- Grinds whole beans, doses, tamps, and extracts espresso
- Change coffee strength by adjusting the amount to be ground, from 6 to 9 grams
- Rapid-Steam for frothing and brewing without waiting; easily accessible, removable brew group
- Prepares 1 to 2 cups at the same time; 46-ounce removable water tank and swivel base
- Ships within US only; does not ship to Canada
Product Features |
Product Details
Would you like to give feedback on images?
|
Product Description
From the Manufacturer
Saeco is a world-manufacturing leader of fully superautomatic espresso coffee machines that will take you from bean to cup at the press of a button. Every cup of coffee is freshly ground, tamped, brewed, and dispensed with approximately 15-bar pressure. At present Saeco USA carries a selection of six different models of fully automatic machines. Call us to find out which model will better satisfy your needs and discover for yourself how making a good cup gourmet of coffee and specialty drinks in the comfort of your home has never been easier. Caffe Charisma is the crème de la creme of the Saeco fully automatic family of machines. It is packed with features making it the most advanced machine available on the market today, in a small and compact footprint.
Add water, whole beans, push the button, and you have true perfection. Espresso and coffee with a thick, creamy, golden crema, and a flavor that will make you feel like you are floating in the clouds. The Caffe Charisma grinds whole beans, doses, tamps, and extracts espresso, then the used coffee grounds are ejected into an internal waste box. Fantastic espresso without the fuss and mess of the old-style, traditional models.
Easy Clean System
The brew group is where your coffee is tamped, brewed, and dispensed. The patented brew group can be taken out for convenient rinsing. The brew group compartment is completely separated from the electrical compartment, fully accessible, and can easily be kept hygienically clean. That is proprietary Saeco technology and one of the things that has made Saeco world leader in superautomatic coffee machines.
Saeco Aroma System
To optimize the flavor extraction, a special program step injects a little hot water into the freshly ground coffee, in order to soak it and let it swell up. This is done just before the actual brew cycle commences.
Opti-Dose
Here you will find a lever that will allow you to adjust the amount of coffee to be ground for each individual cup. Adjust it from 6 grams (- sign) to 9 grams (+ sign) to change the strength of the coffee.
Rapid-Steam
The Rapid-Steam feature allows you to froth and brew without waiting or changing the temperature. Make cappuccinos and lattes in an instant!
Specifications:
- Adjustable coffee grinder
- Opti-Dose / adjustable dose of ground coffee per serving: 0.2 to 0.3 ounces / 6 to 9 grams
- Capacity of the bean hopper: 8 ounces/230 grams
- Capacity of the dump box: 8
- Pre-ground coffee features
- Electronic programming of level of coffee per cup
- Adjustable coffee dispensing unit
- Ability to prepare 1-2 cups at the same time
- Saeco Aroma System/pre-infusion system
- Pump pressure approximately 15 bar/220 psi
- Hot water for tea and other beverages
- Rapid Steam/separate steam generator
- Automatic disposal of used coffee grounds
- Easy Clean System accessible brewing compartment; removable brew group
- Swivel base
- Removable water tank capacity: 46 ounces/1.6 Liters
- Machine housing: ABS plastic
- Measures 10-1/2 by 15 by 15 inches
- Weighs 17-1/2 pounds
- Power: 1250 Watts/120 Volts
- Color: black and silver
Product Description
The Caffe Charisma is the creme de la creme of the Saeco fully automatic family of machines. It is packed with features making it the most advanced machine available on the market today, in a small and compact footprint. Add water, whole beans, push the button, and you have true perfection. Espresso and coffee with a thick, creamy golden crema, and a flavor that will make you feel like you are floating in the clouds. The Caffe Charisma grinds whole beans, doses, tamps and extracts espresso, than the used coffee is ejected into an internal dump box. Fantastic espresso without the fuss and mess of the old style traditional models.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great Features, But...,
By
This review is from: Saeco Caffe Charisma Espresso and Cappuccino Maker, Black (Kitchen)
I really liked the feature set on this machine... Double punch a button and it goes through the cycle twice. Easy to program the amount of water for the single and double shot buttons. Rapid response from steam to making coffee. Well placed and easy to use milk frother.But it kept telling me it was out of beans when it wasn't. So, I'd have to take out the brew group and clean it and put it back (this happened every other day). It said it was out of water when only half empty (that makes the 45 oz tank effectively a 22 oz tank) so it needed constant refilling. The bypass thing for decaf coffee put most of the grounds all over the inside of the machine and just eject hot water - not decaf coffee. (I have to admit i just used the only thing available at the time which was folgers decaf from a can - it might have worked better with freshly ground decaf) The on/off switch and water tank in the back were sort of inconvenient being under the counter (the swivel base did help some, but it was still akward) ... So, after using the Charisma for about 2 weeks, I went out and bought the Delonghi Magnifica. It has a 60 oz water tank and uses at least 50 ounces before it says it needs refilling. The on/off switch is on the front. The water tank slides out from the front