Customer Reviews

Krups XP7260 Compact Fully Automatic Espresso Machine with Auto Cappuccino Kit

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

UPDATE - After previously giving this machine 4 stars, I am forced to reduce my rating to 1 star. It appears I've received a "lemon" as I've now had the machine break 3 times. I'm very frustrated because for all of the resasons I list below, I want to love the machine. However, during time I've had the machine, It's only briefly worked before needing to be retured for service. The machine comes with a one-year VIP service which is great since the online company I purchased it from only had a 30-day return policy. Unfortunately, in the four months I've had the machine it's been broken or out for repair for a majority of that time. Please respond to this review if you've had success getting your machine to work without sending back for repair.

Attention Buyers! - I would not buy this machine - the frustration of having it break three times is not worth your time or money. Learn from my mistake and look for a different brand and make sure to purchase from a store that has a return period of longer than 30 days.

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This was no small purchase for me. I've researched and waited for about 1 year before committing to this machine. The price dropped by about 40% from one of the Amazon online retailers and there was free shipping so I jumped at the chance. I've had the XP 7260 for about 1 week now and I mostly love this machine. When I first got the machine I spent an hour or so reviewing the instruction manual before I turned on the machine which helped me to realize a couple important tips (for most all auto-espresso machines). 1 - you have to use very cold l% or 2% milk for best froth/foam and 2 - you should use non-oily beans. Also, I expected to get coffee shop quality from the first cup of expresso but have quickly realized that I haven't learned the proportions of espresso to water (for Americano) or milk (for latte & cappucino). I wish more than two recipes were included for first time users.

Pros:
Stunning appearance
Auto frothing attachment works excellent(if you use cold 1% or 2% milk)
Great tasting coffee/espresso
Doesn't take up too much room on the counter

Cons:
The biggest CON is that there is NO pre-ground coffee funnel - I big disappointment - no decaf drinks at night.
The Amazon description mentions that this machine is compatible with ground coffee but it's NOT!
Noisy! Similar to turning on a blener full of ice. The noise is short-lived so it's bearable.
Not enough recipes for basic coffee drinks - I have yet to perfect the Americano. Web blogs are all over the place regarding recipes.
Frequently filling the water container - not a big deal but if you have cabinets above your counter you have the pull the machine out far enough to access the water container.
Espresso cups, manual frothing pitcher, and coffee not included (auto pitcher is included). Plan to spend another $50 on these items before making your first cup of espresso.
Maintenance costs could be about $100 per year for water filter replacements and cleaning tablets.
Water filter and cleaning tablets are not easily available so I will have to purchase online.

I know, this sounds like a long list. I have a feeling many other espresso machines have similar cons so I wouldn't consider any of these a deal-breaker.

Overall an excellent machine but I really wish there was a pre-ground coffee funnel so that we could enjoy decaf expresso drinks at night.

Update 2. I thought I loved this machine. But, alas, just walk away. Better... Run.

I figured out the problem. The strainer at the base of the "portafilter" slowly gets clogged with unfortunately sized coffee bits getting jammed into the small holes - and cannot be easily cleaned. Rinsing cycle doesn't clean it. Cleaning cycle, with Krups own tablets doesn't clean it. You simply cannot remove the plate from the device for any sort of proper cleaning.

As the holes slowly start to plug up with coffee grounds, the pressure in the brew head builds up. Then pressure from the water shotting through the grounds starts pushing the plunger up. The more the plate clogs, the higher up the plunger gets pushed - until the first of the two gaskets finally rises above the seal mid-brew. Coffee sprays all over the inside, out the bottom, and sometimes a "Technical error" that will only clear after the inside of the machine dries.

If you ignore this warning, or already own this POS, here's the best I've found...

1. You can remove the stainless cover and "pill shoot" to get access to the brew head from the top. A stiff paint brush can clear some of the holes - alas this is how I now get my morning coffee most days.

2. You have to watch the brew cycle. If you see the top seal rising to the top of the brew chamber push "OK" to abort the cycle BEFORE the seal breaks loose. After the system clears, clean out some holes in the plate (using the brush) and try again.

3. Don't "abort" and walk away. The plunger is under pressure and will "seat" again after the water stops, this will cause coffee stuck in the brew head to flow back into the clean water system, a bacterial issue. You have to run 2 rinse cycles to clear the pipes.

I feel defrauded. This is a serious design issue.

After about 50 or 60 cups the machine would hang up "ERROR CODE 06" and move into Auto Test. Sometimes the machine would work after a "hard reboot" (unplugging and replugging). After doing this for the next 12 or so cups (sometimes work, sometimes error code 6 and reboot), it just stopped working altogether. KRUPS sent us a new in box replacement (TODAY) and that was an Error CODE 6 right out of the NEW box! So i rebooted that one too - and the first cup of coffee from this machine dumped out of the bottom of the machine and all over the countertop.
KRUPS HAS MAJOR QUALITY CONTROLL ISSUES - NEW IN BOX MACHINES ARE BUSTED ON THE SPOT
KRUPS IS NOW SENDING US A NEW, NEW MACHINE. So, we're getting a 3rd replacement machine....I've yet to get over 70 cups or so of coffee.

The machine is a lemon. While it's electronic controls are easy to understand, the operations are reasonably simple, it produces a varitey of espresso drinks and the clean up is very simple, it just doesn't hold up. I've sent my machine in for repairs three times in 15 months. While Krups has been very accomodating, the last set of repairs lasted under a month. I thought I just got a one-off lemon until I read the reviews. I see my experience is ubiquitous. I understand this machine is out of production, no wonder why! I would suggest you just stay away from the Krups brand altogether. My recent reserch suggests that Gaggia makes a well rated machine for about the same price as the Krups.

