We're a 2-3 cup a day coffee household. This doesn't include all of the weekly trips to the coffee shop while at work for more specialized drinks. Prior to getting this espresso maker we simplu brewed flavored coffee family at home with cheap and disposable coffee makers. We were of course overjoyed to welcome the Krups EA8250001 Espresseria Full Automatic Espresso and coffee Machine into our kitchen. Here are my thoughts;
Pros
+ All in one unit. Stores, grinds, brews and disposes of your coffee. No outside water lines needed.
+ Stainless Steel milk frothing bottle provided. Very nice!
+ Auto clean/rinse cycle. Only needs complete cleaning once every 360 cycles!
+ Modern and sleek black look. Also, very compact in size for an espresso machine.
+ Easy to use digital interface and quick set up.
+ Water proof service guide stored inside a side slot of the machine.
+ Steamer nozzle also dispenses hot water for tea/hot chocolate drinkers.
+ Extremely quick brew time. Less than 2 minutes.
+ Energy efficient and has an auto-off timer.
+ Made in France (not Taiwan or China like many products today).
+ 2 year or 6,000 cup warrantee.
+ Machine alerts you on all cleaning/replacement functions.
+ Tool provided for easy installation of the unit's water filter. Especially useful if you have larger hands.
Cons
- Incredibly expensive.
- Milk frothing bottle and attachments are a bit cumbersome to use and clean.
- Water filters are $18-20 each and need to be replaced every two months.
- Unable to use flavored or pre-ground coffee. There's no bypass chamber to change beans. Once your coffee is in the machine it's in there until you use it.
- Frother is rather rigid and has limited flexibility. It's also difficult to use on a countertop, especially with larger mugs. You need to have it on the counter edge to even get a larger cup out.
- Can be rather noisey, especially early in the morning. Water tank can rattle quite a bit when brewing the coffee.
- Clock display doesn't stay on when you're not using the machine.
- Water dispenser tray platform is a bit small and while the coffee nozzles do raise, it's not really enough for larger coffee mugs.
- Some crucial pieces of the machine are plastic (coffee nozzles, parts of the frother etc.). I would prefer them to be metal as the plastic feels like it could crack from the heat.
The Krups EA8250001 Espresseria Full Automatic Espresso and coffee Machine is something most people would never buy but would love to receive it as a gift. I'm sure there are many of these machines on wedding registries from couples with crossed fingers. For the price this machine should definitely be considered an investment. Spending this much on an espresso machine is difficult to justify. However, if you can afford the purchase price it definitely does what it's supposed to. I can absolutely say that I'm the envy of all my coffee drinking coworkers and friends. I know our household will get many years of use out of it.