and so is much easier to remove and refill. It only tells me it's out of beans when it is out of beans. The bypass even works with folgers decaf. After steaming milk it won't make coffee until it cools down to 195 degrees. It makes me wonder if the Charisma really cooled down quicker? or just used hotter water? I figured out on the Delonghi that I could just turn off the steam and eject some hot water into my cup and it cooled down in a few seconds (and heated my cup at the same time - thus a con turned into a pro). When I want a double shot - I have to push the button, let it make cofee and then push the button again. But since it takes only 45 seconds to grind, pack, send the water through, and get ready for the next shot - that's not a big deal, and I'd have never even thought of that if I hadn't tried the Charisma first. I think the frother on the Charisma is better because it makes less foam and seems to fit in the milk container better (the Delonghi has this big flange at the top that gets in the way). But if you like lots of foam, then the Delonghi wouldn't be a problem. The Charisma has separate water amount settings for the single and double shot buttons - where the Delonghi has one knob that seems to affect both. I haven't figured out on either machine what the single/double shot buttons are supposed to do. I know they give you more water - but the size of the coffee puck that is ejected is definitely not twice as large on the double-shot setting? So, it seems you just get weaker coffee? The biggest problem with the Delonghi is that it comes with a free can of Illy coffee which made the best tasting cappucino I've ever had! and then I find out it costs $13 for an 8.8 oz can of Illy beans. That's depressing. I actually had a hard time deciding between the two machines. I liked the way the Charisma worked a bit better than the Delonghi. I just felt like it was higher maintenance with the small water tank and false warning about being out of beans. So, in the end - I kept the Delonghi and returned the Charisma.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Buyer Beware!!!,
By
This review is from: Saeco Caffe Charisma Espresso and Cappuccino Maker, Black (Kitchen)
I purchased my Charisma in Feb. 2004 My Machine Died on March of 2006, 1 month after my warranty expired.(I had recieved an additional years warranty when I purchased the machine) The cost of the repairs came to $225.00. I Sold the machine. I felt that a machine that cost $700.00 should last alot longer than 2 years. The technician that repaired the machine said that Charisma has had alot of problems due to a leaky valve that shorts out the circut board. If you have a repair center near you I would recommend a regular tune up. This costs about $30.00.Yes I loved my machine until it died, however a 1 year warranty is not enough when you consider how much it cost to begin with and how much it will cost to repair. Don't you think if Saeco really believed they make a great product that they would stand behind it with a great warranty. Even Bunn gives a 3 year warranty.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
No more tamping and knockout boxes,
By Coffee Jack (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Saeco Caffe Charisma Espresso and Cappuccino Maker, Black (Kitchen)
I purchased this machine as a "refurb" in silver color here on Amazon.com for half the price of the black one new. Normally the silver version is $100 more than the black one (on Saeco's own USA outlet site they are selling the silver refurbs for $600 so for $369 here on Amazon with the $25 housewares coupon that is frequently offered, this was a great deal! The machine looked brand new, other than the fact it came in a plain brown box. For a savings of $300 to $400 over the same model new, I am quite happy with the condition of the machine I received. The box says "Refurbished Class A" so maybe Amazon is getting only the cream of the refurb crop from the U.S. Distributor (Cafe West Dist.). I have had the machine for about a week now and have really put it through its paces (around 30 to 40 shots already). I set the machine to make long pulls at approx. 4 ounces and espresso shots at 1 oz. The coffee comes out quite nice with a decent crema on it. When it makes coffee the machine is quite loud with three thumping noises as the inside machinery whirls around and does its magic. I do not mind this but if you have light sleepers in your household it might wake them up. The product manual is not very clear and it takes a while to figure out what the different blinking lights mean (i.e., steady light no so and so means bean hopper empty while blinking light so and so means you need to empty the pucks out of the machine). Also emptying the pucks means you have to open the access door, slide out the drip tray and then remove the puck box, which is inserted into the drip tray. This procedure is a little much but can be done quickly once you are used to it. Everything I have read on these machines says that if you perform normal maintainence (i.e., remove and clean brewing mechanism and brew group once a week, descale when machine says to, etc.) they will last a long time. People that do not maintain them seem to have trouble with them (like any finely tuned machine you need to keep it clean, etc.). Overall, I rate this machine a 4 because even though the coffee is decent it does not make as nice a shot as a high end manual machine, but I wanted speed and convenience and that is what I got. If I have any problems I will update this review but so far I am quite happy with the product I received.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
