average of three stars.

My brother, who says he has made about 3,000 cups of espresso with various machines (one a day over about ten years) advised me to buy a model like this. If you pay more, he said you are really paying for styling and a few handy features. We looked at one other more expensive Capresso model, but I didn't really one to spend too much. I paid $64 for mine.

Having never made any latte's before at home, so I didn't know what to expect from this model. I have drunk many latte's from various coffee shops in America (and from shops in Germany, Hungary, and Croatia), so I had a pretty good idea what I was looking for. My mental recollections were my baseline.

My first batch of espresso didn't taste good. I made it from regular coffee, which resulted in a weak, tasteless brew. I tried grinding the coffee up in my home bean grinder, but didn't reach a powdery state, so I gave up.

I drove to a nearest grocery store and bought some beans, then ran them through the store grinder at 'espresso' grind. I didn't know which bean to use, so I just picked an organic mexican bean. The coffee beans, on espresso grind, become a powdery grind.

I took the powder home, added filtered water into the resevoir, made my espresso, frothed my milk, then mixed it all together. My homemade latte was as good as anything I've tasted from any Starbucks/BarnesNoble etc. (In my recollection, there is only one 'espresso' I had that it didn't come close to. It was a liquid-smooth concoction I bought from shop about a block the Kolner Dom in Cologne, Germany. I have no idea how they made it. It was so good you could have hooked a drip feed into me. There is nothing like it available at any Starbucks in Minnesota. I am still searching. . .)

I would like to keep using this machine. Instead, I am returning it for refund. I am going to examine the quality of the parts before buying another Capresso. I may buy the $200 model I saw if the parts seem to be better quality. I will more carefully keep track of the sales receipt too!