Customer Reviews

FrancisFrancis! X1 Espresso Machine, Grey

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This amazing, gorgeous machine was a gift from several friends who stayed at our house for a week, and it is hands down the greatest gift we've ever gotten.

First of all, it's orange. Orange! We don't even touch the coffee machine anymore, except when we run out of milk. Second, the espresso is delightful, frothy, thick -- and the foamer foams like nobody's business. And it's amazingly simple to clean up after-- we used to have a Krups that required three times the amount of post-cappuccino cleanup for a drink that was only a third as good.

Also, people marvel when they come over. They gawk and gape, openmouthed. "What is this beautiful orange thing?" they ask. We are the envy of the entire neighborhood. Men covet; women swoon.

Did I mention that there's a picture of little girl with her tongue sticking out on the temperature gauge? They're clever people, those Italian espresso machine makers. Such a delightful sense of humor.

Did I mention we love it?

I bought this machine 7 years ago and since then I use it on a daily basis. It has given me much pleasure and I haven't run into any problems at all. I bought it together with an extra portafilter for using pods (more expensive, but very convenient since no cleaning afterwards is needed).

Pro's:
- design (temperature indicator needs a lot of time to adjust, so it should be considered as decorative only)
- reliable (I can only say its construction is reasonably good and it works already 7 years without problems)
- easy-to-use, no complicated switches/options

Contra:
- cup holder does NOT get warm. This is a serious problem, since you can't drink espresso in cold cups since then the coffe will cool down immediately. I 'solved' this by putting hot water from the espressomachine itself into the cups and then wait for 20 seconds before actually making the espresso. When you want to make 5 espresso's in a row it takes quite some time.
- waterreservoir is at back side, and difficult to reach.
- making one espresso takes about 20 seconds. Other machines can do it in 10 seconds.

Recently I bought an espresso machine for my father and after some thinking I decided not to give him a Francis, but a "Gaggia classic coffee machine" because Gaggia solved the above drawbacks: The Gaggia's construction is stronger and more reliable, and its cup holder does get warm. However, later I discovered that the cups themselves only get warm if you leave the machine switched on the entire day and I don't do that so I still need the water pre-heating trick. Good point is that the Gaggia is fast: 10 seconds for 1 espresso.

My overal conclusion is that the Francis is a machine that gives me pleasure for already 7 years and of course, with any machine you will discover a few minor drawbacks after using it that long. Decide for yourself whether these drawbacks are really drawbacks.

I purchased this unit along with a friend and we were both very unsatisfied by the quality of coffee this beautiful machine produced. I'll keep this review short: it is not powerful, is fragile, and does not make a consistent cup of coffee (I know all of the tricks, I used to be a barrista in Milan). For the best machine under [this price], try the Rancilio Silvia 90. With the extra money you save, you can buy a matching Rancilio Rocky Grinder.

I have had a X1 in more than 4 years (since Oct 1997) and it has made a lot of excellent cups of espresso for me. I have some minor problems. After about a year the external thermometer stop working. Not really important as it is only for display, the internal thermostat is still working. Second, it is starting to rust under the dip grill. Third, the rubber sealing above the filter holder is starting to leak.

I am using grinded coffee and I have found that it is somewhat sensitive to loading the filter holder with the correct amount of coffee. To much coffee and the compressor can not press the water thru the coffee, to little coffee and you will not get any crema.

I bought one of these machines in 11/99; had to replace it in March and then just shipped back the replacement. It looked terrific in my kitchen, and made great coffee when it worked. But, the machine just isn't well made.

The FrancisFrancis X1 provides its owner not only with the makings for a superior shot of espresso, but a design which attracts the attention of even non-caffeine afficianados. With styling cues taken from Italy's sports cars of the 50's, its small footprint and rounded lines make it especially well-suited to kithcens with little extra counter space, and the availability of numerous colours allows one more freedom of choice than any other mid-range machine.

Now on to the important part: the coffee. The FF X1 is pump driven and produces more than adequate pressure for a well-balanced cup, but stick to a short shot for the best flavour if using the ESE coffee pods (great for convenience, but not as a permanent replacement for freshly ground beans - I use Illy for both pods and beans). The amount of crema is fairly good, but not top of the class in this price range - which is why I didn't give it the full five stars. Steam generated for caps and latte is as good as I've seen in this category.

Bottom line - darn good coffee, great looks.

Two months ago I bought the X1 from the new serie "X1 by appointment" at the online store azone.ch. Discount price about 500 USD including a box of 18 E.S.E pods from AMICI. The inventor of the machine Francesco Illy is a "pope" of the coffee industry. He founded the "Francis Francis" Company in Switzerland. His father and grandfather are the founder of the "ILLY" coffee brand. A name for sophisticated taste of coffee. Francesco Illy started to launch his own brand "AMICI". There are actually 4 different E.S.E. pods available. My favourites are the "Espresso" (silver box with red stripe) and "Ristretto" (..with black stripe). Please check amici.ch for more information. So, that's a little bit about history and now my review: When I read the negative postings I wonder why there are some problems when using the machine or why the coffee gives some people only average joy. Here my suggestions for a real espresso experience:

Rule 1: Strictly use the E.S.E. pods....the one from AMICI or LAVAZZA I can suggest. Not try to use non-E.S.E. pods. They will not fit perfectly.

Rule 2: Buy some high quality espresso cups. If the porcelain is robust and thick it can keep and lead the warmth much better.

Rule 3: Always use pre-heatened cup. Place them on top of the coffee machine. I never turn off the machine. If you switched of the machine, wait about 20 minutes before preparing coffee.
And important: Pour one espresso cup of water before inserting any pod. This guarantees, that the cup gets his temperature and that the machine gets its operation temperature.

