Customer Reviews

Krups FNP112-42 Espremio Espresso/Cappuccino/Latte Maker

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

After too many trips to Starbucks, I unfortunately have become too choosy about my java. The basic cup of coffee just won't do. Thus began the search for the least expensive espresso machine that made a decent shot of espresso.

.... when I happened upon the Krups Espremio mismarked at a local retailer .... I couldn't resist trying it.

The first 3 cups were no better than coffee. I later realized that was because I was using basic grocery store brand coffee. Once I tried using genuine, properly ground espresso beans, Starbucks had met their match. If you purchase coffee beans from Starbucks, they will ground them for you at no charge, as well. The Starbucks brand is a bit bitter in my opinion, so I am eager to branch out to other brands of espresso.

As for the Krups Espremio itself... I'm happy with it. It doesn't leak. It is easy to keep clean. It heats quickly. The frother is great. It makes a nice head of crema.

HOWEVER, as you'll already know, it only makes one single serving at a time. It does complicate making a double latte, but I've made four singles in a decent amount of time.

.... BUT REMEMBER TO USE THE RIGHT COFFEE.

There is a clear echo here, so to simply quote the experience of another reviewer, "after two months the steamer ceased to function properly and steam came out of the espresso head instead."

Rather than paying to ship the unit to Krups myself---clearly, the company cannot afford to pay shipping on the thousands of these cheaply made units---I hauled the Krups FNP112-42 down to my workshop and found that the hose to the steamer had detached.

Well, fixing that problem did not render the FNP112-42 usable, for now it simply exhaled steam in great plumes like a bull in a Bugs Bunny cartoon. Cleaning the unit per the directions from Krups did nothing whatsoever. Nor did shaking it robustly or inserting various instruments into the nonworking nozzles serve any purpose, but at least I felt a bit better.

Turns out the only thing getting steamed was me. . .

I'm going to buy a good espresso maker this year for Christmas and I can promise you that it will not have the word Krups emblazoned on it.

As a Starbucks employee of almost 2 years at my college... I know how to brew espresso and properly make drinks. My roommates got this for me as a Christmas present at the Field Days Sale so I could make coffee drinks for all of our late night study sessions. After about 2 months of use... the steamer ceased to function properly and steam came out of the espresso head instead. I contacted a service advisor at Krups' website and it turns out that I would have to ship the machine to the nearest service center in Illinois on my own dime. No thank you! I'll find something better.

This machine is my first and I've had it for 7 months. While I enjoy Starbuck's consistent products, I realized I was spending quite a bit of dough for mochas (it's extra for organic milk) and often found myself fleeing their lounge area when unruly kids or screaming babies showed up. I also love the assurance that if I wanted decaf at that moment, I got decaf (the automated machines Starbuck's now uses tends to make their employees "zero in" to hitting the more popular caffeine shot button). Plus, I can heat the milk extra hot (170 degrees)-Starbucks does it to around 140 and the drink is lukewarm quickly. There's something embarrassing about having a Barista call out "grande, no-whip, 3 shot 170 degree organic mocha for Brad." I think Dennis Miller has a bit on slapping people that order coffee with more than 4 words in the description.

The Espremio is extremely easy to use/understand, seems to be durable and doesn't take much counter space. Water for shots comes out at 180 degrees+. Despite the recommendation to use more flavorful spring water, I use distilled water to avoid the need to descale. Besides, when you add heated milk and Starbuck's mocha powder, it's nearly impossible to detect the difference in water. Clean up is a snap--run a coffee-less shot to clean the filter, operate the steam wand for 10 seconds into an empty cup, empty drip tray and wipe dry...nice.

Customer service is accessible 24 hours a day and are quite friendly. However, they have provided incorrect information on several occasions-not just on this machine, but on other high end machines of theirs I'm investigating. When I state the owner's manual or sales clerk says differently, they backpedal or mention they're not experts on that product (what?)! I suspect they provide service for multiple companies (outsourced). I read somewhere that Delonghi bought Krups, or at least their espresso line. I won't complain the machine only does one shot at a time...that was clear on the packaging when I bought it.

