Customer Reviews

Saeco S-TT-ST Talea Touch Super-Automatic Espresso Machine

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

 

 

The Talea Touch makes terrific coffee and has functions that are well thought out and easy to use. The only problem is that they can't make one that works.

I bought mine in Dec. 2009 from Seattle Coffee Gear. By March 2010, I had returned my third defective machine to Saeco. All three had different problems; the first leaked all over the counter when brewing (an internal hose defect), the second could not be programmed or hold a date and time; the third has a steam wand that leaked (poured) water during the brew cycle - enough to fill a shot glass for each coffee made. As of September, I have had to return it two additional times for repairs - a total of 5 times.

Saeco will fix or replace this again but what does that tell you about their QC? Saeco customer service has been helpful and courteous - once you reach them. Be prepared to wait > 45 minutes on their customer support line to reach a human being.

Saeco came highly recommended and it does makes great coffee and lattes when it works. If you like Audi's, this may be the coffee machine for you.

One last note, I have attempted to submit this review many times at Seattle Coffee gear and somehow it never appears on their website.

Maybe it is a little premature and I admit I was spooked by the negative reviews, but so far I have been very happy with Talea Touch. I bought it refurbished, not from Amazon but from an auction site (you know which one) and took out an extended SquareTrade warranty. It took little to no time to prime the water circuit, make custom adjustments to the grind and strength of the shot but it resulted in amazing espresso. Prior to this, I was using a Starbucks (Saeco) Barista espresso machine with a de-pressurized portafilter along with Ascaso I-mini grinder to make my espressos/lattes/cappuchinos. Despite reading coffeegeek and Home-barista.com, adjusting the grind/tamp/temp surfing techniques, my pulls were still resulting in shots too sour or too bitter. I was considering buying a higher-end espresso machine and PID kit for better temp control, but realized that I was spending way too much time in the morning griding/dosing/pulling and cleaning when I and my wife just want the d*** coffee. Yes, with Talea touch you do have to clean the group head, descale etc. Yes, the water reservoir could be bigger, the milk island could be cheaper (don't have one), the spent water/coffee puck reservoir could be a bit bigger as well... but when it comes to shot quality, it was on par with the shots I had in Italy or local Stumptown. And it takes less than 5 minutes to pull a shot. So far I am very happy with the purchase. Durability remains a concern so I will update the review accordingly.

This machine makes wonderful coffee that can be adjusted to the drinker's preferences. The only disappointments I have had are that the beans don't flow down into the hopper smoothly when it gets a little low, so you need to scoop them over manually and the water resevoir is small so it needs to be refilled frequently. Those are minor problems that are quickly overlooked once you taste the delicious espresso drinks!

This is my third Saeco machine and it is the best. Easy to operate and delivers a great product. I have it with the milk island which sure beats the steam wand for ease of use. Because of the talea's more compact size it has a smaller water reservoir and rinse/puck container, but a fair trade-off for a great machine.

The Talea Touch makes terrific coffee and has functions that are well thought out and easy to use. The only problem is that they can't make one that works.

I bought mine in Dec. 2009 from Seattle Coffee Gear. By March 2010, I had returned my third defective machine to Saeco. All three had different problems; the first leaked all over the counter when brewing (an internal hose defect), the second could not be programmed or hold a date and time; the third has a steam wand that leaked (poured) water during the brew cycle - enough to fill a shot glass for each coffee made. As of September, I have had to return it two additional times for repairs - a total of 5 times.

Saeco will fix or replace this again but what does that tell you about their QC? Saeco customer service has been helpful and courteous - once you reach them. Be prepared to wait > 45 minutes on their customer support line to reach a human being.

Saeco came highly recommended and it does makes great coffee and lattes when it works. If you like Audi's, this may be the coffee machine for you.

One last note, I have attempted to submit this review many times at Seattle Coffee gear and somehow it never appears on their website.

Unit would not work right out of the Box ,the Coffee hopper was not screwed down, so unit would not operate ,after about hour found the screw that needed to be tighten so it would grind the coffee beans, than after the first use the unit would grind the beans, but nothing was comeing out, after a hour or more of cleaning everthing got the water to go through the unit ,and finely got the expresso to come out, with this unit if you don't do a through cleaning after evey use the unit will not work the next time you use it. a very poor unit for a high cost unit like this

This machine makes very good coffee, however, I found that the plastic water reservoir does not come in and out easily. I returned the machine due to this feature . . .