Rule 4: Keep your machine clean. After every use clean the pad-holder. Put it in the machine (be sure there are no pods inside) and simply pour water for about 10 seconds trough it.

Rule 5: For the ones who experienced damages, I think, they didn't threat it correctly! After using the steam YOU MUST SWITCH BACK to the espresso mode and activate the toggle switch for espresso. Simply pour water about 20 seconds. Now the boiler will not overheat and protects the machine. If you do not follow that rule your machine could be damaged seriously!

Final commentary: Those people who wants to compare the X1 with any one from Braun for about 99 USD and think the taste is the same, I must only say, that they have no concept of good coffee taste. The Francis Francis is nothing for people who confuse real espresso flavor with the over-sweeted plastic or paper taste of any Mc Donalds or Dunkin' Donuts sewage.
The first time I have seen the X1 I knew, soon or less I will purchase it. The unmistakable design didn't relinquish myself anymore. Every day walking to the kitchen, the Francis Francis X1 smiles at me. A machine to take into one's heart.

Marcel Dubach, ZURICH

This machine is just gorgeous--and works well. I'd been eyeballing them for a good while and finally broke down and got one due to an unexpected windfall. Not a day's regret--and I've used it every day since I bought it.

First, there's the color. I have a thing for orange, and lots of orange things. This is the most beautiful orange color I've ever seen. The color combined with the design make the machine the most artful spot in my chock-full-of-orange kitchen. Unfortunately, it's too gorgeous an orange to match with the paler "tangerine" color of the kitchenaid line. However, it is nicely aligned with the flame/volcanique color of my le creuset cookware.

Function: I used to work in a kitchen boutique, so I know good products--so well have I known espresso machines for home use that I've never bothered to buy one of them. The ones at lower price points don't build up enough pressure, can't handle volume, etc. I held out to get the best. This is really a great machine.

I used to work in an Italian restaruant that didn't have a coffeemaker--we served Caffe Americano to those who ordered coffee. This machine handles and performs like the restaruant quality machine insisted upon by the crazy guy who ran the restaurant. The newer brass fittings are nice and heavy--it feels like I'm back in the waitstation of Giovanni's Osteria Paesana!

My favorite thing about this machine, from a strictly functional standpoint, is that it is all analog all the time. Some digital machines at a similar price point tend to need a few minutes between brewings to figure out what they've just done and what they need to do in order to be ready to go again. Not so with the FrancisFrancis! I can brew multiple espressos or americanos in a row. I don't use it for cappuccino (not a steamed milk fan) but I've tested the steam feature and it reminds me of the good ol' days as well: great quality.

One other thing that's great about this machine is the ability to use either the pods (not my fave) or coffee you grind yourself or have ground. The machine comes with two handles, one for the pods and the other for either the single or double basket of ground coffee. This way, I can save the pods for when I run out of coffee and brew my own blend as a rule.

A few things you might like to know: tamping is serious business and the back of the plastic scoop is not ideal for this purpose. You can get a heavy metal tamper like professional machines have for a few dollars and I recommend this extra purchase for the perfect crema. I also have a pastry brush off of which I broke half the handle and cut half the bristles--this results in a good stiff brush to get up into the mechanism where you fit the basket and clean out the grounds. I have a second pastry brush, not mangled, that I use to brush grounds off the GORGEOUS machine before going over it with a sponge to clean it.

Final note: I can make a cup of Americano (espresso with water until it's a cup of coffee) with this machine, including the time it takes to heat when you first turn it on, in less time than I could either boil water for a melita-type drip or french press, or fill the drip coffeemaker with water and coffee and wait for the brew: faster, rich, delicious coffee from a beautiful machine.

I tried to choose between the X3, the Starbucks Barista and this red X1. This is about $[money] more, but we finally couldn't resist the cool look compared to the Barista. The X3 might have been a better value, but I couldn't find one to look at in a real store and all the descriptions emphasized small and cheap.

We took the X1 out of the box two days ago and have been merrily making espresso, cappucino and lattes since. What I'm astonished by is that it goes from cold to ready to espresso temperature in under 90 seconds. I timed it just now. If you want to steam milk it goes to the higher required temperature just as quickly and is easy to cool back down to espresso temp by turning on the coffee switch and running water into your mug. Warms the mug in the process!

As previous reviews note, the whole process is three switches and two lights. If you use espresso pods, no more experience is needed.

This machine is an extravagance, no two ways about it. But the price for entry level machines is about $[money]. With this you get an obviously sturdy design, cool looks and incredible performance.

Makes great coffee, but it takes a bit of practice to perfect the technique. It took me a while to figure these things out:

*Espresso beans need to be freshly roasted, and ground in a burr grinder, not a blade grinder.
*The cup warmer rack on top of the machine looks good, but is basically useless. The best way to warm you cup is run a "blank shot" (sans filter basket) through the machine thus warming the filter holder and your cup as well. It is important to have these two pre warmed so you won't have to microwave your espresso as one of the earlier reviewers had to do.
*Always steam your milk prior to making the coffee- I thought the machine did an average, and not exceptional job doing this
*It takes a bit of trial and error but don't over tamp or under tamp the ground coffee in the filter basket. Overtamp and the coffee won't flow through the basket. Under tamp and you won't get any of the all important "crema".
*Skip the ESE pods- 1) its cheating and 2)they only can make single servings- putting together 2 capaccinos would be a logistical nightmare
*Wipe the filter holder gasket with a paper towel after every use to prevent clogging
*Decalcify the machine every 3 months

Seems like a bit of work, but once I followed these steps I had consistantly excellent coffee. The only other beef I had was that extra single filter baskets are not available for purchase separately (without filter holders).