I originally thought I'd have to return it because, despite whether I ground the beans or Starbucks did, no amount of tamping pressure slowed-down a "too fast" shot extraction. In addition, the filter is always left with a significant amount of water, leaving a soupy mess vs. a firm, easily disposed of puck (meaning precious flavors were being left behind). The filter always has water in it, even after running an empty filter shot to prime/heat the shot glass/filter. I suspect that's a side-affect of having only 8 bars vs. 15 bars of pressure (not enough pressure to blow out the last bit of water). The salvation was the pods from Starbucks, Illy and other companies. As long as the pods are well within the freshness date, don't believe the critics that say they suck. The shots are excellent and give the foamy-head everyone babbles on about. Just make sure you trim excess filter paper that comes on the Illy and other Italian pods so it doesn't interfere with the filter / percolation head seal (leaking will occur). Also, I find the ideal temperature light goes out ½ way through the pod shot, so I turn it to stand-by and the machine is ready to draw the remaining shot in about 15 seconds (once water re-heats). I suspect that's why Krups doesn't recommend using pods with this machine. If it dies, I won't hesitate to spend another $75 on a new unit.

Consolidating a long story into a few sentences, I actually owned 3 different Krups Espremio's, after 1 was returned to the store and 1 was lost by their Service system. Two were defective right out of the box (nonfunctioning 'ready' light/ bad leakage around filter basket), and the third failed after 5 months of use (loud bang followed by profuse leaking).
My experience with the Krups Service System was so unsatisfactory that I will not try to have my current machine repaired, despite time remaining on the warranty.
When it worked, it produced great espresso and foamed milk rather nicely.
My advice: Spend a little extra and buy a better machine. (Please note that people with bad experiences are more likely to write reviews than are happy customers. Your experience may differ from mine.)

For the price, this machine is hard to top. It's very sturdy, none of the parts are flimsy, and it gets the job done. It's perfect if you are like me (a bachelor) and get up in the morning and want to make yourself a latte or espresso for yourself. The steam wand works remarkably well for such a low-priced model. I've used professional espresso makers before and I was pleasantly suprised with the performance. Overall, I recommend this for people who are looking for the best of the low-priced end of Espress makers. You'll have a hard time finding anything that works better for this price.

I live in northern Italy where the cappuccinos are only surpassed by those in southern Italy, and though by no means does the cafe this machine produces taste just like the cafe in Italy. It sure does come close!!

I purchased this product 7 months ago and have been very satisfied with its performance. There are no leaks from the steamer and cleaning it is so easy. I would give it 5 stars if it weren't for the fact that it only makes one shot at a time so it can't make two cups or a double espresso. It only takes a few extra seconds to make a second cup though and I was aware of this when I purchased the unit. I have experimented with all different kinds of coffee of all different prices and feel that as long as the beans are ground for espress makers, the coffee comes out just right. My friends and I all really enjoy a good espresso and the occasional capuccino and we have all been very impressed with what this machine is capable of producing. I definitely recommend this product.

I'm a very finicky espresso drinker, my cup has to have a certain consistency, temperature, and taste. I have been looking for some time for a machine that would let me have at home an espresso of similar quality to those I enjoy at the restaurants and coffee shops I patronize. This machine is it!

Very easy to set up, operate and clean. It has a built-in pump (like the big machines that cost a lot more) which makes high quality espresso cream. It easily switches to make delicious foam or steamed milk for machiatto, capuccinos, or lattes, and the waiting time for the machine to heat up is almost nil. You do have to make the espresso one cup at a time, though, as the filter and coffee holder are only for single-shots. Other than that, this machine has allowed me to enjoy my own blend of espresso coffee at home, whenever I like, and with quality equal or superior to restaurant or coffee shop espressos. You will be pleased!

As a recent purchaser of the Krups Espremio, I was amazed at how easily the pump action worked compared to my old boiler model. It's a faster process and makes a hotter cup of espresso. It also froths well and because of the large tank, can froth large amount of milk. The only drawback to the machine is it's ability to produce only one cup of espresso at a time. This is due to the shallow, small one-cup filter. I saw no optional filters on Krups.com, and have emailed them asking if a two cup filter is available. Other than that, I recommend this machine highly.