The machine made decent coffee for about 2 years. After a certain period Krups espresso machines require mandatory service and will stop working. I sent my working machine to Krups which had technically nothing wrong with it to service center in Downers Grove, Illinois. I was charged $220 for the service but the machine arrived not working. After contacting Krups again I found out that that the service center is now out of business. I sent it again to a another service center in California where I was told my machine still needs cleaning and is actually broken. Another atempted to extort $268. Peter at the Krups customer (dis)service rudely brushed me off. The lame 1 year warranty expired and now it's not their problem. I expected a quality machine and service from Krups. I was wrong.

I really liked this machine, when it worked. The espresso and coffee were great. It took over 2 minutes to steam milk for a latte (about 8 ounces) and I was able to figure out how to make it steam without frothing (by plugging the little hole at the top of the wand).

Now the bad news....

We have had to replace the machine 3 times in the first year, and now it has broken again and it's out of warranty. Each time after about 2 months of use, it started making less coffee and then started to pour coffee and water out of the bottom of the unit.

Even worse....

While the customer service people have been very helpful and friendly, we had to wait for them to ship us a box and UPS mailing label, ship them the unit (a week in shipping), have them check the unit, repair or replace it with a new unit, and then ship it back to us. Each time we have been without the machine for over a month. So basically, we've been without the unit more than we've had it.

We've had the Jura-Capresso machines in the past but decided to go with this one due to the price. Looks like we're going to be buying another Jura real soon...

We purchased this machine about a 2 years ago. We are hugely disappointed.
We paid close $980 -this was before these were marked down.

Here's the fatal flaw- not mentioned anywhere until the machine breaks, and you attempt to have Krups honor the warranty and fix it:

This "Premium" product - that is how Krups describes it - cannot process oily, dark roast or espresso roast beans. They "gum up" the insides. Now, Krups doesn't disclose this fact in the marketing, packaging or manual in a clear fashion. How did we find this out? We shipped it to Krups to have it fixed. For the third time. This is after trying to work with a bad authorized repair outlet (the only one Krups will allow you to take it to in Western Washington) 3 times. Yep, 3 times.

So we then contact Krups, and they reluctantly agree to try and fix the product- it's still under warranty. So we haul it to UPS and ship it out.. only to receive it about 3 weeks later... broken. Faceplate cracked. And, taped to the top, a nice, little hand written note:

"don't use oily beans. It break this really fast"

Nice. And, our calls to Krups are fielded by Tom - one of the rudest customer service agents I have EVER dealt with. So, we'll ship this back again, and again, and again .... but we'll NEVER buy another Krups product again. Not only are they poorly designed, but Krups doesn't stand behind their products, and treats their customers badly. So baldy it's sinful they are even allowed to sell on AMZN, who nails customer service EVERY time. BOO!

SO, DON'T BUY THIS!

We received this machine as a Christmas gift and loved it. Actually it was a slightly earlier model. It started leaking and stopped working within 30 days. Krups promtley replaced it when we sent it for repair. They didn't repair the older model. They replaced it with the 7260. This brand new one has clogged and started leaking from the bottom in just the same way after only a few weeks use. I'll send it back again, but I want my money back. What a dissapiontment! It was great while it lasted, but not for the $700.00 I originally paid. I can see why they are soo much cheaper now. Don't bother.

Well, our Krups XP7260 just broke today, 13 months after purchase, in what appears to be the classic way - clogged up and leaking. When I called the customer service center, the rep immediately asked me if I used dark roast beans. I said yes. He said that they were too oily and clogged the grinder and that there was an insert with the packaging saying they recommend using medium roast beans for this reason. I said I read no such insert.

I actually found the insert and read it to the rep-it said only that if we used a more oily bean, to make sure we stirred them in the hopper before making coffee. We did this almost as a religious ritual. Of course we are just out of the warranty period (13 months on a one-year warranty), and the number he gave me for a service center in MD turned out to be a teacher named Terry from Wyoming who very kindly called me back after I left him a message asking for costs etc.

(He said he couldn't fix my machine either, so don't everybody go stampeding to Terry the teacher in WY, WHEN-not if- your XP7260 breaks.)

I did the math and as my review title states, we enjoyed about 2900 4-oz cups of very good coffee before it hit the skids. Yes, we loved the coffee. But I will NOT buy another Krups. A $700 appliance should last longer than one year. We did every cleaning and changed the filter every time. We stirred the beans. We emptied the containers and rinsed it and kept it shiny clean. And yet...when I asked the rep if he understood why it frustrated me that we have a broken machine when we did everything right, as instructed, he dismissively told me in so many words, "doesn't matter. You can't fix this. And your frustration is not going to extend your one year warranty, if that's what you're wondering." I told him that he just told me not to buy his brand of product. And that is where we left it. I am very, very disappointed.

I have a unit for about six month. Actually, I have a second unit, because the first one broke after 2 weeks (water running out of it). After another month the replacement unit stopped working and needed to be send in for service. After 4 weeks it came back and worked fine for bout two weeks, and stopped working again. Krups customer service wants it to be shipped in for service again, which means, another four weeks without a coffee maker.

I plan to bring the unit back to the store and buy a Saeco machine instead!

I cannot recommend this unit to anybody!